Two local authors popular at egg fete

PITTSFIELD – Along with the traditional parades, window painting and carnival, two local women were a hit with recently published books at the weekend’s Central Maine Egg Festival.

Brenda Seekins of Hartland, who was a reporter with the Bangor Daily News for 28 years, has written “Sebasticook Valley,” a collection of historical photographs of the six towns of the Sebasticook Valley area, part of the “Images of America” series published by Arcadia Publishing.

Yvonne Young took a different route, self-publishing a collection of her late husband’s Chinese recipes titled “Peter’s Legacy.”

Seekins has had a lifelong passion for history and talked for years about writing one of the “Images” books. “I spent a lot of time with elderly people as a child and I gained a deep appreciation of the past,” Seekins said Saturday as she signed copies of her books on the Egg Festival fairgrounds.

She started collecting the historical photographs about a year ago, but went into what she called “marathon mode” last winter.

As the Pittsfield librarian stopped by Seekins’ table, she said the “book gives you a real sense of the valley, especially for someone new to the area.”

Seekins said people are delighted when they find themselves or their families in the old pictures. The book is available at many area stores, including the Pittsfield and Hartland public libraries, Mae B. Antiques, Country Creations and Pittsfield Pharmacy, all in Pittsfield, and EZ Living in Hartland.

On the other side of the festival grounds, Yvonne Young was busy signing her cookbooks. Young, a former Pittsfield mayor, put her late husband’s recipes for traditional Chinese cooking into a one-of-a-kind collection.

Peter Young, whose real name was Kai Foo Yong, was born in Shanghai, China, and worked in the New York City restaurant business for more than 30 years before relocating to Maine in 1983 to open King’s Wok in Old Town.

After his retirement, Young began teaching Chinese cooking from his farmhouse kitchen in Pittsfield. For eight years he shared his secrets and recipes.

Young died on his 74th birthday in 2001 from liver cancer. During his last days, he questioned what good had come from his life. “Your recipes, Peter,” Yvonne told him. “They are your legacy.”

When Yvonne found herself forced into an early retirement earlier this year, she began the cookbook project in earnest. The Maine Enterprise Option, a Maine Department of Labor program, assisted her throughout its creation.

“By using more than 30 videotapes of Peter’s classes, I was able to accurately list his most popular recipes,” Young said. They include everything from egg rolls to Four Happiness to fried rice to sweet and sour pork to crab rangoons, and dozens of others.

“Peter’s Legacy” can be ordered from Young by sending $10 to Young Enterprises, P.O. Box 23, Newport 04953.