The Friends of Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery, established in 1995, hosted their tenth annual meeting and Open House at Craig Brook NFH in East Orland, Maine on August 11th. The Friends put on a scrumptious dinner of home baked beans, cornbread and a huge celebratory cake in recognition of a decade of work by the friends group in education and outreach in behalf of the hatchery, endangered Atlantic salmon and watershed habitat education. 

In the same year of its formation, the Friends of Craig Brook also established the Craig Brook Atlantic Salmon Museum on the property which contains a vast collection of Atlantic salmon angling memorabilia from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. In the years to follow, the Friends also donated to the hatchery and "to the people of Maine", an incredibly beautiful work of art entitled "The Leaper", a seven foot high Atlantic salmon sculpture in bronze by George Motycka of Penobscot, Maine, which since 2000 greets the visiting public as they arrive at Craig Brook. The Friends have also amassed a great number of public outreach events over the years, including the annual "Spawning Spectacular", the "Winter Carnival", "Halloween at the Hatchery" and many workshops. Future plans include an expansion of the Atlantic salmon heritage museum and a continuation of their exemplary educational outreach events.

The delicious meal was followed by an evening of Downeast Maine humor provided by Colin McDonald, a local entertainer who told stories of his growing up along the Maine coast. His tales included many colorful and spirited stories of Maine's long lobstering and Atlantic salmon angling heritage. It was an evening long to be remembered.