GRAND ISLE, Maine — A massive natural sanctuary hidden away in a northern Maine town of just 300 draws more than 5,000 visitors a year.
Mizpah in Grand Isle has helped thousands find peace amid life’s hardships at no cost for more than 30 years, and its founder’s family is ensuring the tradition continues.
The sanctuary welcomes everyone and especially seeks to help people who struggle with terminal illnesses and substance use disorders. In a rural area where isolation can compound these challenges, it helps people find a sense of community and togetherness. Now, its stewards are carrying the torch with an expansion and a slate of summer activities.
Mizpah comes from a Hebrew term that directly translates to “watchtower,” but its meaning is to look after and help one another. The non-denominational sanctuary focuses on helping people connect with a higher power and meditate through immersion with nature.
The site’s founder, Richard Corbin, was diagnosed with Stage IV Hodgkin disease at just 22 years old. He was given less than a year to live. He made a promise to God that he would build a place for cancer survivors if he survived. He started building Mizpah in 1991 on 15 acres.
He survived for nearly 50 years after that diagnosis and saw Mizpah grow to 109 acres. He died in 2015 at 71 years old.
“This didn’t die when my father passed away,” Jason Corbin said. “[Mizpah’s] mission was to help people that are in need. Our objective is to help people in our community that are in need.”
Corbin’s daughter, April Levesque, attributes her father’s survival to the power of prayer. She and his brother, Roger Corbin, both said his survival baffled members of the medical community, who couldn’t explain how lived nearly half a century after he was expected to die.
Corbin shared his positive energy with many others. He would visit the hospital across the border in Edmundston, New Brunswick, and tell his story to cancer patients. This helped give some people energy to fight the illness, Levesque said.
It wasn’t until after Corbin died that Levesque learned the extent of her father’s influence. She met people through her work and beyond who told her Corbin helped them recover from substance use issues.
Her father’s energy persists at Mizpah, in numerous instances her uncle called “little miracles.”
Just prior to his death, Corbin requested that bagpipes be played at his funeral. It was too late to make these arrangements, but Levesque said the moment one of her father’s friends touched his casket, someone’s phone rang with bagpipes set as a ringtone.
Another time, Levesque found a lost dog on the Mizpah grounds. She called the number associated with the microchip and reached a breeder in Syracuse, New York, who told her the dog was sold to a Brewer man who had moved to northern Maine. She discovered that the dog’s name was Corbin — the same as her father’s.
People have shared hundreds of similar stories with Levesque and the family throughout the years, and they’re part of what makes Mizpah special to so many, she said.
Between 5,000 and 6,000 people visit each year and the property has now expanded to 150 acres, all of which was donated.
Levesque now runs the sanctuary as part of a nine-member board consisting of Corbin’s other surviving family members, including her brother Jason and uncle Roger. A younger group of honorary board members assist with volunteer and maintenance work.
“We’re happy that there’s young blood coming in,” Levesque said.
The board and family have invested Mizpah money into an account, and the interest will help them sustain the sanctuary for years to come, Roger Corbin said.
As part of its community outreach, Mizpah works with local nursing homes and students from the Loring Job Corps Center, and even offers community service work through the judicial system.
Levesque works with judges to determine whether someone is eligible for community service work as part of their sentence. Last year, some people with roofing experience completed their community service sentences by working on the roof of one of the sanctuary’s buildings, she said.
Job Corps students learn trade skills while volunteering at the site, and in return Mizpah provides meals and fishing opportunities at the pond, Jason Corbin said. Five nursing homes also come twice a month and have a picnic.
Mizpah’s upcoming events include painting classes and a veterans appreciation day on Saturday, July 25. The site will host a Mass on Aug. 15 in conjunction with Madawaska’s Acadian Festival, an Alcoholics Anonymous retreat on Aug. 22 and its annual fundraiser walk on Aug. 29.
The board does not profit from any of the events held at MIzpah, Jason Corbin said.
“No one makes a salary, and the services we provide are free of charge,” he said.
Anyone interested in volunteering or donating can reach out via the website at mizpahmaine.com or by calling 207-358-8484.
While many find a sense of spiritual fulfillment at Mizpah, Levesque reiterated that it is non-denominational and welcomes everyone.
“Whatever they can take from here, we’re satisfied,” she said. “We’re not pressuring anyone to follow religion or do anything. It’s not religion to us here; it’s opening up the grounds to whoever needs it.”