Week of August 13, 2020
Vassalboro deputy clerk resigns after 6 years
Moving to Lady Lake, Florida
August 21 will be deputy clerk Deborah Johnston-Nixon’s last day at the Vassalboro town office. She is resigning after almost six years (she started Sept. 2, 2014, Town Manager Mary Sabins wrote) because her husband, Bob Nixon, Jr., has retired from Huhtamaki after 45 years and the couple is moving to Florida… by Mary Grow
Your Local News
Selectmen unanimously award Phase 2 Causeway project to McGee Construction
CHINA — After the China selectmen’s Aug. 10 special meeting, Town Manager Becky Hapgood reported the four members attending voted unanimously to accept McGee Construction’s bid to complete Phase II of the causeway project for $581,805…
School year 2020: Difficult choices for parents
CENTRAL ME — This month, parents are making a difficult decision: how to educate their children in the era of Covid-19. Do they opt to send their kids to public schools? If so, do they choose in-person or remote learning, or possibly a hybrid of the two?… by Jeanne Marquis
Folksinger at Albert Church Brown Library in China
CHINA — On Sunday, Aug. 16 (rain date Sunday, Aug. 23), at 2 p.m., the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library, on Main Street, in China Village, will present folksinger Bill Berlinghoff in an outdoor concert…
Blueberry festival set for Aug. 15
WINSLOW — One of Maine’s all-time most beloved, popular, and downright yummy summer events—Winslow’s annual Blueberry Festival—is coming this year on Saturday, August 15, from 8 a.m. to noon, at Winslow Congregational Church…
Blueberry cobbler fundraiser in Branch Mills
PALERMO — The Branch Mills Grange, in Palermo, will hold a Drive-up Blueberry Cobbler Fundraiser on Sunday, August 23, between 1and 3 p.m. Each serving of cobbler is $5, and comes with tickets for three separate raffles: 1) a $25 gift certificate for Pagett Farm Store, 2) a Blueberry Basket, and, 3) a mystery prize…
Share the Road ride slated
WINDSOR — The fourth annual Share the Road with Carol memorial bike ride will take place on Sunday, September 13. Share the Road with Carol is an all ages commemorative bike ride planned for Sunday, September 13, 2020, in Windsor and Whitefield. The ride, which has 12-mile and 27-mile options, starts and ends at the Windsor Town Office…
Memories of Windsor during the 1940s and 1950s
WINDSOR — Let me give you an idea of what it was like living in a small town in Maine in the early ‘40s and ‘50s. This was a long time before computers, cellphones and TVs in every home. I was in high school before we had a TV and they were nothing like we watch today. I have some vivid memories of that time… by Gerald Day
Windsor resident publishes debut novel
WINDSOR — Author Michael R. Goodwin is excited to announce his debut fiction novel, The Liberty Key. The story is set in fictional Hamilton, Maine, and focuses on Spencer, who buys a house to fulfill a promise to his deceased wife and child, who he lost tragically years prior…
Football clinic gets youth outdoors and active
WINSLOW — Here are some of the participants at the Winslow Youth Football clinics held during July. Director PJ Lessard said, “It was extremely important to give the youth of our communities a safe place to be physically active”… (photos)
Northern Light Inland Hospital welcomes Robin Fuller
WATERVILLE — Robin Fuller joins Northern Light Sleep Diagnostics, in Waterville, located on the Inland campus. She has been a nurse for 12 years and is board-certified as an adult-gerontology primary nurse practitioner. Robin will be available for sleep consultations and sleep hygiene services…
AARP Maine to mobilize older voter campaign
CENTRAL ME — Recently, AARP Maine launched “Protect Voters 50+,” a comprehensive voter engagement campaign to support and protect Mainers age 50 and older as they vote in the November election. The campaign, part of AARP’s nationwide voter engagement efforts…
Kennebec Savings launches Chamber appreciation campaign
WATERVILLE — Kennebec Savings Bank has created the KSB Chamber Appreciation Campaign to provide relief funds to each of the local chambers within its service area. Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce was the recipient of a substantial grant as part of this effort…
Palermo Community Library celebrates phase 2 of reopening with purchase of park pass
PALERMO — The library has purchased a Maine State Park Pass to ensure all of our community members have access to the great outdoors during this pandemic. The park pass may be borrowed by library patrons, age 18 and over, to visit state parks…
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Albion students on UMF dean’s list
ALBION — Albion students who achieved dean’s list status at the University of Maine at Farmington include Molly Burns, Lauren Faloon, Allison Frankenfield, and Noah Grindstaff…
Augusta students named to UMF dean’s list
AUGUSTA — Augusta students include Allee Cloutier, Suzanna Dibden, Sydney Goodridge, Josh Hoffman, Alison Laplante, Lexi Lettre, Michael Levesque, Alexis Libby, Catie Meehan and Justin Rodrigue…
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Notable citizens – Conclusion (New)
ALBION HISTORY — Elijah Parish Lovejoy was born Nov. 9, 1802, in Albion. His grandfather, Francis Lovejoy, was one of the town’s first settlers. His father, Daniel, was a Congregational preacher who, according to extracts from the sermon preached at his funeral, was a good man and a good minister, but was sometimes too carried away by enthusiasm to be tactful and was subject to periods of depression… [1641 words] by Mary Grow
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Notable citizens – Part 2B of 3
CHINA HISTORY — After the early life summarized in the July 30 issue of The Town Line, prominent South China Quaker Rufus Jones entered Haverford College, in Pennsylvania, in 1882 as a sophomore, receiving a full scholarship (which he later repaid). His 20th birthday would be Jan. 25, 1883… [1402 words] by Mary Grow
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Notable citizens – Part 2A of 3
CHINA HISTORY — Rufus Matthew Jones was born Jan. 25, 1863, in South China, into a Quaker family. The Encyclopedia Britannica’s online version calls him “one of the most respected U.S. Quakers of his time.” Wikipedia more comprehensively lists him as an “American religious leader, writer, magazine editor, philosopher, and college professor”… [1313 words] by Mary Grow
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Three notable citizens – Part 1 of 3
MAINE HISTORY — George John Mitchell is usually referred to as Senator Mitchell, but that’s only one title earned by this Waterville native. His 2015 memoir is The Negotiator, another appropriate title; and one could add lieutenant (in the Army), chairman (of a variety of committees and boards), judge (federal district court in Maine), chancellor (of the Queen’s University of Belfast in Northern Ireland) and (honorary) Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire… [1655 words] by Mary Grow
LETTERS: Maine roots run deep
from Neil Farrington (South China) — I have watched hundreds of thousand of political ads, which must have cost millions and millions of dollars, to get me to vote for the best U.S. Senate candidate. They all tell you why to vote for them or why not to vote for their opponent…
Obituaries
SOLON – Mary Frances Umbaugh Keegan Tester, 101, passed away on Sunday, August 2, 2020, in Solon. She was born in Leesburg, Virginia, the daughter of Charles and Rosa Unbaugh… and remembering 7 others.
Common Ground – Round 20: Win a $10 gift certificate!
DEADLINE: Friday, September 4, 2020
Identify the people in these three photos, and tell us what they have in common. You could win a $10 gift certificate to Retail Therapy Boutique in Waterville! Email your answer to townline@townline.org or through our Contact page. Include your name and address with your answer. Use “Common Ground” in the subject!
Previous winner: No winner.
Town Line Original Columnists
SCORES & OUTDOORS
by Roland D. Hallee | Traveling through rural Maine can be beautiful, both for its landscape and, secondly, its wildlife. Recently, I had two of those encounters. On Sunday, while on our way to visit our granddaughter, and newly-born great-granddaughter, in Belgrade, we came across a rafter of turkeys crossing the road on Rte. 27…
VETERANS CORNER
by Gary Kennedy | So many veterans are dissolutioned and confused by the VA being shutdown. For vets VA is a safe haven, a place that gives feelings of security. My phone and computer are active all the time. I have a relationship with vets not only here but in Asia as well…
REVIEW POTPOURRI
by Peter Cates | I have written before about Harry McClaskey (1882-1941) alias Henry Burr who recorded prolifically 100 and more years ago, while another singer Charles Harrison (1878-1965) alias Hugh Donovan is featured on side 2 of the above, very old record…
I’M JUST CURIOUS
by Debbie Walker | The next thing you usually hear is ‘God Bless You’. Why? Where did that get started and why? This was my curiosity today. As often happens I open my laptop computer and start with the Google files and, ta-da, there it is, the answer on the website of Wikipedia…
GROWING YOUR BUSINESS
by Dan Beaulieu | You have to be better than anyone else right? Isn’t that what makes business great? That extra little thing, that special thing that makes you stand out from the rest of the crowd. Often it’s not just the product or service but what doing business with that certain company does for you; how doing business with that company makes you feel…
AARP OUTREACH
by Patricia Pinto | On August 14, Social Security turns 85 years old. This critical program has remained strong over its 85-year history largely because of its dedicated funding, vigorous support from the American people and the commitment of elected officials to work together in order to make the changes needed to secure its financial future…
SOLON & BEYOND
by Marilyn Rogers-Bull | This will be the fourth and final column about the Burial of Flagstaff. I have heard from some of you who said you have enjoyed learning about the sad drowning of the Dead River and Flagstaff communities, I was greatly pleased…
FOR YOUR HEALTH
(NAPSI) — You may know regular exercise and physical activity enhance your physical health and emotional well-being, boost your energy level and quality of life, but recent developments in fitness may shake things up…