Preserving a Legacy: Protecting One Bat at a Time

Working in a in a public office building in Bangor, Maine, I hear a lot of things.  When I overheard a kind-hearted colleague worrying about what was going to happen to a bat that was clinging to a wall in the back stairwell, my ears perked up. She had called several agencies she thought would care, but they never returned her calls and nobody ever showed up to assist the bat. I knew immediately the bat was certainly in a place where the poor thing would either be trapped without adequate food or water once it came out of hibernation in the spring or would be exterminated by people who  misunderstood its critical role in our ecosystem that relies so heavily on the benefits bats provides.

The bat was trapped in a public building...what to do?

The bat is rescued and ready
 for transport to Misfits Rebab in Auburn,

Anyone who really knows me, knows that since childhood I have involved myself with wildlife rescues. I am a tree-hugging advocate for organic crops and nature in its wild and natural state. I believe all things on earth are provided to support other things in a never-ending cycle of life that spins evenly in a perfect circle. I also believe when you remove anything from the natural order of things, things get out of balance and life on earth starts to warble out of balance.  History repeatedly  tells us about mistakes we, as humans, have made by not focusing on nature, yet somehow our culture has gotten in the way of actually noticing those facts for the most part. Much of the world’s population, is, as I am, busy with everything else going on in an environment where new funky shoes, a better smart phone, and a political scandal seem important. A little bat’s plight and the impact this one creature has on the environment can easily go unnoticed in our busy day-to-day lives. I had to care.

Legacy the bat,  is in good hands for the
winter and will return to the great Maine
outdoors to carry on nature's legacy
in the spring.

I’d never rescued a bat before, how hard could it be? An Internet search led me to a wonderful site, batworld.org, that told me just about everything I never knew about bats. It can actually put you in touch with the name and number for an expert on the subject anywhere in the world. I was impressed! I was also talking to my contact in Auburn, Maine within minutes learning how to go about a rescue and how to care for the bat until I could transport it to her about a hundred miles away.

With the assistance of three more co-workers, the rescue took place successfully and the bat was delivered in good health to Misfits Rehab in Auburn. It will spend the remainder of the winter with eleven other bats who have also ended up in the shelter for one reason or another this season and be cared for by a trained and licensed bat care expert.  We have named him Legacy.

Very special and interesting things I’ve learned from the little brown bat named Legacy:

·         First of all he is not a rodent and is not even related to rodents. He is scientifically classified as Chiroptera, a Greek word which means hand-wing.  Bats are grouped with primates and lemurs in a grand order called Archonta.

·         Legacy is a male large brown bat, the most common bat to this area. As small as Legacy is, he is the largest bat species in Maine. Maine also has a little brown bat and a rare long-haired bat.

·         Even though he is common, his species is threatened by a disease called White Nosed Syndrome (WNS) which is proving to be devastating to the bat populations in Maine and elsewhere. If you see a bat with white on its face of wingtips, please report it. There is no cure, yet, but it will help experts track and learn about the disease. Legacy does not suffer from WNS.

·         Legacy is an insect eater. Insect-eating bats are equipped with a unique built in sonar system, echolocation, that’s thousands of times more efficient than any sonar system built by humans. Bats use it for navigating at record speeds through total darkness.  If it seems a bat is swooping at your hair, it is really after a mosquito that is preparing to bite you.

·         Legacy will be inoculated while he is in rehab. Bats do not carry rabies, however, they are capable of catching the disease just like any mammal is.

·         This bat will most likely migrate back to Bangor when it released in the spring to do its part in catching about 1,200 mosquitoes and other disease carrying insects per hour when feeding at night around the Kenduskeag Stream, Penobscot River, and, if you are a lucky Bangor resident, in your back yard.

·         Bats are extremely clean creatures and devote a lot of time grooming their fur, very much like a cat does.

·         Half of the bats in the United States are listed as rare, threatened or endangered. It is usually illegal to exterminate a bat.

·         I never dreamed I could, but I fell in love with a bat. I’m so glad I could help him out.

Blae and I hope you have taken a little time out of your busy day to read this and learn a bit about bats and what they mean to our planet.  If you see a bat trapped in a building, or orphaned, you can find helpful information, just like I did, on batworld.org.

If you wish to read about Legacy's rescue, it is documented on Facebook.com/BarefootInTheJungle.

© Copyright Gail J. VanWart 2014 All Rights Reserved 

In Bangor, Maine the Library is Much More than Books

Bangor Public Library, 145 Harlow Street, Bangor, Maine 

Since the days of its humble beginnings in 1830 as the Bangor Mechanics Association, with a collection of just seven books stored in a footlocker, the Bangor Public Library has served its community as a place of learning and sharing, not only in the form of books, but also in the form of exhibits, lectures, workshops, and social gatherings.

The Bangor Public Library
displays art and artifacts from both
the past and the present.

Gardens, Grounds, and Children
Exhibit by Debbie Story Alexander
February 2013  at
the Bangor Public Library

I have known this library since I was a child, but even to this day I feel small climbing its massive stone steps and entering through its immense oak doorway that leads the way to a wealth of knowledge—vast knowledge I can merely sample portions of over my entire lifetime. I love this place!

I love the Bangor Public Library even more when its exhibits, lectures, book signings, and other events pay tribute to people I know in the area. With that being said, I’d like to introduce you to Debbie Story Alexander. Over the years we have been both colleagues at EMHS and friends, so I am delighted the Bangor Public Library recognizes her talent as an artist. Her acrylic paintings are presently part of the library’s many exhibits. You’ll find her work on display in the Stairwell Gallery. Other local Maine artists with works on display are Peg Hanson in the Stairwell Gallery Display Case and members of the Bangor Art Society in the Lecture Hall.

Pictures are worth a thousand words, so I’ll scatter some images of Debbie’s paintings throughout the rest of this blog, which will focus on the rekindled passion Debbie has for creating them. Her own words and works of art tell her story best.

Debbie Story Alexander, Artist

“I am not sure if I have always had the good fortune to be surrounded by very talented people or if I just recognize that all people have talent, they just don't always know it or show it.

A family friend used to have me scribble on a piece of paper and he would add some scribbles of his own and turn my little scribble into a cartoon character or scene. Each little scribble can be the start of an amazing painting and each person scribbling has the potential to be an artist.

 

I did some drawing in high school art classes under Christopher Pike. After high school I didn't draw very much. I had three children and worked full time so there was no time left for drawing or painting.”

After Debbie’s marriage of twenty-seven years unfortunately ended in divorce in 2007, and with her children grown, she found she had time on her hands and needed something to do. Watching her sister, Linda Story Kam, paint made her realize it was something she missed. With the encouragement of her best friend (and current husband) she purchased supplies and took some art classes offered through Bangor and Hampden Adult Education programs.

She also credits her husband, Joe, for lending a critical eye and advice, as well as his moral support. “If I’m in the middle of a painting and can’t get the color just right, I get input from Joe. He is very good with color. I have tried to encourage him to paint, as well, but have not succeeded, yet. We do watch Bob Ross painting shows together.”

Now that she’s back into the swing of it, she is dedicated to her art. Debbie says, “I paint almost every day. I am inspired by my grandchildren, gardens, nature, and architecture.” You can clearly see that in her work.

If you are in or near Bangor, Maine, it’s worth a trip to Harlow Street to check out what is happening at the Bangor Public Library. You are sure to run into much more than a collection of books. Debbie Story Alexander’s exhibit, Gardens, Grounds, and Children, will be displayed at the library through the end of February. Her work is also currently on display in the cafeteria at Eastern Maine Medical Center on State Street, also in Bangor.

Paintings by Debbie Story Alexander, Maine Artist
Stairwell Gallery Lobby, Bangor Public Library
145 Harlow Street, Bangor, Maine 

Connect with Debbie Story Alexander

Bangor Public Library

Note:  A Commemorative History of the Bangor Public Library, 

Seven Books in a Footlocker, is offered for sale at the library’s circulation desk.

© Copyright Gail J. VanWart 2013  All Rights Reserved

Gail J. VanWart is a regular contributor to theSCENE:
a publication of Courier Publications LLC in Rockland, Maine with distribution in Waldo and Lincoln Counties

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There's More to Discover in Bangor, Maine

Construction cranes dwarf
Bangor's Paul Bunyan statue.

Seems people have been discovering Bangor, Maine ever since the Portuguese mariner, Estavan Gomez, a captain in Magellan’s round-the-world fleet, sailed the La Anunciada up the Penobscot River in search of the legendary Northwest Passage to the Orient in 1525 under commission of King Charles V of Spain. French explorer Samuel de Champlain was also documented to discover the area in 1604. However, the city wasn’t officially incorporated until 1791 at which time it was named after an Irish Hymn, “Bangor”, by a pastor from Boston named Seth Noble. A healthy fishing and fur trade drew the earliest settlers to the area. Then Maine’s vast forests brought wealth beyond compare to the region making Bangor the lumber capital of the world and one of the busiest ports on the East Coast by the 1850s. Shipbuilding and shipping commerce thrived until the twentieth century when pulp and paper industries took their place. Since then, Bangor’s central location has grown into a social and economic center for the state and offers the region a wide selection of retail and service businesses, education and employment opportunities.

Recent development of Bangor’s waterfront along the Penobscot River has not only enhanced its beauty, its brought entertainment and cultural growth to the city in the form of the an annual Folk Festival, Waterfront Concerts, Hollywood Casino and Raceway, plus revitalization of it’s historic Opera House which houses the Penobscot Theatre Company. There are also a growing number of museums and galleries in the area, including Maine Discovery Children’s Museum and Cole’s Transportation Museum. Its history is very rich, especially in Bass Park, the home of the Bangor State Fair, one of the oldest in the country, and a raceway that’s featured harness racing since 1893.

Yes, there is definitely a lot to discover in and about Bangor, Maine. That’s the reason why a construction site on Main Street stretches all the way from Dutton Street to the corner of Buck Street and is changing the view of the entrance to historic Bass Park once again. Major changes to this block in my lifetime have included the 1955 opening of the now soon-to-be-demolished, v-roofed Bangor Auditorium. It was constructed behind an older auditorium, which preceded it, and was the second largest event center in New England at that time. The old structure was eventually torn down in 1967 leaving a nice park area behind the location where Bangor’s famous Paul Bunyan statue came to reside in 1959. The 31-foot, fiberglass and metal woodsman, which Bangor claims as its mythical son, was a gift to the city on its 125^th anniversary and has a time capsule enclosed in its pedestal that's slated to be opened in 2084. Do not think I'll live to see that, but I have witnessed Paul, the statue, in an oversized Shriner fez to promote a convention and a bandanna for a Willie Nelson concert in July 1986 (which I have fond behind-the-scenes memories of ). The Paul Bunyan statue has even been part of the Stephen King novel, It, and, I dare say, is possibly photographed more than Stephen King or his Bangor Italianate style mansion with its surrounding unique, but fitting, bat and spider motif wrought-iron fencing.

In recent years, Hollywood Slots, newly renamed Hollywood Casino, has taken up residence across from the Bass Park entrance, where older hotels and businesses once stood, and from its parking garage you can easily view construction of the brand new Bangor Event Center, which will replace the oddly shaped, v-roofed auditorium that stands like a shadow behind it. This new structure is reclaiming space where the original auditorium once stood and is scheduled to open in July 2013.

As I mentioned earlier, I have fond memories of the Bangor Auditorium. It’s where I first saw a circus, interviewed Ted Nugent without any film in my camera, listened to a Willie Nelson concert through a headset with his lighting director, and attended a grandson’s high school graduation. Now, I’m getting itchy to see what exciting memories this new arena might bring to the city of Bangor, and of course, me.

Click these links if you are interested in progress on the new Bangor Event Center, or visiting Bangor, Maine.

Photographs and "Nosing Around Maine" Blog Posts © 2012 Gail J. VanWart
All Rights Reserved

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