Before the Internet and digital publishing, there was no Polar Bear & Company. What would later become a nationally distributed publisher of quality books and art was simply a husband and wife team with a lot of creativity. Paul and Ramona wrote books, polished them on a typewriter, created handmade covers with varnish, watercolors and thick paper, and then bound their creations with beautiful pieces of oak from the English countryside. After moving to Solon, Maine, and living there for seven years, Paul and Ramona took their handmade books to another level. In 1998, they self-published Indian Summer: The Return of the Myth of the Running Man and the next year, Manitou, A Mythological Journey in Time. Making all the usual self-publishing mistakes, they learned how to produce books, have them printed, and market them. They soon realized that they could provide a valuable service to talented authors seeking alternatives to the often-conventional major publishing companies. In 2001, Bet Shoshannah Pecora sent in a manuscript called One Dream, a powerful story dealing with the consequences of drug and alcohol abuse. At the same time, a group called Youth Voices at Carrabec High School were advertising in the community for personal stories to raise awareness of alcohol abuse. The collection turned into a publishing project, combining the stories along with the novel in one volume titled One Dream and Collected Stories. It was a great success, including an introduction by Governor Angus King, an endorsement by Governor John Baldacci (then congressman), with statewide and national praise, including a letter of recommendation by President Bill Clinton. This was followed by Letters From a Civil War Surgeon, a treasure trove of original letters from Dr. William Child of the Fifth New Hampshire Volunteers. These historical documents gained national attention on CNN's Paula Zhan Live. More authors across the country began sending manuscripts to the small house by the waterfall, on Brook Street in Solon, Maine. Providing a unique service in the publishing market, Polar Bear & Company enjoyed a bit of a snowball effect. As their books reached more and more people, more authors approached the company in hopes of having a book published with the quality and expertise that separates Polar Bear & Company from many other independent publishing houses. Today, Polar Bear & Company enjoys global distribution and marketing, along with strong local ties to booksellers and the community. They have produced a Biblio Bestseller, a Maine #2 bestseller, garnered critical praise, and are currently becoming an imprint of the Solon Center for Research and Publishing. The Polar Bear list of titles has that same sense of direction as the mission of the Solon Center, which is to help build community through educational and literary means.