Yes, Master

For most Winthrop denizens, this table tent announcement was nothing more than a source of meal-time banter and speculation on the ruggedness of Winthrop men. However, Carlos J. Rojas ’04 thought that spring break hauling firewood and writing poetry on Winthrop House Master Paul D. Hanson’s farm was the perfect respite.

Ever since a formative experience in the woods on a hunting expedition at age eight, Rojas says, he has loved the cleansing nature of time spent in the great outdoors. While he admits to also being a fan of the sinful pleasures of Las Vegas, his hometown, that was not the kind of fun he wanted to have this spring break. Confident in his ruggedness, Rojas replied to Hanson’s ad.

This year’s expedition was not the first time the Hansons have invited students to enjoy time on their farm on the island of Islesboro in Maine’s Penobscott Bay. Hanson describes his haven as “one of the most unspoiled coves south of Bar Harbor.” He says the town is a one-bar, one-inn kind of place with an “independent sense” about it, where the woods shelter abandoned log cabins built by hippies and it’s rare to hear two cars go by in the same night. It’s the perfect setting for enjoying what Hanson calls the pleasures of “stepping back into the 19th century”—communal cooking (often of mussels gathered the same day), fireside chats and a slower pace of life, and it provides a “wonderful opportunity for people to get to know each other.” While the Hansons have hosted both men and women in the past, Hanson decided to “keep it simple” this time and only invite males since his wife, Co-Master Cynthia Rosenberger, had to teach all week and he would be the only supervisor.

In spite of Hanson’s efforts to recruit a group of four rugged Winthrop men, in the end only one was up to the challenge. While Rojas says he was initially concerned that if he was the only student on the trip it might be “a little too one-on-one,” he ended up having a great time. Unfortunately, the break had to be cut short because Hanson strained a muscle in his back while chainsawing some fallen trees. But in the time he was there, Rojas says he “really fell in love with the fresh air and the pine trees.” In fact, his experience has inspired him to seek employment as a summer camp counselor. “Outdoors all day with the sun,” he says, “sounds good to me.”