Fitting in is something Jim Hazell, the enthusiastic, affable Bristol Parks and Recreation employee and maple syrup maker, has done so well in the area that people assume he’s always been in Lincoln County. In a spiritual sense, Hazell may have, but physically, the former Marblehead, Mass. police officer and award-winning Realtor has only been in Bristol since 2015.

Whether Gary Stone is on his daily run along the roads of Newcastle and Damariscotta, at a community fundraiser or event, or walking into downtown Damariscotta on his lunch break, he’s a man about town who is all about community.

The forces of nature around Lincoln County include snowstorms, Damariscotta’s Pumpkinfest and Regatta, and at one point, glaciers. That list wouldn’t be complete, however, without the addition of Holly Zeller, a medaling extreme sports enthusiast, creator of an informal fashion contest, and Linaca Music Festival Host, with a fearless knack for making friends.

The Midcoast has always enjoyed a vibrant music scene, one that’s brighter during the summer months, and those familiar with the scene know the familiar faces in the crowd and on stage. One of those recognizable faces is Paul Mellyn, a New England Bluegrass Hall of Famer and home restoration specialist who has been playing here since the 2000s.

At the end of a long, one-lane dirt road in Bristol is a hill sloping like a cliff on Muscongus Bay. Perched there is the house Doug Preston lives in, an idyllic haunt for the New York Times bestselling author, and outdoorsman, to write his popular thrillers and nonfiction work.

With its long evergreen forests and storied glacial coast, Maine’s history of nurturing outdoorsmen almost goes without saying. Lincoln County shares in that history, evidenced by residents like Kyle O’Brien, a fourth generation Bremen lobsterman, who, when not on the boat, is hunting for deer and occasionally moose.

Paul Leeman Jr. has worn many hats during his life: Bristol’s first full-time fire chief, a shotokan martial arts instructor, and owner and cook at New Harbor’s fabled Samoset Restaurant, to name a few.