The walkable trail marks 13 sites on the Portland peninsula, from the Old Port to Munjoy Hill, that were important to the Black experience in Maine and the anti-slavery movement nationwide.
Ray Routhier
Staff Writer
Ray Routhier has written about pop culture, movies, TV, music and lifestyle trends for the Portland Press Herald since 1993. He is continually fascinated with stories that show the unique character of Maine’s people and places. He’s written about why so many businesses use the made-up word “Mainely” in their names, how you can trace Portland’s history through its various smells and why Mainers lament the loss of Portland-made B&M baked beans. He’s interviewed a wide variety of filmmakers, actors, musicians and authors, including Patrick Dempsey, Tony Shalhoub, Richard Russo, Tess Gerritsen, Tony Bennett, Anna Kendrick, and Stephen King. His passions, besides writing, include baseball history, old movies and “Jeopardy!” A native of Manchester, New Hampshire, he graduated with a degree in political science from the University of New Hampshire. He lives in South Portland with his wife and two children.
Eat & Run: Sandwiches stand out at Baker’s Bench in Westbrook
The bakery’s fresh breads help make their breakfast and lunchtime sandwiches something special.
Maine author weaves stories from 36 big-name writers into ‘Fourteen Days’
Douglas Preston took work contributed by Tess Gerritsen, John Grisham, Scott Turow, Margaret Atwood and many others to create a single story, set on the rooftop of a Manhattan tenement during the pandemic.
This Maine actor is on screen now in 2 Oscar-nominated films
Dustin Tucker, who also is starring in a Good Theater play, has a small role as a teacher in ‘The Holdovers’ and a memorable scene in ‘American Fiction.’
Early uses of color printing come into focus at Osher Map Library
‘A Pageant of Spectacles: Chromolithography in America’ is on view in Portland through June 29.
How a note in an antique dress from Searsport created a sensation
A 19th century bustle dress bought in Searsport a decade ago made national news last week, after a researcher decoded an old telegraph message found inside it.
Dining room, lounge or igloo? More restaurants are offering the outdoor dining option
A COVID trend continues to grow, as some diners still want to stay out of crowds and others find eating in an igloo on a winter’s night is just little more fun.
Dining room, lounge or igloo? More Maine restaurants are offering the option in winter
As a COVID trend continues to grow, some diners still want to stay out of crowds, and others find eating in an igloo on a winter’s night is just little more fun.
Community hopes opera house will take center stage in Norway once again
The Norway Opera House has been quiet for some 40 years, but more than $1.7 million in federal money is earmarked for its renovation and revival.
Marty Engstrom, Maine’s reluctant celebrity TV weatherman, dies at 86
Known as ‘Marty on the Mountain,’ he was trained as a broadcast engineer but gave weather reports from the top of Mount Washington for WMTW for 38 years.