DRESDEN — Terri Blen Parker, an emerging author, whose native state of Maine is a familiar topic and local history is her passion, will read from Book One in her Swan Island Trilogy — “Swango in the Kennebec – Journey to Sowangen, Island of Eagles” at the Bridge Academy Public Library, 44 Middle Road. F
Family roots connect Parker to Blinn Hill in Dresden, to Swan Island in the Kennebec River, and on to historic Monhegan Island off Port Clyde. Parker will present a slide show of island photos along with the reading beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 14.
Parker’s “Swango in the Kennebec – Journey to Sowangen, Island of Eagles” invites readers to enter the world of a tiny, isolated island, where the village of Perkins was incorporated and thriving in the mid-1800s, and abandoned in 1936 when ferry service was discontinued. On the Benedict Arnold Trail, the island boasts Dr. Sylvester Gardiner’s “Dumaresque House” and other historic and outstanding Kennebec Proprietor’s properties.
The rich, native Abenaki island’s history has been largely ignored for 400 years, says Parker, whose goal is to author historic novels piquing the public interest. Her memoir (soon to be published) includes years spent with the island caretakers (1950-1960) — her grandparents, Parker and Marion Blen, on Swan Island, which is also known as the Steve Powell Wildlife Management Island in the Kennebec River.
The building is handicapped accessible, and light refreshments will be served. For more information, call 207-737-8810.
