A land heritage

I have a very personal response to the extensive article, “Mount Desert’s affluence has double edge” (Nov. 14), especially since the shorefront home pictured among those “ringing the waters of Northeast Harbor” was built by my father. The boathouse pictured even closer to the shore, until 1985 a family legacy, was renovated by me to become a summer camp. In 1985, following my father’s death, these properties were sold to provide retirement income for my mother.

Our Savage family settled in Mount Desert and the village of Northeast Harbor in 1790. Six generations of Savages are buried in the village cemetery on land which was given to the town for a cemetery by our family. There are now seven generations in our family. Those in the seventh generation living closest to home live and work in Portland.

I am one of the residents whose family did have land to subdivide and inherit, but our holdings have diminished markedly with the sixth generation, mostly driven by economic survival. In a kind of reverse of the situation experienced by Kim Parady Walker, who grew up in Northeast Harbor and works here but must live in Hancock, the jobs that have allowed me to hang onto my family land and heritage over the past 30 years have been in Ellsworth, East Sullivan, Deer Isle, Bucksport, Rockland, Machias, Bethel and Massachusettes. Meanwhile, when possible and despite commuting and temporary moves, I have served on many community boards including museum, library, church, recreation, affordable housing, zoning appeals, Friends of Acadia and currently serve as president of the Mount Desert Nursing Association. My emotional and heritage ties to the community draw me into this service despite the fact that this community to date has not provided a job that could support me in raising my children and maintaining my property.

For me, Mount Desert’s affluence has many edges requiring physical, spiritual, and emotional stamina if I am going to be able to pass my part of the Savage family land heritage on to my children in the seventh generation and if I am going to be able to help preserve the kind of community that makes that desirable. Marcia Savage Northeast Harbor