Maine
Hometowns
Ocean Park, ME
Established in 1881, Ocean Park is a unique seaside community on the southern coast of Maine that was founded as a Methodist summer camp and religious retreat during the height of the nineteenth-century camp meeting movement. Created by the Ocean Park Association, the community was designed as a place where families could escape the growing industrial cities, enjoy the fresh sea air, and combine recreation with spiritual renewal. While many similar camp meeting communities gradually disappeared or evolved into conventional resort towns, Ocean Park has retained much of its original character and continues to be guided by the principles upon which it was founded. Centered around its historic Temple, broad village green, and tree-lined streets of cottages, Ocean Park developed into a close-knit seasonal community where education, music, worship, and family life have remained central traditions for well over a century. Unlike many coastal destinations that grew primarily around commerce or tourism, Ocean Park has always emphasized community, simplicity, and the natural beauty of the Maine coast. Today, its carefully preserved cottages, welcoming public spaces, and enduring traditions make it one of New England's most distinctive historic summer communities, offering visitors a glimpse into an era when the seaside was valued as much for reflection and fellowship as it was for recreation.
York, ME
Although I grew up in Concord, New Hampshire, another place became just as much a part of my childhood: York, Maine. From the late 1950s onward, my parents owned a cottage on York Beach, and every summer we made the familiar drive to the Maine coast. Long before I appreciated the town's history, I knew it through family traditions: walks along the beach, evenings by the ocean, visits to Short Sands, and the excitement that came with returning year after year. York became more than a vacation destination; it became a second hometown filled with some of my happiest childhood memories. York is one of the oldest English settlements in the United States. Originally inhabited by the Abenaki people, the area was settled by Europeans in 1624 and became the Province of Maine's first chartered town in 1652. During the colonial period, York stood on the frontier of New England, enduring conflicts between English settlers and Native Americans, devastating raids during King William's War, and the hardships that accompanied life in a growing colony. Despite these challenges, the community endured and gradually evolved from a colonial outpost into one of New England's most cherished seaside towns. The town preserves an extraordinary collection of historic landmarks that tell the story of nearly four centuries of American history. From the elegant homes of the Colonial Revival era to the remarkable buildings of the Museums of Old York, York offers visitors the opportunity to walk through the many chapters of its past. Cape Neddick's iconic Nubble Lighthouse has guided mariners since 1879, while York Harbor and York Beach remind visitors that the sea has always shaped the town's economy, culture, and identity. For me, however, York has always been more than its history. It is a place where family memories were made over decades. Returning each summer created a rhythm that became part of our lives, and many of my earliest recollections are tied to the sights and sounds of the Maine coast. Looking back, I realize that York helped shape my understanding of home. It taught me that home is not always defined by where you live year-round. Sometimes it is the place where your family gathers, where traditions are repeated, and where each return feels less like a vacation and more like coming back to a place that has quietly become part of who you are.
