(Photo courtesy of Carolyn Viens)
Sheepscot Lake Association members were on the water early on July 20 to participate in the Maine Audubon Society 36th annual loon count. This year, six loons were counted on Sheepscot Lake, including a chick with parents. The annual event is one of many programs sponsored by the lake association to safeguard the beautiful lake and gauge its health.
The Town Line Board of Directors, from left to right, Joann Austin, president; Dan L’Heureux; Neil Farrington; Eric Austin; and Emily Cates, treasurer. (Absent from photo: Gladys Hewett, secretary.)
Dear Reader of The Town Line,
Some exciting things are happening at the paper this year, and we wanted to let you know everything that’s going on.
Did you know The Town Line now offers free classified ads for local nonprofits looking for volunteers? Or that we’ve begun sponsoring a local journalism workshop twice a year through the Augusta Adult Education program?
It’s all part of The Town Line’s mission to be a positive force in our community and bring together the rural towns of central Maine by promoting better communication and public dialogue.
Unfortunately, the last two decades have not been good for the nation’s newspapers. Nearly 1,800 local newspapers have closed their doors since 2004, according to a study by the University of North Carolina. The hardest hit are community papers like The Town Line that concentrate exclusively on local issues.
The reason so many newspapers across the country have gone out of business in recent years is simple – it’s all about the advertising. In the past, the revenue from advertising has gone to pay the writers and reporters investigating local stories – and to the cost of printing and distributing the paper each week. That’s how The Town Line has remained a free paper for all of its 30-year history.
With the advent of the internet in the late 90s, however, that paradigm began shifting. On the internet, advertising is no longer controlled by publications, but by social networking websites and search engines. As the internet has grown and gained more influence in our daily lives, the advertising power of the internet has grown as well. Over the years, the revenue from advertising that used to support local newspapers has shifted to global search engines and huge social networking websites instead. This change in who benefits from advertising has been a death blow to many local papers.
When a local newspaper dies, the biggest victims are small, rural communities like ours. The global nature of the internet means that more effort is going into the production of content based on national issues with a wider audience, and important local concerns are falling off the radar. Without a local newspaper, important community issues often go unreported.
For all of its history, The Town Line newspaper has been a local community paper. We report on people and events that are of special interest to the residents of central Maine. Our mission is “to create a vibrant rural community connecting our towns, organizations and individuals through communication, education, and public dialogue.” Our mission statement is literally to make our community a better place!
According to a 2018 study published in the Oxford Journal of Communication, communities without a local source of news become more partisan, divided and politically fractured. You’ve seen it happen on the national level. It’s a growing problem around the country. Part of the reason for that is the loss of local newspapers like ours.
The Town Line also differs from other media companies because we are a nonprofit organization. Most of our writers are volunteers. Our editor and staff work for peanuts. And we don’t push any political agenda. We serve as a voice for our diverse community but take no editorial side in any issue. And we concentrate solely on local stories of interest to the rural towns of central Maine.
However, we can no longer survive only on advertising revenue like we used to. We need the support of the community like never before. That’s why we’re writing to you today.
What can you do to help? There’s actually a number of things you can do. For starters, you should become a member of The Town Line. For as little as $25 a year, you’ll become a member of The Town Line and receive our mailings and updates, and be the first to hear about any new and exciting news involving The Town Line.
You can also talk to your local businesses about advertising in The Town Line newspaper or on our website. Explain the importance of supporting local newspapers instead of giant corporations like Facebook and Google. Let them know that you read The Town Line and their advertising dollars would be well spent with us.
The Town Line is a nonprofit community paper and we’re a dying breed. The world will be a worse place without us. In these days of mass media and internet mega-companies, we need your help to continue our mission to bring the residents of central Maine together through “communication, education and public dialogue.”
Won’t you join us and become a member today? (Click here to become a member.)
Sincerely,
The Town Line Board of Directors
Joann Austin, president; Emily Cates, treasurer; Gladys Hewett, secretary; Eric Austin; Neil Farrington, and Dan L’Heureux
p.s. For any donation of $25 or more, please stop by our office at 575 Lakeview Dr., So. China, to pick up a free gift (while supplies last).
The Town Line newspaper
PO Box 89
South China, ME 04358
(Photo courtesy of Palermo Community Library)
The Palermo Community Library, in conjunction with the Palermo Historical Society, will host Maine author, Mac Smith, as he discusses his book, Mainers on the Titanic. The presentation will be on Tuesday, August 6, 2019, at 6:30 p.m., at the Palermo Community Library and is free to the public.
Mainers on the Titanic traces the stories of passengers on that fateful ship who had ties to Maine. Many of them were wealthy summer visitors to Bar Harbor, but there were other residents of the state aboard as well. Their tales are retold, along with what was occurring in the state at the time.
Meticulously researched, this book reveals the agonizing day-to-day wait of Mainers for news of what really happened on the Titanic, and tells the stories of Maine passengers from their boarding to the sinking and rescue; and, for those who survived, of their coming ashore in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It’s a fascinating addition to the Titanic story.
Smith is a Navy veteran of the first Gulf War and former news reporter for The Bar Harbor Times. He lives in Stockton Springs, in the village of Sandy Point, where he is restoring the family homestead.
Copies of Mac Smith’s books will be available for purchase at the event. The library is located at 2789 Route 3. For more information call 993-6088 or email palermo@palermo.lib.me.us or visit www.palermo.lib.me.us.
Dark Money, a political thriller, examines one of the greatest present threats to American democracy: the influence of untraceable corporate money on our elections and elected officials.
The film takes viewers to Montana, a front line in the fight to preserve fair elections nationwide – to follow an intrepid local journalist working to expose the real-life impacts of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. Through this gripping story, Dark Money uncovers the shocking and vital truth of how American elections are bought and sold.
This film will be shown following a potluck dinner on Friday, August 26, at the Palermo Community Center, Turner Ridge Road, at Veterans Way, across from the ball field. You’ll see the electric sign. Please bring a dish to share at 6 p.m. The downstairs screening room is nice and cool! It’s free and all are welcome! Call Connie at 993-2294 for info and directions.
Marie Michaud, left, China’s LakeSmart coordinator, presents Bonnie Easton McGann, with a LakeSmart award at the China Lake Association annual meeting on July 20. (photo courtesy of Elaine Philbrook)
Glen H Easton purchased this property on Killdeer Point in 1937. He was the supervising naval officer assigned at Bath Iron works in those days. The camp was well built boasting a lovely cathedral ceiling. Bonnie Easton McGann, oldest of the 9 grandchildren, continues to shares family ownership of the camp.
Of particular lake friendly buffers on the Easton Camp property are the deep natural canopy of tall trees at the lake front and the 40-foot deep stand of hemlock trees that are kept trimmed to ensure that the Easton family can enjoy a nice view of the lake.
Effective water front buffers protect our lake from harmful runoff and can allow a nice view of the lake!
LakeSmart Volunteers are available to provide suggestions to lake front property owner to help protect the lake. If you are interested in having a LakeSmart Volunteer visit your property or would like more information about a visit, please contact Marie Michaud at ChinaLakeSmart@gmail.com.
Members listen to Matthew Scott, director of the Maine Lakes Society, at the China Lake Association annual meeting on July 20. (photo by Eric W. Austin)
“We’re part of the problem,” Matthew Scott, the keynote speaker at this year’s China Lake Association annual meeting, told an audience of about 40 people on Saturday, July 20. “We’re also part of the solution.”
Matthew Scott, a director at Maine Lakes Society, was the keynote speaker at this years China Lake Associations annual meeting. (photo by Eric Austin)
His talk was entitled, “All Maine Lakes Are Vulnerable, Some More than Others.” Matthew Scott is the founder and past president of the North American Lake Management Society, and former chairman of the Maine Board of Environmental Protection. Currently, he serves as a Director for the Maine Lakes Society. He has been studying the health of Maine’s lakes since 1959.
Prior to 1970, China Lake was a clear, blue-water lake teeming with salmon and trout. Over the next decade, however, the China area experienced a population explosion and, along with it, a period of high — and mostly unregulated — rural development. Pollution from new construction, poor septic standards and runoff from agricultural production resulted in a change in the chemical make-up of China Lake. Phosphorous levels rose and dissolved oxygen levels fell.
As a result, in 1982 China Lake experienced its first algae bloom. An algae bloom is a rapid explosion in the growth of algae as a result of high levels of nutrients in the water.
Other lakes around the state would later experience similar changes for similar reasons, but China Lake was the first, and it gave its name to the new phenomenon, which came to be called “the China Lake Syndrome.”
Beyond the unsightly appearance, high levels of algae in the lake have other consequences. As the algae dies, it sinks to the bottom and starts to decay. The bacteria that aid in the process of decomposition suck oxygen out of the water. This impacts the populations of fish living in the lake, especially those species which prefer the high oxygen content of the dark, cool depths in the deepest parts of the lake, like trout and salmon. These species, once so common, began to disappear from the lake.
Dying algae can cause another problem as well – poisonous water. “What happens is that the algae die,” says Scott, “and when they die they release an endotoxin [called microcystin].” While toxin levels in China Lake have not risen above acceptable amounts laid out by the DEP, Scott thinks we can expect to see a greater need for microcystin testing in the future.
Part of these problems are also the result of Climate Change, says Scott. “We’ve recorded temperature changes since 1895,” he says, “and [average temperatures in Maine have] increased about three degrees Fahrenheit. That’s raw data. That’s real data. It’s a scientific fact.” Scott insists, whether or not you agree that Climate Change is the result of human activity, the world is growing warmer and we need to adapt.
“Maine is getting warmer and wetter,” Scott says. His data suggests we will see an increase in future snowfall in Maine by 40 percent along the coast, 20-40 percent in central Maine, and up to 20 percent for inland Maine.
Warmer weather results in warmer water, which is ideal for algae growth, and greater snowfall means more runoff into the lake when the snow melts, which puts greater importance on constructing vegetative buffers along the lake to help filter the runoff.
Scott sees the primary drivers of lake water quality as: Landscape fragmentation from development; seepage from faulty septic tanks; agricultural runoff from the use of fertilizers and certain pesticides; pollution and runoff from roads, driveways and nonpoint sources; and, finally, Climate Change.
Although Climate Change is certainly a factor, Scott says, it is these other sources with which we should be most concerned. “We all talk about Climate Change,” he says, “and people try to hang their hat on Climate Change and what it’s doing, but we are the problem, okay? We are the ones causing the problem.”
He’s talking about population growth, but concedes that growth is inevitable. “We’re not going to see that change,” he says. “[But] we’re going to have to control people’s activities through regulations, ordinances, laws and rules.”
Scott doesn’t think there are any silver bullets when dealing with lake water quality, but there are some promising options. One popular choice is “alum treatment,” which is the process of introducing a mix of aluminum sulfate and sodium aluminate into the lake. The aluminum sulfate chemically binds with the phosphates in the water, which then settle to the bottom and are no longer available to provide nutrients for algae growth. The sodium aluminate is used to control pH levels during the treatment. This sort of treatment has shown success in other lakes, but it is expensive, and Scott emphasizes that it should not be considered until the phosphate sources feeding into the lake have first been identified and eliminated.
Another option that generated discussion is the reintroduction of alewives into the lake. Alewives are a migratory fish which feed on the phosphate-rich plankton in the lake. The fish spend most of their lives in the ocean, but return to fresh water to spawn. After spawning, when they return to the ocean, they take the phosphates they’ve consumed with them. The problem is that there are so many dams constructed along the rivers between the lake and the ocean that these migratory fish have had trouble returning to the sea after spawning. If they are unable to return to the ocean, they become trapped, eventually dying and returning those phosphates back to the lake instead.
Landis Hudson, executive director of the nonprofit Maine Rivers, spoke about the work they are doing to clear a path along Maine’s rivers for migratory fish like alewives. “Lakes are connected to rivers, rivers are connected to the ocean,” she tells the audience, “and my work with Maine Rivers is to restore connections between lakes and the ocean, and to make the habitat more accessible and healthier for native creatures, including alewives. What we’re aiming to do is restore a self-sustaining population of up to a million adult alewives that should be returning [to the lake].”
Matt Streeter, a project manager with Maine Rivers, spoke about the progress they are making. “There were six dams on Outlet Stream,” he says. “There are now four dams remaining. This year, 2019, we’re working on a fishway at Ladd Dam. Next year, 2020, we’re going to be working on a fishway at Box Mill Dam. Those are the first and second dams on the river. The next year, 2021, [we’ll be installing a fishway at] Outlet Dam. The final piece will be Morneau Dam, probably in 2022 — although we haven’t decided yet if that will be a fishway or a dam removal. We fully expect that by 2023 there will be a returning round of alewives into China Lake, with full outgoing fish passage as well.”
Robbie Bickford, from the Kennebec Water District, spoke about their work with China Lake. (photo by Elaine Philbrook)
Robbie Bickford, the Director of Water Quality for the Kennebec Water District, then stepped forward to speak about how KWD is working with local communities to improve water quality. (He recently took over the position, as of July 1, from Matt Zetterman, who was also present.) “The Kennebec Water District monitors transparency data, and dissolved oxygen and phosphorous levels in all three basins of China Lake,” Bickford says. “Over the last six years, there’s been a pretty good trend of transparency data getting better.” Transparency is a gauge of how clear the water is based on how far below the surface an object can be seen. “July 3 actually marked the best transparency data that we’ve seen in the west basin since 1971, at 8.3 meters (26-1/2 feet),” he reported. “The best [data] we’ve ever seen since 1971 in any basin was 8.4 meters, so that’s awesome. The average that we’ve seen in July this year is still well above the ten-year average. That’s fantastic.” Bickford noted that phosphorous levels in the lake have improved as well.
The Kennebec Water District has operated the Outlet Dam, which controls lake levels, for the last ten years. However, this year they were unable to renew their contract with Vassalboro because of a dispute over certain cost increases they were requesting. As a result, the Vassalboro Public Works Department is now operating the dam. Everyone agreed that the current lake levels are unusually high for this time of year, but Bickford and Zetterman confirmed that water levels are within the guidelines set by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.
Scott Pierz, president of the China Lake Association, suggested the town of China could purchase the dam in order to operate it themselves, but such a move would need to be voted on at the town business meeting next year. This was confirmed by China Town Manager Dennis Heath, who was in the audience.
Bob OConnor reports on the loon count for China Lake. (photo by Elaine Philbrook)
Richard Dillenbeck spoke briefly about the litter initiative he has been organizing with the China for a Lifetime Committee. “We’ve started this year an official approach to picking up litter along our highways,” he said. “We’ve gotten partial success so far. We’ve got it covered from Erskine Academy [in South China] to portions down the Neck Road [at the north end of China Lake]. We have about 30 volunteers who have stepped forward, but we need more. There are some portions that are still not covered. If you’d like to play a role, or know someone, please have them contact me.” This was greeted with raucous applause, but no volunteers. Dillenbeck can be contacted at 445-8074 or rvdillenbeck@knology.net.
Marie Michaud, coordinator for the LakeSmart program on China Lake, got up to present awards and speak about the progress they’ve made. She spoke about the importance of the program in educating lake residents on how to construct vegetative buffers to prevent phosphorous run-off into the lake. They are also beginning a LakeSmart ambassador program to help spread the word.
Finally, Bob O’Connor reported on the loon count for China Lake. This is his 30th year running the program. “We have 48 loons,” he reported. “We haven’t had that many loons since 2003. So, that’s really great. And there were four chicks!”
The Miller family from Bald Head Island, Eric, Anna, Kyndra and Jenny participated in the Sheepscot Lake Association’s first boat parade on July 4. There was a great turnout as 18 boats took part, all decorated in red, white and blue. (contributed photo)
Neil Armstrong’s reflection is seen in Buzz Aldrin’s face mask as the two became the first two men to walk on the surface of the moon on July 20, 1969.
by Dan CassidyOn Sunday Evening, July 20, I was working in the Composing Room as a Linotype Operator at the Morning Sentinel. I persuaded the foreman to let me bring in a small TV set with rabbit ears to watch the spacecraft landing.
We were all amazed to watch Neil Armstrong and Edwin Buzz Aldrin set foot and plant the American Flag on the Moon surface.
I am still amazed and when there is a full Moon, I always wonder if the American Flag is still waving?
Where was I on July 20, 1969? Somewhere between Virginia Beach and Augusta, Maine. I was working for Army recruiting at the Norfolk recruiting office and I received my orders to go back to Vietnam for my second tour of duty. With 30 days to get there, clear post then get home and leave by military flight to ‘Nam, I had to many things to clear, which meant going to Richmond and back. While my station commander did that for me, I worked on everything else. Getting my mobile home ready and transportation set up with my station commander’s held, we did it only one day; unheard of in the Army.
To save money I figured I’d make my own tow hitch to haul my car back to Maine, I tested it near my home, and in about 200 feet it broke loose, which meant it had to go to the body shop. So much for saving money. I then left for Maine with our truck loaded and a trailer to haul items we would need right away. Two weeks later I flew back to pick up the car and was told that some mouldings needed to be put on. They told me it would take about eight hours. I told them to put them in the car and I would take care of it. Did it in 15 minutes once I returned home. I left for Vietnam on July 31.
Once I arrived in ‘Nam, everybody was talking about it (the moon landing). They were surprised I hadn’t heard, as I hadn’t seen any TV or listened to any news in weeks. Since I had personal issues to take of, I let the rest of the world take care of itself.
On July 20, 1969, my mother and I were living in the China Village house. My father was in Thayer Hospital after a stroke; he was to die a week later. Mother and I visited the hospital, spent time with Louise Tracey, Peg Darlow and Peg’s son Paul (friends who lived on Neck Road) and worked in the flower garden. Louise lent us a television set and we watched Aldrin and Armstrong walk on the moon from mid-evening until 2 a.m.
The Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles that day, too. According to Wikipedia, the Sox went on to finish third in the newly-created American League East with an 87-75 record. Baltimore won the division (the Detroit Tigers were second) and defeated the Minnesota Twins to win the American League, then lost the World Series to the New York Mets.
by Roland D. HalleeOn July 20, 1969, as a sergeant in the U.S. Army, I was stationed in Southeast Asia, part of a six-member, elite CIA-supported, top secret, special operations unit. Our mission was to observe the troop movements of the North Vietnamese and report back to headquarters, where plans were then formulated for air strikes on the enemy convoys. We were working out of Vientienne, Laos, operating along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, with occasional ventures into western and northwestern Vietnam. Spending lots of time in the field, it was sometimes weeks before we could get caught up on current events.
I had read of the impending moon landing, but lost track of time, not realizing what was taking place on this particular evening. Having been given a couple days of R&R (rest and relaxation), I was strolling down a street in Vientienne when I passed a shop selling outdated black and white television sets. As a way to entice people to consider purchasing a set, they had them lined up in the storefront window, with all of them turned on. A crowd had gathered in front of the store, so I went to see what was so riveting on the TV sets. That is when I saw U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walking on the surface of the moon.
A little sense of pride rushed through me at the time, proud to be an American. We not only beat the Russians to the moon, but fulfilled the dream of the late President John F. Kennedy to put a man on the moon during the decade of the 1960s.
by Emily CatesSince I wasn’t around in 1969, I thought I’d ask my dad. He said:
“So, as I recall, I was at home in Wrentham Massachusetts, on summer break after my freshman year at Yale University. I was a great fan of the Apollo program, having dreamt about being a space traveler ever since reading Tom Swift novels during my preteen years.
“I was glued to the television set for hours that day, and especially sitting on the edge of my seat as Neil Armstrong guided the lunar lander the last several hundred feet with barely a few pounds of rocket fuel left. I watched every second of live video from the moon and upon return to earth that I could.
“The last time I can recall in my life being so glued to the television set was during the coverage of the Kennedy assassination only 5-1/2 years earlier.
“How ironic in hindsight! President Kennedy had been such an inspirational leader for space exploration and the Apollo landing has to be regarded as a crowning achievement in his legacy.
“And yet, the very same weekend that Apollo 11 landed on the moon was at the same time a terrible stain on the Kennedy family legacy, since younger brother Edward ended up driving his car off the side of the bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, in Cape Cod, and killing his passenger Mary Jo Kopechne.”
by Eric W. AustinBeing of the generation born after the moon landing and an avid connoisseur of conspiracy theories, I first delved into this important event with the idea that the whole thing had been mocked up by Stanley Kubrick and Richard Nixon. Like most conspiracy theories, however, it fell apart under further scrutiny, and I was left only with my admiration for the courageous men and women who made it possible. It was an achievement that fueled the imaginations of millions of people from around the world, and I can only hope to be around for mankind’s next giant step, Mars. Onward ho, my fellow Americans. To Mars and beyond!
Downeast Brass Band.
The Windsor Veterans’ Memorial Committee will be holding a fundraiser concert at the Windsor Town Hall on July 25, at 7:00 p.m. Donations will be requested in lieu of a ticket charge. The themed concert will feature the Downeast Brass Band putting on an “informance.” The performance will spotlight music from the 60’s and include stories, taking concert goers behind the scenes of their favorite songs and artists.
Downeast Brass Band founder Dwight Tibbetts said, “The narrative will discuss the top ten songs from each year and will explain why the music is the way that it is.” Refreshments will be provided by the Windsor Ladies Aide and be served after the hour and a half of entertainment.
The Veterans’ Memorial Committee will also be offering concrete and granite pavers to be purchased by the public as an additional way to help support the monument. Information on the pavers will be available the night of the concert or at the Windsor town office.
The Windsor Veterans’ Memorial will be located on Ridge and Reed roads and incorporate the existing monument. Original cost estimates for the project were over $45,000. Since 2017, over $14,500 have been raised through Veteran’s Beano games at the Windsor Fair, flower sales, pie auctions, public supers, other concerts and private donations. The citizens of Windsor also voted to give the Memorial $19,000 from the last two budgets. In addition, J.C.Stone Inc. from Jefferson has also donated 2 stone benches for the site. However, the committee still needs to raise over $11,000 to complete the project.
Once completed, the memorial will list the names of Windsor residents who have served our nation. For more information on the concert, please contact Windsor Cemetery Sexton Joyce Perry at 445-2998 or jperry@windsor.maine.gov.
Independence Day painting by John Trumbull, in 1819.
Independence Day is an American holiday which is celebrated on July 4 of each year. It is the solemnity of the official document which declared the original 13 colonies independent from Great Britain, in the year 1776. During this time period the already existing Continental Congress formally adopted the need for total independence by drafting a document declaring such, not only for America, but to give notice to Great Britain of the action. Most of this most famous document was actually concluded on July 2 but the fourth became the day of celebration.
This was the birth of American Independence. The birth didn’t come without a cost. King George III, Then King of Britain, didn’t accept the Americans to be free from the British rule. Britain accrued a great debt fighting against the French and felt the American colonies owed a great portion of that debt which they should pay to Britain.
The Americans relied upon their Preamble which basically stated, the Americans were declaring “unalienble rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Thus a revolution was born to defend the new found freedoms that the colonists had grown to enjoy. Needless to say this was won at great expense to property and lives; the earth shook and thousands died. Britain’s need for money brought about “Taxation without Representation.” Eventually, it was declared that the total abolition from the British Crown was necessary.
The United States of America was born with the Articles of Confederation agreed to by Congress on November 15, 1777, and ratified on March 1, 1781. The United States Constitution with its Amendments became the foundation and governing laws of our nation.
The Revolutionary War was fought from April 1775 to September 1783. In 1775 George Washington was appointed Commander-In-Chief of the Continental Army. He later became the first president of these United States and earned the name, “Father of our Country.” His presidency lasted for two terms, 1789-1797. Later from general to president he was also elected president of the convention that wrote the United States Constitution. Needless to say the foundations of our great country was guided in part by a very remarkable man, George Washington, who himself owned thousands of acres of land in several states as well as the largest whiskey distilling company at the time.
There were many years of war and changes to our great country which in fact fill thousands of books for those who want to read about the greatest historical event, besides the faith in our God, who always takes first place.
All this being said, we, in retrospect, think of such things as the “American Flag,” created in 1792 by Betsy Ross. Although some things in our history are debated, this is what we accept as truth. Also, it would be fair to mention a young Maryland lawyer and poet by the name of Francis Scott Key, who wrote the lyrics of the “Star Spangled Banner” which later became our National Anthem. Key was a temporary prisoner on the HMS Tonnant, a British man ‘o war, which was bombarding Fort McHenry, at Baltimore, Maryland, during the war of 1812. Key was inspired by the flag still waving after a night filled with heavy bombardment. All these events are envisioned when we think about the Fourth of Jul; or should be.
The other part of this story is the congregation of family and friends to celebrate this event in a customary manner. We share our love of “God and Country” with the mischief of some fireworks to describe the original events of our country’s beginning.
So, from all of us, to all of our beloved and loyal readers, we hope this brief explanation of the Fourth of July will give you all that Great Spirit of Patriotism, as intended, while you enjoy the love of family and friends. May God be with you all and as always, God Bless America.