Head of Tide

Head of Tide was a new term for me when we visited Gardiner, Maine, in October of 2021. The term is used to indicate the point along a river where the tide’s rise and fall basically stops. Upstream of this point in the river and one hardly notices an appreciable change in the level of water in the river. Downstream of this point the river level goes up and down with the cycle of the tide. Gardiner, Maine at one point represented the head of tide for the Kennebec River.

My ancestors lived nearly one hundred years in Gardiner when the city was just beginning. As I learned more about my family and the city, I realized that my ancestors success coincided with the rise and fall of the success of the town. Most of the family businesses depended upon the Kennebec River which flows by on its was to the Gulf of Maine. The city was founded on the river because of the nearby Cobbossee Stream and ready access to natural resources along the river and ports near the coast. Over the years various businesses succeeded then failed while others came along to take their place. The city’s business cycles, along with the tidal cycles, made me think about the relationship of the river, Gardiner, my family and change.

There have many analogies in literature and movies using the tide but for me the complexity of the flow of the river adds another dynamic to the typical comparisons. The river is a constant but represents change as it rises and falls from its source. The tidal rise and fail is a constant but still a variable as it doesn’t occur exactly at the same time or way. The head of tide also moves as weather conditions change. All of these things represents the unpredictability of change even when we know it will occur.

For me, the Head of Tide, is the culmination of what I know. Things change in ways we often can predict and sometimes in ways we cannot.