Talk:Maine

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Contents

[edit] Headline text

Bold textCameronWhat happened to the page? It looks like tons of stuff was removed, any reason for this?

you're right, and I don't see a reason anywhere on this talk page. must have been a confusion in revertinshush it don't let the rome knowg vandalism. I'm fixing it now.--Alhutch 06:31, 10 March 2006 (UTC)

Any word on Maine taxes, highest in the US, and what it's doing to jobs and folks moving away?
- Its second highest to New York.

  • Not according to the Tax Foundation..

    Maine’s State/Local Tax Burden Highest in Nation During the past three decades Maine has consistently had one of the highest state and local tax burdens. Estimated at 13.5% of income, Maine’s state/local tax burden percentage has ranked as the nation's highest each year since 1997, and remains well above the national average of 10.6%. Maine taxpayers pay $4,719 per-capita in state and local taxes.

Wondering how to change the list of major cities at the bottom...Brunswick should be in there.

I never liked France much.............

Wondering how to edit this State Entry?
The WikiProject U.S. States standards might help.

Should this be "State of Maine"? What if we want to discuss the French province of Maine? -- Zoe

I've never heard of the French province simply called "Maine" before. I've heard it as "Maine-et-Loire" (whatever that means). Maine (US State) is just known as Maine and if it is moved then the person moving it would have to fix all the mis-directed links. My gut feeling is that the US state is the most well known "Maine" in the English language and therefore the US State article should remain where it is with the French province Maine-et-Loire linked at the bottom of the article. --maveric149
Works for me. -- Zoe
Cool --maveric149
You're actually confusing the current French department of Maine-et-Loire with the historic Maine (province of France), though I think your general point is valid. Funnyhat 00:08, 30 August 2005 (UTC)

I like this change, thanks, maveric. -- Zoe

No problem. --maveric149

The Maine, in France, is - like the Loire - a river. But I guess it could be under Maine river/River then (unless there's one in the US as well. jheijmans

There is no "Maine River" in Maine AFAIK. I live here, and have never heard of it. Might be one out-of-state though. Rlee0001 11:59 Oct 12, 2002 (UTC)

[edit] Maine should be a disambiguation page

I think there are 3 more "Maine" besides the State so the page Maine should be a disambiguation page and the page of the state should be named Maine (US State).

The other three are at the bottom of the Maine page.

I know this can sound controversial to the natives of Maine, but they are not the only with that name in the world.

No but guess what; when someone says Maine 99% of the time it's referring to THE STATE! Your arrogant superiority not withstanding.

Agreed! If Maine is made a disambiguation page, you'd have to do the same for plenty of other states and/or places in this country and the world.

Did you check "What links here"? How many of them refer to anything other than the state? Very few, if any. RickK 04:33, 9 Mar 2004 (UTC)

I second that. If Maine were a current administrative district of France, it might be different, but it is purely historical at this point. There should be disambiguation page perhaps, as Maine (disambiguation), but the default should definitely go to the U.S. state. -- Decumanus 04:35, 9 Mar 2004 (UTC)
I third that. jengod 06:27, Mar 9, 2004 (UTC)

[edit] REVERSION OF LINKS FOR STYLISTIC REASONS

I reverted the three links in the attribution of the Millay quote. The quote is supposed to embellish and amplify the subject of the text. When three hyperlinks in color are placed so close, you get the text calling attention to to the quote - the exact opposite of the intended style. There are other places in the article where the items in the attribution can be discussed in their own right as full stand-alone subjects, if that is what is desired. -JN

I'm afraid your changes have made the quote material stand out even more than before. I am reverting back to the previous formatting. older≠wiser 16:29, Jan 25, 2005 (UTC)

I agree about the formatting but not the link. Although one link is less eye-cluttering than three at this point, I would like to see none. If one is nevertheless for some reason desired, I would recommend a good external link, which I can provide. The Wikipedia article on Millay is, frankly, pretty poor quality. I can give the reasons for that assessment if you desire an extended discussion of literary criticism, although-as the point in this section is trying to convey- the interest should here be on Maine and not literature. I will post two revisions- one without the link and one with a high quality link. Choose which one you like - JN

Whatever the current quality of the Millay article, it is Wikipedia practice to prefer internal links over external links. Articles only get improved as people see them and decide to edit. As for whether Millay should be linked at all here, I don't particularly care all that much, but as many people will not know who Millay is, the link is helpful in this context. older≠wiser 19:07, Jan 25, 2005 (UTC)

First, Baloney. If "It's Wikipedia policy", show me the policy. Second, most encyclopedia readers wouldn't know who Edna St. Vincent Millay is? Cut it out. If you think people know that little about literature, you should be sticking to geography topics, which is fine with me. JN

Read Wikipedia:Manual of Style (links) carefully please. Especially the section Position in article. In an otherwise unrelated article, it is ALWAYS better use an in-line link to an internal article rather than an external site. As for your second point, I did NOT say "most encyclopedia readers wouldn't know" who Millay was. I said "many" and it is a very faulty assumption to presume that people reading an article on Maine would necessarily know who she is. As for your final comment, I suggest you read Wikipedia:Civility very carefully. Since you seem to have such an interest in Millay, why don't you improve the article instead of excising links to it? older≠wiser 19:33, Jan 25, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Easternmost state

This is pretty pedantic, but I'm a geek, so...

This article calls Maine the easternmost state. Thing is, if you look on a map, a few of Alaska's Aleutian islands are actually across the border into the eastern hemisphere - so technically, shouldn't that make Alaska, rather than Maine, the easternmost state?

I agree. In a lecture for a geography class Im taking, the teacher just talked about how Alaska is the most western, eastern, and northern state. (Hawaii being the most southern.) Maine is not the easternmost state.

Easternmost state in the Western Hemisphere... how's that sound? NightThree 01:54, September 4, 2005 (UTC)

Disagree - When discussing a nation, state, city, etc. terms such as easternmost are relative to the whole of the nation, state, city, etc. It really has nothing to do with hemispheres which are only names given to halves on the globe. The fact that a nation is in two or more hemispheres has no bearing on which end of that country is furthest in a particular direction.

This is true. "East" is a direction, like "left" and "clockwise." There is no East Pole. WikiMarshall 04:48, 15 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Border of Massachusetts vs Nova Scotia during revolutionary war.

I hesitated to edit the article because, hey, I am Canadian, and it could come across as a POV edit.

Here is what I know: the border between Maine and New Brunswick and Quebec was a matter of dispute until the early 1900s. Northern Maine was occupied during the war of 1812 by British forces, partially under the pretext that the Brits had a right to be there. Like most royal charters the Nova Scotia charter of 1624 gave NS rights from something like Virginia to Labrador... ;).

Here is what I suspect. I think that the border was ill defined. In the novel "His Majesties Yankees" historian Thomas Raddall writes that the "Machias Men" considered themselves and were considered to be in Nova Scotia, and that Nova Scotia settlements beyond Cumberland were at the river mouths of Saint John and Machias.

Back to fact: Now this is of course mitigated by the fact that most settlers in the south shore and Fundy area of Nova Scotia at the outset of the 1776 war were actually settlers from Massachusetts, and some other New England states (fisher folk were happy to move to Nova Scotia after the French were defeated, and be that much closer to the fishing... apparently entire houses were disassembled in Glouster, MA and moved over to Liverpool NS.) So Machias men could be BOTH Nova Scotia men and Massachussets men.

I am going to try and research this and come back with more facts but I am wondering if anyone has any insight, and if I can provide references, would there be objections to a slight (two to three line) edit to the history of Maine?

www.maine.gov has a good rendition of the border dispute.AFethke 17:52, August 13, 2005 (UTC)

Thanks, I will turn my hand to this this evening.... WayeMason 18:23, 13 August 2005 (UTC)

I did some research. County Sunbury, who knew it even had a name and a capital, if oyu can call the occasional visit by a magistrate to campebello a capital. Hope this meets your your approval, I am going to insert something similar into the Nova Scotia page. WayeMason 19:15, 13 August 2005 (UTC)

YayAFethke 21:45, August 13, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Other border disputes

Maine doesn't have the only border dispute in the US, but maybe it is the only "land" border dispute. There are maritime disputes between the US and Canada in the Alaska-British Columbia-Washington area, which actually led to a confrontation in the 90's (?) involving a fishing boat and boats from both the Canadian and US coast guards.

Actually, the state of Texas had a land dispute with Mexico from the time it was founded as the Republic of Texas, continuing thru it's annexation by the US, and up thru the signing of the treaty ending the Mexican-American war. Joncnunn 21:06, 3 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] First Sunrise

Is it Mt. Katahdin or Cadillac Mountain? Please find a source for this if you thik it's wrong.Gator (talk) 13:26, 2 March 2006 (UTC)

  • The debate over the first sunrise has come up quite a few times, and it usually includes Cadillac, Eastport, and (sometimes) Katahdin. The U.S. Naval Observatory states that the sun shines first on Cadillac, and that's a good enough source for me. [1] - NightThree 13:23, 5 March 2006 (UTC)
But that's on January 1, when the sun rises in the southeast. Maybe it's different in June, when the sun rises in the northeast?
—wwoods 17:47, 5 March 2006 (UTC)
I suppose it's OR, but using Starry Night,
Mt. Katahdin (45° 54' N, 68° 55' W, 1606 m)
1/1: 7:13; 7/1: 3:45
Eastport (44° 54.8' N, 67° 0.2' W, 10 m)
1/1: 7:11; 7/1: 3:50
Cadillac Mt. (44° 21' N, 68° 13' W, 470 m)
1/1: 7:09; 7/1: 3:53
—wwoods 19:00, 5 March 2006 (UTC)
It does indeed vary by season as —wwoods postulated above. There is apparentlyKatahdin a published analysis in the January 1972 issue of Yankee magazine that gives the following results:
  • October 7 to March 6, Cadillac Mt.
  • March 7 to March 24, West Quoddy Head Lighthouse, Lubec. Me (near Eastport)
  • March 25 to September 18, Mars Hill (a hill/low mountain in Maine)
  • September 19 to October 6, West Quoddy Head Lighthouse
Can anyone find a more current, published detailed analysis, or at least run down to a library that saves 24 year old magazines and verify the Yankee reference, then add it? GRBerry 17:02, 20 April 2006 (UTC)
I would also like to see more here -- because the note that it shines on xxxx first during the winter immediately begs the questions: what about summer? spring? where else does it shine first then? Would love to see more detail and an explanation, with source! Isoxyl 20:12, 28 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Add Smithsonian Education link?

Hello! I am a writer for the Smithsonian's Center for Education, which publishes Smithsonian in Your Classroom, a magazine for teachers. An online version of an issue titled "Contrasts in Blue: Life on the Caribbean Coral Reef and the Rocky Coast of Maine" is available for free at this address:

http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/lesson_plans/contrast/cover.html

It includes a background essay and lesson plans. If you think the audience would find this valuable, I wish to invite you to include it as an external link. We would be most grateful.

Thank you so much for your attention.

[edit] Maine rocks!

I'd just like to add that Maine rocks my socks! --Tom12384 06:12, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] minor issues?

Sorry, new to wikipedia. However, the article says that under the geography section it explains how a large part of this state's interior is uninhabited. There is no geography section (and the link at the bottom doesnt link to anything!) --Tom12384 06:16, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Need help with Winnegance, Maine

Just created this entry -- can someone with knowledge of this town (or reference books that mention it) fix this? There's not much on the Internet. Thanks, Badagnani 23:21, 26 May 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure there is going to be much more to say. My parents live in Harpswell, which adjoins Bath. West Bath is a small town, population 1,800. This is a locality in that town. Unless there is some history for the locality - quite possible in coastal Maine - there won't be much to say. I'd recommend doing searches on history of West Bath and of Winnegance. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by GRBerry (talk • contribs) . Oops, thanks for pointing out that I didn't sign.
I concurr with the previous unsigned poster's advice. Personally speaking, I've lived in Maine all my life, have been all over the state, and have never heard of Winnegance. The state is chock full of these unincorporated, blip-on-a-map localities that may have once had a stronger identity as a village or hamlet associated with a local industry. Once the industry folds up, the village basically just fades away.... just another failed settlement or ghost village with little clue as to whatever former glory it had. I suspect this might be the case with Winnegance, but I don't know for certain. JamesofMaine 23:48, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Maine in the Civil War

Over on the article at the Trent Affair there is mention of Maine being in the midst of thoughts of secession itself during the U.S. Civil War, but I have never heard of this. Any Mainers/historians with knowledge care to share/elaborate. Seems this might be worth mentioning in the history section and/or correcting in the Trent Affair article. Any insight? Isoxyl 20:15, 28 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Important cities and towns

I think the particular list called "Other significant cities and towns" is problematic. Unless everyone can agree on a concise definition of "significant," it has the potential to grow ridiculously long. It's already a tad longish, in my humble opinion. Everyone thinks there's something "significant" about the town they live in. What constitutes significant, and what doesn't? I propose just removing it, and possibly including a link to Category:Towns in Maine somewhere in the article instead. JamesofMaine 19:06, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, remove the "other" list, maybe even just leave the first column. --Polaron | Talk 19:41, 22 August 2006 (UTC)
Went ahead and did that, after a few screwups. My comment on the last edit should have read "got it" not "got yet." (I'm trying to quit caffiene, and the withdrawl is messing with my head). Anyhow, if there is serious consensus against this change, revert away. JamesofMaine 22:05, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Add an external link?

Would it be possible to add "All Info About Maine" as an external link? It has a ton of great information about the state of Maine:

http://www.allinfoaboutmaine.com

I tried to add it myself, but was told to take it here first.

Thanks. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Mainechick (talk • contribs) 16:02, 12 Oct 2006 (UTC).

I'd say no; it's not an official site, and there's no reason to favor this one commercial site over any other. | Mr. Darcy talk 16:05, 12 October 2006 (UTC)
Hmmm. Then why is Maine Info here?... http://www.maine.info —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Mainechick (talk • contribs) 17:41, 12 October 2006 (UTC).
I wasn't the one who added it, but at a glance, Maine.Info looks significantly less commercial than the site you're trying to add. There are a number of sites with information on Maine already listed; Wikipedia is not a repository of links. | Mr. Darcy talk 17:52, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Maine declaring war

It states on this page that Maine is the only state to have declared war unilaterally. That is untrue, or at least inaccurate. Vermont has also declared war. They declared war on Germany before the US government did: http://vtcommons.org/node/174 ALoponom 15:56, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Wind chill

The article says "Wind chill often reduces the winter temperature to lows beyond -20." The wind chill factor only affects subjective temperatures, not the actual temperature. If that is meant, then it should be put that way. Also, I assume this is Fahrenheit, in which case that should also be specified. And isn't it a wikirule to give values in SI units (Celsius) first? DirkvdM 08:17, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] What's in a place name, anyway?

I grew up in Maine and lived their for 18 years. I remember being taught in grade school that the name of the state came from the mainland (as opposed to the islands), as the current article mentions, but having travelled more widely since then, I suspect that the sole origin of the name comes from the département in France, known today as Maine et Loire. My reasons for this perspective are:

  • A significant percentage of Maine's settlers were of French or French Canadian origin.
  • Geographically, Maine is very similar to the French département of Maine et Loire. If you're from Maine, Maine et Loire is going to remind you of Maine in the most peculiar way.
  • Are there any early American precedents suggesting that one refers to the mainland as maine?
  • There is much historical precedent for naming places in the New World after familiar places in Europe.

If interested, be sure to see the current Wikipedia article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine_%28province_of_France%29 Bafooma 01:41, 24 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] New Sports section added to updated Wikipedia:WikiProject U.S. states format

The Wikipedia:WikiProject U.S. states format has been updated to include a new Sports section, that covers collegiate sports, amateur sports, and non-team sports (such as hunting and fishing). Please feel free to add this new heading, and supply information about sports in Maine. Please see South_carolina#Sports_in_South_Carolina as an example. NorCalHistory 13:43, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

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