IF WALLS COULD TALK, Week of March 2, 2017

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Katie Ouilette Walls
by Katie Ouilette

Y’know, WALLS, I must have a touch of Spring Fever, cause all of a sudden I’ve been thinking about the song: “People…People Who Need People are the Luckiest People in the World.” O.K., we’ll talk about people, as this just may be thank you week and our lucky people are those who gave much of their lives and talents to Skowhegan and vicinity.

First, with wars still raging in our Middle East and some of our military there and to those who fought in our wars and their relatives, we must say ‘thanks.” We will soon celebrate Abner Coburn Day and we all know that Abner Coburn was born in nearby

Canaan, but built the ‘decrepit’ mansion on our Skowhegan Main Street Hill. Yes, our Governor Coburn sat with our President Abraham Lincoln, as he delivered The Gettysburg Address, since we of Skowhegan and Maine had men fighting in our Civil War. Yes, People needed those soldiers.

What’s more, my thoughts have turned back to the days when Skowhegan’s Water Street and Madison Avenue had a great variety of stores where people who worked in our spinning and woolen mills could leave their work for lunch hour and, yes, walk down Water Street to window shop or stop in and buy whatever was needed at home. Yes, we had Stern’s and Crane’s department stores, or five-and-dimes McClellan’s, Grants, Woolworth’s or even Cora Cayouette’s Corsetry which was next to Skowhegan’s Famous Bonnet Shop. On Madison Avenue and Water Street there were grocery stores, meat and fish markets, furniture stores, gift shops, restaurants, soda fountains and, lest we forget, the Maine Liquor Store, drug stores and music stores. Don’t forget the many offices that were located on the second floors of our famous downtown buildings.

Here’s a bit of an aside from the Waterville Morning Sentinel’s Amy Calder, who wrote this week of the snowstorm of 1968-69 and who urged me to write of my experiences during that storm. Well, will suffice for now in saying that Skowhegan’s first radio station (WSKW) was located above the William Philbrick Office and that storm happened to be on the first day for my broadcast! Well, we all know that ‘the show must go on,” and I got there through the drifts!

At a Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours, at Russakoff Jewelers, a few weeks ago, WALLS promised to write a history of Skowhegan Downtown, but at another time. I will say that Skowhegan’s downtown had a lot of barber shops as the men didn’t have long hair and beard in those days!

While writing this, WALLS, you certainly will thank the Alfond Foundation and other local manufacturers for their workers having made the products that enabled giving our area young people assistance with college tuition, with the hope they will stay in this area and develop the foresight to develop products needed and become CEO’s for the manufacture of same. Yes, WALLS, you know full well that “People who need people are the luckiest people in the world,” and, WALLS, you also know that this is the best place to live, “Maine, the Way Life Should Be.”

REVIEW POTPOURRI: Composer: Sir Edward Elgar; Singing group: The Mills Brothers; Pianist: Frank Froeba

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Peter Catesby  Peter Cates

Elgar

String Quartet
played by Aeolian String Quartet; Violin Sonata, played by violinist Alan Loveday and pianist Leonard Cassini – Dover Publications HCR-ST-7011, 12-inch stereo vinyl LP, recorded early ‘60s.

Sir Edward Elgar

Sir Edward Elgar

Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934) was perhaps best known as the composer of Land of Hope and Glory, a very much sung World War I anthem, itself based on the First Pomp and Circumstance March, whose tune is still heard at graduation ceremonies and band concerts.

Starting in 1917 when the composer was 60 and at the height of his powers, Elgar wrote three works for chamber forces, which he had never attempted before. Two of them are contained on this LP – the Violin Sonata and the String Quartet, both of them having a quiet thoughtful reserve of both dignity and yet an intimacy of feeling, along with a special beauty.

The performances are superlative. Finally, there are 14 copies of the vinyl LP still available from Amazon vendors, starting at $7, along with other more recent recordings on CD.

The Mills Brothers

Great Hits
Dot DLP 25157, stereo vinyl LP, released 1958.

The Mills Brothers

The Mills Brothers

The Mills Brothers, consisting of Dad and two sons, began performing in 1922 and recorded a slew of best selling hits for Decca during the 78 era, later re-recording them for Dot records from the ‘50s into the ‘60s with greater success, not to mention the superior stereo sound; this 1958 LP has some of their classics – Paper Doll, Up a Lazy River, Glow Worm, the sweetly poignant You Always Hurt the One You Love, etc., performed with that utterly unassuming style of theirs that was endearing while concealing the years of careful rehearsing and discipline.

About Glow Worm – its composer, Johnny Mercer, recorded it, but with minimal sales. Within five years, the Mills did their own record and made millions.

Frank Froeba

Jazz Piano and Orchestra
Royale 1826; 10-inch vinyl LP, released 1954.

Frank Froeba

Frank Froeba

The jazz pianist and bandleader, Frank Froeba (1907-1981), founded his own group in the 1930s, which employed the likes of Bobby Hackett and Bunny Berrigan, and waxed a number of 78s for the Decca and Columbia labels. This LP contains such familiar tunes as The One I Love Belongs to Somebody Else, A Lover’s Lullaby, My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean and Where Has My Little Dog Gone?, the first two selections are admittedly incompatible as to style and content with the last two; it also has the aptly titled Bee Boogie, which is a boogieish reworking of Rimsky-Korsakoff’s Flight of the Bumble Bee. The entire program is very professionally and enthusiastically performed and makes for very pleasant listening.

Royale was one of several very cheaply priced labels which proliferated from the late ‘40s into the ‘50s and drew its material from both legitimate and questionable sources, often engaging in flagrant bootlegging. However, my copy of the above LP is in wonderful condition and has good sound. Highly recommended for interested listeners and still available on Ebay at a reasonable price under $15.

I’m Just Curious: Ticks and bumps

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by Debbie Walker

Ever notice how sometimes things are easier when you put them in your own words rather than maybe the appropriate one? You know, bring them down to your terms.

I think I do it out of a healthy disrespect for the real terms, and sometimes because my words are just shorter. I’ve done some of that here.

I made a long put-off trip to the dermatologist to have a little mole thing on my forehead looked at. They told me just by looking at it that it was a basil cell carcinoma, lot of words for cancer. Instantly that thing reminded me of being in Maine, come in from the woods with a tick on you and all you want to do is get it off you! And anyone else in the room starts checking for any ticks on themselves. Well my immediate reaction was: Get that thing off me now! This little mole thing was now my “tick” and I wanted it gone now!

Well, beside the little tick I had a bump on my upper left leg. It has never been discolored; it has never burned, itched, hurt, changed colors, nothing. However, it has started to grow and just a little bit ago it seemed to be forming groupies around it. So, hey, I’m here I might as well ask him what kind of thing that was. Well, you know how it goes, almost like with your car, it could be this or it could be that, usually it is the more expensive one but sometimes you get lucky. So the doc did his little biopsy of both tick and bump.

Tick test came back next day just what they said it was and it was going to have to come off. I’m ready now. However, we (they) were waiting on the bump’s biopsy that it turns out had to be sent away. Oh yeah, I’m a little nervous now, but better safe than sorry.

The “tick” was no big deal; they took that off in a matter of minutes and a few stitches. But it seems that the “bump” was going to send me to a specialist, seems it was a little on the rare side and had a name I think includes all the letters of the alphabet in it. So I was sent off to Moffitt Cancer Center, in Tampa. Probably means nothing to you guys but this place is top of the line all the way!

That little bump that never did anything but grow to about the size of a nickel was going to require an eight-inch by six-inch cut down to the muscle to get rid of, I had one layer of stitches and one layer of staples. This particular cancer is rare and has a 95 percent success rate. AND, for it to be considered not successful only means it will grow back in the same spot. Now as cancers go I consider myself very lucky.

We all do it; we all put things off, “ah, that isn’t anything.” I will admit that for awhile I had an idea what the tick was and even then put it off, lack of money, insurances, time from work, etc. As for the little bump, looked like the most harmless thing in the world and as I said, never gave a sign of it being anything other than a bump on the skin. But if you think about it, what was the bump doing there, I didn’t have one anywhere else?

Please take this seriously. My tick is long gone and my bump was removed December 23, 2008. Yup, I am making fun of them, that healthy disrespect I was talking about but this is serious. If you have ticks or bumps or whatever word you decide to call them do yourself and your family a huge favor and go now. Don’t wait. If it turns out to be nothing, go celebrate, if it is something, deal with it. You wouldn’t leave a tick on there knowing it was there, would you?

This is one time when I wish my curiosity had won over sooner!

Thanks for reading and if anything here rings a bell to you: CHECK IT OUT!

Contact me at dwdaffy@yahoo.com sub line: Ticks and Bumps

(Note: I try to get this printed once a year because I believe it is important.)

Pages in Time: Mushy stuff from years gone by

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Pages In Timeby Milt Huntington

Fifty percent of the many responses I received from my newspaper articles come from senior citizens over 65 years of age. I know this for a fact because one of them told me so. Both responders agreed that they love all the mushy stuff from years gone by.

So, let us reminisce. Flipping back through the dog-eared pages of time, I found a piece about the home front in WWII. I told of air raid wardens, rationing of butter and gas, patriotic movies and buying savings stamps at school. Yes, there were no bananas, and we ate sherbet instead of ice cream. Contributing to the war effort by helping mother squish red dye into white margarine to make it yellow was a genuine source of pride.

Growing up in Augusta was a priceless chunk of my young life, so I described the beauty of early Western Avenue and the bustle of Downtown Water Street. Western Avenue was lined with shade trees back in the good old days, and it had a skating pond. It didn’t have a federal building or a shopping mall. You could actually cross the street without taking your life in your hands. Heck, you could even watch soap box derbies there or ride down the hill on your bike with your feet on the handlebars.

There was no traffic circle at the bottom of Western Avenue–just the intersections of State Street, Grove Street and Grove Street Extension. There was, however, an elegant yellow brick building–The Augusta House. The historic old meeting place played host to the rich and famous and was the site where many legislative measures were lobbied to death but often revived by mouth-to-ear resuscitation. Gone now–all gone.

To our young eyes, Water Street was the Broadway of the Capital City. There were Class “A” movies at the Colonial Theater featuring musicals with new Technicolor technology. The Capital Theater drew us in with the Class “B” westerns, vaudeville and cliff-hanging serials. The names of a lot of the flicks are beginning to fade from memory, but I remember well, and always will, the nickel candy bars, the Ju-Jy fruits and buttered popcorn. I also remember the eleven-cent price of admission.

Thoughts of the old American Legion building by the little park stir memories of teen-age dances, football on the lawn, post-war suppers and playing pool with friends in that old front room. Those, indeed, were the good old days.

Still there at the top of Rines Hill is the Hartford Fire Station with all of its history and its bellowing nine-o’clock whistle. The beautiful train station at the bottom of the hill was replaced by a parking lot. Arlene’s Bakery and the aroma of doughnuts and pastries is still a tantalizing memory. You can’t get your shoes repaired or shined anymore at Turcotte’s.

The shop is long gone along with Augusta’s shoe factories – R.P. Hazzard and Taylor Shoe.

You want to talk about change? Just take a look at Bangor Street. Whatever became of Hussey Hardware, Doc’s Lunch, Mike’s Lunch, Williams School, The A&P, Charlie’s Market and the Esso gasoline station?

I can still remember, with delight, the taste of a good steak at Hazel Green’s, a shrimp scampi at Al Biondi’s 89 Winthrop or First Tee on Water Street. I remember well how great the meals were at Ray Lammer’s Pioneer House. Nobody served up cheeseburgers like John McAuley did at his place on Outer Western Avenue. Then, of course, we salivated over the fare at the Roseland Restaurant on the Waterville Road and McNamara’s in Winthrop. The beer was also pretty good over a hamburger and fries at the Oxbow hangout in Winthrop.

Don’t even get me started about Island Park. Suffice it to say, the memories are many. All I need to resuscitate recollections of your own is to casually mention the revolving ball that left colorful squares on the dance floor below and the 21 Club that got us high on a bottle of beer. It was the site of my first date with the girl that I married.

For the beer drinkers in the crowd, I would be remiss in failing to mention Ray’s Dine and Dance in the lower end of Water Street and Duffy’s Tavern on the Bond Brook Road. Don’t talk to me about inflation. I remember when “dimies” went to 20 cents a glass. In some of those places and in most cafeterias, juke boxes were mounted on the walls over the tables. For the drop of a nickel, you could listen to Sinatra, the Chairman of the Board; Mel Torme, The Velvet Fog; Vaughn Monroe, Frankie Laine, Perry Como, Patti Page, Jo Stafford, Joni James and Doris Day. If you’ve read this far, you can easily recall the names of all the others who helped promote romances of the teenage years.

OK! That’s it for now. I’m beginning to tear up. I just hope that all my fans, (both of them), will think back on all the things that they remember if I’ve been successful in jump starting their memories again.

Milt Huntington is the author of A Lifetime of Laughter and Things That Make You Grin.

SOLON & BEYOND, Week of March 2, 2017

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

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

The Solon 2017 annual town meeting will be held at the Solon Elementary School on Saturday, March 4, with voting for the following nominated candidates from 8 a.m. until 12:15 p.m. Candidates are Selectman, three-year term: Sarah Davis; Road Commissioner: Michael Foster; Town Clerk/Tax Collector: Leslie Giroux and MSAD # 74 School Board Director, three-year term: Laura Layman.

The annual Solon Pine Tree 4-H Club bake sale is from 8 a.m. until 12:15 p.m. The 4-H Club’s luncheon is 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Hope you will join them for lunch and support this club.

The town meeting starts at 1:30 p.m. In 2017 the selectmen and budget committee are again each recommending budgets that are under the state mandated cap. The selectmen’s recommended municipal budget needed to be raised by taxation, after reducing this budget by loan, reserve funds, State Revenue Sharing and available surplus, is $103 less than last year and the budget committee’s is $22 more than last year.

The following are some of the articles that will be on the agenda this year:

  • Art. 3: In 2016 we were overdrawn in Town Charges by $1,563.62 and we need the authorization to use surplus to cover the overage. Articles 5 through 12: Articles to raise money for various purposes. Our budget worksheet will be available at the town office and at the town meeting;
  • Art. 11-4: The Library Trustees are asking for a $5,000 increase by taxation. The selectmen and budget committee are recommending no increase. They have reserve funds invested and the yearly income is available to be used when needed.
  • Art. 14: This article is to repair and repave the sidewalks on South Main Street, School St, Pleasant St. and the southerly portion of North Main St. Funding for the project will be $9,700 from the sidewalk Repair Reserve and $45,000 from the Road Paving Reserve.
  • Art.17: This will give the selectmen the authority to trade in our 1991 Ford L900 Roll Off Truck and to purchase a used roll off truck for the transfer station using up to $56,000 from the transfer station truck and Tub Reserve Account Funds and taking out a loan for up to $21,000. The loan will be paid back over three years.
  • Article 19: The town foreclosed on the Goldhamer property on Wentworth (Ironbound) Pond in 2012. The lot’s depth does not allow for development. We need to discuss what to do with this property.
  • Article 20 & 21: This gives the selectmen authority and direction on disposing of tax acquired property. There are two separate pieces of property that were foreclosed on for nonpayment of 2014 property taxes. One property belonged to Steve Carey who died in 2014. The other property is a camp belonging to Louis Vallee.
  • Articles 22 through 28 are articles either required by Maine law every year or are articles included every year for the reasons stated in the articles.

I received the above information from Leslie Giroux where they are available at the Solon Corner Store and perhaps at other stores in Solon and you can get the total articles at the town office also.

I have got to get on the ball and try and get the yearly booklets from organizations in the area so I can share what is going on there with you, and when their meetings are going to be. .

And now what you’ve been waiting for, Percy’s memoir: I’ll count the kind of deeds done today Instead of hurts that come my way. I’ll catch the sunbeams on my sill And let the clouds move as they will. I’ll listen to a trilling note And lift the one caught in my throat. I’ll nod and smile at passerby And not give in to thoughts that cry. I’ll smell the flowers as they bloom Within, without my living room. I’ll watch the children near the gate And let their freedom compensate. I’ll count the health I know today And find tomorrow – as it may… Because my hope and joy shall be the love of Christ, who strengthens me. (words by Roxie Lusk Smith).

Tracking: the importance of starting out correctly

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TRAINING YOUR PERFORMANCE DOGTRAINING YOUR PERFORMANCE DOG

Carolyn Fuhrer
Owner North Star Dog Training

One of the greatest games you can play with your dog is teaching them to use their sense of smell to find a great reward. Dogs like to use their nose; it is the first way they identify things – and what dog doesn’t like to find something which results in a reward for them, be it food, a toy or a game of tug or chase?

The sport of tracking uses the dog’s natural scenting ability to follow where a person has walked (the track) and find items that the person has dropped (articles). Our job is to teach the dog to use their nose to follow the “track” and find the “articles” at which point the dog in training will be rewarded. The only way they can find the “articles” which pay the reward is to use their nose to follow the track. Sounds like a relatively simple formula – then why do so many people have so much trouble when they start working?

The answers are the same as for any other type of training. To name a few:

  • Poor motivation
  • Lack of clarity on the part of the trainer
  • Dog does not understand the reward system
  • Increased difficulty too soon
  • Making it a job instead of an enjoyable, rewarding task
  • Poor understanding of the dog’s physical/mental stamina
  • Poorly planned tracks

Starting out right with a qualified trainer who is also a good teacher and understands various breeds of dogs can help avoid so many problems.

There are many good books on tracking, but if you don’t have a really solid foundation in training, they are not that helpful. Videos are fine, but usually show the finished product and not how to deal with problems or may not deal with the problems you are having.

Going to a beginner’s clinic is a very good start, but it can only take you so far and depending on the skill and expertise of the instructors, you may or may not come away with a plan.

Continuity, consistency and motivation are the keys to developing a good tracking dog. If you are frustrated it usually affects the dog. This is why follow up sessions that allow for individual needs are very important especially for new trackers. As in any dog sport, there is a lot for the handler to learn and if the handler cannot obtain the help they need, progress will be slow at best. To make progress you need someone who cannot only identify the problems you may be having but who can also design training sessions to help you solve those problems and build the dog’s confidence and yours!

Mid Coast Maine Kennel Club had a wonderful program last year. It started in April with a beginner’s workshop and students tracked several times a month throughout the mid-coast area. The last session was held the first week in December! MCKC will also be hosting seven tracking tests this year and will host an AKC Judges Seminar in July. If you are looking to learn to track in 2017, check out Mid Coast Kennel Club of Maine’s website for information. The club will also be hosting a Nose Work clinic on March 3rd.

Carolyn Fuhrer has earned over 90 AKC titles with her Golden Retrievers, including 2 Champion Tracker titles. Carolyn is the owner of North Star Dog Training School in Somerville, Maine. She has been teaching people to understand their dogs for over 25 years. You can contact her with questions, suggestions and ideas for her column by e-mailing carolyn@dogsatnorthstar.com.

I’m Just Curious: Teachers

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by Debbie Walker

Some of you know that I have been volunteering in a first grade class of a bunch of mini humans who have no front teeth and will chew unbelievable things. The latest one was chewing on their own shoelace!

I think we all knew babies go through a teething stage. But, did you know kids have a second teething stage? Yes they do; first graders or more specific 5, 6 and 7 year olds. It seems like they all lost their front teeth at the same time.

They each come tromping into the classroom in the morning and upon seeing their teacher and me they break into these big toothless smiles. You just can’t beat the feeling, theirs or ours. Who couldn’t go on with the day after that experience?

I had a couple of reasons for writing a column for teachers. One thing I want to bring to bring out is what teachers of the younger ones go through in a day. Like I said, I can only talk about the little ones.

If you have had or have a child you know they can’t be trusted very long on their own and 16 of them really can’t be left alone.

The teachers are with these children for 7.5 hours a day. There are no coffee breaks or shopping on an hour long lunch. There are not even any potty breaks for teachers. A couple days a week the kids may go off for a half hour to a computer lab, gym or music. Those times can be filled with preparing for the rest of the day or maybe even a teachers meeting.

There is no way I can show you the pace of the days. The job doesn’t stop when they go home. Most nights teachers can count on having some form of school work to do. Weekends and those “wonderful vacations! Too funny. Go to the school and see who is vacationing. Oh, and some of the teachers will take a vacation with some other “fill in” employment.

One thing I would like is for anyone who thinks the teachers have it so easy please spend some time in your child’s or grandchild’s.

Oh yeah, one other thing is Maine has a Foster Grandparent Program. “Foster Grandparents share their experience and wisdom for at least 15 hours a week in public and non-public settings; schools, day care and Head Start Centers with children who need a little extra love and attention.” There are some direct benefits; some compensation for time and effort.

Any compensation you might receive will not affect your Social Security, MaineCare or any other helpful benefits. And you can do so much good with the students and be such a help to the teacher. If you are interested contact Maria Staples at Penquis 207-973-3611 or mstaples@penquis.org. I believe this is a great program.

I am running out of my allotted words so I will finish this one. I’m just curious what you think about teacher’s jobs. Contact me at dwdaffy@yahoo.com. Thanks for reading.

 

SCORES & OUTDOORS: Surviving the rigors of Maine’s winters

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Roland D. HalleeSCORES & OUTDOORS

by Roland D. Hallee

During the blizzard that swept through our area last week, I was standing at my kitchen window, watching the bird feeders. To my surprise, even during the height of the storm, with heavy snowfall and howling winds, the birds kept coming to the feeding stations.

“Tough little buggers,” I thought while watching.

That got me to thinking. How do these animals and birds survive these harsh winters?

So, I decided to do some research on the white-tailed deer. I had recently read an article that said the “mild” winter so far made it easier for the deer to move in search of food. That all changed last Sunday and Monday. Now that there is in the vicinity of an additional three feet of snow on the ground, how will they survive the remainder of this season?

White-tailed deer have developed a set of adaptations that enable them to survive the deep snow and cold temperatures that occur in Maine. Maine is the northern-most point of their range and there are very few of them north of the St. Lawrence River. Also, the further north you go in their range, the larger the body size, as compared to their counterparts in the south.

According to Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife biologists Joe Wiley and Chuck Hulsey, deer shed their hair in the spring and fall. The summer hair has solid shafts and lacks the undercoat, but the winter hair has hollow hair shafts, and dense, wool-like under fur, providing effective insulation.

Also, deer will alter their diet to accumulate and retain more fat under their skin and around organs, providing them with insulation and energy reserves for the months that lie ahead. The winter diet is lower in protein and less digestible than the summer diet, requiring more energy to digest and resulting in fewer calories. The stored fat is burned during winter to partially compensate for the lack of energy in the winter diet. Deer will lose weight during the winter. If winters become too long (early start and late finish) deer could run out of stored energy and die.

Fat reserves in adult does can account for up to 30 percent of their body mass in the fall.

Their winter habitat is also important. Dense softwood canopies intercept more snow, resulting in reduced snow depths. Gathering in these areas also allow many deer to share the energy cost of maintaining a trail network to access food and to escape predators.

As you would suspect, the greatest mortality in the winter is found among fawns, followed by adult bucks and then does. Severe winters can drastically deplete the fawn population, resulting in fewer young to mature into adulthood. Consecutive severe winters can have a devastating effect, by as much as 90 percent, of young maturing, depleting the adult herd.

So, should you try to help out these critters?

Although supplemental feeding of deer is usually well-intentioned, it could have some severe adverse effects. Just to touch on a few of the reasons to leave the deer to Mother Nature’s natural course:

  • Supplemental feeding may actually increase predation. Providing supplemental food sources crowds deer into a smaller area than their usual range, making it easier for coyotes and bobcats to hunt down the deer, by limiting their escape routes;
  • Feeding sites near homes may place deer in danger of free-roaming dogs;
  • Deer feeding stations may increase deer/vehicle collisions. Feeding stations near homes also place the deer in close proximity to well-traveled highways;
  • Deer could actually starve when fed supplemental foods during winter. It takes deer two weeks to adjust to new foods, and could starve in that time period;
  • Deer compete aggressively for scarce, high-quality feeds;
  • They could die from eating too much at one time;
  • Deer concentrations at feeding sites may increase the vulnerability of deer to disease. MDIFW has documented deer concentrations equal to 350 deer per square mile at some feeding sites can cause an outbreak of infectious diseases, such as the bovine tuberculosis in 1994, and more recently, the fear of introduction of Chronic Wasting Disease, which, by 2016, had only been found in deer and moose. Although CWD, a disease that causes weight loss leading to death, has not been detected in Maine, the disease, which originated in the midwest, seems to be making its way east. It is now found in 23 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces.

Finally, predation and vehicle collisions claim more deer during the winter than starvation. Mother Nature has provided well for her creatures, so just sit back and watch them go about their daily routine.

REVIEW POTPOURRI: Composer: Hector Berlioz; Dance band: The Serenaders; Composer: Sigmund Romberg

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Berlioz

Damnation of Faust
Daniel Barenboim conducting the Orchestre de Paris, Chorus, and Children’s Chorus with soloists Placido Domingo, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Yvonne Minton, etc.; Deutsche Grammophon 2709087, recorded 1978, three 12-inch vinyl stereo LPs.

Hector Berlioz

This magnificent, very colorful work of at least two hours is not an opera, because it is unstageable, instead being “in the wind;” nor an oratorio, because it was not inspired by the Bible, but rather a classic literary poem of the great German writer, Goethe. In the end, the term “Dramatic Symphony” became loosely attached to it for all intents and purposes.

This performance is splendidly sung and played and is well worth getting to know with its abundant melodic material, including the supremely riveting Hungarian March, itself the most famous piece in the score.

The Serenaders

The Serenaders

A Kiss in the Dark
Medley Waltz; The Waltz Is Made for Love-Medley Waltz: Victor 18972, ten-inch shellac 78, recorded October 18, 1922.

In looking around, I have been unable to glean anything about the Serenaders, a dance band that recorded several Victor acoustics before disbanding and disappearing forever. The arrangements are very pleasant and not quite as syrupy as other dance records of the era, while the instrumentalists are top notch.

As a rule, I think of Victor Herbert as a more interesting composer than Kalman and The Kiss… bears out Herbert’s gifts; the Waltz Is Made … is pretty but reveals Kalman as a second rate Johann Strauss, Jr.

Sigmund Romberg

Blossom Time
Al Goodman conducting his orchestra and chorus, with soloists Earl Wrightson, Donald Dame, the Mullen Sisters, etc.; RCA Victor WK 5; five blue vinyl seven-inch 45s; recorded mid to late ‘40s at the Lotus Club in New York City.

Sigmund Romberg

This operetta is based on melodies of the Austrian composer Franz Schubert and is one of the loveliest concoctions of singing tunes and sheer fun – Romberg (1888-1953), along with Rudolf Friml and Victor Herbert, formed the great trinity of the best composers in the profession in the U.S.

Al Goodman recorded a sizable batch of these presentations for Victor; I own most of them and treasure dearly, as they were very wonderful performances and make worthwhile listening for adventurous collectors!

SOLON & BEYOND, Week of February 23, 2017

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

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

Another week has gone by since I sat writing this column, and what a week it was! With the many snowstorms, blizzard conditions and trials and tribulations!

And…now it’s one of those weeks when I sit here wondering what I can write about for recent news, wracking my brain, and can’t think of anything new to share.

However, in going through some old papers I found what I thought was very interesting. It is an old letter from Bill and Mary Rowe dated 1988 and was sent out to local residents with a business in Solon. It states, “Dear Businessperson, If you have looked around Town lately, you will have noticed the increase in the number of businesses now operating. As a matter of fact, we are sending out 30 of these letters and I’m sure we have missed someone.

“The purpose of this letter is to explore the possibility of forming a Solon Business Association. There are many benefits to organizing and the main one is to concentrate our efforts and use our combined group to attract people into Solon and into our respective business. If we act as a Town and a group, we have all kinds of State support available plus we can do things such as signs that we are unable to do individually.

We would like to invite you to an exploratory meeting on Tuesday, June 7, 1988, at 8:00 a.m. to be held on the second floor of the fire hall.

“If you are unable to come, but would like to give your input, please telephone one of us and we will let you know how this meeting turned out. Sincerely, Bill and Mary Rowe.”

I received one of these letters because at that time I had my GRAMS Shop on North Main Street. And yes, the Solon Business Association was formed.

We mustn’t forget Percy’s memoir for this week entitled Press Onward: Keep a brave spirit, and never despair; Hope brings you messages through the keen air – Good is victorious – God everywhere. Grand are the battles which you have to fight, Be not downhearted, but valiant for right; Hope, and press forward, your face to the light.