On the road in Lincoln County

By Willy Ritch on January 19, 2008 7:23 PM

9:00 am -- Dick Snyder and Kit Sherrill pulled up to Wen's Diner in Boothbay Harbor at exactly the same moment that Chellie and I arrived. Together we planted ourselves at a table by the door and ordered coffee all around. Chellie chatted with patrons as the Saturday morning crowd wandered in and out while Dick and Kit gave Chellie a rundown on the growing number of Democrats in their town of Southport. Dick said he knows a guy in Southport who was one of only seven enrolled Democrats in town at one time.

9:45 am -- The East Boothbay General Store was next, where we caught up with State Rep. Bruce MacDonald and his wife Georgia Ireland. Everyone was pretty impressed with the job Dominic and Liz Poochee have done with the store in the year since they bought it. The little kitchen out back pumps out a generous supply of incredible muffins and other delights, and after listening to Dominic describe the lengthy testing process they went through before perfecting their pizza dough, I suspect it would be a great place to stop for a slice.

Dominic and Liz had a lot to offer -- Dominic talked about the growing boat building industry in the region and Liz and Chellie talked about the challenges of running a small business. It was something Chellie could definitely relate to, since she has started and run several small businesses.

10:15 -- The Boothbay Y was hopping, when we stopped in there to talk to folks coming in for a basketball game or picking up kids after swimming lessons. A local lobsterman had a lot to say about the state of the fishing industry and what constitutes sensible federal regulation. Again, it was familiar territory for Chellie, having worked as a sternman on a lobster boat herself.

11:00 am -- Late morning brought Chellie to the Skidompha Library in Damariscotta, where several dozen volunteers and supporters had gathered to talk about issues. Because this was a fairly political crowd, they also wanted to discuss the ins and outs of the campaign. Jenny Mayher and Mary McPherson did a great job putting this event together, and many people left with nominating petitions to collect signatures in their town to put Chellie's name on the ballot.

1:00 PM -- Lunch was at Barb Burt's house, who not only does a fabulous job as the director of online communications on the campaign, but also can lay out a pretty good spread for a big group of people. The crowd around the table was made up of Maine bloggers and journalists. My favorite part was when we went around the table and everyone said what they did. Somewhat shly, Nick Von Hoffman of Tenants Harbor described himself as simply "a writer." Someone had to drag it out of him that he actually writes for the Nation and used to write for the Washington Post and has a regular column in the New York Observer. Not to mention that he has a dozen books to his name. "But I don't have a blog," he said. "Yeah," said someone else, "you've got a publisher."

Chellie was pretty charged when we left Barb's house. The conversation had been free-flowing and wide ranging. It was the kind of dialog -- about important and controversial issues -- that is really quite stimulating. Chellie really enjoys getting her teeth deep into these policy issues and hearing different perspectives - of which there was not shortage in that group.

3:00 PM -- The day wound down around the big table at Treats in Wiscasset. I must admit a certain bias here -- I'm a big fan of Treats. There is nothing I like more than camping out at that table with a cup of coffee and visiting with Sue Lieter or Ryan and Stacy Linehan.

That afternoon the table was crowded with people from the Wiscasset area. One of the big topics was the role of America abroad and how badly our worldwide reputation has been damaged. It was an appropriate topic with Bruce and Suzy Steadman at the table, since Bruce was a former Under Secretary General of the UN and apparently knows a thing or two about international relations, and Suzy worked for the Ford Foundation in Africa.

At some point during the day, while we were driving from one event to another, the phone rang in the car. It was my 12-year-old daughter Sally asking whose pickup truck was in the driveway. When I told her that it was Chellie's, because she had met me there and we drove to Boothbay in my car, Sally said "Chellie Pingree was here?" Sally loves politics and is a big Hillary Clinton fan (my other daughter loves Obama, so it's a good mix) and I think she puts Chellie and Hillary in the same "famous politician" category. Except that I don't think Hillary was ever a sternman. That's my guess, anyway.

Click to see a slideshow of the day.