Willard Wight is an original. Willard once told a reporter, “I sharpened my teeth on a coal shovel.” Willard learned the value of hard work as a youngster working alongside his grandfather Pearl Glover Willey at the Camden “P. G. Willey” family business founded in 1899.  At that time, PG Willey supplied coal to heat buildings and to fuel the steamboats that came to Camden harbor. Over his many years as part of Camden, Willard showed us how to redefine the possible and in doing so helped make Camden a better community.

On Monday, October 12, 2015, The Chris Wolf Show hosted Willard Wight. The show was broadcast on WRFR Community Radio, Channel 7 Maine Coast TV, and streamed live on www.mainecoast.tv/streaming, 7:00-8:00 a.m.  

Willard has thousands of interesting stories about Camden’s past. This show is very special!

Willard was in college studying boat design when his grandfather died in 1949. He returned home to help his grandmother and mother run the family business.

Not only did the young man help his family manage the family business and navigate the ever changing fuel industry, Willard embarked on a lifetime of community service. He joined the Camden Rotary Club, taking his grandfather’s spot when he was only 20 years old, and remains an active member today.

With a business located on the harbor, Willard couldn’t help but be an avid sailor and an active steward of Camden harbor. He’s been a director of the Camden Yacht Club and served as a member and Chair of the Town’s Harbor Committee for 40 years. Willard was a visionary and realized the importance of the harbor to the local economy and the town’s future. In addition to running the family fuel business, he started renting small sail boats and had a small fleet of daysailers.

In time the PG Willey wharf welcomed some of the largest yachts that came to Maine including those of Malcolm Forbes and Willard’s good friend broadcast journalist Walter Cronkite.

When he saw that Camden needed a community boat launch, Willard worked with a group of business people to form the Camden Launching and Chowder Society. The group got its name because it held fish chowder suppers at the Snow Bowl to raise money for the boat launch. They were successful and later turned Steamboat landing over to the Town.

In the 1970s, lighthouses along the Maine coast were being automated including the Curtis Island light house. In 1973 when Curtis Island was put on the federal government’s surplus property list, the Town acted to acquire the island to make it a public park. In 1976 Willard and his wife Janet became the first volunteer caretakers of Curtis Island.

Willard’s community service and vision stretched far beyond the harbor. He was instrumental in accomplishing something that some people said couldn’t be done. Willard spearheaded the effort to convince the State Legislature to build a road to the summit of Mt. Battie. After nearly a decade of persistence, the road officially opened in June 1965, making it possible for thousands of people to drive to top of Mt. Battie and enjoy the spectacular panoramic view of Camden Harbor and Penobscot Bay.

In 2015, the Town of Camden Annual Report was dedicated to Willard Wight.

Anyone who ever thought orthodontists weren’t fun hasn’t met Dr. Doug Laliberte.

On Monday, October 5, 2015, The Chris Wolf Show hosted Douglas Laliberte of Granite Orthodontics, Rockport, Maine. The show was broadcast on WRFR Community Radio, Channel 7 Maine Coast TV, and streamed live on www.mainecoast.tv/streaming.

Brace yourself for a great show which is about orthodontics and teeth. Orthodontics is for all ages…not just children. But even if you have straight teeth, this show is great entertainment.

Dr. Doug grew up in Winslow, Maine in a supportive family who helped him to be very involved in the local community. With a father as a dentist, and assisting in his practice, he always had an interest in dentistry. Dr. Laliberte attended Colby College, in Waterville, ME, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Policy, cum Laude. He continued on to dental school at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, earning his Doctorate of Dental Medicine (D.M.D.), Summa cum Laude.

Dr. Doug’s commitment to the community is evident through his compassionate approach to serving those in need. He has been involved in Bridge Over Troubled Water Volunteer Dental Services, traveled with Cape Cares Dental Mission to Honduras, and volunteered for the Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope and Healing. Dr. Doug is very excited to call Midcoast Maine his home and has become involved in the Lobster Festival and Chamber of Commerce. He truly enjoys giving back to our community. Granite Coast makes several donations for local auctions to benefit worthy causes, and sponsors all the local Little Leagues and Rockland Recreation programs.

The show on Friday, October 2, 2015 hosted Brian Wickenden, Senior Vice President of Legacy Properties Sotheby’s International Realty in Camden.

The show should be of interest to anyone in the area currently or in the future buying or selling a house or other property. The show was broadcast on WRFR Community Radio, Channel 7 Maine Coast TV, and streamed live on www.mainecoast.tv/streaming.

The Midcoast Maine area is very unique and the nature of property sales is different from other parts of the country for many reasons. Chris and Brian discuss what’s currently happening in the local market and where the trends are going out to the future.

Brian grew up in Camden and moved here with his family in 1975. He’s spent most of his lifetime in Camden and the surrounding area which gives him a local knowledge of the mid-coast that helps provide an excellent real estate experience for his clients.

Brian graduated from Camden-Rockport High School, Davidson College, and Wake Forest University Graduate School of Management where he earned an master’s degree in marketing and entrepreneurship. In addition to real estate, he’s worked with General Electric, Maine Coast Heritage Trust, ALK Technologies, and Improvenow.com, an Internet start-up company based in Camden.

He’s been a fulltime Broker/Realtor since 2009. He is an avid golfer, skier, and fly fisherman and he currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Georges River chapter of Trout Unlimited, and is the immediate past President of the Mid-Coast Board of Realtors®. His wife Moon and Brian live in Camden with daughters Isabella and Sophia.

Chris Wolf hosts Joe Steinberger, founder of WRFR the community FM radio station in Rockland, Maine. WRFR is also one of the co-producers of The Chris Wolf Show, in conjunction with Maine Coast TV and penbaypilot.com.

Joe is also a retired attorney from Rockland as well as the founder of The Old School in Rockland. See www.oldschoolrockland,org.

The Old School mission is to create tuition-free collaborative learning opportunities in the Rockland/Camden area.

Their premise is that everyone has something to learn and everyone has something to teach. Old School Fellows teach each other and learn from each other, benefit mutually, and together contribute to the advance of civilization.

Joe and Chris discuss The Old School and a variety of other interesting local topics.

On the Monday, September 28, The Chris Wolf Show hosted Morgan Urquia, of the Alford Lake Camp in Hope, Maine with story and amazing pictures of a special trip she and 12 girls from the camp took in the French Alps. The show was broadcast on WRFR Community Radio, Channel 7 Maine Coast TV, and streamed live on www.mainecoast.tv/streaming.

In Morgan’s own words:

“For 5 weeks, myself, my female co-leaders, and twelve amazing young women from Alford Lake Camp made our way from Hope, Maine to the Provence region of France, to Chamonix, and then to the nearly 200-mile hike around Mont Blanc with just our packs and some wonderful French, Italian, and Swiss hospitality and cooking.

“These girls had written letters to our directors at Alford Lake Camp (ALC) in Fall 2014 and spent their winters anticipating and imagining what 5 weeks away from home, in a different country, with few amenities; I was just lucky enough to have ALC find me fit as a trip leader.

“It’s no surprise I ended up laughing and singing my way through days of rock climbing, aqua-trekking, hiking, and adventure courses, with those twelve energetic girls, my good friend and co-leader Judy, and the wonderful leaders at Distant Journeys.”

In this show, you will hear Morgan tell lots of interesting stories about their experiences and show amazing pictures of the Alps.

Finally, a politician who makes sense…because he uses common sense!

This Chris Wolf chat with Leonard Lookner, Camden Select Board is probably one of the more meaningful Chris Wolf Shows we’ve had.

Leonard has a long background in local communities and local politics. Leonard has lived in Maine for 45 years has been a truck driver, a dairy farmer, and a co-owner of the Waterfront restaurant. He raised a family of four kids three who still call Maine home. Leonard has lived in Camden for 35 years, and have been involved in numerous political battles.

Leonard has been on the Select Board three different times in two communities, one when they were selectmen, assessors, and overseers of the poor. He has served on the Zoning Board and numerous other boards. He is currently on the Camden Select Board.

One of Leonard’s focus points on this show is the fact the our governments have become huge, growing beasts with ever increasing appetites which must continually be fed ever increasing amounts. The problem now is we need to continue to “Feed the Beast!” This is true on all levels of government, but our local governments particularly affect us.

Leonard covers many examples of these growing beasts, including the Camden Middle School which allegedly must be torn down and rebuilt, even while we’re still paying off two other schools. Another example he covers is the Rockport Library which again must be tossed away on the pretext that there might be mold in the building.

Leonard also talks about “retirement” being an exciting part of life, giving one time to be involved in all sorts of interesting things.

And most importantly, Leonard talks about communities and how their growth should be “organic” and not “contrived”.

The Wednesday, September 23, 2015 Chris Wolf Show hosted Maine State Senator Dave Miramant.

The show focused on changes happening in Augusta for lobster licensing, its effect on local lobstermen and its effect overall. The show was broadcast live on Maine Coast TV and WRFR Community Radio.

This show will be on interest to anyone associated with the lobster industry or those worried about our waters and marine resources. But it will also be an opportunity to get to know more about Dave and what his goals and priorities are.

Chris and Dave had a lot of interesting discussions about politics and Augusta, much more interesting than the dry, contrived reporting of main stream media. Even if your political leanings are not aligned with Dave’s, you’ll probably still learn a lot and find this show enlightening.

The Monday, September 21, 2015 Chris Wolf Show welcomed Lee Karker, Executive Director of the Methodist Conference Home. The show was broadcast live on Maine Coast TV and WRFR Community Radio.

Five days a week, a team of 75 volunteers make deliveries through blizzards and heat spells to deliver 125 home-cooked, well-balanced meals to residents in every corner of Knox County. And while the Methodist Conference Home program has been around for a long time, it routinely needs more funding and more volunteers.

To bring those needs to the forefront, MCH Inc. Executive Director Lee Karker pedaled 100 miles through many of the communities served by the Meals on Wheels program on his bike on Saturday, Sept. 26 on a route that took him through Tenants Harbor, Port Clyde, South Thomaston, Owls Head, Rockland, Rockport, Camden, Lincolnville and Hope. His goal was to raise $10,000 and community awareness of the MCH Meals on Wheels program.

Lee told us about his planned bike ride, the MCH and the Meals on Wheels program. Many of us, or members of our families, have or will potentially use Meals on Wheels. It’s an amazing program and well worth supporting through Lee and his bike ride, or separately.

On Friday, September 17, at 7:00 a.m. The Chris Wolf Show welcomes Scooter Chadbourne of Scooter’s Auto & Truck Repair at 1 Union Street in Camden. Scooter’s Auto was long time known as Camden Exxon. Scooter is the new owner.

The show had a lot of talk about cars and car maintenance and featured live call in questions.