Class of 1976 Summer 2023 Class Note

Hello, ’76ers, and happy summer!

When spring arrived in New England after a milder-than-normal winter, it brought back memories of walking across campus to get to classes at UMaine while smelling the distinct smells of spring. 

I am sad to report that our classmate Tim Allen passed away last August. Tim, an English major, was a well-respected Bangor Daily News reporter and editor and also worked at the Sun Journal in Lewiston, the Morning Sentinel in Waterville, and as a copy editor and weekend city editor of the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram.

Earl Brechlin has been inducted into the Maine Press Association Hall of Fame. His career started at the Bar Harbor Times, where he started hand-setting lead type and worked his way up to editor. He went on to form the weekly Mount Desert Islander. Earl retired in 2017 and is a registered Maine Guide and an author with more than a dozen books on the outdoors and history of Maine and New England.

Dana Totman, former CEO of Avesta Housing, was named interim executive director at Portland Trails, a nonprofit organization that maintains an urban trail network in greater Portland. Larry Gardner has been inducted into the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame. Larry is the winningest basketball coach at Fort Fairfield High School and has guided the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams to a combined 425 wins. He coached the girls’ team to the state title in 2010. Scott Cyrway was elected to represent Maine House District 63, which includes the towns of Freedom, Albion, Unity, and part of Winslow.

Please take a moment and send me an email update to share with our UMaine classmates.