DBA – Land Description
The property is a glacier scarred tract of 300 acres in Hancock County Maine, located roughly halfway between the county seat at Ellsworth and the fishing villages of Deer Isle on the Blue Hill Peninsula. It lies entirely within the town boundary of Blue Hill, about four miles from the town center, affording easy access to shops, banks, harbor facilities and the medical facilities associated with Blue Hill Hospital. There is approximately 1/8 mile of frontage on Rt. 172, which is the scenic route between Ellsworth and Deer Isle; the tract widens as it continues inland.
Due to its topography, this property turns its back on the town and highway, looking inland along a line of ponds into a large area of unpopulated woodland, a natural bog area and wild blueberry barrens. A horseshoe-shaped line of ridge, open to the west, encloses fields and woods sloping down to frontage on First Pond; the property line encloses one small island and part of another much larger one. From the superb granite ledges of the eastern ridge there are fine views into the center of the tract, out to the pond, north to the cone of Blue Hill ,and southwest to Salt Pond and Blue Hill Bay
The land was logged in about the early 1950’s and made a strong recovery resulting in vigorous woodlands of pine, spruce, fir and some hardwoods. Some of these mature trees are being replaced by younger ones as time, weather and shallow soil atop granite, down the older ones.
Wildlife sighted or identified from prints include rabbit, racoon, porcupine, turkey, deer, bear, snakes and old tales of an occasional moose. Beautiful bob cats were cat was seen heading onto the property in 2018 and again in 2022.
When the property was purchased in the early 1970s, a copper mine several miles upstream on Second Pond created some doubt as to the prospects for wildlife in First Pond. The mine has since been inoperable for many years and has no sign of reopening. At that time there was a beaver dam at the exit to First pond that had raised the water lever about 5 feet higher than its current level and provided easy access by rowboat, canoe or kayak. Unfortunately, the beavers moved on, the dam deteriorated, and many invitations and wishes have not resulted in them moving back in to rebuild the original dam. They have not left the area and have built a lower dam across the middle of First Pond.
The land lends itself beautifully to its nature loving community members’ desires for enjoying beautiful topography, intriguing wildlife and its great proximity to the town of Blue Hill and other villages and ports on the peninsula. DBA’s many gifts and charms make the commitment of “gentle stewardship of this land” a commitment that has lasted close to 50 years and is still as strong as it was in the beginning.
Jackie Bahn-Henkelman, update. 3-30-21
DBA Maine Beginnings
In the early 1970’s, the counter culture frequently talked of moving "back to the land,” growing one’s own food and living in community - an intentional group with a purpose. Living in community included the notion that every household didn't "need their own lawnmower" and members would be there to support each other in good times as well as bad. Some of those values harkened to an earlier age when large extended families didn't move away from home, but stayed close and supported each other.
Richard Roelofs was among a small group of friends who tossed around these ideas. He knew a lot about the history of Utopian communities which fueled his interest in trying communal living. Dorothy Flanagan and a few others shared that interest. We talked about how we could earn money while living on the land. Setting up a roadside stand to sell produce they had raised was one idea, as was getting jobs teaching in local schools; many of us were educators. For many people in the country it was a time of simpler understanding of human nature. We, founders, believed that we could change the world through cooperation and love. We thought that if we worked together to found a community, and perhaps a school, that our efforts would contribute to making the world a better place. We could raise children differently and they would be kinder and more peaceful, not over value the material world or wage war.
Dorothy Flanagan, Meg Otis and John Zuck, living together in Media, PA, were talking with another couple, Bob and Elaine Gibbons, about these ideas. Dorothy made a visit to her friend Anna Roelofs, in Silver Spring, MD and shared the idea. Anna, and her husband, Richard, had been talking about the same idea with friends, Jim and Phyllis Henkelman, and their babysitter, Sara Deshler. The two groups merged over the shared idea and decided to look for land to buy away from the city. Their search included upstate New York, West Virginia, and Maine.
In the summer of 1972, Dick, Anna, John, Meg and Dorothy walked into a real estate office in Blue Hill and found a small 3 x 5 card listing a 350 acre piece of land. " What about this one?” they asked. The agent didn't even want to go look at it, but he said that he knew the owner, Cora Leighton, and assured the group that they could go hike on it if they wanted to
There were no trails or roads on this plot, but there was access on the right of way off Rt.172. Four of the group bushwhacked through woods, past what became known as the Birch Woods, down through a bog and a couple of hours later came out on blueberry fields that overlooked Rt.172 some distance from their parked car. John and Dick were happily pointing out where people could build cabins, where there could be trails, and alerted us to the lovely views from the land. The hiking was rough and Dorothy didn't like not knowing what her foot would land on or in - a gigantic anthill or a deep hole? The group continued to look at other properties as well.
In January, 1973, some of the group traveled through snowfall to look at the plot once again which was to became ‘our land.’ It was rugged and breath-taking, crisp and lovely and felt right; somehow it felt like home. By then, everyone had agreed that they wanted to purchase this enticing 350 acre plot in Blue Hill, ME. The Henkelmans told the group that they expected to only be on the land in the summer, but the rest of the group members were clear that they were going to move there and develop a community. That first summer of 1973 many of the group stayed in an old farmhouse in North Blue Hill, working and hiking together on the land to clear trails and to determine where roads should go. We shared chores such as cooking and cleaning. Some of us even tried to earn money by baking and selling bread. Unfortunately, a sale of 14 loaves of braided onion bread hardly made enough money to pay for the materials used.
Why didn’t all of us end up there as a year-round intentional community? With no roads or buildings to move into it was just too primitive. We didn’t have the resources to hire builders. We were all educators or craft people; and we had borrowed money to buy the land, even though it cost only $100 an acre. As these realities settled in, the Gibbons, decided to leave the group.
In 1974, the Henkelmans and the Roelofs bought the house and land bordering our southwest corner. The house became a support center to all who chose to camp on the land. It offered fresh, clear running water, a telephone connection to the outside world and the option of a warm indoor shower!
Eventually the Roelofs, who were quite smitten with the Blue Hill area, bought out the Henkelmans. Dick Roelofs, the most smitten, decided to move into this next-door house full time, the first actually settle on the land. For most of us, the reality of needing to make a living got in the way of moving to Blue Hill and we carried on with our lives in a way that kept us rooted where we were or on a different journey. The idea of living communally year-round gradually faded though many have returned every year in the summer with family and friends to enjoy, camp, explore and work on the land.
The group decided to become incorporated in the very beginning, and partly due to time pressure they failed to decide on an official corporation name to “do business as” and decided that, for the time being, they would just use DBA (doing-business-as). Inc. That was in 1974. Periodically a member or members suggest changing to a better name. The group brainstorms and discusses it at length but the majority of members are emotionally linked to “DBA Main,” or more often just “DBA” and it still stands. DBA became a wonderful summer community and the 2nd generation not only bought into the land, and share the vision of ‘gentle stewardship of the land,’ they relieve the first generation of many of the responsibilities of continuous development and maintenance. Two of our 3rd generation DBA enthusiasts have actually written about DBA as their writing requirement for college admissions. The love continues.
Dorothy Flanagan
Note: Those same two 3rd generation DBA'ers began the process of becoming adult DBA member in 2023
DBA – Land Description
The property is a glacier scarred tract of 300 acres in Hancock County Maine, located roughly halfway between the county seat at Ellsworth and the fishing villages of Deer Isle on the Blue Hill Peninsula. It lies entirely within the town boundary of Blue Hill, about four miles from the town center, affording easy access to shops, banks, harbor facilities and the medical facilities associated with Blue Hill Hospital. There is approximately 1/8 mile of frontage on Rt. 172, which is the scenic route between Ellsworth and Deer Isle; the tract widens as it continues inland.
Due to its topography, this property turns its back on the town and highway, looking inland along a line of ponds into a large area of unpopulated woodland, a natural bog area and wild blueberry barrens. A horseshoe-shaped line of ridge, open to the west, encloses fields and woods sloping down to frontage on First Pond; the property line encloses one small island and part of another much larger one. From the superb granite ledges of the eastern ridge there are fine views into the center of the tract, out to the pond, north to the cone of Blue Hill ,and southwest to Salt Pond and Blue Hill Bay
The land was logged in about the early 1950’s and made a strong recovery resulting in vigorous woodlands of pine, spruce, fir and some hardwoods. Some of these mature trees are being replaced by younger ones as time, weather and shallow soil atop granite, down the older ones.
Wildlife sighted or identified from prints include rabbit, racoon, porcupine, turkey, deer, bear, snakes and old tales of an occasional moose. Beautiful bob cats were cat was seen heading onto the property in 2018 and again in 2022.
When the property was purchased in the early 1970s, a copper mine several miles upstream on Second Pond created some doubt as to the prospects for wildlife in First Pond. The mine has since been inoperable for many years and has no sign of reopening. At that time there was a beaver dam at the exit to First pond that had raised the water lever about 5 feet higher than its current level and provided easy access by rowboat, canoe or kayak. Unfortunately, the beavers moved on, the dam deteriorated, and many invitations and wishes have not resulted in them moving back in to rebuild the original dam. They have not left the area and have built a lower dam across the middle of First Pond.
The land lends itself beautifully to its nature loving community members’ desires for enjoying beautiful topography, intriguing wildlife and its great proximity to the town of Blue Hill and other villages and ports on the peninsula. DBA’s many gifts and charms make the commitment of “gentle stewardship of this land” a commitment that has lasted close to 50 years and is still as strong as it was in the beginning.
Jackie Bahn-Henkelman, update. 3-30-21
DBA Maine Beginnings
In the early 1970’s, the counter culture frequently talked of moving "back to the land,” growing one’s own food and living in community - an intentional group with a purpose. Living in community included the notion that every household didn't "need their own lawnmower" and members would be there to support each other in good times as well as bad. Some of those values harkened to an earlier age when large extended families didn't move away from home, but stayed close and supported each other.
Richard Roelofs was among a small group of friends who tossed around these ideas. He knew a lot about the history of Utopian communities which fueled his interest in trying communal living. Dorothy Flanagan and a few others shared that interest. We talked about how we could earn money while living on the land. Setting up a roadside stand to sell produce they had raised was one idea, as was getting jobs teaching in local schools; many of us were educators. For many people in the country it was a time of simpler understanding of human nature. We, founders, believed that we could change the world through cooperation and love. We thought that if we worked together to found a community, and perhaps a school, that our efforts would contribute to making the world a better place. We could raise children differently and they would be kinder and more peaceful, not over value the material world or wage war.
Dorothy Flanagan, Meg Otis and John Zuck, living together in Media, PA, were talking with another couple, Bob and Elaine Gibbons, about these ideas. Dorothy made a visit to her friend Anna Roelofs, in Silver Spring, MD and shared the idea. Anna, and her husband, Richard, had been talking about the same idea with friends, Jim and Phyllis Henkelman, and their babysitter, Sara Deshler. The two groups merged over the shared idea and decided to look for land to buy away from the city. Their search included upstate New York, West Virginia, and Maine.
In the summer of 1972, Dick, Anna, John, Meg and Dorothy walked into a real estate office in Blue Hill and found a small 3 x 5 card listing a 350 acre piece of land. " What about this one?” they asked. The agent didn't even want to go look at it, but he said that he knew the owner, Cora Leighton, and assured the group that they could go hike on it if they wanted to
There were no trails or roads on this plot, but there was access on the right of way off Rt.172. Four of the group bushwhacked through woods, past what became known as the Birch Woods, down through a bog and a couple of hours later came out on blueberry fields that overlooked Rt.172 some distance from their parked car. John and Dick were happily pointing out where people could build cabins, where there could be trails, and alerted us to the lovely views from the land. The hiking was rough and Dorothy didn't like not knowing what her foot would land on or in - a gigantic anthill or a deep hole? The group continued to look at other properties as well.
In January, 1973, some of the group traveled through snowfall to look at the plot once again which was to became ‘our land.’ It was rugged and breath-taking, crisp and lovely and felt right; somehow it felt like home. By then, everyone had agreed that they wanted to purchase this enticing 350 acre plot in Blue Hill, ME. The Henkelmans told the group that they expected to only be on the land in the summer, but the rest of the group members were clear that they were going to move there and develop a community. That first summer of 1973 many of the group stayed in an old farmhouse in North Blue Hill, working and hiking together on the land to clear trails and to determine where roads should go. We shared chores such as cooking and cleaning. Some of us even tried to earn money by baking and selling bread. Unfortunately, a sale of 14 loaves of braided onion bread hardly made enough money to pay for the materials used.
Why didn’t all of us end up there as a year-round intentional community? With no roads or buildings to move into it was just too primitive. We didn’t have the resources to hire builders. We were all educators or craft people; and we had borrowed money to buy the land, even though it cost only $100 an acre. As these realities settled in, the Gibbons, decided to leave the group.
In 1974, the Henkelmans and the Roelofs bought the house and land bordering our southwest corner. The house became a support center to all who chose to camp on the land. It offered fresh, clear running water, a telephone connection to the outside world and the option of a warm indoor shower!
Eventually the Roelofs, who were quite smitten with the Blue Hill area, bought out the Henkelmans. Dick Roelofs, the most smitten, decided to move into this next-door house full time, the first actually settle on the land. For most of us, the reality of needing to make a living got in the way of moving to Blue Hill and we carried on with our lives in a way that kept us rooted where we were or on a different journey. The idea of living communally year-round gradually faded though many have returned every year in the summer with family and friends to enjoy, camp, explore and work on the land.
The group decided to become incorporated in the very beginning, and partly due to time pressure they failed to decide on an official corporation name to “do business as” and decided that, for the time being, they would just use DBA (doing-business-as). Inc. That was in 1974. Periodically a member or members suggest changing to a better name. The group brainstorms and discusses it at length but the majority of members are emotionally linked to “DBA Main,” or more often just “DBA” and it still stands. DBA became a wonderful summer community and the 2nd generation not only bought into the land, and share the vision of ‘gentle stewardship of the land,’ they relieve the first generation of many of the responsibilities of continuous development and maintenance. Two of our 3rd generation DBA enthusiasts have actually written about DBA as their writing requirement for college admissions. The love continues.
Dorothy Flanagan
Note: Those same two 3rd generation DBA'ers began the process of becoming adult DBA member in 2023