W.W.&F. Discussion Forum
WW&F Railway Museum Discussion => Whimsical Weirdness and Foolery => Topic started by: Russ Nelson on May 02, 2023, 09:44:05 AM
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I was adopted. My birth mother was born and raised in Madison ME. I have Maine relatives in Madison going back four generations, where my great-great-grandfather moved from Denmark.
My question is whether "Maineness" penetrates the adoption process? Am I a Maine Native by birth?
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Maine-ness is determined by two factors:
1. Use of the 207 area code (and more importantly, always omitting the area code when transcribing a phone number of a Mainer.)
2. Being able to comprehend and properly utilize Maine style wit, wordplay, and humor; while distinguishing it from outright sarcasm.
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One of humorist (and Maine native) Tim Sample's monologs addresses this: basically, if you were born in Maine, you are a Mainer. Doesn't matter if you were born in Maine and then left the state after 1 day never to return, you would be considered a Mainer. On the flip side, if you were NOT born in Maine, but spent the remainder of your life here, you are "from away".
By Tim's reckoning, Harry Percival Jr. (who was actually born in Florida) was not a Mainer. But you would never have been able to tell.
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On a slightly tangent topic, I have just recently read a transcription of a fascinating lecture regarding the construction of the "Downeast" persona over the past 2 centuries by folks "from away", how that persona essentially does not exist in reality, and how "Bert and I" is mostly nothing but slightly Maine-colored "just-so" stories. When I get home I will edit this with the name of the lecturer's name and the title of the lecture.
1. Use of the 207 area code (and more importantly, always omitting the area code when transcribing a phone number of a Mainer.)
We are really in for it, then, as 207 is approaching full capacity. Mandatory 10-digit overlay dialing is not gonna go over well. I've been through it once already in PA.
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My favorite tall tale for this one was this one:
A man whose family was from Fryeburg, ME was born over in North Conway, NH. He lived his whole life (90+ years) in Maine, never once setting foot in another state. When he died his obituary stated "He was almost a Mainer."
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1. Use of the 207 area code (and more importantly, always omitting the area code when transcribing a phone number of a Mainer.)
I have to actively remember to include "207" on my phone number when I call businesses that are out of state. They should just know!
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Interestingly enough, I found there's a neighborhood of Chicago, Maine township. Their school system number is 207.
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Tim Sample ALSO said:
"If my cat gave birth in the oven, I wouldn't call them "biscuits"! ;)
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I only lived up in Maine for a little over a year, but folks here at home called me a Mainer for a couple of years after because I still talked funny according to them. ;D
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Both my boys were born in Maine, and I had assumed that made them Mainers.
However, it was just around the time of Johnny’s birth that I first heard the adage ‘just because a cat has kittens in an oven, it doesn’t make them biscuits’.
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If that is the case Steve, none of us "Mainers" are Mainers. I was born here but my mom wasn't. Joe was born out of state while his sister was born here but their mom wasn't..
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I have always been told that to qualify as a “native Mainer” you had to be born in Maine and have “three generations in the cemetery”. Nowadays the definition of Mainer vs. Native Mainer has become so watered down that I’m not sure what a Mainer is. I do know that my family came to Maine in the mid 1600s from England and with 10 generations having been born here I feel safe to call myself a native Mainer. The trouble with that is that the family tree doesn’t have many branches! ;)
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Gee Dana,
I thought that to be called a "native Mainer" that you had to have a "Moose Calleur" in your family tree somewhere. ;D 8)
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I have far more than 3 generations in the cemetery on my father's side, and only 1 on my mother's side (Mom). Does that make me a half Mainer?
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James,
Not to be stickler for math, but here is your math problem. Native Mainer = 3 generations in the ground
That means 3 gen. from Dad and 3 gen. from Mom = 6 generations total
So for you, 3 gen. from Dad and 1 gen. from Mom = 4 generations total
So you are 4 gen family / 6 Native Mainer = 4/6 = 2/3 Native Mainer
Hope you got that ...................... There will be a quiz at the end of the day :o ;D 8)
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Now I have to chime in! It is my opinion that anyone born in Maine is a native. What else can they be called?
Anyone hearing my normal Maine accent would not question that I am a native. But the fact is, I was born in Brockton, MA two months early as my parents were passing through on their way home to Maine! I have lived in Maine ever since. I still consider myself a native but officially I guess I am not. Close enough for me!
Brian W.
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That three generation guideline only needs to apply to one side of the family. If you were born in Maine and your mother was not but your father’s family goes way back then you are a native Mainer. This is all based on what I have heard over the years and it gets complicated and the rule book is almost as thick as a railroad’s.
Now I’ll really stick my foot in it. One way I evaluate “native Maine-ness” (whatever that really is) is whether a person says “noth-eastah” or “nor’easter” when describing a northeast storm. I spent a lot
of time while growing up working with and listening to old time Maine folks and I never heard one use the latter term, always the former. No Mainer worth his salt would ever pronounce a letter r if they can avoid it. I also read a letter to the editor in Downeast magazine from the early 60’s in which an old fisherman said about the term “nor’easter”: “there is no such quadrant, it is ‘noth-east’.” So when I hear someone say “nor’easter” I always think they are likely “from away”.
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I'd say being born in Maine probably gives you some legit "Maineness" vibes, but I'm no expert. It's more about the culture you've been raised in, I guess.
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As you contemplate your place of origin, remember that Maine was once Massachusetts. I too recall the telling by Harry Percival of his having been born "from away" Phil Whitmore once called Harry a "flatlander" which didn't go over too well with Harry. Having spent several years in the 90's volunteering at Alna, I used to keep Edaville engineer Chuck Card entertained with stories of the Maine two-footers. Chuck said to me one day that he was quite envious of all that was going on up at Sheepscot, wishing he could be a part of it. Cranberry farming kept him from joining in. There was one night in the cab, when he told me that he once went clear over to the neighboring town of Middleboro. He was of course kidding me, but not by much.