Three Generations of Employees of the Casco Bay Ferry Lines; Captain Ed, Adrienne and Her Father, Larry Legere.,(R) at Today’s Grand Opening.
By Carol McCracken (Post # 2,178)
“This defines the best of Maine,” said Senator Susan Collins (R) late this morning during the grand opening of a glass addition to the waiting room of the Casco Bay Terminal Lines on Commercial Street in Portland. “These renovations do so much to contribute to the Islanders. More than one million used this terminal last year, when it was built to service 500,000 back in 1988. Ferry services are critical to our islanders,” she said. Collins was critical in securing funding to make this expansion happen. (Senator Collins (R) does not often make personal appearances in southern Maine; most frequently she is represented by a member of her staff at public events.)
The original ferry terminal was built in the 1880s by the Casco Bay Steamship Company on the Custom House Wharf. (Beyond the Porthole Restaurant.) It outgrew its location and eventually succumbed to bait companies according to Larry Legere, a current employee of Casco Bay Lines as was his father before him and is his daughter, Adrienne. Larry is recognized for the vast collection of photographs of the area he has collected over the years; some of those historic photographs are on display on a wall at the expansion and others are archived at the Maine Maritime Museum, Bath.
Peter Butler, Federal Transit Administration Deputy Regional Administrator, US Department of Transportation, told the crowd attending the Grand Opening: “We are not only reinvesting in transit and a community, but in a beacon for travelers. It’s a most welcoming attraction. It’s been a transformation from something ordinary into something extraordinary. This is a lifeline to the Casco Bay Islands.”
Kevin French of Landry/French Construction who built the terminal expansion said he was particularly honored to have been selected for the job.
US Senator Susan Collins (R) Cut the Ribbon at the Grand Opening of the Expansion at the Casco Bay Ferry Terminal Today. On the left is Mayor Michael Brennan who Graciously Welcomed Her to Portland.
When he asked Henry Berg, the general manager of the Casco Bay Ferry Lines what he wanted – Berg responded: “I want Wow!”
That’s what Henry Berg got today – Wow!