Meeting Martha Stewart

Uncle Buzzy

When I was a child, I lived in Southwest Harbor, Maine, on Mount Desert Island. Our neighbors were the Beals, who owned Beal's Lobster Pier in SWH. Always known as Uncle Buzzy and Aunt Prue, they were married for 70 years until Uncle Buzzy passed away in 2010 at age 89.

Uncle Buzzy's father had established Beal's Lobster Pier in the 1930's, and Buzzy retired from lobstering in 1967 to take over operating the business when his father died. The main function of the business was to buy lobsters from the lobstermen and resell them to restaurants and private individuals in the area (they would also ship live lobsters on ice anywhere in the country). In the late 1990's, Buzzy retired and turned over operation of the business to one of his four children, Sam. Even though Buzzy was "retired" he was still frequently at the pier, sorting lobsters and making deliveries of cases of lobsters to various locations on the island in his pickup truck.

I have returned to Mount Desert Island many times since I moved away, and always made a point of getting together with Uncle Buzzy and Aunt Prue to visit and enjoy a dinner together. It was at one of these occasions that he related to me his experience of meeting Martha Stewart.

Martha Stewart had purchased, in 1997, a 60+ acre estate in Seal Harbor called Skylands. Originally, the estate had been owned by Edsel Ford. It is shielded by trees from view from the street. If you are on a scenic cruise out of Bar Harbor, all you can see of the estate is part of the roof and a chimney.

Martha Stewart at Skylands

From the start, Martha did not endear herself to the locals. A story that made it's way into the Bar Harbor Times told of a young couple who decided to drive up to Seal Harbor to look at Martha's estate. Reportedly, when they drove into the driveway, she did not take it gracefully. She reportedly put the chain across the driveway entrance to prevent them from leaving and called the police. When the police arrived, she told them that she wanted the couple charged with trespassing. When the police pointed out that they would also have to charge her with kidnapping and illegal restraint, the matter quietly resolved.

Uncle Buzzy's introduction to Martha Stewart occurred in the early 2000's. She called Beals's Lobster Pier to order a case of live lobsters and wanted them delivered to Skylands. Buzzy was making deliveries to the local restaurants that day, so he headed to Seal Harbor in his pickup truck. Entering the estate, he drove up the driveway to the front door and rang the doorbell. Martha Stewart answered the door and started loudly berating Uncle Buzzy (he was pretty deaf, so it was not as effective as she might have wanted) and demanded that he go around to the "servant's entrance". The delivery was made and Buzzy continued his rounds.

This was not the end of bad behavior by Martha Stewart toward the Beals. Buzzy's oldest son, Elmer, and his wife own a small seasonal restaurant named the Burning Tree, which is in Otter Creek, a small village near Seal Harbor.

The Burning Tree is a place that serves outstanding food (Elmer's wife is the chef), but it has limited seating and is hard to get a reservation unless you plan days ahead. I have had dinner there with Aunt Prue and Uncle Buzzy a couple of times. I guess being related to the owner can be helpful in getting a table.

According to Aunt Prue, one night the phone rang; it was Martha Stewart wanting a table for dinner in two hours. Elmer, who was manning the phone, told her that the reservations were full for the evening, but that she was welcome to come another time. Her response reportedly was, "Do you know who I am?". Elmer's response was that he did, but that the reservations for the evening were full and offering a table on another night. She hung up without saying anything more.

Martha Stewart has multiple personas, ranging from being charming and very business-savvy to being an entitled ass. I don't know if she had ever called Beal's Lobster Pier again to order a case of lobsters, but it's a safe bet that, if she did, Uncle Buzzy declined to handle the delivery.