Page 94 - CA 2019 Final(3)

SummerKeys

A music adventure in Lubec

feature by Christina T ee

phot s by Goodman-Van Riper Photography, courtesy of SummerKeys

A mild-mannered piano teacher from New Jersey and a struggling Washington County fishing community have proven a surpris-
ingly symbiotic match.

It began in 1990 when Bruce Potterton spotted low-priced real estate listings in a Machias shop window. The lowest were all in
Lubec. Bruce was with a group of friends on their way to New Brunswick but he twisted their arms to stop and check out Lubec.
“I was enthralled with the place, really drawn to it,” Bruce said. Never mind that much of Lubec’s Water Street was vacant
and boarded up at the time, a ghost of the days in which it was lined with 30 smokehouses and 23 sardine-packing plants. “Not
that I had money” Bruce said. He took down the name of a realtor and returned as soon as possible to shop around seriously. Then
he took the plunge.
continued on the next page

SummerKeys founder Bruce Potterton working with one of his students.

92