PHOTO: Sunset at Monument Park

Janice Clowes, president of the Vassalboro Historical Society, captured the silhouette of the monument in the park, next to the historical society building.

A Christmas tradition

As a result of the devastating storm that swept through central Maine on December 18, 2023, which knocked out power and internet service, the following story could not be published at that time. Here is the annual Christmas tradition from an area family:

by Janet Cole

One mid-1980s Christmas we got our youngsters a Commodore 64. Wanting them to socialize with our dinner guests, this gift wasn’t put under the tree until everyone had left (and our kids had fallen asleep.)

The next morning, our three rush into our bedroom announcing a “mystery gift” under the tree. It was received with such delight that it became our tradition.

One gift, for the whole family, appears under the tree on December 26. It’s been as simple as a board game and as elaborate as a ping pong set with ribbons leading to a ping pong table in the basement.

Happy Holidays…however you celebrate!

A heart warming Christmas story

The log chair fashioned by a line crew from Michigan, following the devastating storm of December 18, 2023. (contributed photo)

by Carol Thibodeau
Submitted December 21, 2023

Carol Thibodeau related a story to The Town Line that is a great example of how people help people in times of hardship.

She writes:

We are on Rocky Road, in South China, where we have been stuck without power for four days now, and until yesterday, we were trapped here by a giant tree across our driveway.

Yesterday a crew showed up to cut up the tree. Yay! …they were a crew of three guys who had driven 23 hours straight from Michigan, to help CMP with the storm devastation. Despite only three hours of sleep, these guys were friendly and upbeat and went right to work and got that mammoth tree cleared.

My seven-year-old grandson, Reid, was there with me and we watched them clear the tree. Reid told me he wanted to make a chair out of one of the chunks of wood, for his mom and dad for Xmas. I mentioned this to one of the crew guys. While the other two were finishing up, he decided to make Reid that chair, and went to work with his chainsaw. While we watched, he made the best little chair, which will carry this story forever. Not to be outdone, his buddy had to carve us a message on a huge log. I’ll keep that log forever too!

Then these three heroes marched off to rescue the next people, munching on the peanut brittle I gave them and just as upbeat as ever.

I’ve been wondering if maybe that guy has a kid at home in Michigan, when he decided to make the chair for Reid. I don’t know, but I think Reid will always remember it.

Reid made a card…..and I’m going to make cushions for the chair – LOL, and he’s excited to give it to my daughter and her husband for Xmas.

We are still stuck without power and there is a leaning pole and downed lines still, at the top of our driveway, but this gave us such a Xmas boost, and warmed our hearts.

EVENTS: UMaine Extension offers backyard maple sugaring workshop February 3

University of Maine Cooperative Extension will offer an in-person maple syrup production workshop for beginners and enthusiasts interested in making it in their own backyard from 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Feb. 3.

Participants in the hands-on “Backyard Maple Sugaring” program will first meet from 9 – 11:30 a.m., at Standish Town Hall, 175 Northeast Road; and then finish from 12:30 – 3 p.m., at Dunn Family Maple, 419 Chicopee Road, Buxton. Snow date is February 17.

During the workshop, participants will learn how to identify and tap trees; collect and boil sap; and filter, grade and can syrup. Participants will also learn the logistics of installing and maintaining a sap collection system that uses tubing. The workshop will be led by UMaine Extension maple industry educator Jason Lilley; Richard Morrill, owner of Nash Valley Farm in Windham; and Scott Dunn, owner of Dunn Family Maple.

Registration is required, as space is limited. The workshop fee is $18 per person and includes the textbook “Backyard Sugarin’: A Complete How-To Guide” by Rink Mann. Visit the program webpage to register. This program is sponsored and co-taught by the Southern Maine Maple Sugarmakers Association.

For more information or to request a reasonable accommodation, contact Jason Lilley, 207.781.6099; jason.lilley@maine.edu.

Honor Maine Teachers – nominations open for Maine Teacher of the Year

The Teacher of the Year journey starts with your nomination. Nominate someone from your town, county, or region today at mainetoy.org/nominate.

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) and Educate Maine announced that nominations are now open for the 2024 County Teachers of the Year and 2025 State Teacher of the Year. Maine’s County and State Teachers of the Year serve as advocates for teachers, students, and public education in Maine.

“Maine is home to amazing teachers who educate, inspire, innovate, nurture, and go above and beyond each and every day for their students, schools, and communities,” said Maine Education Commissioner Pender Makin.

Nominations can be made through a form on the Maine Teacher of the Year Website now through 5:00 pm on January 31, 2021. Nominations will be accepted from students, parents, caregivers, community members, school administrators, colleagues, college faculty members, and associations/organizations (self-nominations, and nominations from family members are not accepted).

Requirements:

Hold the appropriate professional certification for their teaching position;

Be a certified, in good standing, PK-12 teacher in a state-accredited public school, including a career and technical education and adult education center, a public charter school, or a publicly supported secondary school (a private school that enrolls 60 percent or more publicly funded students, sometimes referred to as “town academies”);

Be actively teaching students at least fifty percent of the workday at the time of nomination and during their year of recognition.
Maintain their teaching position and remain in the county for which they are selected throughout the year of recognition.

Have a minimum of five years of teaching – three of which are in Maine.

Beyond serving as advocates for education, Maine’s County and State Teachers serve as advisors to the Maine DOE and state-level education stakeholders across Maine. Additionally, County and State Teachers of the Year join a cohort of teacher leaders who actively work together for the betterment of education in Maine. They also receive ongoing professional learning and participate in many state and county leadership opportunities.

The 2024 County Teachers of the Year will be announced in May. The 2025 Maine Teacher of the Year will be selected from the 16 county honorees. Through a selection process designed by educators, the field will be narrowed to semi-finalists and then state finalists before the Maine Teacher of the Year is announced by Maine’s Education Commissioner at a school assembly in the fall. Each year, State and County Teachers of the Year are honored at the annual Teacher of the Year Gala also held in the fall.

The Maine Teacher of the Year program is committed to a nomination and selection process that ensures people of all backgrounds are represented. Educate Maine and the Maine Department of Education champion that commitment by encouraging the nomination of educators from all culturally diverse experiences and backgrounds.

For more information about the Maine Teacher of the Year program, visit the Maine Teacher of the Year website. Help us promote the Teacher of the Year Program by using the promotional materials on our website! Our goal is to expand and diversify our nomination pool!

Benton native named 2023 Senior Sailor of the Year

Petty Officer 1st Class Maegan Findley, a native of Benton, was named 2023 Senior Sailor of the Year for Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC) Ports­mouth, during a ceremony at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, in Virginia, on October 3.

Findley is a graduate of Lawrence High School, in Fairfield. Findley also earned a degree in medical laboratory sciences in 2010 from Thomas Nelson Community College, in Virginia.

Findley joined the Navy 19 years ago.

Scout leader recognized for quick action with choking boy

Ryan Avery, right, accepts the Medal of Merit from Chuck Mahaleris, chairman of the Kennebec Valley District. (photo courtesy of Chuck Mahaleris)

by Chuck Mahaleris

Cub Scout Pack #672 and Scout Troop #672 gathered at Spare Time Recreation, in Hallowell, to end the Scouting year with a night of family bowling. However, the biggest part of the evening was not all of the pins that fell but rather the awarding of the Medal of Merit to Troop #672 leader Ryan Avery who saved a boy from choking earlier this year.

Avery, who lives in West Gardiner and teaches science at Gardiner Regional Middle School, was working the lunch detail this past September when he noticed a student who was choking. A witness, who did not wish to be identified, observed Avery talk to the young man and ask if he was choking. The boy nodded and Ryan immediately began the Heimlich Maneuver. In short order, the bottle cap from his water bottle was removed from the youth’s mouth and he was able to breathe fully. The witness then described that Ryan ensured the young man was ok and quietly cleaned up the area and went about his duties.

Earlier this month, Avery had completed 16 weeks of EMT classes and now Ryan has even more training under his belt should the need arise in the future.

Devyn Deleonardis earns scouting’s Eagle rank

Amanda Deleonardis pinning the Eagle Scout medal on her son’s uniform. (Photo courtesy of Chuck Mahaleris)

by Chuck Mahaleris

The First Congregational Church of North Anson was alive with activity on Saturday, December 16, as family, friends, and fellow Scouts joined to witness the pinning of Scouting’s highest rank on Devyn Deleonardis.

Devyn is the son of Frederick and Amanda Deleonardis and lives in North Anson where he attends Carrabec High School.

He will be turning 18 in January and his time as a youth member of Scouting will come to a close. It is fitting that he received the Eagle Scout award before becoming an adult leader with Troop #481. Devyn is no stranger to leadership. As part of his Eagle Scout project, he led others in building and distributing little lending libraries to five area communities. In Scout Troop #481, Devyn has served as Senior Patrol Leader and Chaplain Aide. “Some ways that I have demonstrated leadership skills other than my Eagle project, Community Libraries, are when I taught the clove hitch knot to guests at the Community Literacy event; helped Solon Elementary School’s field day event by teaching the students a game and led them through it as they played; and when I wrote and gave a speech for the position of Student Council member.”

Devyn chose to have his Eagle Scout ceremony at his church because of his strong personal faith. “I believe that my life purpose,” he explained in his Life Ambition Statement that was presented along with his Eagle Scout application, “is to spread the news of Jesus, to follow him, and to help others any way that I can.” During the ceremony, Devyn presented Mentor Pins to two of his Scout leaders, his parents and to Pastor Dave Walz. Pastor Walz praised Scouting during the ceremony saying, “Bless the Scouts and bless all who seek to serve and be servants to others.”

Devyn received congratulatory notes from the members of Maine’s Congressional Delegation, State Representative Larry Dunphy and the Boy Scouts of America. Alfred McKay, Commander of the American Legion Department of Maine, presented Devyn with an actual Eagle feather. The Legion had to receive official permission from the US Fish and Wildlife Service to present the feather as the Eagle is a protected species. In fact, both bald eagles and golden eagles are protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Devyn plans to attend the University of Maine Farmington next Fall and study to become a teacher.

The Good Trail: Tall Nancy is coming tomorrow

by Lisa Lichterfeld

“Tall Nancy is coming tomorrow.” Selwyn gives one of his world weary sighs, signaling resignation, since his default stance towards visitors is generally averse. This gets me going with a quick retort. “You are incredibly lucky that tall Nancy chooses to come here and spend time with you.” Selwyn is equally quick to make eye contact and state “You’re right. Tall Nancy is an angel.”

When I took a seasonal farm position at Johnny’s Seeds, some of my friends – fellow parents of young athletes who are part of the Unified Champion Club – asked how they could be supportive. I was concerned about leaving my husband home alone for that length of time. Selwyn is physically frail and has growing memory loss and confusion. He had become increasingly dependent, needing support for many daily life activities. Nancy offered to come one day a week and stay for four hours. She developed her own routine into which she incorporated sweeping and cleaning the kitchen, bringing in the recycling barrel from the road, making and eating lunch with Selwyn, and rubbing Selwyn’s feet. Now everyone reading this understands why the term “angel” can be applied to Nancy. The tall part is because – well, she is tall, and that is how Selwyn distinguishes her from the other Nancys in our circle of friends.

Three weeks after I started working at the farm, I quit. It just wasn’t working out. Making sure the needs of my husband and my daughter were being met through coordinating daily support from my friends and family became too stressful. And Selwyn had deteriorated further due to his anxiety with all of the arrangements.

Tall Nancy said “Can I still come over on Tuesdays?” And so we established a pattern and a growing friendship and camaraderie as Nancy volunteered her time so that I could take a physical and mental breather from the demands of home life.

One day as Nancy was leaving our home I said “you are our hero Nancy”. That afternoon Nancy was walking the trail in Benton with her son Jonathan and his direct support person Kevin.

Chet started working at New Balance 23 years ago, right out of high school. New Balance, as a workplace, encourages its employees to embrace a culture of giving. This aligns with Chet’s own values and temperament. “I’m not going to drive by someone on the road with a flat tire, and not stop.” He hopes that this ethos continues to live on in his sons Christian 21, and Trenton 11.

On the first of July, Chet was driving around looking for a local ball game to watch. It was his first day of vacation. He sat on the bleachers at the Wrigley field, in Waterville, and watched a not so typical game.

All the batters hit the ball – either from multiple pitches or a T. Every hit, catch and run was cheered by the spectators. There was a great deal of elation, and rarely any sense of defeat. Chet was watching the Unified Champion Club. In the UCC team, some players are more skilled and they are able to play more competitively with one another. Others are beginners, or less skilled, and even the most competitive in the field will stop, wait, fumble the ball, and otherwise take steps to make sure that person makes it to first base.

While eating ice cream and observing this unusual ball game, Chet couldn’t help overhearing a conversation taking place a few rows down on the bleachers. Our very own tall Nancy was telling her other mom friends about her dream to have a swing built at her home that was large enough for her six-foot three-inch, 30-year-old son Jonathan. Jonathan is largely non-verbal, and does not participate in team sports, but comes to many of our team events. At the ball field he usually spends his time on the swings. He so loves to swing that he will endure the discomfort of having the too small swings (designed for children) cut into his hips, leaving open areas that have to heal.

This conversation percolated in Chet’s mind, and he decided that he wanted to build that swing. He talked to his friend and co-worker Maggie and she immediately wanted to finance the project. “Word got around and pretty soon everybody was saying ‘I want to help’.”

Now it was up to Chet to find the woman with the son who needed a swing. He went back to the ball field for the next two weeks on the same day at the same time, only to be disappointed. Determined to find them, he called the AYCC, spoke to Patrick Guerette and was informed that the one time that he had watched our game was on an alternate night due to bad weather. The next week he would finally be able to find us on the correct evening.

But he did not have to wait that long. Running on the river trail in Benton, he saw one of the people who he remembered from the game. It was Kevin, one of the partners in the UCC.

Once you have seen Kevin, you will remember him. Noticeably short with a very long, full, dark beard, Kevin is one of the most approachable people I know. Always up for a bit of fun, and frequently a bit of mischief. Chet stopped his run and began rapidly explaining how he recognized Kevin, and how much he wanted to build a swing for “that woman and her son”.

At some point, tall Nancy who was patiently watching this conversation unfold, leaned towards Kevin and whispered “well, shall we tell him?”.

And that is how Chet met Nancy and Jonathan.

Money was pooled from all of those involved with the major portion coming from Maggie.

When the materials were purchased, Dan from Hammond Lumber contributed funds to the project as well. Justin, Jimmy, and Chet built the swing with Chet’s son Trenton and Justin’s son Nick, assisting. Chet’s wife Renee beautified the landscape around the swing, planting flowers that continued to bloom right through the summer.

It all happened in a single day when Jonathan was out with Kevin and his partner Jill. Jonathan doesn’t like having people in his home and can sometimes become quite upset. But upon returning to the house at the end of the day, the smile and immediate adoption of the swing could not be mistaken for anything less than Joy. No matter how many people stood by and watched!

On the same day that I called Nancy “our hero”, she met Chet on the trail. As though synchronized by a writer’s pen, the trail of good deeds made itself visible. The service Nancy so graciously gave to us, and the very tangible and large swing that brought joy to Jonathan (and some respite for Nancy), seemed to be linked. At least in Nancy’s mind. Because the next time she came over, she said “You see, I better keep coming, because good things are happening!”

Love to my good friends Nancy Moore, Jonathan Tingley, Kevin Taft and Jill Currier. And love to those helpers I have not met – Chet, Renee and Trenton Hanscom, Maggie Diagle, Justin and Nick Cote, Jimmy Lucas, and Dan Doray.

The Unified Champion Club is a non-profit that operates out of the AYCC providing sporting events and memberships to adults with special needs and their partners. It brings people together whose destiny it is to assist one another in celebrating our beautiful lives. All donations towards this endeavor are welcome.

Lisa Lichterfeld is also the author of the book “My Name is Kwayah” written from the perspective of her daughter with Down Syndrome, and available on Amazon.

Windsor’s Elwin Hussey dies at age 100

Elwin Hussey at 100 years old

WINDSOR – Elwin F. Hussey, 100, died peacefully at home on Saturday, December 9, 2023, following a short illness. The only child of Harland and Mildred (Shuman) Hussey, he was born in 1923, the same year his parents started their new business, Hussey’s General Store.

He grew up around the store and on his grandparents farm just down the road, attended Windsor Corner one-room schoolhouse, graduated from Erskine Academy, in South China, in 1940, and from Colby College, in Waterville, in 1944. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II as an aviation electronics technician.

After the war he returned home to the family business. He earned his pilot’s license and owned his own small plane for several years, taking off and landing in local pastures and touring up and down the Atlantic coast. In 1954 he married Shirley Avery, and he and his parents undertook a major expansion of their store to it’s present three-story location with many departments including radios, televisions and modern appliances.

Elwin and Shirley first traveled to Hawaii in the early 1960s. which began decades of wintering on the Big Island where they welcomed many friends and relatives over the years. He enjoyed tending his orange orchard there and making fresh-squeezed orange juice for every breakfast.

Elwin was an avid collector of 78 rpm records, phonographs and radios. He also bought, sold and collected books, especially books about Maine and by Maine authors, and books about military and war history. He did much research on Windsor history and genealogy of his ancestors and other local families.

He was predeceased by by his wife Shirley (2012).

He is survived by his three children, Roxanne Hussey, of Windsor, Rebecca Hussey, of Malibu, California, and Jay Hussey, of Windsor; three grandchilden, Kristen Ballentyne (husband Andrew), of Windsor, Jesse Reinherz (wife Jessica), of Juno Beach, Florida and Anna Reinherz, of New York City; and two great-grandchildren, Olivia Austin and Adeline Ballantyne, both of Windsor.

A graveside service will be held in the spring of 2024.

See also:

Windsor’s Elwin Hussey reaches the century mark

Hussey’s General Store: The history of a humble country business

A history of Hussey’s General Store