by Mary Grow Vassalboro Recent articles have mentioned two Vassalboro men, Thomas Stackpole Lang and Hall Chase Burleigh, who each deserve more attention for their agricultural contributions, along with Lang’s father, John Damon Lang. The early focus of the two families’ agricultural activities was what Alma Pierce Robbins, in her Vassalboro history, called the John […]
PFAS detected in area water supply by Mary Grow China select board chairman Wayne Chadwick suggested to his fellow board members at their Oct. 10 meeting the possibility of installing solar panels on the closed landfill at the Alder Park Road transfer station. Palermo resident Troy Nelson proposed the idea, Chadwick said. He pointed out […]
by Mary Grow Waterville horses continued “Nelson” Another locally-bred trotting horse, even more famous than General Knox (described last week), was Nelson. Nelson was a bay horse. The color is described on line as “a reddish-brown or brown body color with a black point coloration on the mane, tail, ear edges, and lower legs.” Several […]
by Mary Grow At their Oct. 3 meeting, Vassalboro planning board members approved the subdivision application they postponed at their September meeting, and postponed a new application, for a small solar development, to November. Darrell and Jessica Field presented requested additional information on their application to divide a lot in a subdivision on Katie Drive […]
by Mary Grow Vassalboro select board members sat behind their new laptop computers at their Oct. 5 meeting, for a long discussion that partly focused on the themes of residents’ knowledge of and involvement in town government. One topic, left undecided again, was selecting a company to manage the town’s website, including presenting select board […]
by Mary Grow Race horses and work horses Some of the central Kennebec Valley agricultural pioneers chose to breed racehorses, specifically trotters, instead of, or in addition to, the cattle discussed last week. For example, Kingsbury mentioned in the chapter on Waterville in his Kennebec County history that George Eaton Shores, of Waterville, who bred […]
by Mary Grow The topic at the Sept. 26 China planning board meeting was the proposed community solar garden on the west side of the section of Parmenter Hill Road locally called Moe’s Mountain. Minnesota-based Novel Energy Systems has begun the application process, planning to lease 13.73 acres of the southern part of Maurice Haskell, […]
by Mary Grow Cattle Continuing with the agricultural theme, this article will move readers north on the west bank of the Kennebec River from Sidney to Waterville and will focus on 19th-century cattle breeders. Samuel Boardman and E. P. Mayo, in their chapters on agriculture in Henry Kingsbury’s Kennebec County history and Rev. Edwin Whittemore’s […]
by Mary Grow A main discussion topic at the Vassalboro school board’s Sept. 19 meeting was HVAC – heating, ventilation and cooling – with the emphasis on cooling. Vassalboro Community School (VCS) was uncomfortably warm during the September hot spell. Assistant principal Tabitha Brewer said teachers in the top-floor classrooms were invited to move their […]
by Mary Grow At their Sept. 21 meeting, Vassalboro select board members debated at length three changes in town operations they hope will benefit residents. One they approved: changed town office hours, effective at the beginning of the next calendar year for a 90-day trial (see box). Updating town office electronics and adding electronic meeting […]