BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 24, 2023
Winter is a quiet time at Roosevelt Campobello International Park. Located on Campobello Island, the 2,800-acre park is jointly administered and funded by Canada and the United States. We reached it by driving across the long, arching bridge that spans from the small Maine town of Lubec. At the end of the bridge, we showed our passports to cross the border into Canada. In the late 1800s, Franklin Roosevelt’s parents were among the many wealthy families who summered on the island at grand hotels. They loved Campobello so much that they purchased land and built a cottage, then gifted a neighboring house to their son — the 32nd president of the U.S. He then summered there with his family. After FDR’s death, the family sold the property to the Hammer brothers from New York. They lobbied for the land to become the first jointly owned U.S.-Canadian park, which was formed in 1964. While the park was an absolutely stunning place to visit in the winter, I’d like to return in the summer to see the planted gardens of annuals, dahlias, begonias and roses. ~ Aislinn Sarnacki