Jennifer Mitchell
Jennifer Mitchell studied Music, English and Anthropology at Oberlin College and Conservatory in Ohio. She has worked as News Director for Peninsula Public Radio in Homer, Alaska, and served as news producer in Bangor for Maine Public Radio in 2004. Most recently, she spent four years working in South Africa as a producer, as well as classical music presenter in Cape Town.
Jennifer is a fan of open source computing, and music of all types, including old Victrola tunes, jazz, folk, world, goth and metal. When not on the air, she can be found researching 19th century social history. Her idea of a good time is several hours in a dank basement looking at old patent applications, newspaper archives, and original recipes for intriguing Victorian delights such as sheep's head soup and shadow potatoes.
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The sudden demand for "white gold" came at just the right time for a new toilet paper factory in Maine. "The demand is insane," says Tissue Plus owner Marc Cooper. -
In Bar Harbor, Maine, businesses rely on the throngs of tourists who visit Acadia National Park each summer. But too many tourists can be a problem.
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A Chicago chef who was tired of the kitchen grind moved his family to join an Amish community in Maine. He is now selling charcuterie and cheese from a cabin in the woods.
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Before the nation had highways, loggers moved timber by floating it down rivers. But not all logs made it downstream to saw mills. In Maine, one company is giving the underwater timber new life.
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The average age of a farmer in the U.S. is over 58 and climbing. But in places like Maine, a growing number of under-35 farmers see an opportunity for better lives growing food for their communities.
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"I've dug graves when it was 10 below zero and the wind blowing and snowing, and I've dug graves when it was 90 degrees and hotter than hell. I remember all of them," says Everard Hall, who's been digging with a pickax and a shovel for 48 years. This summer, he'll start digging his own grave.
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Upwardly mobile consumers in China and Korea also are buying lots of fur, and "not necessarily your grandmother's old mink coat," says an observer. U.S. and Canadian trappers are flush; animal welfare advocates are concerned.
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Wreaths are made from greens collected by "tippers," who snip about 14 or 15 inches off the limbs of fir trees. But Christmas wreaths are valuable enough to attract tree poachers, who cut limbs and even whole trees on private land. That means the wreath on your front door could contain stolen goods.
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Once a standard fixture at every gas station, paper maps have all but folded in the digital age. But there are places that can baffle your high-tech gadgets. In Maine, weekend explorers might want to take along a map in addition to their GPS unit.
