THE TALK OF TOWN HILL The Dandelion Ladies T O most travelers on Mount where dairy cattle used to graze and "Oh, don't worry," she says, plop- Desert Island, the village of potatoes, cabbages, and strawberries ping her cuttings into a galvanized Town Hill is just a bend in the were raised. To be perfectly honest, bucket. "It'll be back. It seems the road. As its name suggests, it sits on a Town Hill is not exactly a Down East more you cut, the more they grow." hill at the outermost edge of the island, paradise, unless, of course, you happen And judging from the profusion of a quiet little presence one passes to like dandelions. dandelions that carpet the yard, it's an through on the way to visit the liveli- And if you're absolutely crazy for observation well based on experience. er attractions of Bar Harbor, Southwest them, as are octogenarian Rose Giles Rose's other daughter, Betty, needs Harbor, or picture-perfect Somesville. and her two daughters, Pat Burns and nothing but her nimble fingers. It isn't There are no scenic vistas along the Betty Walls, Town Hill is an absolute the greens she wants. She has eyes only road, and no nightclubs or restaurants El Dorado come spring. When the fat for the plump yellow blossoms that she entice passersby with fine food or golden blossoms of dandelions polka- snaps off and adds to her bucket, which entertainment. But a small herd of dot the meadows and dooryards of this looks for all the world like a pail full handmade wooden wheelbarrows for community, these ladies get the sort of of gold nuggets. Rose's passel of sale in the dandelion-spattered door- gleam in their eye a prospector might grandchildren and great-grandchildren yard of one home has a certain rustic have when he discovers the mother lode. are only too happy to help with this charm. There is something compelling, "I'm going to get me a mess of task. They dart about the field like rab- too, about the hodgepodge display of 'em," says Rose, holding up a dull- bits, returning with fistfuls of gold. statuary, rusting machinery, wrought- bladed kitchen knife, the wooden han- iron beds, and claw-footed tubs that dle worn as smooth and dark as ebony ND what does this clan of dande- fight the dandelions for space on the from years of prying the raggedy- lion-gatherers do with all these lawn of an antique shop that ingenu- A leafed weeds from her backyard every riches? According to the ladies ously calls itself Super's Junkin. The May. Her daughter Pat, who lives up of Town Hill, there is very little you Town Hill Country Store, which actu- the road a bit, prefers a ally creates that sharp bend in the road, more lethal-looking tool, is the genuine article, not some sou- a small carving knife. She venir shop in masquerade. Although a demonstrates her tech- few dusty dandelions now grow where nique by plunging the the old gas pumps were, it is still a sharp tip into the earth place you might find a dozen freshly with the cool efficiency laid eggs, a handful of nails, and a loaf of a hired assassin. Then, of home-baked bread. with a practiced flick of Dandelions have pretty much her wrist, she severs a claimed the fields of Town Hill, once clump of dandelion greens a prosperous farming community from its roots. High point of spring for Rose Giles and her two daughters on Mount Desert Island is gathering dandelion greens for home consumption and for sale. DOWN East MAY 1994 7-10 UNIQUE = can't do with the much-maligned weed. LANDSCAPE PLANS SITE PLANS Mama Rose is the purist of the fam- DRIVEWAYS ily. She likes her dandelion greens boiled FIELDSTONE WALLS for about twenty minutes in plenty of GRANITE BENCHES water with a dash of salt and a little salt OVERSIZED PLANTS pork thrown in. "Some people say the STONE MULCHES SEAWALLS greens are bitter, but they must be tak- BLUEBERRY SOD ing them too late," she says. "If you get ANTIQUE BRICKS them young enough, they're as tender COBBLESTONES and sweet as you could wish. I love 'em BEACH ROSES hot, and sometimes when I wake up at EATON LANDSCAPING 1-800-427-9708 (ME) night and remember I've got a bowlful 1-800-50-STONE (USA) of leftovers, I eat 'em cold, with a little Rockport, Maine vinegar maybe. Oh, how I look forward to my greens every year." The best greens are gathered in early May before the buds blossom, but they can be harvested up to the first of June. Past that, they develop a bitter taste. According to Rose, the weed is similar to spinach but gamier, with a firmer, coarser texture - the difference between chicken and duck, for instance. Betty, the creative member of the family, turns her buckets full of blossoms into bright yellow, lemony-sweet jelly or chewy gumdrops that she gives away as gifts or sells in her craft shop in Bar Harbor. Pat admits that she doesn't like eat- ing dandelions in any way, shape, or form, but she does enjoy an occasional nip of dandelion wine, which she says tastes innocently sweet and fruity but packs a wicked wallop. But mostly she loves the weeds that infest her backyard for their raw moneymaking potential. "Oh, I can't stand to eat 'em; you The only thing that's can't tell me they're not bitter," she says, wrinkling up her nose. "But I know noticeably different about these Mumma loves 'em, and she has a hard time now getting enough for herself. So Coach items is their price. one day I was getting a mess for her, and I started thinking that there are probably a lot of old ladies who like dandelion All the fine leathergoods at The Coach Factory greens but can't get down on their knees anymore to get 'em." Store are either discontinued styles or only slightly So now she and her mother have started a small cottage industry. Pat har- imperfect. But the prices are absolutely perfect. vests dandelions by the bushel and brings them over to Rose's house to be cleaned So stop by the one place where you can get the at the kitchen sink, soaked in a big alu- minum washtub on the back stoop, and craftsmanship of Coach - with significant savings. then packed into two-pound plastic bags that she sells for two dollars each. A And see the difference for yourself. hand-painted sign leaning against a tree in Rose's dooryard that simply reads "Dandelions" is the extent of their adver- The Coach Factory Store tising. Some customers say they savor the blossoms dipped in batter and deep-fried, 48 West Street, Freeport, Maine, (207) 865-1772 but most prefer the real greens. "People come from all over the island for them," says Rose. "We even have a lady from 8 DOWN EAST ED DOUGLAS Swan's Island who drops by whenever she comes over on the ferry." Rose espe- cially remembers one early-bird summer resident who makes a weekly trip throughout the season, buying ten pounds at a time. Rose and Pat have been somewhat surprised by the diversity of their cus- tomers. The buyers are not, as Pat sus- pected, just old ladies nostalgic for the taste of childhoods spent in harder times. "We have some young people, too - the kind who wear those big sandals and long skirts," says Rose. "Most just want to see what they taste like, but some of 'em come back for more." "Some people still call dandelions ON THE LAKE Depression food, May 5-May 31, 1994 but I always Artist's Reception, Thursday, May 5, 5-7 P.M liked 'em. So I never saw eating greens as a hardship." GREENHUT GALLERIES 146 MIDDLE STREET PORTLAND, ME 04101 207-772-2693 Still, they concede that the majority of their customers are older folks who, like Rose, remember a time when forag- ing in the backyard for food was a neces- sity, not a back-to-nature romance. Rose, one of eight children, says dandelions were a staple of her family's diet when she was growing up. Her mother canned Free enough greens every spring to last the brochure, year. or "Some people still call dandelions Depression food," Rose says, "but I complete always liked 'em. So I never saw eating catalogue greens as a hardship. We also had mus- & tard greens and pig weed. I liked them, floor plan: too." That may account for the eighty- three-year-old woman's all-around good $8 health and hearty constitution. When the dandelion season is over, she chops fire- wood for campers. Surprise package. Dandelions, it seems, have twice as much vitamin A and C as spinach or tomatoes, and they are loaded with calci- What's surprising about a Maine Pine Log Home? The superior quality? um, phosphorus, potassium, and iron. The mile-long list of features? The breathtaking choice of pre-designs Dandelion greens can be used raw in sal- and custom variations? The very fast turnaround time between order ads, or brewed into a medicinal tea as a and delivery? Yes. But the most suprising thing about a Maine Pine Log diuretic. The roots, when slowly roasted Home is there are still people who don't have one. and ground with cinnamon, make a deli- cious coffee substitute. And for those san- dal-wearers' peace of mind, it's pretty cer- Toll free in Maine: tain no chemical sprays or artificial fer- Maine Pine 1-800-439-3276 tilizers have been used to encourage the Local or out-of-state: 207-778-3518 greens' growth. Dandelions need no such LOG HOMES Route 2, Farmington, Maine 04938 encouragement. by Hammond Lumber Company MAY 1994 9 We'll Set The Table. Rose and Pat don't expect they' 'll get Our sturdy porcelain table rich with their little enterprise, but that's pieces perform beautifully not the point. The few hundred dollars they make each spring goes into a fam- every day. Your choice of ily fund used to maintain a small camp bread or dessert, salad or they share on Beech Hill Pond. "And it luncheon, dinner plates, and gives me something to do," says Rose, who acknowledges that she tends to be soup/cereal bowls. Available terribly fussy when it comes to prepar- in all of our patterns. We also ing her greens for sale. offer matching completer "Fussy!" Pat snorts. "She tells peo- ple they should be washed before cook- pieces. We represent over 400 ing, but she washes and rinses each batch American craftspeople. Come about a dozen times and then soaks 'em for hours. If you can find a piece of grass, visit our studio and retail grit, or a slug in one of those bags, I'll showroom on Route 1 in eat it!" Edgecomb - we're open from "Well, like I said," Rose demurs, "it gives me something to do." 9 to 6, seven days a week. Ask -Nan Lincoln about our wedding registry! SHEEPSCOT Betty's Blossom Jelly RIVER POTTERY Rinse about 11/2 quarts of blossoms in cold water and remove hulls SO petals fall apart. Boil petals in 2 quarts of Route 1, Edgecomb, ME 04556 Main St., Wiscasset, ME 04578 (207) 882-9410 / Outside Maine (800) 659-4794 water for about 5 minutes, then set aside to cool. Place clean cloth diaper or cheesecloth in colander over a large pot. When mixture is cool enough to handle, squeeze juices through cloth into pot. Bring to boil 3 cups of dandelion juice with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and a 13/4-ounce package of pectin. Add 51/2 cups of sugar, stirring constantly, and boil for another 21/2 minutes. Pour into jars and seal with paraffin when cool. Dandelion Wine While Pat Burns doesn't eat dandelions, she has fond memories of sipping the dandelion wine of her Town Hill neigh- bor, Christine Hamor, who gladly shared her potent recipe. 1 quart dandelion blossoms 4 quarts water 3 pounds sugar 1 pound raisins 2 oranges Big Sun Glow 2 20 94 2 lemons Eric Hopkins 1 yeast cake Pour boiling water over blossoms and let is Located at cool. Add sugar, lemons, and yeast and HOLLY HILL ERIC HOPKINS GALLERY let stand six weeks in a covered pot. Nobleboro, Me. GALLERY Strain and add one pound of raisins for 5 mi. So. of Waldoboro 3 mi. No. of Damariscotta HOPKINS WHARF NORTH HAVEN ME 04853 HOUSE each gallon of liquid. Let set until done 207 867 2229 On Coastal Route One open 10 am 5pm daily working (when liquid stops bubbling). 207.563.8598 Open Daily 10 am 5 pm Then pour into clean wine bottles and cork. (Do not do this before bubbling action stops, Mrs. Hamor warns, or bot- tles could explode.) 10 DOWN EAST