SCORES & OUTDOORS: Lady bug, lady bug, fly away home…

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Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

That is the beginning of the popular child’s rhyme about lady bugs. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Many years ago, when our kids were growing up, we did a lot of camping in our popup camper. Every year, after the campgrounds closed, usually on Columbus Day weekend, we would take our “last picnic of the year.”

Last week, our daughter called and wanted to do that again. It was a little strange request seeing that she is 48 years old. Maybe it was the anticipation of the empty nest syndrome seeing that her youngest child is a senior at Waterville High School, and will be leaving after the school year to pursue her education.

So, my wife and I agreed. It was just a matter of where we would go with limited time on our hands. We decided on Blueberry Hill, in Mt. Vermon. From there, we could have our picnic, and take in the brilliant foliage from that vantage point. Looking east, you can see Great Pond and Long Pond, along with miles and miles of colorful fall leaves.

While there, we were infested with lady bugs. They were swarming around us, landing everywhere on us. As we tried to flick them off more would come. As we were leaving, they also were inside the car.

We finally decided to go to Lemieux’ Orchard, in North Vassalboro. My wife wanted to make an apple pie for our trip to Vermont this coming weekend, and some homemade apple sauce.

While there, the lady bugs made their appearance. They were everywhere, also. I ran into an old friend and we began talking. He also commented on the lady bugs.

The family is commonly known as lady bugs in North America, and ladybirds in Britain. Entomologists prefer the name ladybird beetles as these insects are not classified as true bugs.

The majority are generally considered useful insects, because many species prey on herbivorous insects such as aphids or scale insects, which are agricultural pests. The lady bug, or ladybirds, are only minor agricultural pests, eating the leaves of grain, potatoes, beans and various other crops, but their numbers can increase explosively in years when their natural enemies, such as parasitoid wasps that attack their eggs, are few. In such situations, they can do major crop damage. They occur in practically all the major crop-producing regions of temperate and tropical countries.

The lady bugs usually begin to appear indoors in the autumn when they leave their summer feeding sites in fields, forests and yards, and search out places to spend the winter. Typically, when temperatures warm to the mid-60s F, in the late afternoon, following a period of cooler weather, they will swarm onto or into buildings illuminated by the sun. Swarms fly to buildings in September through November depending on location and weather conditions. Homes or other buildings near fields or woods are particularly prone to infestation.

A common myth, totally unfounded, is that the number of spots on the insect’s back indicates its age. In fact, the underlying pattern and coloration are determined by the species and genetics of the beetle, and develop as the insect matures. In some species its appearance is fixed by the time it emerges from its pupa, though in most it may take some days for the color of the adult beetle to mature and stabilize.

The harlequin ladybird, is an example of how an animal might be partly welcome and partly harmful. It was introduced into North American, from Asia, in 1916 to control aphids, but is now the most common species, out-competing many of the native species. It has since spread to much of western Europe, reaching the United Kingdom in 2004. It has become something of a domestic and agricultural pest in some regions, and gives cause for ecological concern. It has similarly arrived in parts of Africa, where it has proved unwelcome, perhaps most prominently in vine-related crops.

It does explain something, maybe. As we have discussed before, toward the end of the summer, particularly in September, we were inundated with parasitoid wasps at camp, and saw no lady bugs. On Blueberry Hill, we saw plenty of lady bugs, but no wasps. We have yet to see a lady bug in our house this fall.

So, what about that rhyme? Here goes:

Lady bug, lady bug, fly away home;
Your house is on fire and your children are gone;
All except one, and that’s Little Anne;
For she has crept under the warming pan.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Of the four remaining teams in the MLB playoffs, which team has never won a World Series?

For the answer, click here.

SOLON & BEYOND: Many activities planned at Embden Community Center

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Marilyn Rogers-Bull & Percyby Marilyn Rogers-Bull & Percy
grams29@tds.net
Solon, Maine 04979

Received the following from the Embden Community Center, Upcoming Events (subject to change), October 27 Country Sunday/Open Mic , 1 – 4 p.m./second and fourth Sun./By donation. Kitchen Open. November 9, supper: complete Thanksgiving meal, 5 p.m./seocnd Saturday of the month. By donation. November 10: Country Sunday/open mic. 1 – 4 p.m./second and fourth Sunday/by donation. November 24 Country Sunday/open mic ; 1 – 4 p.m./second and fourth Sunday / by donation. Kitchen open. December 8, Country Sunday/open mic; 1 – 4 p.m. / second and fourth Sunday / by donation. December 22, Country Sunday/open mic; 1- 4 p.m. Sunday/by donation. Kitchen open.

Other events that takes place at the Embden Community Center 566-7302, 797 Embden Pond Road, Embden, Maine 04958, Neighbor to Neighbor Thrift Shop/Lending Library; 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday. Suppers: 5 p.m., second Saturday each month, except December. Sewing Class: 10 a.m. – noon / Wednesdays. Weight Wathchers 5 – 6 p.m./Wednesdays; Come in and sign upm new members accepted. Tops (Take Off Pounds Sensibly : 10:30-11:30 a.m., Wednesdays. Pickle Ball: 6 p.m.; Mondays except second week it’s on Tues. Yoga: 5:30 p.m. / Thursdays ( 3/4 hr.) (Chair Yoga (All levels ) 6:30 p.m. / Thursdays ( 1 hr.) Bring mat (All levels) 8 a.m. Saturdays (1 hr.) (All levels); by donations.

Community Center meetings: 6:30 p.m., Thursday prior to the second Saturday Supper. If you have any questions, contact Wayne at 474-1065.

The above is the only e-mail I received this week with recent news, and thanks so much Carol for sending it to me.

What I am about to write about now is from one of my old columns which I had used on July 10, 2004, in The Town Line. It is one I found years and years ago, called simply, “Youth!” It is very inspiring to me and I hope many of my older friends will find it so as well. ” Youth is not a time of life – it is a state of mind. It is not a matter of ripe cheeks, red lips and supple knees.

“It is a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; It is a freshness of the deep springs of life.

“Youth means a temperamental pre dominance of courage over timidity, Of the appetite for adventure over love of ease. This often exists in a man of fifty more than a boy of twenty.

“Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years; People grow old only by deserting their ideals.

“Years wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, doubt, self-distrust, fear and despair – these are the long, long years that bow the head and turn the growing spirit back to dust

“Whether 70 or 16, there is in every being’s heart the love of wonder; the sweet amazement at the stars and the star-like things and thoughts; the undaunted challenge of events; the unfailing, childlike appetite for what’s next; and the joy and the game of life.

“You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear, as young as your hope, as old as your despair.

“In the central place of your heart there is a wireless station; so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage, grandeur and power from earth, from men, and from the Infinite-so long are you young.

“When the wires are all down and all the central place of your heart is covered with the snows of pessimism and the ice of cynicism, then are you grown old indeed and may God have mercy on your soul.”

Hope the above inspires some of you to continue to live life to the fullest, no matter what your age.

And now for Percy’s memoir entitled HOPE: Hope is a robin singing on a rainy day; He knows the sun will shine again though skies may be gray. Like the robin let us be, meet trouble with a smile; And soon the sun will shine for us in just a little while. (words by Roxie Lusk Smith.)

Central Maine at peak foliage

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The foliage is in its peak at Pine Grove Cemetery, on Grove Street, in Waterville. (photo by Roland D. Hallee)

The foliage as seen from Blueberry Hill, in Mt. Vermon, looking east over Great Pond and Long Pond, and the Belgrade Village. (photo by Roland D. Hallee)

I’M JUST CURIOUS – School: then and now

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by Debbie Walker

I believe most of us went to school as children, different years, and different eras in some cases. To start, just in my family, there was dad and mom’s generation. Yes, we all know dad walked 30 miles to school, rain, shine, or snow and that’s after the chores were done.

Mom I discovered was in the top of her classes. I know they studied the three R’s, ‘Reading and ‘Riting and ‘Rithmatic, taught to the tune of a hickory stick. Mom used to sing that for us.

Then there was my generation. Our school had four grades in the two buildings in town. One teacher for each of the two grade rooms. No kindergarten, just 1-4 and 5-8.

I imagine the teachers had plenty to complain about. I am reasonably sure my teachers have all gone to their reward by now. I bet they would have plenty to say about what their days were like.

After having volunteered in a classroom for two-and-a-half years, a thought crossed my mind. I have no idea what my daughter’s class days were like. I didn’t know how she was taught. What was the ‘theory’ behind the math style she was taught? The Common Core Math being taught now in Maine, oh, brother, it’s crazy!

I am not writing any of this as any kind of criticism of the teachers now. Believe me, from what I saw in those volunteered years I really don’t know how they do it without a volunteer or aide in their room. There is so much to be taught and, of course, there are children at different skill levels. My example would be the reading. The teacher must find a way to teach them all. They must make time for the computer-generated tests. And I don’t want to get started on that one!

There are possibly stations, in their classrooms, for their different types of class work. The teacher might be at the table teaching one level of reading to a group. There would be the group who sit at their desk and finish some class work, and there is probably a computer station for another group to get in their number of minutes for the week. There may be a library corner and a group will be there reading quietly, hopefully. Keep in mind now, the teacher must teach her group activity plus oversee the other stations. Imagine how that works out with one or two little ‘actors’ in the class.

Teachers must keep a schedule going all day. They must deal with morning break, lunch, and afternoon break. A lot of people think teachers get paid such a high wage. If you figured all the hours teachers work, including time they need to use on the weekend to prepare their classroom for the next week, hours they use up in the evenings, yes, divide those into their salary for hourly wage. They wouldn’t even be making minimum wage.

My intentions for this column was to give you a little view of the classrooms “then and now.” I’m sure you remember ‘then’ and I hope I gave you a look at ‘now.’ These are all my thoughts and opinions and not the responsibility of The Town Line.

I’m just curious how you remember “Then.” Let me know at dwdaffy@yahoo.com. Thanks for reading and have a great week!

REVIEW POTPOURRI: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

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Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Peter Catesby Peter Cates

In last week’s column, I wrote about the pianist Glenn Gould and mentioned his classical hit record, the 1955 Bach Goldberg Variations for Columbia Records but failed to mention another million seller, his 1981 remake of the same work, of which many of his fans, including myself, also consider basic to any collection.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Born and raised in Portland, Maine, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) was arguably the most well-known American poet of the 19th century. Many one-room schoolhouse children memorized such poems as Paul Revere’s Ride and Psalm of Life, a learning experience that is, unfortunately, not part of most curriculums these days.

Longfellow had a gift for evoking the sense of wonder behind everyday life. Its reality could be boring, routine-ish, sad, almost unbearable, yet, if a person had an open mind and heart, life had its silver linings and rainbows.

One of his contemporaries stated, when the poet was still living, “There is something so tender, so gentle, in the nature of Mr. Longfellow that his poems imbibe it bountifully and it brings them home to the heart, not the mind alone, and what the heart loves and admires will linger long before time can obliterate it.”

One of his poems, A Passing Thought, is a nice example of his tender, gentle nature in dealing with life’s challenges :

“O what a glory doth this world put on
For him who, with a fervent heart goes forth
Under the bright and glorious sky and looks
On duties well performed and days well spent!
For him the wind, ay, and the yellow leaves
Shall have a voice and give him eloquent teachings.
He shall so hear the solemn hymn, that Death
Has lifted up for all, that he shall go
To his long-resting-place without a tear.”

The Longfellow House is a well-known tourist attraction, in Portland, Maine.

AARP SCAM ALERT: National Cyber Security Month

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October is National Cyber Security Month and there are three keys to staying safe online: Own it, Secure it, and Protect it. The “it” is your digital profile – the personal things about yourself that you put online. Living in the digital age means putting a lot of personal information online like your home address, where you work, family members, and much more. Keeping that information safe requires a bit of work. First, you need to own it by understanding what you’re putting out there (such as what you’re posting on social media). Next, you have to secure it with strong passwords or using a password manager and enabling two-step authentication where available. Lastly, you need to protect it by staying current with the latest security updates on your devices and using Public Wi-Fi safely. Learn more at staysafeonline.org.

Be a fraud fighter! If you can spot a scam, you can stop a scam.

Visit the AARP Fraud Watch Network at www.aarp.org/fraudwatchnetwork or call the AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline at 1-877-908-3360 to report a scam or get help if you’ve fallen victim.

GROWING YOUR BUSINESS: Growing your local restaurant

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by Dan Beaulieu
Business consultant

There is nothing like a small local restaurant. A place with charm and history. A place that people remember going to with their parents when they were little. Or taking that first date for an ice cream soda while sitting at their soda fountain. We all have fond memories of a place like that. But unfortunately, that’s all we have “fond memories,” because these kinds of places are being run out of business by the big chain restaurants. The places that can afford to stay open seven days a week from mid-morning to very late at night. The places that buy their food in bulk, so they get the best prices. Those places that can afford multi-million dollar advertising campaigns showing their succulent lobsters and juicy steaks and bright red spaghetti and meatballs, all you can eat specials at prices that would drive the little guy out of the business.

But in our hearts, we love the little guy. She’s our neighbor, you went to high school and played football with him. And now it saddens you to see the business growing dark because they just cannot compete any longer.

Sad but true, but hey, there is hope, this does not have to be. There are ways to fight back if you own a small local restaurant. The big guys do have some disadvantages and it is up to the small family owned business to take advantage of those weakness.

Instead of meekly going into the good night of extinction there are things you can do right now to not only make your restaurant survive, but thrive as well.

Here then are ten ways to make your restaurant thrive in this era of the giant, impersonal food boxes of chain restaurants.

  • Be personal. The big guys can’t, you can. When customers come in treat them like old friends, even if some of them are new customers. Make them feel welcome. Everyone likes the feeling of belonging, make your customers feel like they belong
  • Spruce up the place. Chances are if your restaurant has been around for 30 years, your restaurant might look the part. It’s amazing what some paint, recovered booths and varnished tables and good lighting can do to improve the look of a restaurant.
  • Use your locality to your advantage. You have been here forever. This is your town. You went to school with many of your customers and potential customers. Use that familiarity to your advantage. Display photos showing what the town was years past and how it has changed. Support the local organizations from the school teams to the local churches and synagogues. Budget for this. A small donation to a local church’s silent auction will be remember and appreciated by their members.
  • Come up with some special dishes, entrees that are area favorites. I can guarantee that no box chain restaurant is going to serve boiled dinner, or beans and franks, or red hot dogs, or fresh seafood like a local restaurant.
  • Advertise: You don’t have to spend a lot of money on advertising, but you do have to do it. A small changing ad in the newspaper. Or better yet a local radio station. Or even better yet start your own newsletter complete with coupons. And speaking of coupons, how about a loyalty program to keep those customers coming in on their way to that special reward!

I’ve run out of space for this time. But no worries, I’ll pick this up next time when we’ll talk about the one secret that will guarantee the success of your local neighborhood place for years to come. Stay tuned and we’ll continue to show you how to grow your local restaurant business.

SCORES & OUTDOORS: Can we foretell the upcoming winter?

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Annual cicada photographed by Jayne Winters, of South China, taken last summer at her camp on Sebec Lake.

Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

Well, we’re coming up on the middle of October, and time to take a look at what Mother Nature has provided to us in regards to a preview of the upcoming winter.

Brrrr! Dread the thought!

During the summer and fall, our little critters, and even our vegetation, provides us with a glimpse of what we may be in store come the winter months.

Now, let’s make it clear. All of the following are according to farmers’ folklore. I looked up the word “lore” in the dictionary, and this is what I came up with: “All the knowledge of a particular group or having to do with a particular subject, especially that of a traditional nature.” Apparently, these are the result of many years of farmers keeping track of conditions involving their fields and crops.

First, it’s the old wives tale about the beloved onion. The lore goes that if an onion is difficult to peel, it is a sign of an impending harsh winter. If the onion peels easily, we can expect a milder winter. Notice I said, “milder.”

So far this summer, I have noticed that onions have been relatively easy to peel. My wife and I eat lots of onions, so this is more than just a small sample size.

Hornets nest in tree

Next comes those dreaded hornets and wasps. Farmers’ folklore has it that ground hives signify a low snowfall. Well, we went through this a couple of weeks ago when I told of the problem we had at camp this fall with yellow jacket hives in the ground. We had at least four that we knew about this summer, when action had to be taken to alleviate the problem.

However, during our close-down weekend at camp, we were again pestered with a multitude of yellow jackets, indicating there was another hive nearby. We never found it.

Yellow jackets ground nest

Contributing to that theory is the hornets nest I saw last week. A nest, the size of a honeydew melon, hung on a branch, low on a tree, probably about six feet or so off the ground. Not very high for a hornets nest.

With so many nests in the ground and the one hanging low on a tree branch, that, supposedly, indicates low snowfall. Wouldn’t mind that, even if I do have the snowblower tuned up and ready to go.

Another sign that the impending winter will be on the mild side has a little bit of controversy.

The wooly bear caterpillar. That darling, little fuzzy insect that usually comes out in mid-September. I have seen only a few, but they all have been on the highway, where I can’t get a really good look at them.

I did see one last weekend at camp, and the results were not favorable. However, there is another side to that story.

Now, I am sure everyone has heard the myth that the length of the rust-colored band on a wooly bear tells of how severe or mild the winter. If the rust-colored band dominates the body, it will be a mild winter.

Banded Wooly Bear Caterpillar

The wooly bear I saw measured 1-5/8 inches long. An inch of that length was black, while the rust-colored band measured only 5/8-inch. That’s telling me the winter will be a little on the bad side. However, other people have told me the wooly bears they have seen were predominantly rust-colored. I hope mine was the flunky of the wooly bears.

Finally, the cicadae. That is the green, grasshopper-looking insect that buzzes during the hot, steamy, humid days of July. Farmers’ folklore has it that the first killing frost of the season will occur 90 days following the first sound of the cicadae, after the full moon. The first time we heard the cicadae this summer was on July 26. Count out 90 days, that brings us to October 26. With the full moon happening on October 28, you can expect the first heavy frost to take place after that date.

Now, just for giggles, let’s throw in the Farmers Almanac. According to them, the first sight of snow should come around mid-November, but only as flurries. Through December, it is calling for some wet snow and rain, with some wintery mix. They do predict a white Christmas. But again, no serious snowfalls. Their first significant snow event is predicted during the second week of January 2020.

Do we dare look any further?

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Which player holds the NFL record for most points scored in a single game.

Answer can be found here.

SOLON & BEYOND: Remembering Flagstaff, Dead River & Bigelow

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Marilyn Rogers-Bull & Percyby Marilyn Rogers-Bull & Percy
grams29@tds.net
Solon, Maine 04979

Good morning, my friends. Don’t worry be happy!

Last week I was so happy to have had lots of e-mails sent to me with recent news. Just checked my e-mails and nothing of interest there for this week. It has surprised me greatly, that there are so many people who have never heard of Flagstaff, Dead River and Bigelow being flooded out by Central Maine Power Co back in 1949!

Have been trying to get all my old history of the event together and came across an old clipping from Central Maine Newspapers dated June 6, 2002, with the headline, “Make Flagstaff Lake a certain stop, History only one reason to visit area.” This story was written by M.J. Kaniuka. There is a picture stating that “A view of Flagstaff Lake from the causeway in Stratton. The 26-mile long lake was formed more than 50 years ago by flooding three communities. History only one reason to visit area.

“When travelers on Route 27 first view Flagstaff Lake, in Stratton, from the causeway just beyond Stratton, their typical reaction is, “What is this?” For Flagstaff Lake, a seemingly endless puddle, looks like no other body of water in Maine. Yet it is the centerpiece of a story that encompass the Revolutionary War, progress in mid-century America and evolving ideas of outdoor recreation.”

Flagstaff Lake is a man-made lake, approximately three miles wide and 26 miles long. “Its banks really recede in a drought,” said Forrest Bonney, regional fisheries biologist.

The lake was created in 1949 by Central Maine Power Company as a water storage facility for Long Falls Dam, “progress” in controlling the flood-prone Dead River. Subsequently, the lake submerged three communities: Flagstaff, Bigelow and Dead River.

The next year CMP received permission from the Legislature under the government’s right of eminent domain to buy property as it become available. Over the years CMP bought land and buildings and moved some homes and razed others. Eventually, CMP also clear cut 18,000 acres of woodland. Wildfires took care of many of the stumps and other debris that remained.

By 1949 only 30 adults and their families were left to be moved. That summer the Flagstaff and Dead River cemeteries were relocated to a site on Route 27 beside the newly-built Flagstaff Memorial Church. CMP erected the church to replace the town’s Congregational Church that they flooded. Stained glass windows from the Congregational Church were removed and installed in the chapel.

Today a memorial marker beside the chapel refers to much earlier events. In the fall of 1775 Col. Benedict Arnold passed through the region on his ill-fated march to Québec. He had left the Kennebec River below Caratunk to cut across the wilderness and reach the Height of Land, the dividing line between Maine and Québec.

To avoid the twists and turns of the meandering Dead River, Arnold and about 1,100 men, portaged their bateaux and dwindling supplies through the uninhabited Maine wilderness. They suffered incredible hardships with few or no trails to follow, rough and wet terrain, bad weather, fatigue, accidents and illness. Finally they reached the camp of an Indian named Natanis. Here Arnold erected a flag, an act that gave the town of Flagstaff its name.

The historical marker on Route 27 commemorates the event, but states that “the actual spot is now under water.”

Not far from the marker is the Arnold Trail turnout. Here another marker memorializes Col. Timothy Bigelow, an officer with Arnold and an eight-year military veteran . Bigelow reputedly climbed to the top of a nearby mountain to view the countryside and if possible, to see Québec. Today the mountain range bears his name.”

The Bingham Country Jammers! Bingham Grange Hall, first and third Sundays of each month. Open Mic from 1 – 4 p.m., Acoustic Only. Potluck To Tickle Me Appetite! Bring a hot or cold dish. Salads, desserts, cakes or pies! Price Range: 1 oz. of Gold. Also – Grange sponsored kitchen will be open. Hot dogs, burgers, and coffee. Entrance by donation to help with costs. Directions to 23 Meadow Street, Bingham, off Main Street (Rt. 201); Turn right on Meadow Street, across from Camden National Bank. The Grange is fourth building on the right, on the corner of Milford Avenue. Host: Ralph Van Dyke and MC : Bill Messer.

There was more to the above article, but want to save room for Percy’s memoir; hope you enjoyed reading about past history.

And now for Percy’s memoir, it was one I used back in 2008. Cultivating Friends: Sow a word of praise today, Plant a kindness-seed, Listen to a troubled friend, Help someone in need. Compliment a weary soul too fatigued to try; Shine forth rays of hope on all, Comfort those who cry. Scatter deeds of love each day, plant each row with care; Sprinkle joy along your way, soak each one in prayer. Ask the Lord to bless each one, and one day you’ll reap a harvestful of loving friends to cherish and to keep. (words by Connie Hinnen.)

Give Us Your Best Shot! Thursday, October 10, 2019

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

RARE SIGHT: Logan Parker, of Palermo, spotted this unique crow in Augusta.

REMINDER: Emily T. Poulin, of South China, captured this snowflake in flight last winter. Just a reminder of what is coming.

YUMMY!: Michael Bilinsky, of China Village, snapped this loon enjoying dinner.