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“Refreshing.” A Migis Hotel Group get together, and a neighborly visit from Kevin Hancock.

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Mary

You HAVE, I hope, made the mandatory trek to the top of Hacker’s Hill on Quaker Ridge while you are visiting Migis? Not to be missed, this Casco gem offers a 360 degree view of our immediate neighborhood, and towns, lakes, forest and mountains for miles around. In addition to the look at the surrounding beauty, this wonderful retreat gives those of us who work for you a sense of perspective.

Kevin Hancock

This week our third annual Migis Hotel Group meeting was held here, and our guest was Kevin Hancock, president of Maine’s Hancock Lumber. The similarities between our two businesses may not leap to mind instantly. We are selling hotel rooms and meals and relaxation; experiences, really. Hancock is selling wood products (Eastern White Pine in particular) and home improvements, tangible and solid. But another look, especially from atop Hacker’s Hill with all that forest and lake in view, brings to mind that we are all striving to bring you a bit of the essence of Maine…at Migis and our growing family of managed resort properties we seek to bring you a ‘natural, refreshing, peaceful, attentive, responsive, detailed, relationship oriented’ place to steal away to rest (thank you, Kevin!) for almost 100 years, while the Hancock family has been delivering a reliable and consistent product with most of the same qualities from their business (6 generations in the same family…wow) since 1848.

We strive, like the folks at Hancock, to be stewards in our area, because we are offering, after all, to showcase what was here long before we were; nature’s bounty in the forest, Sebago Lake, and the ocean, in all their constancy and change.

This year’s MHG Achievement Award winners exemplify the creativity, thought, devotion and dedication we seek to bring to our businesses. Familiar faces to many of you! Amy Kronenthal, Maddy Abbot, Joan LeClerc and Charity Catruch.

Amy, Maddy, Joan and Charity

We really enjoyed getting together with our co-workers, some new on board, and some going back almost thirty years! Happy to be back by the water, walking the property in the emerging greenery and welcome sunshine, having an excellent meal (and a few laughs!), participating in team building activities, sharpening our collective goals and the practices we bring to them…all with you and your Maine vacation experience as our common bond. Does it look like we enjoy our work?

ready for 2013!

no hiding!

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Have you made your 2013 reservation yet? It’s time!

Mary

Posted in Maine products, Migis Hotel Group | Tagged Black Point Inn, chef John Strain, Inn at Ocean's Edge, Maine family vacation, Maine vacation, Migis Lodge on Sebago Lake, Migis personalities, Sebago Lake waterfront, Sparhawk Oceanfront Resort, The Colonial Inn | Leave a comment

Migis Lodge on Sebago Lake is Spring cleaning!

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Mary

A new old photo found in a box; this is the corner where the tv is now, in the main lodge. One of the places we are cleaning up for you!

Migis lobby with stope pipe and Victrola in 1941

The forecast says we may reach 70 today, under overcast skies. Our annual rake week is under way; a crew of local guys and gals takes to the woods and paths and ‘streets’ of Migis and starts clearing away the detritus of a long Maine winter. All those shovels and rakes and arms working as a team make a lot of headway in just a few days. Yesterday I saw the first welcome glimpse of the familiar rake marks in the dirt, still gently frosted with a bit of snow. And initial sweeping of the single tennis court. How did they get around all those tennis balls!

Also armed with the tools of their trade, the housekeepers are venturing into your cottages and the main lodge this week, airing out and cleaning up. Mending, polishing, taking notes. Nice to have such a buzz of activity around here, and say hello to our co-workers.

Scott, generally feeding you breakfast or lunch cookouts, up on a ladder painting a bit of trim. Colby and Ian continuing wordworking projects, the Cry of the Loon receiving charming new items and stocking shelves as it starts its second quarter century!

In the winter office, we are stuffing and stamping our Spring Tonic envelopes. It’ll arrive in your mailbox soon. Hope you enjoy it and it whets your appetite for the upcoming season! And did you see that Guy and Tatiana are ready to start booking massages on line? See the link here at migis.com or on our Facebook page.

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Do you have YOUR reservation yet? 207-655-4524. Find your special…and CLEAN!…place.

Mary

note: Today is a day when many of us are following Twitter feeds, news channels, Facebook posts…..we are monitoring news in our corner of the country, and going about the gratifyingly soothing aspects of our daily tasks, including being in touch with you all.

Posted in Migis activities, spring cleanup | Tagged Maine family vacation, Migis driveway, migis lodge, Migis rake week, Migis view, Sebago Lake waterfront, Spring Tonic | Leave a comment

History Lesson 101; George Crockett, Mabel, Sherm and Migis.

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Mary

Mary and George, January 2013

Can you believe it? George wondered what he might have to say of interest to me about Migis! I mean, can you believe it? Well, recently he agreed to sit down with me and do a bit of reminiscing. We surrounded ourselves with photo albums and shoeboxes and an iPad loaded with slides and had a lovely time. I myself recall not so long ago when Mabel, George’s mother, came to lunch at Migis from time to time with a guest who had become an old friend. Mabel lived to be 105! And, ever the gracious innkeeper, she would inquire after my children when she was sitting out on the terrace……”Well, of course I remember you, Mary. How are those lovely boys of yours?”

Mabel Crockett

Migis is currently operated by just the third family in its history. The Portas took over from the Crocketts in 1968 and they had been here since the 40s. Just a FEW of the tidbits from George…

When Mabel and Sherm bought Migis Lodge from the Gulick family in 1943, they went right to work building. Are you a fan of Stone’s Throw cottage? Here it is, fresh and new in 1944, and again in fall 2009.

Stone’s Throw 1944

Stone’s Throw 2009

Firefly, Northstar, Whippoorwill, White Pine, Raven, Moonrise and Southwind were the originals, in addition to Green Camp which is now Gray Gull. See that glimpse, on the left? Southwind was one storey, then. George surmises that Cedar was built at a separate time, before the Crocketts but after the original set. It is quite different than the rest.

Coves I and II were built “for the Scammons and Deets”. “They enjoyed travelling together and liked the idea of a duplex.”

They built Pinetops and Cobblestone; Cobblestone has a number of cobblestones salvaged from the streets of Portland. (Have you seen the cobblestones that peek through the tarmac in the streets of the Old Port?). They built Daybreak. George built “Radar Ridge” and lived there himself. Sherm and Mabel lived in a room in the Lodge, then built Topside and lived there, then (eventually) Shadow Knoll, now gone.

Migis Map, about 1943

1943 was not their first experience with Migis. In the 20s, Sherm Crockett and another fellow ran a base camp at Mount Washington. Local camps would deliver children there for several days, and he and his friend would guide the kids up. (And they bet each other about who could get to the top in the best time on their days off. Wow!)

One of those camps was our neighbor Camp Wohelo, and Sherm wound up teaching horseback riding at Wohelo in the mid 20s. George says his dad always had horses somewhere. Mabel visited the Sebago Lake area during this time, too and after they married in Boston the senior Crocketts managed Camp Timanous in 1929, 1930. They returned with their growing family in the mid 40s with encouragement from Harold Severance in Lovell, and worked at Spruce Fall Lodge in Boothbay along the way.

Do you have a letter from us confirming your reservation for this year? Not so different from this; I have the original that Mrs. Joan Brown sent. This letter confirmed their honeymoon stay and she sent it along to our office 56 years later thanking Migis for ‘giving us a great start to our long and happy life together’.

June 1945 confirmation letter

Sherm and Mabel had a nice hand with a letter. I wonder where the typewriter went? We might still have some 3 cent stamps in a drawer.

1945 envelope

Another Portland note; the Crocketts made daily truck drives (where, oh where are the photos?) to Portland for supplies and kitchen stores. Sometimes (remember the dates and WWII) they shopped with their guests’ ration stamps; vacationers were expected to carry them to their destinations. It sometimes took visits to 3 or 4 vendors just to buy butter and meat and Migis then, as now, was full American plan, serving three meals daily so that was quite a job. They shopped at Hannaford (then a wholesaler) and AR Bishop, and Carr Brothers.

dining room

They added shuffleboard to the activities which resulted in that favorite sign of mine. I wonder if they hid the sticks during cookout meals!

This is just a sample of George’s recollections…..more to come about staff, buffets, waterskiing and so many things that were Migis Lodge, and still are. Hope you enjoy these looks back! Do let me know! And don’t forget to like us on Facebook, share about us on TripAdvisor and make sure you are confirmed for the 2013 season! 207-655-4524.

Mary

Posted in all inclusive resorts, Migis memories | Tagged Maine family vacation, Maine vacation, migis lodge, Migis memories, Migis personalities, Sebago Lake waterfront, waterfront lodge Maine | Leave a comment

Inch by inch and stone by stone, a fieldstone fireplace rises along Sebago Lake.

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Mary

Cove II 2011

Bag balm. That’s what John Lord uses on his hands after a long day on the job. Rolling, lifting, evaluating, comparing colors, shapes, sizes, corners….is it square, round? What they call a ’round rectangle’?

This work is some kinda hard, repetitious and often tedious. But think! To actually be creating the ‘hearthstone’ of a home. To be carefully crafting a ‘close join’! It is a calling, an art, in a world of hurry and virtual and temporary and sometimes not quite there. The very thought of a fireplace, of resting near it, moving now and then to throw another log on; well, it chases away the dark, the cold, the isolated. It draws us in.

John Lord and his crew have been building fireplaces and foundations at Migis Lodge for the better part of thirty years. He let me hang around for a while recently (maybe next time he’ll let me mortar and fit a stone!). I learned about cement and jointers and shallow fireboxes and angles and storms and throats, and a long ago Count Rumford. What it takes to get the desired result of smoke up the chimney, and the heat into the room.

I know many of you have spent hours unwinding in front of their work, reading stories, raising glasses, feeding babies, dozing off. Watch this little bit (not so little!) today, and join us again down the road, for more photos and a look inside the working world of a Maine mason.

We surely have a beautiful Maine fireplace waiting for you. And beds and porches and meals and a lake……..

Call 207-655-4524. Time to make your reservation!

Posted in Maine family resorts, Maine products, Uncategorized | Tagged fieldstone fireplaces, Maine family vacation, Maine fireplaces, mason John Lord, Migis fireplaces, waterfront lodge Maine | Leave a comment

At your service, at Migis Lodge on Sebago Lake

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Mary

Sarah and Scott attended a seminar recently about employment and we all got a laugh out of the title; “Maine’s Three Seasons: Winter, August and Hiring.” Now we, of course, have some year round staff and others who come on in May and stay right through fall, and the remainder a briefer period.

It is true that there is nothing new under the sun! We are in the thick of our hiring for summer and, in fact, have several departments filled already. It’s exciting having old friends return, eager teenagers seek first jobs, and worldly college students fill their summers with service and swimming. This has been going on for the better part of a century in this neighborhood. Witness this letter, 1926, from Sherman Crockett to Camp Wohelo founder Hiiteni (Dottie Gulick) long ago. Sherm later owned Migis Lodge, of course, from 1945 to 1968 when he and Mabel sold to the Portas. Listen to this eager young man.

Do you have a job for me?

“January 18, 1926

Mrs. Luther Gulick
High St.
Portland, Me.

Dear Mrs. Gulick:

Last summer I met you at Kineo Mountain Camp in Gorham, N.H. At that time you spoke of being interested in obtaining the services of some young man to help you with your buying.

I am a Junior at Boston University, and very much interested in hotel and camp work. My courses at college have given me a fair knowledge of managerial methods and problems. Five years employment in the commissary department at Kineo have given me a practical knowledge of camp buying and cuisine.

I would like to arrange a personal interview at your convenience.

Yours truly,

Sherman Crockett”

And that’s how Mr. Crockett started his journey (and ours) at Migis Lodge! Sarah came to us via a college job fair. Scott, through camp. Mary came to Migis to visit in 1987 and she’s still here. Amy? Guest (with her parents and grandparents) turned Migis staff turned administrator. Tim came and worked for his father, and Joan was a guest when she met Tim. So many roads, so many stories!

In 2012 we had 105 on payroll over the course of ’the season’. Some are fall only, coming from summer camps where children have had them running all summer so they are ready for the luminous sunsets and relaxed pace of fall at Migis. Some are here all the way from May through closing, some the short-ish summer only, then returning to college. Six last year were international travelers, students on J1 visas who came to the lake for a while. Three were from Poland, two from Bulgaria and one from the UK; they finish up three months work here then travel about for a month before returning overseas. They seem to favor, for visits, New York, Washington DC, Walt Disney World, and Hollywood! We housed 38 of our staff here last season, so the balance live in the area. More than half are in high school or college, and quite a few develop an interest in the hospitality field while here. This year we have a fellow arriving from China!

And of course our stalwart dozen or so year rounders…………..planning ahead, taking your reservations, improving our physical plant, continuing to maintain and improve the Migis Lodge that we all cherish.

Here’s a look at some of us…and some of you!…through the years. And we are here at 207-655-4524, still taking reservations, and still filling some job openings (dining room, a bit of culinary..and don’t forget our sister properties) for 2013! Call, or visit the employment page on our website. And I’m always up for stories about your working days here!

Mary

PS The pretty little Play version of this YouTube video is stumbling, but double click here for some fun pix! I think you’ll enjoy it. Let me know!

Meanwhile, I’ll try to fix it.

4/1/13 Fixed!!

Posted in all inclusive resorts, Maine family resorts | Tagged Migis memories, Migis personalities | Leave a comment

Vernal Equinox 2013 at Migis Lodge on Sebago Lake

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Mary

I briefly considered settling myself on the main dock at Migis Lodge at 7:02 am Wednesday, the moment when spring arrived. What better place could there be?

Oh, yes. We’re still here!

Then, I reconsidered. Will it be plowed yet, after Tuesday’s nor’easter? Will the guys be there yet? Will the sun be over that part of the lake yet? I believe I’ll wait a little while.

It was worth the wait. I drove in slowly, enjoying the field on the left. If I lower my eyelids halfway, I can see the kids running around, with giant bubble wands and butterfly catchers. But, not today. Not today.

I ran into Colby on campus; nice signs, Colb!

Colby Cups

Then, a peek inside Boulders, where The Sign just got a touchup. Love that gold leaf. The sign doesn’t look quite this big when it’s hanging, does it?

The Sign

more new signs

shop

And, the shop. More signs! Love the shop. Everything so organized, industrious looking.

Now, a sunny stroll. Join me?

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We have some great space available in early July. Give us a call at 207-655-4524. And rest assured; you’ll be able to leave your winter coats at home.

Mary

Posted in all inclusive resorts, Migis Scenery, Sebago Lake Area | Tagged Lakes Region, Maine Lakes Region, Migis driveway, Sebago Lake region, vernal equinox at Migis Lodge, winter at Migis Lodge | Leave a comment

Lobster feasting at Migis Lodge. When, what and how!

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Mary

a grassy carpet underfoot

path to cookout

1) When? Friday nights, into September, as long as the sunlight holds up. We love our lobster bakes. The crunchy path underfoot, giving way to a carpet of grass. Swaying tablecloths, delicious bites near the tennis courts. Cartwheeling children making way for Sophie. Fashionistas comparing foolish to grand lobster wear. Family group photos (what Tim calls MFFs; mandatory family fotos!), sometimes difficult to herd but treasured after the fact. Skeptical faces transforming to pleased at their first taste of Maine lobster. Pearly light fading away over the lake.

perfect pants

sequined lobster!

2) What? They are boiled, actually, not baked along the ocean shore, but we love them served this way, steamy and dripping. Keeping them company, of course, steamed clams, corn bread, New England clam chowder, corn on the cob, barbeque ribs, chicken, red potatoes……..oh, please, can it be summer now? Breads, salads (love that tomato, avocado and watermelon; did you get the recipe not long ago?), desserts….

3) How? Well, Migis guests know when to stroll down, and to resist afternoon snacks and maintain a hearty appetite. And, don’t say no to the bib when it’s offered! Trying to eat lobster and be careful? Well, it’s just not as fun that way. So let go and dig in, and don’t spoil your nice shirt. Accept the bib, then indulge with your fingers. We will do some of the work for you, of opening up that crustacean, so you won’t need to bring a hammer to dinner.

Tie one on!

anticipation

We’ve had some funny questions, lobster related, through the years. Yes, we are Migis Lodge on Sebago Lake, but lobsters don’t live there; they are delivered to our kitchen each morning fresh and cold from their ocean home. (See earlier blog about Dave McVane, who has been supplying us for over fifty years!) And the finger bowls we sometimes offer? They are for cleansing, not sipping.

There is (of course!) an APP for that now; search Maine Lobster in the app store for your phone or other iDevice. Free how-tos, recipes, stories…………..fun!

Of course, as a Migis guest, lobster is available to you every night at dinner, not just on Friday night. It is, however, a special time of day out there when we have the weekly feast to celebrate Maine’s favorite meal. What are you waiting for? Come join us! 207-655-4524

Mary

Dave MacVane, legendary lobsterman

And to get to know Dave’s story a bit more, see December 2011′s From the Cold Atlantic to Migis Lodge.

Posted in Food and Drink, Maine family resorts | Tagged dining al fresco, Lakes Region, Maine family vacation, Maine lobster, Migis personalities, Sebago Lake dining, Sebago Lake lobster bake, Sebago Lake waterfront | Leave a comment

Open those Migis doors. Think of the possibilities!

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Mary

repurposed windows in Daybreak

I was in Daybreak at Migis Lodge the other day, and looked up over the bed, to those interior windows. Boy, I love those details. Daybreak was remodeled about four years ago and Colby, Adam and Ian ‘repurposed’ a couple of the pocket windows, installing them way up high. They contribute light, air…..and memories for those who have retreated to Daybreak over the years.

When I take that turn off 302, and turn onto the Migis drive, I feel a pleasant surge of possibility, of adventures and pleasures to come. I appreciate the bumps in the driveway. They make me slow down, smell the roses–oops, pines!–and know where I am, and what I can look forward to.

So, the Daybreak windows overhead got me thinking about windows in general, and then even more about doors. There are windows and doors all over Migis Lodge that open onto so many places….the playhouses, the dining room, the old phone booths, the cottages. There are sliding doors and swinging doors and heavy doors and screen doors. Does any sound more poignantly evoke summer than a slamming screen door? There are even a couple of doors with round wooden knobs lifting a crossbar that I am going to hunt down this week. These are old friends that stay around; with all the remodeling we do year to year, we treasure and keep and reuse as much as possible, to retain what we cherish. So here are a few. Which make your heart beat a little faster, in anticipation of rest, of play, of a wonderful meal, of a massage, of warmth, of company, of refuge? Leave us a note…or come thumbtack it to your favorite door!

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Here are the first and last verses of a little poem.

The Door

by Charles Tomlinson

Too little
has been said
of the door, its one
face turned to the night’s
downpour and its other
to the shift and glisten of firelight.

For doors
are both frame and monument
to our spent time,
and too little
has been said
of our coming through and leaving by them.

from Selected Poems 1955-97

We are currently accepting reservations for the upcoming season. This year’s social season starts June 16 and we say goodbye October 15. Come choose a door and make it a bit of your own!

207-655-4524

migis@migis.com

Mary

Posted in all inclusive resorts | Tagged all inclusive Maine resorts, Maine family vacation, Maine vacation, Migis driveway, migis lodge, Sebago Lake waterfront, waterfront lodge Maine | 1 Comment

March at Migis Lodge, and out on the town in Portland.

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Mary

Do you recognize this lobster boat? Our own Dave MacVane’s.

We have to wait until June for our favorite dining experience, right here by Sebago Lake at Migis, so we are out and about in pursuit of other Maine culinary delights. And there are many! We are pleased to support other independent, locally owned businesses that care about the same quality, freshness and service that we do.

A quick survey this morning of some of my colleagues reveals these favorites in Portland, Maine’s largest city.

This is a great week to explore these places if you are near us, as we celebrate the 5th annual Maine Restaurant Week.

March is so tantalizingly close to April when the tulips will start emerging, the ice will go out on the lake, and we will happily step into our mud boots. And while you look over some of Portland’s dining opportunities this week, give us a call at 207-655-4524 and reserve a table for yourself at Migis later this season. We look forward to seeing you in our very favorite dining room of all. Migis Lodge dining roomMigis Lodge dining room

Mary

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More from the Migis bakeshop. Charity shares a recipe!

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Mary

It’s always great to hear from Charity, as we know delicious treats won’t be far behind. She sends this along, she says, “To pay tribute to the Blizzard of 2013″! We had a record breaking snow here January 9 and 10, so really need to build up our strength with these, in anticipation of snowfalls yet to come.

While we’re at it, a few photos from Ian, who took these during the storm. Thanks, Ian! Did you plow with one hand and shoot pix with the other?

Snowball CookiesSnowball Cookies

Nor’easter Snowball cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups finely chopped pecans

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup unsalted butter softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

Powdered sugar

Directions

Heat oven to 325°F. Combine all ingredients except powdered sugar in large bowl. Beat at low speed, scraping bowl occasionally, until well mixed.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place 1 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 18-25 minutes or until very lightly browned. Cool 5 minutes; roll in powdered sugar while still warm and again when cool.

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