Bar Harbor author teams up with grandson for latest book

BAR HARBOR, Maine (WABI) - Each year, millions of visitors flock to Acadia National Park. But for it to become the tourist destination we know now, Acadia had to start somewhere.

Recently, a Bar Harbor resident published a book telling -- and showing -- that very story. And she had some help getting it done.

Anne M. Kozak’s “Acadia National Park” is part of Arcadia Publishing’s “Images of America” series.

After living in Bar Harbor for over half a century, and recently retired from running the writing program at College of the Atlantic, Kozak was the perfect person for the job.

“So far it’s been in a few places and people seem to be very excited,” Kozak said.

Using black and white historic images, Kozak takes readers through the development of Acadia from its very beginnings.

While researching the book, it became clear she wanted to focus on a lesser-known aspect of Acadia’s history: the role women played in shaping it.

“What I found was that you get a small line, one or two lines at most, saying that, ‘Mrs. John Kane donated a path in honor of her husband. That would be sort of it. And so, I started trying to figure it out,” said Kozak. “The first person to make a major donation was Mrs. Homans. She gave the Beehive, The Bowl, and a part of the south side of Champlain Mountain. Trying to get information on that was not easy.”

Kozak dedicated the book to her grandchildren, but the dedication page isn’t the only place you’ll find her oldest grandson, Sam Putnam. He’s right on the cover, credited as one of her collaborators. He helped with the book’s layout and created the book’s trailer.

“I’m good at writing, and researching, and finding images. I am not at all good at getting them ready for publication,” Kozak said. “And so, I asked Sam. It turned out that was a really good move... So, it was a lot of fun and he really liked it a lot. He thought it was fun. Actually, I said to him, ‘Would you do another one?’ [And he said] ‘Yeah, I think so!’”

If you’d like to hear more from Anne, she’ll be delivering a lecture at the Bar Harbor Historical Society next week.

Her presentation is scheduled for Thursday, June 29th at 4 pm. For more information, visit the event page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barharborhistoricalsociety/posts/pfbid02eLhQKpqbQWMaEqkYFvH9uqfTCow5ATeWy6bc6kKAMvUwfVBd7yUbwuNxhdwtjvZil

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