Thursday, April 8, 2010

JULIA CHILD IN MAINE

Seeing the words "Julia Child In Maine" on the March issue of Down East magazine caught my eye. One summer after World War II, Julia McWilliams along with her then beau Paul Child visited the Child's family at Mountain Desert Island, Maine. It was an opportunity for Julia to meet Paul's family who at the time were in the process of building a rustic cabin, located on the quiet side of the island. It was long before Julie became "Julia", the kitchen icon. On September 1, 1946 Julia and Paul were married and when time and schedules allowed they returned to the Island as often as possible. While in Maine the couple pitched in with the completion of the cabin, took walks through the woods, hiked, fished, sailed and enjoyed summer weeks with family in Maine. In 1959 the now famous "Julia Child" would visit the local market in Southwest Harbor regularly and these visits continued right up to the mid 1990's. This plot of land in Maine held a special place in Julia's heart. Upon her death in 2004 at the age of 91, some of Julia's ashes were spread near the family cabin on the Island. Acadia National Park in my opinion is one of the most special places on this earth and after reading this article, I see Julia would agree with me.