W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 3
BO O K O F L I S T S 2 0 2 0
I
t's not uncommon for Mainebiz staff members to
visit a company and see Mainebiz prominently
displayed on a coffee table, possibly next to other
publications from Maine. It's often the Book of
Lists that is on the table.
is year's book features 35 lists on topics ranging
from real estate, salaries and Maine's publicly traded
companies. ere's also a list of "List Toppers."
is is 25
th
anniversary of Mainebiz, and the
Book of Lists has gone through a long evolution.
We think you'll enjoy it.
About the cover
It was a Saturday in Rockland, having lunch at a
cafe with my family, and in comes Kate McAleer,
CEO of Bixby & Co., the maker of Bixby bars, and
her mom, Donna McAleer. I have known Kate over
the years and her operations are just down Tillson
Avenue from the restaurant. It turned out to be
quite a fortuitous meeting.
She invited
my family to
come visit Bixby's
revamped shop
and produc-
tion site, and
also suggested
we stop and see
Maine artist
Eric Hopkins,
who has a gal-
lery and studio on Tillson Avenue.
Hopkins was at his studio. We introduced our-
selves and when I told him where I worked he said,
"Wait a minute."
After a few minutes, he returned. He was holding a
copy of the 2003 Book of Lists. I jumped at the chance
to offer him another cover. It seemed fitting, given that
we've been celebrating the 25
th
anniversary of Mainebiz
with weekly "A Look Back" columns.
Hopkins offered a couple of choices, and you can
see we went with "Purple Hills and Cumulus Clouds,"
a watercolor that, in its original size, is 30-by-22-inches.
On behalf of Mainebiz, we'd like to thank Eric
for his generosity. Drop by his studio the next time
you're in Rockland.
Peter Van Allen
pvanallen@mainebiz.biz
A long history for the Book of Lists — and a repeat cover for one artist
F R O M T H E E D I TO R
P H O T O / P E T E R VA N A L L E N
Artist Eric Hopkins, pictured in his Rockland
gallery, holding a copy of the 2003 Book of
Lists, which featured his painting, "Thorofare
Islands with Clouds." (The painting behind him
is "Water-Land-Sky Bands," 48-by-48-inches.)
