Despite loving to visit many different places, I have doubted that I could move from the area that I have called home my entire life. Others do it and I admire them for it.
While on a whale watch in Maine, as we passed one of many islands, the narrator pointed out the summer home of Margaret Hamilton, the actress who scared the flying monkeys out of generations of children and some adults as well in the 1939 classic, “The Wizard Of Oz.” Ms. Hamilton was born in Cleveland, Ohio, then spent most of her adult life in New York, with trips to California and other locales, including Oz, to make movies and perform in the theater. The life of a thespian is known to be nomadic, yet I still wondered how she ended up here. She and her son purchased the 20-acre Cape Island in Southport, owning the island with its farmhouse from 1962 until her death in 1985.
The residence was known as the “Witch’s House” yet by all accounts Ms. Hamilton had a sweet, outgoing nature. Quickly becoming an adored fixture on her part of the Maine coast, she would row herself the 900 feet between the island and the mainland. Local lobstermen loved that this seasoned performer, who rose to fame in one of the most iconic roles in the history of motion pictures, would do this, they adopted her and looked out for her.
Whether you stay close to where it all began for you or instead you wind up elsewhere, Ms. Hamilton knew that home is where you hang your pointy black hat. And that there’s no place like it.
#sisterrain #alittlesightalotofheart #legallyblindwriter #margarethamilton #wizardofoz #capeislandmaine #frombroomtoboat
