A 1923 trip to Maine brought Meissner to Monhegan Island for the first time, and he immediately felt a powerful affinity with the island. Meissner returned to Monhegan virtually every year for more than half a century. Although he supported himself in New York, he was most closely identified with Monhegan, where he met his wife and eventually owned two matching houses. "Monhegan was definitely the place I was looking for. The cliffs and surf and huge arch of twinkling stars overhead were completely new discoveries to the boy from New York." - Leo J. Meissner