PORTLAND, Maine — Donnie MacVane has lived off the coast of Long Island in the same house he was born in his entire life. MacVane will be 96 in November.
He lived through World War II and the Great Depression, attended Maine Maritime Academy, married a "pretty girl," and raised a family. He spent his life on the water as a Maine lobsterman up until he retired at age 90.
In his spare time, Donnie would write.
"I've got a carton in my bedroom full of a story that I wrote," MacVane said. "I started [the story] when I was 45."
It's a hobby many people didn't know about until Donnie started publishing his 'I Remember' articles in the Island's monthly paper. A witty column focusing on years past. Most recently, Donnie was encouraged by his daughter, RuthEllen, to compile those short stories into a book.
"Memories That Linger: An Anecdotal History of Long Island Maine" preserves what Donnie calls the "good old days" the old-fashioned way: giving readers a side of island history you won't find in a textbook.
"When my daughter set about doing this I thought, 'No, no, no. Nobody wants to read this.'" MacVane said.
The book is filled with stories of life on the island, life lessons, and a splash of Donnie's humor, all of which are inspired by his own life and the people he has met along the way.
That includes his late wife, Carol.
"I had a four-door convertible, and we were driving down to the wharf and saw these two girls and stopped," MacVane recalled. "My cousin and I invited them to a dance on Chebeague Island that night, it was a Saturday. We went to the dance and then we kind of teamed up."
The two would marry Nov. 26, 1950. They would have four children and a busy but happy life.
"She was pretty," MacVane said about Carol. "She loved the ocean and the beach."
The book also shares memories from Donnie's childhood.
During World War II, Long Island had been transformed into a fueling depot for the United States Navy. One story Donnie shares from that time involves a shopkeeper removing any Japanese made product from the shelves after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Other stories capture MacVane's early years out on the water with his father and brother. He remembered hauling his first trap with a lobster in it big enough to keep. Donnie said his Dad paid him and his brother 50 cents for the pound and a quarter catch.
So far, MacVane said nearly every single one of the 350 book reviews have been positive.
"I just wrote them. I never had any classes in writing or anything like that," MacVane said about the book. "But whether it's a must read for Joe Blow from Newark, New Jersey, I don't know."
To learn more about Donnie and his book, watch the full story above.