Thursday night gatherings on Mt. Pisgah might not sound familiar to most folks in Boothbay Harbor. But to those on the eastern side of the hill, the get-together is a rallying call for the pleasantries of a summer night with some darned nice people.

Some in the harbor have surprised us by not quite placing Mt. Pisgah or how to get here. But most know that somewhere on the east side, just beyond what was Rocktide before it became Oceanside Golf Resort, you head up Bay Street and keep climbing the hill even when you don’t see why you should. You’ll see the old Green Shutters buildings and you’ll be on Mt. Pisgah.

We who arrive when spring is still grumpy do so wittingly and gratefully, having referred to Boothbay Harbor at least three times in a week while we’re wherever we all are until we can get here, again. We will have watched the winter weather that you’re facing and fret when there’s a bad storm, hoping everyone’s tucked in safely and that our old buildings are safe as well.

Once here we put on most of what we own and bring ourselves and the cottages to life, best we can, lugging wood or turning up heaters, hoping the mice have taken a hint to shift headquarters while we admire the view from most houses on Mt. Pisgah because the trees are holding off on the leaves.

We marvel each spring about new additions or changes that have emerged and we particularly warm to that which is unchanged – the green open spaces of the peninsula winding from Route 1, the sea, the harbor, familiar faces in stores, the view from the porch which needs painting, and gratefully, the neighbors, to us unaltered by seasons.

Folks here know better than we of the changes made over the last few decades. We are, many of us, appreciative voyeurs of your handsome, well-kept community. Our faithfulness is inherent in many families whose summers in Boothbay Harbor are a proud memory and nearly a bragging point. Each year when we get to our winter’s roost, we’re quick to set aside a box to receive things that need to get to Maine next summer, which is always on our minds.

And over the years, ownership of some dear old cottages on Mt. Pisgah has stayed the same while others are put into motion by nice new neighbors we’d never seen before. Along the way the habit of gathering one night a week has taken root. We’re not doing anything special; there’s no featured speaker. In fact, many talk at the same time. Refreshments gather easily on the table for all to share, gleaned or offered from cottage cooks. They are acknowledged if not heralded each week.

Another small town in Maine is really what this small area is, I think. Certainly it’s yet another group in a charming community with its interesting components. I’m native-born to Maine, Mars Hill in the county, then mostly in Hancock County. For me small towns are a draw if not a mandate. Any place where everyone’s dog is patted by anyone else is choice. So if you visit, feel free to speak pleasantly to Sam, Scout, Tillie, Addie or Buillster. The rest of us would like to meet you, maybe Thursday evening.