VASSALBORO: Energy application incomplete; action postponed

/0 Comments/in , /by
by Mary Grow

At their July 7 meeting, Vassalboro Planning Board members found that Longroad Energy Management’s application for a solar farm at 2579 Riverside Drive (Route 201) is incomplete. They therefore postponed action.

Longroad spokespeople David Kane and Kara Moody, who had also presented a preliminary application at the board’s May 5 meeting, said they will include more details about grading the site as part of their application for state Department of Environmental Protection permits. The grading, Kane explained, is not to level the sloping field, but to even out the slope where necessary. Since grading is expensive, Longroad will make as little change as possible.

However, Planning Board Chairman Ginny Brackett said, Vassalboro’s ordinance says an application shall include current and proposed contours, and board members do not skip over mandatory requirements.

Brackett also asked Kane and Moody to add information about planned buffers along the boundaries of the project.

Abutter Peter Ditmanson raised another issue: he said a pond on his property connects to a stream that runs through the proposed solar farm and eventually feeds into the Kennebec River. No stream is shown on the map prepared by Longroad’s consultant. Planning board member Betsy Poulin found one on a Vassalboro shoreland map, however.

The Longroad representatives said they intend to have the state submission ready this summer and hope to return to the Vassalboro board with additional information before November.

Kane said state review can take up to 195 days. The tentative schedule is to start construction in July 2021 and have the solar farm operative by the fall of 2021. The 4.6 megawatts of power to be generated are already sold to a Maine firm, he said.

Longroad’s solar farm differs from ReVision Energy’s on Main Street, approved by the board on June 2 (see The Town Line, June 11), in two ways.

First, it will cover more than 20 acres – around 26 to 30 acres, Kane said – and therefore requires state environmental permits, as well as local approval.

Second, it is a different type of installation. ReVision’s, and others approved and pending in Central Maine, have what are called fixed tilt panels, facing south, in north-south rows.

Longroad’s panels are single-axis trackers. The rows run east and west, and small motors move each panel to follow the sun from east to west daily. Kane described the movements as “sort of a wave motion,” not the whole field turning in unison.

Tracking panels are lower than fixed ones, five or six feet high versus up to 10 feet high for fixed. They need more ground space, Kane said. Mowing requirements are the same as for fixed panels: only two mowings a year and the first one delayed until ground-nesting birds have fledged their young.

Kane said Longroad does not plan snow clearance, on the panels or on the ground. Should the snow get deep enough to interfere with the panels’ motion, Longroad can shut the field down, he said.

Brackett asked how long-distance control works. Kane replied that Longroad, which has offices in Boston and Portland, has remote control over some 800 solar developments, including in Hawaii. Its affiliated firm First Wind operates eight wind power generators, from northern Maine to the mid-West. A Utah windfarm, he said, has a bird scanner that tracks and identifies birds flying nearby; if a bird appears to be in danger, that sector can be shut down remotely.

Vassalboro Business Association (VBA) announces 2020 scholarship winners

/0 Comments/in , /by

From top left: Cole Leclerc, Adam Bonenfant, Benjamin Reed and Lily Roy.

The Vassalboro Business Association has announced the recipients of its four $500 scholarships. Much of this money was raised by Freddie’s Cruise in, an annual event organized by Bill and Roxanne Pullen.

The winners are Cole Jefferson Leclerc, Adam Bonenfant, and Benjamin Reed, all from Erskine Academy, in South China, and Lily Roy who attended Waterville High School.

Cole Jefferson Leclerc plans to study business at Thomas College, in Waterville, and graduate early with an accelerated program. He loves to play baseball, has volunteered helping other athletes learn and improve their games. Much of his volunteer tasks were with the Future Business Leaders of America.

Lily Roy plans to major in graphic design or marketing. She has worked as a Junior Church teacher assistant for the last two years. She also helped with Red Cross blood drives and helped serve food at the homeless shelter.

Adam Bonenfant completed his community service working on his Eagle Scout Project. He will attend Kennebec Valley Community College, in Fairfield, in the new sustainable construction association degree program.

Benjamin Reed will attend the University of Southern Maine, in Gorham, and study Behavioral Sciences with a concentration in Counseling. His community service was as a Junior Camp Counselor. He served on the student council and as a student ambassador.

Over two dozen boats in Sheepscot parade

/0 Comments/in , , /by

The Sheepscot Lake Association hosted the second annual Independence Day boat parade, on Sheepscot Lake, on July 4, 2020. Over 25 decorated boats participated, with many others enjoying the festivities from the shore. (contributed photos)

The Sheepscot Lake Association 2020 boat parade. (contributed photo)

The Sheepscot Lake Association 2020 boat parade. (contributed photo)

The Sheepscot Lake Association 2020 boat parade. (contributed photo)

Give Us Your Best Shot! for Thursday, July 16, 2020

/0 Comments/in /by

To submit a photo for this section, please visit our contact page or email us at townline@townline.org!

SUMMER SETTING: Louisa Barnhart submitted this quintessential summer photo of Anna and Ben Hansen with their dogs.

CHIPMUNK CHEEKS: Joan Chaffee, of Clinton, photographed this chipmunk filling up on seeds.

STRETCH: While boating on Webber Pond, Sharon Coolahan, of Vassalboro, snapped this loon stretching its wings.

China manager leaving town in good shape

/1 Comment/in , , /by

Retiring town manager Dennis Heath. (photo by Eric Austin)

by Eric W. Austin

“Above all, I hope the people of China have an optimistic outlook about the future,” said Dennis Heath, who is resigning from his position as manager for the town of China this week. “With Becky [Hapgood] stepping up as town manager they have nothing to fear.”

Heath was hired as China’s town manager in June 2018 when Daniel L’Heureux retired from the position after 22 years. Current town clerk, Becky Hapgood, has been chosen by the selectboard to succeed Heath as the new town manager.

In a few weeks, Heath and his wife, Mary, will be returning to Oklahoma to care for their aging parents. Leaving Maine was not an easy decision. “I’ve enjoyed my time here,” he said. “Mary and I are not happy about leaving. We came primarily because of our grandkids being here, so that means we’ll be leaving our grandchildren.” Heath and his wife currently own a home on Cross Road, in China, and attend China Baptist Church where Heath has occasionally taken on pastoral duties. “We’ve become very close with them,” he says of the church community. “Leaving them is leaving family.”

Their return to Oklahoma was prompted by the failing health of Heath’s mother and the need to live closer to both their parents as they age. “We made a commitment decades ago to our parents that we would be the ones to look after them when the time came,” he said, “and that time has come.”

During his tenure at the China town office, Heath has tried to decentralize authority and empower the managers below him. “I believe that it’s the responsibility of a senior leader to develop the people that are beneath him so that if something were to happen to him, he could step away or – God forbid – expire, and you don’t skip a beat,” he said. “That was primarily why, upon my arrival, I called together the department heads [and] I pushed authority out to them instead of consolidating it. It’s dangerous when you consolidate authority in one person.”

Following this philosophy, he has required that each department head create their own budget. Because of that “they have a lot more understanding about decisions that are made by the budget committee, by the selectboard, [and] by the townspeople, in terms of the amount of money that’s allocated. It’s better for them, and I think it’s better for the community.”

Not everything has gone smoothly during Heath’s two years as town manager. During his first year, controversy erupted over the paying of “stipends” to the town’s volunteer fire departments. “I was a little disappointed that it ratcheted up the way it did,” Heath reflected.

The issue was over the legality of how money was being given to the fire departments, and was eventually solved by including the monetary gift as a different line item in the town’s budget.

“I can understand the point of view of the fire departments,” he said. “They’ve been independently incorporated since their beginning, and they don’t want to lose that identity. At the same time, the elected officials and the officers of the town have the legal responsibility to protect the taxpayers and make sure everything is done within the law…If the townspeople want to give money to the fire departments to help them pay stipends, then there’s a way to do that, and that’s why I put it in the budget this year the way I did, so that you don’t have to continue that fight.”

The energy expended over this issue may have distracted from other important initiatives, Heath said. Among them was a proposal to purchase lakefront property for a public beach (on land across from the town office and next to the Four Seasons Club), a plan for a new community building (on the lot adjacent to the current town office at the corner of Lakeview Drive and the Alder Park Road), and a proposal to build a consolidated emergency services building.

Retiring town manager Dennis Heath, left, handed Becky Hapgood, center, incoming town manager, personalized stationary, as Board of Selectmen Chairman Ron Breton looks on. (contributed photo)

“One of the things I suggested,” Heath said, in regard to the effort to establish public lake access, “[was that] there might be an opportunity to do an agreement with the China Four Seasons Club, where their property becomes the public lake access. So, I’ve encouraged Becky to talk to Tom Rumpf, [president of the China Four Seasons Club], and see what they might be willing to do.”

Looking toward the future, Heath thinks the town should continue to push the Maine Legislature to give small towns like China a legal way to opt-out of collecting local taxes on personal property and business equipment. A bill allowing this was introduced last year by Representative Tim Theriault (R-China). Heath spoke in favor of the proposal before the Legislature’s Taxation Committee.

“I went to bat at the State House about business and personal property taxes,” he said, “and I maintain that that is something that needs to be done statewide to allow smaller communities, like China – that are hurting on the business side of things – to be able to say: If we can incentivize business to come into this town to help us be stronger, then we need the flexibility to say we’re not going to collect those taxes.”

Heath also expressed the opinion that China should look further into establishing some land use and zoning ordinances in order to spur controlled economic growth and development. Many people are against zoning because they see it as limiting their development choices, but Heath disagrees. “I’m not a proponent of zoning to take away from people,” he said. “I’m for zoning to protect people. Zoning can be a good thing if it’s done right.”

The Heaths will be leaving China with heavy hearts for the relationships they’ve cultivated. “We’re not happy because we’re leaving a lot of good, close friends behind,” he said. “This is a fabulous job. I couldn’t imagine working with – or for – a better group of people.”

He also had some praise for The Town Line’s coverage during his tenure. “One of the things I’ve appreciated about The Town Line from the very beginning is that they report the news. I have not sensed a bias,” he said. “If there’s ever an opinion given, it’s very clearly indicated that it’s an opinion and I appreciate that. I just wish more news outlets were like that.”

As for his plans once the couple gets settled back in Oklahoma, Heath says he is considering going back to work in the ministry and is in talks with a local church there that is in need of a pastor, but he has certainly not ruled out returning to municipal government. While in Maine, he has continued his education and recently completed his master’s degree in Public Administration.

Heath’s last official day as China town manager will be July 18, but it may not be the last the people of China see of the Heaths. “Thank you for welcoming me and Mary to the community,” he said. “We have already talked about coming back for visits.”

LEGAL NOTICES for Thursday, July 9, 2020

/0 Comments/in /by

STATE OF MAINE
PROBATE COURT
COURT ST.,
SKOWHEGAN, ME
SOMERSET, ss
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
18-A MRSA sec. 3-801

The following Personal Representatives have been appointed in the estates noted. The first publication date of this notice July 9, 2020

If you are a creditor of an estate listed below, you must present your claim within four months of the first publication date of this Notice to Creditors by filing a written statement of your claim on a proper form with the Register of Probate of this Court or by delivering or mailing to the Personal Representative listed below at the address published by his name, a written statement of the claim indicating the basis therefore, the name and address of the claimant and the amount claimed or in such other manner as the law may provide. See 18-C M.R.S.A. §3-804.

2020-106 – Estate of MARJORIE J. DORMAN, late of Skowhegan, Me deceased. Ronald W. Dorman, 678 Main Street, Canaan, Maine 04924 appointed Personal Representative.

2020-130 – Estate of JAMES H. FOX, late of Athens, Me deceased. George H. Fox, 38 Hurricane Road, Gorham, Me 04038 appointed Personal Representative.

2020-133 – Estate of ROBERT J. BUSHEY, late of Norridgewock, Me deceased. Judith Bushey, 3 Harvest Lane, Norridgewock, Me 04957 appointed Personal Representative.

2020-135 – Estate of DAVID JEFFREY WRIGHT, late of Brighton Plantation, Me deceased. Michael Stephen Wright, 398 Sawyer Street, South Portland, Me 04106 appointed Personal Representative.

2020-136 – Estate of FRANCIS J. ARSENAULT, late of Skowhegan, Me deceased. Gale Whittemore, PO Box 534, Skowhegan, Me 04976 and Sheila Sherburne, 9 Lawton Street, Skowhegan, Me 04976 appointed Co-Personal Representatives.

2020-140 – Estate of RUSSEL E. SAVAGE, late of Cornville, Me deceased. Gail M. Rowe, 344 West Ridge Road, Cornville, Me 04976 appointed Personal Representative.

2020-148 – Estate of CAROL A. SWALLOW, late of Concord Township, Me deceased. Ann M. Forte, 12 Joyce Ann Drive, Smithfield, RI 02917 appointed Personal Representative.

2020-150 – Estate of PATRICIA A. ELLIS, late of Skowhegan, Me deceased. Cindy Worthley, 75 Timberview Drive, Skowhegan, Me 04976 and Rick L. Pomerleau, 115 Sophie Mae Lane, Norridgewock, Me 04957 appointed Co-Personal Representatives.

2020-152 – Estate of NORMAN A. SCOTT, late of Fairfield, Me deceased. Steven Scott 222 Taylor Road, Winslow, Me 04901 appointed Personal Representative.

2020-153 – Estate of ALAN H. WOLMAN, late of Skowhegan, Me deceased. Gale A. Merle, 7 Orchard Lane, Lynnfield, MA 01940 appointed Personal Representative.

2020-155 – Estate of CHRISTOPHER J. KINNEY, late of Fairfield, Me deceased. Jason Works, PO Box 24, Hinckley, Me 04944 appointed Personal Representative.

2020-156 – Estate of PETER A. COOLEY, late of Harmony, Me deceased. Randi M. Wilson, 49 Wildwood Drive, Southborough, MA 01772-1989 appointed Personal Representative.

2020-160 – Estate of DAVID E. STRICKLAND, late of Embden, Me deceased. Bernard V. Newell, PO Box 582, New Portland, Me 04954 appointed Personal Representative.

2020-161- Estate of CATHERINE S. MAHEU, late of Anson, Me deceased. Celeste A. MacDonald, PO Box 228, Anson, Me 04911 appointed Personal Representative.

2020-162 – Estate of DONALD F. DOAK, late of Madison, Me deceased. Bonnie L. Pohorene, 824 E Madison Road, Madison, Me 04950 appointed Personal Representative.

2020-163 – Estate of EMILY G. PINKHAM, late of Jackman, Me deceased. Steven R. Pinkham, 44 Sea Avenue, Quincy, MA 02169 appointed Personal Representative.

2020-164 – Estate of JOHN C. WALSH, late of Hartland, Me deceased. Lauren C. Walsh, 109 Dodge Road, Livermore Falls, Me 04254 appointed Personal Representative.

2020-167 – Estate of ROBERT B. TUPPER, late of Fairfield, Me deceased. Donna Chapman, 29 Oakland Road, Fairfield, Me 04937 appointed Personal Representative.

2020-168 – Estate of HENRY G. SIROIS, late of Skowhegan, Me deceased. Gregory H. Sirois, 10 Fawn Road, Norridgewock, Me 04957 appointed Personal Representative.

2020-169 – Estate of LEONARD JACOBS, late of Madison, Me deceased. Tyler Jacobs, 38 Pleasant Street, Solon, Me 04979 appointed Personal Representative.

To be published on July 9, 2020 & July 16, 2020.
Dated: June 29, 2020 /s/Victoria Hatch,
Register of Probate
(7/16)

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Governors with Kennebec ties

/0 Comments/in , , /by
by Mary Grow

Since 1820, 71 people have held the office of Governor of Maine. Four of them served non-consecutive terms and get counted twice, so Janet Mills is the 75th governor. The next two articles in this historical series will provide information on governors who were born in or near, or made their careers in or near, one of the central Kennebec Valley towns with which the series began. As might be expected, many of these men had connections with Augusta, which has been the state capital since 1827. This article and the next will not include Governor Mills, who is proudly the first governor from Franklin County.

Enoch Lincoln

Enoch Lincoln, Maine’s sixth governor and the first to die in office, was also the first with a connection to the central Kennebec area, after Augusta became the capital. He was born in Massachusetts, graduated from Harvard, Class of 1807, and practiced law in Salem, Massachusetts, and after 1819 in Paris, Maine.

Lincoln was elected to Congress in November 1818, apparently before he moved to his district, and re-elected repeatedly through the fall of 1825, serving before and after Maine gained statehood. Elected Maine’s governor in September 1826, he was twice re-elected, serving from Jan. 3, 1827, until he died in office Oct. 8, 1829, aged only 40. He is credited with helping get the capital relocated from Portland to Augusta; one source says he was a speaker at the ceremony marking the laying of the cornerstone for the State House. Wikipedia says he is buried in a mausoleum in Augusta’s Capitol Park; a Maine encyclopedia on the web says his remains were moved to a monument honoring him that was built in 1842, and have since mysteriously disappeared.

(Capitol Park, the rectangular area in front of the State house, was established in 1827, when the citizens of Augusta donated its approximately 20 acres to the state. Wikipedia describes its development and landscaping, including the monument to Governor Lincoln. During the Civil War, trees were cut and lawns wrecked when the park became a military encampment and parade ground.

(After the war, Wikipedia says, the area was farmed before being reconverted to a park in 1878. In the 1920s it was redesigned to its present condition by the Olmsted Brothers, sons of Frederick Law Olmsted. Olmstead Brothers’ other Maine projects included Portland’s Deering Oaks and Eastern Promenade and the road system for Acadia National Park.)

Richard Hampton Vose, 14th Maine governor, was an Augusta native and a Bowdoin graduate, Class of 1822. After six years in Massachusetts, he opened an Augusta law practice. His political career included four years in the Maine House and two in the Maine Senate. He was one of the shortest-term governors; as president of the state Senate, he served as interim governor Jan. 12 and 13, 1841, after Governor John Fairfield resigned to take a United States Senate seat and before Edward Kent was inaugurated for his second (non-consecutive) term. Vose was a prominent member of the Kennebec Bar until he died in January 1864.

Anson Peaslee Morrill

Anson Peaslee Morrill, the 24th governor of Maine, served from Jan. 3, 1855, to Jan. 2, 1856. He was born in Belgrade, where his father ran a combined sawmill, gristmill and carding mill. He later ran stores in Madison and Mount Vernon, then took over a failing woolen mill in Readfield and made it a success. Joining the new Republican party because he was opposed to slavery, he was elected Maine’s first Republican Governor in September 1854.

Later president and then vice-president of Maine Central Railroad, he retired and in 1879 moved to Augusta, where he lived for the rest of his life. In 1880, when Morrill was 77, friends persuaded him to run for the state legislature; he served one term. He died in 1887 and is buried in Augusta’s Forest Grove Cemetery.

Samuel Wells, the 25th governor (Jan. 2, 1856 – Jan. 8, 1857) has a limited and, from available sources, partly disputable, connection to the central Kennebec Valley. Born in New Hampshire on August 15, 1801, he studied law (when and where unspecified) and, according to an on-line Maine encyclopedia, practiced in Waterville from 1816 (when he was 15 years old?) until he moved to Hallowell in 1835 and thence to Portland in 1844. He served as an Associate Justice of the Maine Supreme Court from 1847 until he resigned to run successfully for the governorship in 1855. His bid for a second term failed, and he moved to Boston where he died in 1868.

Joseph Hartwell Williams was a Maine Senate President who served as governor #27 from Feb. 25, 1857, to Jan. 6, 1858, finishing Hannibal Hamlin’s term after the latter resigned to return to his seat in the United States Senate. Williams was an Augusta native, son of attorney Reuel Williams; he graduated from Harvard, Class of 1830, attended Dane Law School (Cambridge, Massachusetts) and in 1837 joined his father’s law firm.

First a Democrat, he joined the Republican party because it was anti-slavery. He refused the Republican nomination for governor in the fall of 1857 because he disagreed with the party’s strong support of prohibition (although, an on-line biography says, he was “always a temperate man”). He served later as a state legislator, first a Republican and then an Independent, and in 1877 accepted the Democratic nomination for governor (and lost).

Lot Myrick Morrill, #28, Anson Morrill’s younger brother, was another Democrat who turned Republican over the slavery issue. Born in Belgrade, he attended Waterville College (now Colby College), studied law in Readfield, passed his bar examination in 1839 and set up practice in Belgrade and Augusta. He served in the Maine House of Representatives and the Maine Senate before being governor for three terms, from Jan. 6, 1858, to Jan, 2, 1861.

When the national Republican convention nominated Hannibal Hamlin as Abraham Lincoln’s vice-president for the election of 1860, Morrill succeeded Hamlin in the United States Senate, serving from 1861 until 1876, when he became President Ulysses Grant’s fourth Secretary of the Treasury. He retired within a year. President Rutherford Hayes then made him Collector of Customs in Portland, a position he held until he died on Jan. 10, 1883. He is buried in Forest Grove Cemetery, in Augusta, and his brick house on Winthrop Street, where his widow lived until 1918, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

Samuel Cony

Samuel Cony, an Augusta native, was Maine’s 31st governor. Educated partly at China Academy, in China Village, he graduated from Brown University, Class of 1829, and practiced law (and entered politics) in Old Town. Elected state treasurer in 1850, he moved back to Augusta, became the city’s mayor in 1854 and served as governor for three one-year terms, from Jan. 6, 1864, to Jan. 2, 1867. His brick house on Stone Street, in Augusta, called the Governor Samuel Cony House or the William Payson Viles House, was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

(William Payson Viles was a 20th-century member of a family long active in logging in Maine. After his death in 1986, his widow, Elsie Pike Viles, created the Elsie and William Viles Foundation, a philanthropic organization that lists four main goals on its website: to preserve open spaces and conserve forest lands; to protect and care for animals; to support children and education; and to promote and preserve Maine history and culture.)

Selden Connor, Maine’s 35th governor, was born in Fairfield, educated in Massachusetts and Vermont and served in Vermont and then Maine regiments in the Civil War, rising to a Brigadier General of Volunteers. He worked for the Internal Revenue Service from 1868 to 1875, when he successfully ran for governor on the Republican ticket. Inaugurated Jan. 5, 1876, he was twice re-elected.

In a three-way election in 1878, incumbent Connor got 44.8 percent of the vote; Greenback/Labor candidate John Smith got 34.5 percent; and Democrat Dr. Alonzo Garcelon got 22.4 percent. Lack of a majority turned the choice over to the Maine legislature, whose members picked Garcelon (who served one term; his rival the next year, Daniel Davis, got only 49.7 percent of the vote, but the legislature chose him, and Garcelon returned to his medical practice.) Connor left office on Jan. 9, 1879. He died in Augusta on July 9, 1917 (one source gives a September date), and is buried in Forest Grove Cemetery.

Edwin Chick Burleigh, Maine’s 42nd governor, was born in Linneus and raised in Aroostook County and Bangor. He moved to Augusta in 1876 and held a succession of offices, including assistant clerk to the House of Representatives and state treasurer. Elected governor in the fall of 1888, he served two terms, Jan. 2, 1889, to Jan. 4, 1893. Later he represented Maine in the U. S. House of Representatives and the U. S. Senate, dying in Augusta in the middle of his Senate term, June 16, 1916. Like many of his predecessors, he is buried in Forest Grove Cemetery.

John Fremont Hill

John Fremont Hill, the 45th governor, was a native of Eliot who earned a medical degree in 1877 from what Wikipedia calls the Medical School of Maine (Bowdoin College) but practiced for only a year before moving to Augusta where he and his father-in-law, P. O. Vickery, established what became a national publishing company, Vickery and Hill. Hill served in both houses of the state legislature before being elected governor for two terms (Jan. 2, 1901 – Jan. 4, 1905)

(P. O. Vickery started publishing Vickery’s Fireside Visitor, a monthly magazine aimed at providing light fiction to middle-class readers, in 1874. Like his son-in-law, he was a politician – state representative from, and then mayor of, Augusta in the late 1870s and early 1880s – until Vickery and Hill became so successful its management took all his time and led to his son-in-law becoming his partner. The Fireside Visitor was followed by similar magazines named Happy Hours, Hearth and Home and Good Stories.

No on-line reference says what Vickery’s initials stood for. Even his Nov. 19, 1902, obituary in the Boston Globe calls him P. O. The Globe describes him as “the millionaire publisher, state senator and father-in-law of Gov. Hill.” His funeral in Augusta was well-attended, and two former Maine governors were honorary pall-bearers.)

Frederick William Plaisted, Maine’s 48th governor, was another Augusta publisher. Born in Bangor, he was the son of the 38th governor, Harris Plaisted, and in Augusta took over The New Age newspaper from his father and was editor and publisher from 1889 (or 1898, the year his father died; sources disagree) to 1914. He was inaugurated as governor on Jan. 1, 1913 and defeated when he ran for a second term.

(The New Age seems to have been established in 1867 and for at least part of its life to have been a weekly published on Fridays. Harris Plaisted, governor from 1881 to 1883, became editor and publisher in 1884, an interregnum in his career as a Bangor lawyer. The New Age advertisement in an 1899 National Newspaper Directory and Gazetteer found on line describes it as the only Democratic newspaper in the area [Maine governors were mostly Republican from the 1850s to the 1950s; the two Democratic Plaisteds were exceptions]. It claims to be more than 30 years old and to have 5,000 subscribers. The Kennebec Journal and Vickery and Hill’s four newspapers advertised in the same issue of the directory.)

Main sources

Websites, miscellaneous

I’M JUST CURIOUS: Code of Conduct for Southern Belles

/0 Comments/in /by
by Debbie Walker

I have really enjoyed living in the south. Granted it is a bit too warm right now with our days topping off at about 97 degrees with the “feels like” 108 degrees. I don’t understand those figures. If it feels like 108, why isn’t it just 108?

I have had about enough of this ‘real world’ mess going on. You can get enough of that in just a few minutes on TV, so recently, when a friend passed on a new book to me, I decided to share some of it with you this week. The title is A Southern Belle Primer. It’s a book to have fun with, for me anyway. I hope you find it humorous as well.

A Southern Belle’s Ten Golden Rules:

1. Never serve pink lemonade at your Junior League committee meetings. It has Communist overtones. (Since I am not a Southern Belle I don’t understand this one either.)

2. Always wear white when you walk down the aisle (even if it’s for the third time)

3. Never wear white shoes before Easter or after Labor Day. The only exception, of course, is if you’re a bride. Bridesmaids, however, must never wear white shoes. Bridesmaids’ shoes should match the punch. (?)

4. It doesn’t matter if you marry a man who doesn’t know the difference between a shrimp fork and a pickle fork, you can always teach him. Just make sure he can afford to buy you both.

5. Never date your sorority sister’s ex-husband until at least three years after the divorce. You might need her to write your daughter a Kappa Kappa Gamma recommendation one day. Just remember it’s a lot easier to find a new man than it is to get your daughter into Kappa. (yeah, that is certainly one of my biggest concerns in life, how about you).

6. Never marry a man whose mother and grandmother owned silver plate instead of real silver. He’s not used to quality and he’ll try to cheat you on the divorce settlement. (Stay single, this is all too complicated!)

7. It’s never too soon to write a thank you note. Some belles take the notes and a pen with them to a party. In the middle of the evening they go into the ladies’ room and write a thank you describing how much they enjoyed the dinner (naming specific items). They then put the note in the mailbox as they leave. The hostess receives it first thing in the morning. Sure, this is compulsive, but you’re going to have to be compulsive if you want to become president of Junior League. (I looked up this Junior League thing on the internet and I will bet you becoming president of the United States is an easier process than becoming a League President!) (Yes, there really is such a thing as Junior League, a community service organization)

8. Never show off your bosom before evening and never wear an ankle bracelet before anything. Girls who wear ankle bracelets usually wind up twirling batons. There has never been a baton twirler who became Miss America and there’s certainly never been a baton twirler in Junior League. (so, I bet a tattoo is out of the question?)

9. Never chew gum in public and never smoke on the street.

10. Buy low, sell high.

The name of the book is A Southern Belle Primer, Or Why Princess Margaret Will Never Be A Kappa Kappa Gamma by Maryln Schwartz, just in case you want to study up on this stuff. Good Luck

I’m just curious if you remember the movie The Stepford Wives. Maybe those ladies would fit the criteria. What do you think? Contact me with questions or comments at DebbieWalker@townline.org.

Have a great week.

REVIEW POTPOURRI: Puccini’s La Boheme

/0 Comments/in /by

Giacomo Puccini

Peter Catesby Peter Cates

Puccini

La Boheme

Arturo Toscanini conducting the NBC Symphony, chorus and soloists; RCA Victor, LM-6006, 2 LPs, from the radio broadcasts of February 3 and 10, 1946.

The inventor of the phonograph, Thomas Edison (1847-1931), was often accused of either being tone deaf or having no taste for music, two beliefs I consider to be mainly rubbish. He personally spearheaded a wide range of music on his cy­linder and flat disc record catalogs, that included popular singers, dance orchestras, country fiddlers, hymns, and operatic selections. With respect to the latter, he considered the opera La Boheme his favorite one of all and stated that the world is a better place because of its existence.

Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) based La Boheme on Scenes of Bohemian Life by the French writer, Henri Murger (1822-1861), an episodic novel based on the lives of starving writers and artists living in Paris, including Murger’s before he achieved fame and fortune with this book. Puccini’s friend, Arturo Toscanini (1867-1957), conducted the February 1, 1896, world premiere at the Regio Theater in Turin, Italy, and it was mildly successful, unlike later productions in which it caught on with the public, who took it to their hearts and continue to do so.

Arturo Toscanini

Fifty years after the premiere, Toscanini conducted this NBC radio broadcast, in which its four acts were split be­tween two Sun­days. It featured tenor Jan Peerce (1904-1984) as the poet Ro­­dolpho and soprano Licia Albanese (1909-2014) as the seamstress Mimi, with whom Rodolpho falls in love. Peerce was more gifted as a dramatic tenor but I feel his lyrical singing here was among the best I have heard in this role, right up there with Caruso, Jussi Bjoreling, Nicolai Gedda, Pavarotti etc.

Licia Albanese did her best singing in lyric roles and her Mimi was simply special.
The supporting cast, chorus and orchestra, under Toscanini’s divinely inspired leadership (with his constant, endearing, very audible humming), all performed as if their lives depended on it. Toscanini was notorious for his temper tantrums in rehearsals, often caused by wrong notes and the failure of the singers and instrumentalists to bring the same level of emotion he felt. What especially sets this Boheme apart from the other great ones was the vivid clarity of the orchestral details and their contribution to the vocal beauty.

To sum up, if there was one opera I would recommend for beginners, it’s this one.

Quote from the Maine writer/naturalist Henry Beston (1888-1968) in his 1948 book, Northern Farm, evoking the wondrous beauty sometimes found in the night sky: “It was the middle of the evening and in the north over a lonely farm, a great darkness of the forest, and one distant light, the dipper, stood on its handle, each star radiant in the blue and empty space about the pole.”

FOR YOUR HEALTH – The public health threat no one talks about: loneliness

/0 Comments/in /by

Nearly half of all Americans daily wrestle with loneliness, especially those over the age of 65. Being lonely can also lead to health problems. Steps can be taken to keep loneliness at bay such as early intervention, using technology to make a connection with other people.

(NAPS)—There is a public health threat looming across the United States that’s not visible to most but affects nearly half of all Americans daily: loneliness. Social isolation is as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day and is twice as harmful as obesity.

Worst of all, loneliness is a contributing factor in senior suicides, which are rising in the U.S. While it is not something people like to think about, now more than ever, Americans must remove the stigma around mental health and spread awareness to better combat loneliness.

Many of the 12 million Americans over age 65 who live alone are entering the time of year where that lack of companionship and isolation is most palpable: winter. Whether physical or travel challenges keep seniors from attending family gatherings or the harsh weather deters them from venturing out for a social event, seniors can suffer from prolonged loneliness that can quickly manifest into more serious issues.

Loneliness does not have to be synonymous with getting older or with aging in place. Here are tips on how to help keep loneliness—and its negative health effects—at bay:

Intervene early: Spotting loneliness in yourself or someone you love can be difficult. The most common physical and behavioral signs of loneliness include persistent sadness, impaired cognitive performance, lower self-esteem, or lack of motivation and energy. Early intervention can positively affect one’s quality of life, so it’s important to address these symptoms as soon as possible before they become overwhelming.

Leverage technology: Technology can play a key role in reducing loneliness, ensuring seniors are always connected to loved ones and care teams who can monitor and interact with them. For example, Philips Cares is a mobile application that helps connect seniors who are subscribers to Philips Lifeline service with their family and friends, helping to enable these caregivers to be there for their aging loved ones, easing and enriching their aging journey.

Make a connection: Connecting with people, purpose and passions will help eliminate feelings of isolation. Consider organizing a reoccurring social gathering, such as a book club or a group fitness class. Explore local activities organized by a senior community center or find a National Council of Aging program through www.ncoa.org/ncoa-map.

Learn more

For further facts about the latest technology to help seniors stay connected with their care circle, visit https://philips.to/2MGDqLm or call (855) 223-7395.