by Katie Ouilette

Y’know, WALLS, about all you should say to those who are giving so much of themselves this week is a great big thank you. Why? Well, faithful readers, so many are giving so much today. Question is, who comes first?

We might as well begin at the beginning. Ayeh, Harvey comes first, if you say so. Oh, such devastation those poor people in Texas have to deal with in their futures, but so many people from the East have gone to assist and those who couldn’t make the trip have sent clothes and food to help folks who have lost everything. WALLS, can you imagine having to live in a shelter that has been outfitted with cots, donated blankets, and children ‘wondering’ about their pets and toys.

Now, we have Irma’s going on in the Virgin Islands and heading for our U.S.A. Unfortunately, folks on TV are telling us in “this safe State of Maine” that all those who live in the Virgin Islands that there is little gasoline for cars, water or food for people’s health. And, again, there are folks who feel that their volunteering…from nurses and doctors to anyone who can clean-up and hopefully make people’s houses somewhat livable.

Yes, WALLS and faithful readers, a very hearty thanks! is due……but there is more. Our young people started school this past week, so our teachers and helpers and food service cooks and our faithful bus drivers need our deepest appreciation for taking good care of those we love. Yes, and the principals are there…to guarantee all that a school should be for building memories.

Memories? Well, WALLS, at my age of 87-years-young, I still value my principals, teachers and classmates and we of the class of ’48 still meet each other once a month.

Worry? Well, we have a few of those looming. Our Dean and Donna Ouilette are supposed to go to Haiti for their Church in Bellingham, Washington, and we hope that their plans are not disrupted by Hurricane Irma. They are truly loyal to their church and its efforts in Haiti. Frankly, with so much said about our immigrant-folks and whether they should be allowed to stay in our U.S.A., for whatever you have contributed to our country, thank you!

Y’know, faithful readers, when William Philbrick owned a log drive company, our tourist friends loved seeing the logs floating down the Kennebec and Mr. Philbrick used to “bond” those Canadians who came from Canada for the ‘log drive’. When the job was done, they went back to their families. Well, the immigrants to our U.S.A. came as children with their parents and they dream of their futures, just as we did.

Well, WALLS and faithful readers, column space doesn’t allow more words right now, but, surely, you know others that should have a big thanks……so don’t hesitate to say it when you feel it!

by Katie Ouilette

WALLS, have you had a ‘Ma’ in your life? No, I’m not talking about your mother, I’m wondering if you have had a ‘Ma’ sometime during your life. Yes, WALLS, we’ve had a ‘Ma’ in our family and when I sat and talked with Elaine Cannell, while we were waiting for her other guests to arrive, I learned that Ma had been at her house, but not for as long as we had her in our family.

Now, WALLS, I’m not going to write her real name, because she was always ‘Ma’ to me. It all started when housework became too much for my mémère, so my mom got us ‘Ma’.

Yes, Ma even got some things done as I was preparing for Colby Junior College, in New London, New Hampshire. (Yes, it is Colby-Sawyer College now, and I’ll write about ‘why’ in another issue.) Back to ‘Ma’ and, yes, she was proud of her own family. Her husband, Carrol, worked faithfully for the Skowhegan Road Department.

Oh, you have asked why she was ‘Ma’ to all our family. Well, she not only cleaned our house at 29 Chestnut Street once a week, but she was definitely one of our family. In fact, after college, I married and she was ‘Ma’ when my husband and I moved back to Maine with the business which we had started in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, so she cleaned our house in East Madison, as I worked at Z.D.Wire.

Then, when my marriage to Joe Denis became history and I later married Lew, ‘Ma’ came to our rescue when she agreed to care for my grandson who was born in Alaska and his mother said she wanted him to grow up in Maine. Oh, she was a truly wonderful mother but followed the wishes of her mother and father who called every day to remind her of her obligation. (Yes, Eskimo custom was that the youngest would care for the elder parents.) So our grandson was cared for by ‘Ma’ while Nana went to work every day. Yes, she was always ‘Ma’ to Danny, too.

‘Ma’s life has passed, but she is still ‘Ma’ to all of us. Yes, WALLS, ‘Ma’ will forever be a part of the Valliere, Denis, Ouilette memories.

Oh, WALLS, there are so many reasons for memories having popped up in our minds. We had a gathering of friends and, yes, schoolmates at Elaine’s house, Evalyn Bowman brought her two classmates from Vermont who were visiting her. Betsy Hall and I had been in the same class at Lincoln School on Leavitt Street and Elizabeth (was Rodden) lives in East Madison. And, know what, WALLS? Surely our faithful readers who attended school with Betsy and Elizabeth will say: “I remember them!” Yes, faithful readers, there is so much in our ‘memories’ of our younger years. Enjoy! That is what age is for!

by Katie Ouilette

Faithful readers, WALLS just looked down at the footstool in front of the chair that is placed at the window from which we can watch the birds at the bird feeder or from which we got a surprise the other day when a young deer appeared. Yes, the birdfeeder had a visitor. Then, another surprise came our way a few days later. We had a new visitor by way of a woodchuck! It was more interested in sleeping on a big rock that trims our backyard. Unfortunately, we have seen neither one since.

Well, WALLS, it is time to get back to the footstool. There was a headline about ‘How we see the poor’ and you read it, but I’m about to step into this discussion. You faithful readers know that I am now 87 years young, but, admittedly, I was a Depression baby, born in 1930. I guess people had already jumped out of their office windows in New York City when my birthdate came along, but, WALLS, I know what it was to live during those hard times, even as a growing baby. Now, we all read today about people in Maine getting older, but I’m now going to take you, faithful readers, back to the days of poor folks. Granted, some people are truly poor-in-spirit (even the rich folks, so to speak), but WALLS, tell folks about what poor meant during that era of Depression in the USA.

You’ve told faithful readers about living in a three-family house (grandparents, my mom and dad and me). And you’ve told about my mom’s working in the, then, selectmen’s office, in Skowhegan, and giving food orders to folks and their pay-back ten-cents at a time and grocers carrying ‘folks names on a tab,’ also waiting for payback.

But, WALLS, it is time to tell what you learned about poverty. Yes, you’ve already spoken about lots of money sometimes leading to depression, but in those days of The Depression, there was a town nurse. The schools had a doctor and health examination days. Insurance? Well, folks had life insurance and some of you faithful readers may remember the insurance man collecting 50 cents at your house every week. Kids worehand-me-downs and only the older kids got ‘new clothes’. Lunch at chool? Well, if you were lucky enough to be poor! Otherwise, school lunch happened to be what was put in your lunch bucket! Credit cards? WALLS, our faithful readers must to told there was no such thing for shopping and every day the word was “saving.” We wereurged to save, save, save our pennies, which were, in our house, kept in a jar. Yes, some of us did get a reward for ‘whatever’ was important to parents. Y’know, WALLS, I was rewarded for eating everything on my plate…scraping the plate clean! I learned so well, I still scrape my plate!

Well, faithful readers, there probably will be more about growing up during the Depression, but if anyone considers the family poor, it would be wise to think about those days of the 1930s and live with leftovers and without credit cards.

by Katie Ouilette

WALLS, you have talked about our busy days, but Wow oh Wow, this last week has beat them all! Faithful readers, WALLS wonder what you think. We said ‘bye’ to grandkids and their wee ones…yes, in shifts, because son Dean and his wife Donna were here in East Madison or with Donna’s brother David Loubier and his wife, in Winslow. Oh, WALLS, before you forget, make sure to tell our faithful readers about the absolutely beautiful lined and fringed blanket with pictures of fish on it that David and his wife gave to Lew and I, as we had several birthday celebrations on our birthdays. Needless to say, our friends gathering at Lynn and Chuck’s had only great accolades of praise for that gathering.

Yes, it was tough to have our greats leave…some babies and some little ones. We hope the little ones always remember their visit with Nana and Apa (Gramdfather in Alaska) and the loooong plane rides to Maine and, again, back to Washington State.

Now, WALLS, you have another subject for our faithful readers. Yes, you did know that my dad, Henry Valliere, and cousins Willard and Francis Groteau, started the Lake Wesserusett Association many years ago. That was in the day when the Croteau family had bought the land on one side of the ‘inlet of the lake’ and Henry and Roxie had purchased ‘the old swimming hole’ property on “Mud Guzzle”, the Laney’s name for the Inlet. Yes, Gramp Laney and daughters had their cottage ‘just down the Guzzle’ from the old swimming hole and Mim and Ray Laney owned next door. Actually, because ‘the Laney family’ were the originals, dad Henry thought that Laney Road would be a more appropriate name than Fire Lane 2. Oh, we had such a great time, as Mim and Ray (Raymond’s Clothing Store, in Skowhegan) had a bean hole bean supper every Saturday night and George Cannell and ‘musicians’ played for dancing in Gramp Laney’s woodshed behind the Laney cottages. Now, the woodshed is gone, but Chris and Claire Perkins now own the Gramp Laney Cottage and have folks for bean-hole beans plus everybody’s favorite recipes ‘lakesiee’ in summer.

That leads you WALLS to your attending the long-time Lake Association meeting a couple weeks ago. Yes, the president is now Mark Doty (our Inlet neighbor) and, as we assembled for an early breakfast served by the East Madison Grange members, we were given The Lake Book, published for all folks in Maine about keeping our lakes in our great state of Maine in pure and pristine condition. It was reported that Lake Weserunsett still has that pristine condition. Many thanks to those who volunteer to do ‘the count’ every summer and to Sonja Clothier, our boat inspector.

by Katie Ouilette

Y’know WALLS, I received this bit of humor and history from my cousin Ray’s wife, Ann, in Maryland and I’m sending some of it along to give a laugh to our friendly readers for the July 4 holiday, if, of course, the editor has room for a very short column somewhere in The Town Line. You know, I’ll have much more to include after July 4 vacation has become history, too.

“Someone asked the other day, ‘What was your favorite fast food when you were growing up?'”

Reply: “We didn’t have fast food when I was growing up. Actually, all the food was slow” (Yes, I’m about to be 87 on July 8!)

‘C’mon, seriously. Where did you eat?’

“It was a place called ‘at home,'” I explained. “Mom cooked every day and when dad got home from work, we sat down at the table, and if I didn’t like what she put on my plate, I was allowed to sit there until I did like it.’ By this time, the kid was laughing so hard, I was afraid he was going to suffer serious damage, so I didn’t tell him the part about how we had to have permission to leave the table.”

Well, WALLS, there are more pages of funnies, from Ann, but will share them later. Yes, the funniest part has to do with ‘fast food’ and since there are so many hot dog parties going around this week, I’ll send more funnies later. Yes, WALLS, make sure you wish every faithful reader a ‘happy,’ but let’s hope our faithful readers don’t forget what July 4 is all about. Yes, food and history.