Week of October 22, 2020
St. Anthony Soup Kitchen continues to creatively serve community
The cars continue to line up and roll through, while others walk up wearing masks. The images of this weekly labor of love look different than they did just eight months ago, but it’s Thursday night, which means a free dinner is available to all who need one thanks to the volunteers at St. Anthony’s Soup Kitchen, in Skowhegan…
Your Local News
Parents protest closing of town-owned ballfields
VASSALBORO — Four residents, three of them young parents who said they were speaking for others, attended the Oct. 15 Vassalboro selectmen’s meeting to protest closing the town-owned ballfields in East Vassalboro…
Selectmen hear reports from department heads
CHINA — China selectmen heard reports from town departments (submitted in writing and read by Town Manager Becky Hapgood) and considered various issues at their Oct. 13 meeting. They made three decisions…
China selectmen candidates explain their position on local topics
CHINA — The five candidates for three seats on China’s Board of Selectmen answered questions at an on-line Oct. 18 forum sponsored by the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library in China Village…
Are you ready for ranked-choice voting?
To mark the ballot for your first-choice candidate – the person who you would most like to see win the office – simply fill in the oval next to their name in the “1st Choice” column…
Turkey pie sale planned in Madison
MADISON — A turkey pie sale, curbside only, will be held at the back entrance of the Madison American Legion Hall, on Saturday, November 7, 2020, from 3 to 6 p.m., at 20 S. Maple Street. Each pie is $10, and pre-orders are encouraged, call Charlotte at 696-3375 by October 30…
41st annual China Maine craft show happening virtually
CHINA — It’s the resourcefulness of parents and crafters that’s making the 41st Annual China Maine Craft Show possible this year. Raigen Messier York and Melissa Clement, both of the China Schools PTO recreated the fair experience online, bringing crafters and consumers, together at ChinaMaineCraftSho.wixsite.com, from October 7 to November 7… by Jeanne Marquis
MHS: Music in a coronavirus world
OAKLAND — Try playing a saxophone outside when the temperature is 47 degrees. It’s not easy, and it’s not particularly pleasant. But for members of the Messalonskee High School band program, playing outside has become a necessity in the year of the pandemic, a year in which the music could have died… by Colin Hickey, MHS English teacher
Fresh Florida citrus delivered to your door
PALERMO — The Palermo Community Center and Food Pantry is sponsoring a safe annual fruit sale. The oranges, grapefruit, mandarins, and more go from the tree to the shipper in mere hours and arrive at your door – or anywhere in the continental U.S.A. you send them. Shipping fees are only $6.95 a box – no matter how big the box is…
Kennebec County retired educators support the classroom
CENTRAL ME — The Kennebec Retired Educators Association (KREA) awards two $150 grants to two educators in Kennebec County for classroom use. The grants will supplement expenses for student-centered, inter-disciplinary projects and may be expended for materials used in the classroom, speakers’ fees, project development expenses, etc…
Bottle drive to benefit food pantries
CENTRAL ME — Through October, recyclable bottles are being collected to benefit the Palermo, Liberty, and Montville Food pantries. Bottles may be dropped off at the porch of the Palermo Community Center anytime, or at Nancy Bartlett’s home, at 801 Acadia, across from the 10-4 Diner…
LETTERS: A calm, measured approach to life and politics
from Lawrence Griffin (Waterville) — It is not often that I can unequivocally endorse a person with impeccable qualifications such as Hilary Koch, who is running for the Maine State Senate, representing Waterville and several other towns in central Maine…
Become a member: An open letter to our readers
Dear Reader: For the past 32 years, The Town Line has pledged a mission statement to “create a vibrant rural community connecting our towns, organizations and individuals through communication, education and public dialogue.” It’s all part of The Town Line’s mission to be a positive force in our community…
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Mail delivery – Part 1
MAINE HISTORY — Intercolonial mail started in the early 1700s in the major cities on the east coast of the future United States, and had reached Maine’s coastal towns before the Revolution. The national postal service was organized during the Revolution, with Benjamin Franklin the first Postmaster General. Alma Pierce Robbins wrote in her history of Vassalboro that mail service reached the central Kennebec Valley in the 1790s… by Mary Grow [1829 words]
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Trolleys
MAINE HISTORY — Not long after finishing the piece about street railways that appeared in The Town Line, Sept. 10, this writer came across a small paperback book published in 1955. Written by O. R. (Osmond Richard) Cummings, it is titled Toonervilles of Maine The Pine Tree State. (The title refers to Fontaine Fox’s comic strip called Toonerville Folks that Wikipedia says first appeared in the Chicago Post in 1908 and last appeared in 1955… by Mary Grow [1608 words]
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Transportation: roads
MAINE HISTORY — Previous articles have discussed transportation by water and overland by railroads, local and long-distance. This article discusses aspects of the evolution of roads and travel over them. Laying out roads was a major task for local governments in the late 18th and early 19th centuries… by Mary Grow [1877 words]
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Railway transportation
MAINE HISTORY — Although the narrow-gauge railroad that was built inland from Wiscasset starting in 1894 never reached either Québec (its first name was the Wiscasset and Québec) or Waterville or Farmington (later it was the Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington), as the WW&F it was an integral part of towns along its route. Reminiscences from Palermo include the WW&F… by Mary Grow [2155 words]
FISHY PHOTO: Secret fishing spot
Hunter Hallee, 14, of Rome, landed this 8-lb. rainbow trout. When asked where, his answer was, “some undisclosed stream somewhere near nowhere”…
Obituaries
PALERMO – Randall C. Hannan, 67, of the S. Liberty Rd., died on Sunday, September 27, 2020, at MaineGeneral Medical Center, Augusta. Randy was born in Vassalboro on May 13, 1953, the son of Virgil and Ruth Hannan… and remembering 7 others.
Common Ground: Win a $10 gift certificate!
DEADLINE: Friday, November 13, 2020
Identify the objects 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: Kay Pooler, Vassalboro.
Town Line Original Columnists
SCORES & OUTDOORS
by Roland D. Hallee | Last week, I received an email from a colleague, and follower of this column, asking the question, “Why don’t deer and moose get their antlers caught in trees?” Well, it isn’t uncommon to find deer with their antlers caught in trees. But it usually occurs following adverse conditions, especially from flooding or being frightened into a desperate retreat…
VETERANS CORNER
by Gary Kennedy | This is election time and also an SSI and Veteran COLA time. (Cost of Living Adjustment). The veterans historically receive the same as SSI recipients. This is usually what occurs in the fiscal year, October 1. As it stands now the percentage relied upon is using the Consumer Price Index and as it stands at this time it looks like the increase will only be 1.6 percent which is not a whole heck of a lot…
REVIEW POTPOURRI
by Peter Cates | Maine poet Isaac McLellan (1806-1899) was born in Portland but grew up in Boston. He went to Bowdoin College, in Brunswick, where he was friends with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and made the acquaintance of Nathaniel Hawthorne…
I’M JUST CURIOUS
by Debbie Walker | I don’t know where this quote came from, however, I am using it here, “With prices of most necessities rising, I’m glad there’s a way to save tons of money in such a simple, healthy manner.” I haven’t tried most of these, but I will put notes on things I have tried. I hope you enjoy reading the possibilities and trying a few…
SOLON & BEYOND
by Marilyn Rogers-Bull | The following is about the first meeting of the Solon 4-H Club meeting since March: Saturday, October 10, the club met at the Solon Fire Station. In attendance were Cooper and Kaitlin De Lardis, Lindsey and Charlotte Hamilton, Desmond and Jillian Robinson, Sarah Craig, Isabella Atwood and Autumn Ladd…
FOR YOUR HEALTH
(NAPSI) — The Elizabeth Dole Foundation and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs have launched an emergency respite care fund for the family caregivers of wounded, ill, and injured veterans. The program, Respite Relief for Military and Veteran Caregivers, will provide non-medical, no-cost, professional home care to veteran caregivers who are struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic…