St. Andrews Village will host Captain Billy, the author of “50 Ways to be a Mainer” Wednesday, Oct. 10 at 2 p.m. Captain Billy will share his observations about Maine with facts, humor, puns and more.

Captain Billy C was born in the Midwest and spent most of his life in one of the flattest states in the country. He decided that was not flat enough and moved to the flattest state in the country – Florida. In 1989, he was introduced to the coast of Maine by his future wife, Jenni, whose family had been coming to Surry since the early 1940’s. Since that time, Captain Billy has spent every summer and many Christmases in Surry on Newbury Neck.

While Captain Billy is not a licensed sea captain, he has taken hundreds of people out onto the waters of Union River and Blue Hill Bay to show them lighthouses and seals.

Captain Billy has a degree in history and, as a world traveler (he has been to six continents and more than 65 countries), he found Maine’s culture and people to be pleasantly unique. The more he got to know people in Maine and experienced the culture, the more he wanted to share his observations with the world.

Captain Billy has always loved humor and humorous stories. For several years he studied Improv at Second City and Victory Gardens Theater. He also tried his hand at stand-up comedy and took a class that culminated in an 8-minute original routine that he performed at Zanie’s Comedy Club. With all this humor running through his veins, it made sense to write a book that was funny, yet educational. That book is 50 Ways to Be a Mainer. But it is more than just a book of his writing. Captain Billy wanted it to also be a coloring book and was fortunate to discover a talented young artist in his other home of Florida who did the illustrations for each section.

The book is designed to be both informative and funny by pointing out little known facts about Maine's history, culture, and people—his talk will highlight some of those stories. Sections in the book include humor in Maine, the story of Buck's leg, and the history of the Aroostook County War, all of which make for an entertaining and enlightening presentation.

The talk is free; however, for planning purposes we ask that you RSVP by calling St. Andrews Village at 633-0920. Light refreshments will be served and books will be available for sale and signing.