George Smith enjoys some fall sunlight outside his home in Mount Vernon. Photo Thalassa Raasch/MaineCF
George Smith is a Winthrop, Maine, native and graduate of the University of Maine. He has lived for 40 years in Mount Vernon, where he served on the town council, planning board, and as a Kennebec County commissioner. Smith is marking his 39th year as a trustee of the Dr. Shaw Memorial Library, where he recently raised $330,000 for its expansion.
At the state level, Smith has served on task forces and study groups around forestry and outdoor issues. In 2017, Maine Conservation Voters presented him with the Harry Richardson Environmental Leadership Award “for writing, speaking, advocating, and inspiring all of us to protect the woods, waters, and wildlife of Maine.” Mount Vernon residents also gave him the Spirit of America Award for his contributions to the community. With the onset of ALS last year, Smith has been the focus of fundraising walks to support research and friends hosted him at a “Roast and Toast George Smith” evening. Last March, he and his wife Linda donated their 125-acre woodlot near their home to the Kennebec Land Trust to support childhood programming.
You were executive director of the Sportsmen’s Alliance of Maine for 18 years. What was your proudest accomplishment from your tenure there?
Creation of Maine’s Heritage Fish Waters – 500 lakes and ponds where we now protect our native brook trout.
In your profile in Maine magazine, you state, “I have traveled our nation, learning how very special Maine is, and how important it is to protect our state.” What do you consider the greatest challenge to protecting Maine?
Lots of challenges, from protection of critical wildlife habitat to saving rural Maine.
In a column you wrote with guest Dan Onion about aging in place, you described a new comprehensive plan for your town, Mount Vernon. Part of it will address the needs of older residents. Can you give an update on this plan?
We have joined AARP’s Age-Friendly Communities Network, advertised the Red Cross free fire detectors program, and formed a committee to work on senior issues with help from a $5,000 town appropriation. We already have a great Neighbors Driving Neighbors service.
You were diagnosed with ALS, also called Lou Gehrig’s disease, in 2017. Knowing your passion for being outdoors in Maine, how have you adjusted to this unexpected and unwelcome challenge?
I am physically unable to hunt and fish, but friends still take me with them. I am not complaining because I enjoy a lifetime of great memories of hunting and fishing adventures. I continue to write my outdoor news blog. I have been writing newspaper columns and doing radio shows about my illness and the response has been amazing. I’ve heard from people from Alaska to Italy. And I feel blessed to have so many friends who are eager to help us.
In recent years you have become a tried and true book reviewer, specializing in Maine-related publications. What’s your favorite Maine book and why?
My own four books, of course! I love authors like William Clark and Louise Dickenson Rich from an earlier era. We have so many great Maine writers that it’s impossible to choose favorites. It’s been a real privilege to review books for all of Maine’s major publishers (my reviews can be accessed at www.georgesmithmaine.com).
As fall arrives, where do your thoughts turn to?
With my illness, my wife Linda and I are focused on spending time at our favorite places. This summer we enjoyed a weeklong stay on Monhegan Island, four visits to Lubec and Campobello, time at our North Woods camp, and lots of time in our home in Mount Vernon, which we love. And of course, lots of time with our friends and family, especially our three children and four grandchildren.
You have hunted and fished all your life. Do you have a story about the one that got away?
Oh, lots of those! I have had so many wildlife encounters. Here is one of my favorites.
One November afternoon I was sitting on the ground in my hemlock stand, deer hunting, with my back up against a tree, when I spotted an ermine running back and forth about 40 yards away. It was beautiful – all white, its winter coat.
Well, it got closer and closer, and when it got about 10 yards from me, it turned and ran right at me, climbing up my leg and stopping right on my chest. Yikes! Ermine have very sharp teeth and if it had bit me in the neck, I probably would’ve died.
But the ermine quickly decided I wasn’t a tree and jumped off, running up through the hemlocks. Quite exciting!
