Over the past year, Bangor Daily News photographers and reporters took hundreds of photos that captured the spirit of Maine, from the devastation of winter storms to scenes of community spirit that showed the care Mainers have for their neighbors.
These highlights are just a small slice of the many lives and experiences the BDN documented in 2024.
January
Silas Jones (left) and Nate Nagem of Determination Marine salvage nets and other material from the wrecked Tara Lynn II fishing boat at Trundy Point in Cape Elizabeth on Jan. 15. The four person crew was rescued two days earlier. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN
A truck drives through storm waters on Popham Road in Phippsburg on Jan. 13. Back-to-back storms in January destroyed dunes, damaged docks, swept buildings into the ocean and flooded coastal communities. Credit: Courtesy of Eric Moran
February
Francis Grey, an employee at the Hampden mail processing facility for 11 years, holds a sign at a meeting about the future of the facility on Feb. 29. The federal government had considered moving mail-processing operations from the Eastern Maine Distribution Center to another facility in Scarborough, about 130 miles away but abandoned that plan in September. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN
March
Danny Cashman, host of The Nite Show, smiles on a television monitor while interviewing Westbrook basketball legend Lisa Blais Manning on stage with co-host Jeff Parsons on March 29. Cashman wound the show down and will call it quits next year after more than 600 episodes. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN
April
A pair of canoeists make their way through Bangor’s Six Mile Falls during the 57th Kenudskeag Canoe Race on April 20. The notorious set of falls claims a fair number of boats each year. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN
Penny Higgins pats her donkey Bernie at her farm in Fairfield on April 24. Higgins and other residents of Fairfield are dealing with drinking water contaminated with PFAS coming from a farmer’s field across the street that she said was spread with sludge containing the harmful chemicals. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN
May
Sharon Kitchens, author of the new book “Stephen King’s Maine” stands at the back of the former Western Auto store in Lisbon Falls on May 6. King grew up nearby and a similar store appears in his first published novel “Carrie.” Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN
Douglas Holland, employee of Nichols Construction, works on the installation of the Umbrella Sky project on Cross Street in downtown Bangor on May 22. The project was extended this year to the full length of the one-way street, and umbrella flower pots and benches were added on the sidewalks. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN
June
Levi Rush does a backflip off an old bridge abutment into the Saco River in Buxton, June 18, during a week of record high temperatures in Maine. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN
Former Boston Red Sox pitcher and seven-time Cy Young Award winner, Roger Clemens autographs a baseball for Dexter Falla, 11, of St. George in Portland on June 20. Clemens, who was in Maine for a celebrity golf tournament, stopped by Hadlock field to meet youngsters associated with the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital and Dempsey Center. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN
July
Riders hold on tight on the Trabant at the Bangor State Fair on July 26. The fair, in its 175th year, had its highest attendance since before the pandemic. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN
Two people sit on a bench in South Portland on July 17 during a dry spell. At the time, many locations throughout the state had received less than a quarter inch of rain for the month. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN
August
Marilou “LuLu” Ranta (center), of Monson, waves an American Flag after taking the Oath of Allegiance during a naturalization ceremony in Bangor on Aug. 2. Ranta was one of 61 people to become American citizens at the naturalization. Bonita Orchard (right) joins Ranta in waving a flag in celebration. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN
Author and historian Larry Glatz, 78, stands among a group of soldiers’ graves on Portland’s Eastern Prom on Aug. 26. After years of research, Glatz identified five previously unknown soldiers from the War of 1812 buried there. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN
September
Bangor Symphony Orchestra Composer Lucas Richman and Mitchell Newman, violinist and concertmaster for the BSO, play classical music at the Columbia Street Baptist Church on Sept. 19. Richman and Newman launched a project called Paths to Dignity aimed at building a bridge between classical music and homelessness. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN
About 75 Houlton Middle High School students walked out of class on Sept. 25 to bring attention to what they called a pervasive culture of bullying and sexual assault at the school. Credit: Kathleen Phalen Tomaselli / Houlton Pioneer Times
October
A pigeon sits in the broken B of the Bangor Mall sign on Hogan Road in Bangor on Oct. 31. The city is suing Namdar Group Realty LLC., which owns and operates the mall, for failing to keep the building in good condition. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN
Katahdin, surrounded by fall colors, is pictured on Oct. 17 from the scenic overlook along Interstate 95 in Medway. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN
November
Jim Hall of Bangor hands out small American Flags to voters and children outside of the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor on Election Day, Nov. 5. Hall voted early so he could spend his time handing out 100 veteran-made flags. “I just think people really need to understand the importance of voting,” he said. “Thank a veteran for the freedom to choose in our elections.” Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN
The sun rises over Long Sands Beach in York on Nov. 20. Town residents voted to buy the popular beach from a family that has owned it since colonial times. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN
December
The crowd hoists their pints with Ross Adam while watching his performance at RiRa in Portland on Dec. 1. Adam lives a double life, working as a mailman by day and a folk singer many nights and most weekends. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN
A remembrance ornament hangs on a tree during the annual Hope House Candlelight Vigil on Dec. 18 in Bangor. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN
