July 12, Saturday – Americana

Gotta move if I’m gonna make the parade!! Off the beaten path of Interstate 95 is a small town called Lisbon Falls, Maine (I-95 is to the east coast as is I-5 is to the west coast and Lisbon Falls and Sedro Woolley, Washington could be sister cities.) Lisbon Falls is the home of a non-alcoholic homebrew called Moxie that made good. As a boy I would hear my Dad say, “I haven’t any Moxie.” Meaning no energy versus “I’ve got Moxie!” fired up. All of this came from the bitter-sweet soda’s ads that covered the east coast for seventy five years. Ad campaigns; think “Got Milk?” “Where’s the beef.” “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.” Include “I’ve got Moxie.” Moxie is made in Lisbon Falls and the 25th Moxie Festival Parade was one not to be missed. I got my place on the sidewalk and set up my camp chair. I was ready. The crowds were a sea of bodies in orange Moxie T-shirts. The parade was an hour long with every walk of life: organizations, political group, classic car, dirt bike riding, ATV families, Shriners performing every stupid stunt a person could think of –drill teams on every miniature machine every made; clowns, kops, hobos… Take these guys out of the parade and it would be only 15 minutes long. A tandem bike with a 91 year old woman as the stoker. And of course the Moxie mob rivaling the Shriners. Tucked in between horses and the fire trucks was a flat bed trailer with the Split Feather Singers of the Mi’ kmaq (MICK mac) Tribe . A small sign hung off the trailer “Spirit of the Wolf Pow Wow behind Lisbon High School” This whole atmosphere was a photographer’s paradise. I went nuts. See Photo Link here.
At noon I moseyed over to the school for the pow wow and was offered a spot of shade under a member’s canopy. Here I hung out and watched how pow wows are done in Maine. I can report that they are pretty much the same as done in the Swinomish Tribe in La Conner. The plains Indian dress is standard regalia; Grand Enter, Intertribal Welcome Dance, Veterans’ Dance. Then more dancing honoring newborns. And Switch Dances, Sneak ups, Fancy Dancing. The singing was provided by three different singing groups. It was like being home. I imagine that you have to be around awhile before the local traditions would be found. Swinomish have the sweat lodges and long houses with ceremonies using a small drum and dress of cedar bark clothes and hats. Usually not publicized and a every different practice than found in the pow wows based on the central part of the US.
Because I live on an Indian Reservation and know some of the issues confronting the local tribes, I was curious to talk to my host about the tribal issues were in coastal Maine. Pretty much the same as on the west coast; treaty rights and questionable land ownership. I also like cruising the venders’ row to see what’s for sale. I bought a cool decal with a peregrine falcon head inside a feathered hoop. It now adorns my front door on
Snee-Oosh.
In the late afternoon I went back to Bradbury Mtn. State Park for supper and since I was on an Americana roll I went to “hit the cycle” (No, I’m not a baseball fan nor a Red Sox’, fan) by going into Freeport for the Summer Concert with country singer Kathy Mattea. She mentioned the Appalachian singer Jean Richie and Hazard, Kentucky and again I knew I was home.