Jon Reisman

Forty-one falls ago, my late wife Ern and I moved to Washington County when the University of Maine at Machias offered me a job. The move to Maine was a dream come true for both of us. We bought an unfinished house on Cathance Lake, raised two boys, and pursued our careers and dreams. Ern held a number of social service jobs, culminating in being the human resources VP for Down East Community Hospital. I never expected to leave. The election results shattered that conviction. 

The prospect of living in a sharply divided Shenna Bellows-led Maine that rejects secure elections and 2nd Amendment due process protections is deeply unappealing. Washington County’s vote against a bailout bond and in favor of insolvency and incoherence is understandable, but it suggests things will get substantially worse here before any improvement can be expected. 

Portions of my family are lobbying for relocation. I need at least a refocus. An unwillingness to lose the last physical reminders and memories of Ern is a powerful Downeast anchor, but not a sustainable one in the face of Maine political and economic divisions and realities. In recent months, I’ve been interacting with a fair number of the human resources my late wife was VP of, which complicates any relocation.

In the early sixties, my family summered on Long Lake in western Cumberland County. This Philadelphia boy learned to canoe and love Maine. I first visited Washington County in August 1969 on a weeklong St. Croix canoe trip from Vanceboro to Princeton. In the fall of 1973, I started college at Colby, where I met Ern, a Southern Maine (South Berwick) native. We were married in September 1979, and five years later, we settled in Cooper, where I have watched the sun rise and listened to loons ever since. 

It's time for a new chapter. I don’t know what my physical and mental health will allow, but I cannot and will not remain a grieving, dysfunctional hermit. The upcoming state and federal elections for Governor and Congress offer one immediate purpose/venue/opportunity. I am supporting Susan Collins and Paul LePage, and a Republican gubernatorial candidate to be named later. Whether my relocation/refocus is just out of Cooper and Washington County or out of Maine entirely remains to be determined — but it will and must be determined. I welcome whatever suggestions and advice my fellow citizens may have.

Jon Reisman is an economist and policy analyst who retired from the University of Maine at Machias after 38 years. He resides on Cathance Lake in Cooper, where he is a Statler and Waldorf intern. Mr. Reisman’s views are his own, and he welcomes comments as letters to the editor here or to him directly via email at [email protected].