On April 15 James Creissen spoke about his research and article in the 2025 Chebacco, titled "The Dining Room Without Walls: A Short History of Picnics on Mount Desert Island." James explored the tradition of picnicking on Mount Desert Island as a liberation from indoor life and a delightful reversal of everyday routines. He explored how MDI’s outdoor dining legacy, from the Wabanaki tradition of the clambake at Man-es-aydi’ik to the Romantic picnic craze of the Gilded Age, celebrated nature as a home without walls. He shared how these gatherings offered a unique sense of social freedom and romance in secluded "trysting places" many accessible only by boat, and how the pursuit of local delicacies like mountain cranberries and lobsters continues a long-standing idealized vision of summer on Mount Desert Island's celebrated shores.

James Creissen is a long-time summer resident of Northeast Harbor. He spends his winters in New York City, where he is a second-year master’s student in art history at Hunter College. He is passionate about visual culture and the arts in all forms and spends much of his free time painting and drawing, often of the MDI landscape and its vernacular architecture.