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Greetings from the Harraseeket Inn, and congratulations to all 2019 graduates! Being located so near three great colleges, Colby in Waterville, Bates in Lewiston and Bowdoin in Brunswick, we've been priveleged over the years to meet many young students and their families during their four years of attendance. The students "from away" often return after graduation to visit Maine, some move here and we've even had some get married here at the inn. Maine has many fine colleges, including the University of Maine, but in the early days, living in Maine and getting a higher education meant heading south to Boston and beyond.
Interestingly, the district of Maine was actively promoting higher education more than two decades before it was granted statehood. Bowdoin College, in nearby Brunswick, was Maine's first post-secondary institution. It was incorporated in
 1794, twenty five years before Massachusetts allowed the district of Maine to petition for statehood. In 1820, largely because of the Missouri Compromise (the legislation that provided for the admission of Maine to the United States as a free state along with Missouri as a slave state, thus maintaining the balance of power between North and South in the Senate) Maine became the 23rd state in the union. For twenty six years, Bowdoin College had already been educating and graduating many highly esteemed scholars that went on to become presidents and leaders, famous authors and doctors.
The decision to build the college was based on the citizen's belief that Maine would soon become a sovereign state, and when she did, it would be "derogatory to her dignity" for her
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| Bowdoin College dorm room. |
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sons to seek education outside her borders. To that end, the towns of Portland, North Yarmouth, Freeport, Brunswick, New Gloucester and Winthrop all vied over the location of the district's first college, each town striving to prove itself to be the most worthy. North Yarmouth argued that "all of its constituents were virtuous and most were pious", unlike the bustling seaport of Portland which was exposed to various and assorted global vices. Freeport offered up the most hard cash, and each town proclaimed itself to be the center of Maine's population, thereby the most convenient place to locate the college. The squabbling continued until finally a minister with some muscle, the Reverend Elijah Kellogg, used his influence and Brunswick was chosen.
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| Gov. Bowdoin |
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Next came the wrangling over the college's name, which was directly tied to fundraising efforts. The family of the late Governor Bowdoin of Boston, Sussex, and his large estate eventually prevailed, and hence, in 1794, Bowdoin College became an institution "founded and endowed for the common good."
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Joshua Chamberlain. |
In 1871, Bowdoin's current president, Joshua Chamberlain, who was also Maine's 32 governor and famed commander of the 20th Maine Volunteer Regiment during the Civil War, called for the admission of women to his alma mater. Unfortunately this didn't happen for some years. During WWII, women were allowed to teach at Bowdoin, but the first female students weren't admitted until 1969 as part of the 12 College Exchange, and the first year of full admission for women was in 1971, one hundred years after Joshua Chamberlain's request. So here's a special shout out for each and every woman who has ever graduated from an institution of higher learning, a hard won achievement and a major triumph.
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Recipe of the Month
Broad Arrow Tavern's New England Clam Chowder: guaranteed to warm you on a cold, rainy spring day!
1 cup chopped bacon
1 onion, diced
1 cup chopped celery
2 cups cooked, peeled and diced Yukon Gold potatoes
1/2 pound butter
2 cups flour
9 cups clam juice
1 pound chopped clam meat
3.2 ounces of clam base
3 cups half and half
Render bacon in a thick bottomed pot. Add butter, melt, add onions and celery and sautee until tender. Add flour and cook for five minutes. Add clam juice, whisking until smooth. Whisk in clam base and simmer for twenty minutes. Add clam meat and potatoes, stir in half and half. Heat thoroughly and add salt and pepper to taste.
Upcoming Events and Special Offers:
*Last Chance for a Spring Fling
!
To celebrate spring,we're offering all of our newsletter readers
Double Voucher Days
through May 23rd! Redeem your trivia vouchers for TWICE their face value, a maximum of one years worth, or $120. per visit. Vouchers may be applied to lodging only and cannot be combined with any other packages or special offers. A limited number of rooms are reserved for this special deal, so call early for the best room selection. Beat the summer crowds and treat yourself to a special getaway!
1-800-342-6423
Voting has started in one of the most prestigious travel awards of the year, the Conde Naste Readers Choice Awards 2019. Share your travel experiences to be entered to win a $10,000. dream trip for two.
We'd love to have your vote this year. Cast your vote today by clicking here
.
*
Hospitality for Habitat i
s running through May 23rd,
Sunday through Thursdays only
, rooms will be offered at half their normal rate in exchange for a $35. check payable to Habitat for Humanity. Reservations must be made in advance and the contribution to Habitat for Humanity must be via check. Collectively we've raised more than $220,000. for this ministry dedicated to eliminating poverty housing. This is a great rate for a great cause. Make your reservations early for the best room selection!
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Cabin Fever Package through
Don't suffer needlessly when we have the cure! Take advantage of the off-season sales and enjoy the relaxing pace of the off season in Maine. Our
two night Cabin Fever Package is offered in standard or deluxe lodging and includes
:
*Dinner for Two in the Broad Arrow Tavern
*Lunch Buffet for Two in the Broad Arrow Tavern
*$50. Gift Certificate to L.L.Bean
*Buffet Breakfast each morning
*Afternoon tea daily
Cabin Fever Standard/2 nights: $450. + tax
Cabin Fever Deluxe/2 nights: $525. + tax
Available Sunday through Thursday nights only
January 1, 2019 - June 13, 2019 based on availability.
You deserve a little pampering. Come snuggle by the fireplace and rediscover the warm pleasures of Maine's cold winters!
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Take it outdoors with LLBean's
LLBean Outdoor Discovery Schools
Learn to fly fish or kayak and get out in nature, which really is the best therapy for our fast paced chaotic world.
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Visit Freeport
Sales and fun happenings in town! Everything "Freeport" in one handy website. This is one web site you'll want to check out frequently in this "season of sales".
* Wolfe's Neck Farm Backyard Gardener Workshops Have you started your seedlings yet? Check out these workshops and dig into the gardening season!
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Girlfriends Getaway Weekend June 21-23, with "Booty at the Boatyard"! Check out the schedule of events and book one one of our packages for this fun-filled and very popular Freeport weekend!
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And now for the May Trivia question: Although women weren't admitted to Bowdoin College until 1969, one Maine woman was granted an honorary degree in 1900 at the age of 51. What was her name? All correct answers win a voucher worth $5. toward food or lodging on your next visit. One voucher per household, please. You may redeem up to 12 vouchers, a $60. value (unless it's during Double Voucher Days), at one time, preferably in the year they were won. Please be patient with my replies to your answers, there are several hundred each month. To respond to the trivia just hit "reply" to this newsletter.
Good luck and we hope to see you soon!
Warm regards,
Penny Gray
The Gray family
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