Issue for May 15, 2025
Town News
China road committee looks at two roads, parking lot & bridge
CHINA – China Road Committee members spent their May 8 meeting talking about two roads and a parking lot in the northwestern end of town and a bridge in Branch Mills, on the eastern boundary…
Planners approve one application for addition to cottage
VASSALBORO – Vassalboro Planning Board members approved the only application on their agenda at a brief May 6 meeting…
LETTERS: Get involved with civic engagement
from Celeste Banda (Skowhegan) – After attending a screening of “Join or Die” last year, a documentary about the decline of civic engagement across the United States, I felt inspired to get involved in Skowhegan. That led me to join the Skowhegan Heritage Council, a town commission dedicated to preserving our history and strengthening collaboration among local organizations…
LETTERS: Speaking for the Unheard
from Angelica Caballero (Los Banos) – Sparked by a letter to the editor from an AARP volunteer in Maine, highlights how the issue of social isolation among adults 50 and older, 28 percent of seniors living alone totaling more than 14.7 million people (5 million men and 9.7 million women) remains a global concern…
ShineOnCass hosts annual baby shower
ALBION — More than 100 children dressed in pajamas came to Hart-to-Hart Farm & Education Center, in Albion, on Sunday, May 4, to welcome newborn farm animals (also in jammies), give back to their community, and honor the legacy of Cassidy Charette at the annual ShineOnCass Animal Baby Shower & PJ Party…
Palermo Historical Society celebrates 30 years
PALERMO — To live in Palermo is to live among history, and this is true whether you know the history or not. It’s in the name and shape of our roads – Turner Ridge, Banton, Parmenter – and of the families who have lived here for generations. It’s in the houses, like the ones that survived the Branch Mills Fire of 1908 or the camps that surround Sheepscot Pond…
Former gubernatorial candidate and longtime wildlife advocate considers another run for the Blaine House
CHINA — Former democratic gubernatorial candidate and longtime environmentalist and wildlife advocate John M. Glowa Sr., of South China, is considering mounting an independent campaign for governor”…
New Dimensions FCU announces 2025 scholarship winners
CENTRAL ME — New Dimensions Federal Credit Union (NDFCU) is proud to announce the recipients of its 2025 Scholarship Program: Sofia Derosby and Alan Crawford III. Each student has been awarded $2,500 for their college tuition this fall, recognizing their outstanding academic achievements, community involvement, and exemplary essays…
AARP Maine calls for nominations
CENTRAL ME — AARP Maine announces a call for nominations for its second annual Champion in Aging award, which will be presented to a nonprofit organization in Maine that has demonstrated an innovative commitment to serving older adults in the state…
Local happenings
EVENTS: Vassalboro Methodist Church to hold yard and plant sale
VASSALBORO — The Vassalboro United Methodist Church (VUMC) is holding a “Yard and Plants Sale” on Saturday, June 7, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., on the same day as the Vassalboro town-wide yard sales. Good quality items of all kinds will be available, including two church pews removed from the sanctuary earlier this year…
EVENTS: Author Ron Currie to offer public reading
WATERVILLE — Please join us in the beautiful fourth-floor reading room at the Waterville Public Library at 1p.m., on Saturday, May 17, to hear Author Ron Currie, Jr., read from his fifth book, published in March 2025: The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne…
EVENTS: Oakland Legion Memorial Day parade
OAKLAND — This year’s Memorial Day Parade will be on Monday, May 26, starting at noon. Before the parade there will be a service held at Lakeview Cemetery At 11 a.m., to honor and remember those veterans who have passed…
EVENTS: Lincoln County Dems to meet May 22
LINCOLN COUNTY — The Lincoln County Democratic Committee (LCDC) will host Alison Smith, Board Member of League of Women Voters of Maine at its next meeting on Thursday, May 22, at 7 p.m…
CALENDAR OF EVENTS: Lasagna public supper in Vassalboro
VASSALBORO – A lasagna public supper will be held at the Vassalboro United Methodist Church (VUMC), at 614 Main Street/Route 32, on Saturday, May 17, 4:30 – 6 p.m. The supper is open to the public and the menu will include both vegetable and meat lasagnas. Baked beans, salads, bread and pies will also be served. A $10 donation per person is appreciated… and many other local events!
EVENTS: Local central Maine Town Meetings schedule for 2025
CENTRAL ME – List of area town meetings. To be included in this list, visit our Contact Us page or send an email to The Town Line at townline@townline.org…
Obituaries
WINDSOR – Maurice Mitchell, 80, passed away on Sunday, April 27, 2025, in Windsor. Born on July 20, 1944, in Portsmouth, Virginia, Maurice lived a life marked by service, resilience, and unwavering devotion to his family…
Name that film!
Identify the film in which this famous line originated and qualify to win FREE passes to The Maine Film Center, in Waterville: “A former greenskeeper, now about to become the Master’s champion.” Email us at townline@townline.org with subject “Name that film!” Deadline for submission is June 5, 2025.
Up and Down the Kennebec Valley: 19th century lawyers (new)
CENTRAL ME HISTORY — Winslow wasn’t the only small town in this section of the Kennebec River valley with its own 19th-century lawyer(s), though no other seems to have been as conspicuous as Eleazer Ripley… by Mary Grow
Up and Down the Kennebec Valley: Courts – Eleazer Ripley
CENTRAL ME HISTORY — In his Kennebec County history, Henry Kingsbury wrote that Winslow lawyer Lemuel Paine once had a partner whom Kingsbury called “General Ripley, the hero of the battle of Lundy’s Lane, Canada”… by Mary Grow
Up and Down the Kennebec Valley: Waterville F.D. history
WATERVILLE HISTORY — As the Village of Waterville grew into a dense town where a single fire could threaten the lives of thousands, the village lacked the types of institutions that would fight these fires. In other parts of the country, firefighters were organized as volunteers or were paid for by insurance companies to combat the threat of fire… by Scott Holst
Up and Down the Kennebec Valley: Small town lawyers
CENTRAL ME HISTORY — While looking for information for the previous articles on Maine’s legal and court systems and people who made them work, your writer came across related information that falls under two headings, people and buildings… by Mary Grow
Common Ground: Win a $10 gift certificate!
DEADLINE: Wednesday, May 14, 2025
Identify the people in these three photos, and tell us what they have in common. You could win a $10 gift certificate to Hannaford Supermarket! 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: James Vigue, Winslow
Town Line Original Columnists
SCORES & OUTDOORS
by Roland D. Hallee | While driving through the countryside, you may have noticed some small bodies of water that are there in the spring, but disappear as summer proceeds. These vernal pools are essential to our ecosystem…
QUINN MINUTE
by Rix Quinn | Not long ago at a class reunion, several of us got to talking about “film strips.” If you attended elementary school during the 1950s through 1970s, you may remember these visual learning tools…
REVIEW POTPOURRI
by Peter Cates | Spanish violinist Maria Duenas, now 22, has already landed a recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon and won several first prizes at violin competitions around the world since the age of 17…
FOR YOUR HEALTH
HEALTH | According to the American Lung Association—the leading organization working to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease through education, advocacy and research—lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States, yet only 16% of people at high risk have been screened…