Fall events hosted by the China Village Library

Stories and Scarecrows at the China School’s Forest. This family and children’s event will be held on Saturday, October 2, at 1 p.m. Join the story walk and meet up at the reading tree with our librarians for more stories and a fall craft. The self-guided story walk will be available through the end of October.

Join Folksinger, Bill Berlinghoff for an outdoor concert on Sunday afternoon, October 2, at 2 p.m. Bring your own chair and refreshments.

A 2021 Community Candidates Forum will be held on ZOOM on Sunday, October 17, at 2 p.m., hosted by the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library. Meet Town of China candidates for the November 2 town election. To Register go to: tinyurl.com/04926elect21 or email chinavilllageacb@gmail.com.

Halloween: Children may stop by the library on Sunday, October 31, from 5 – 7 p.m., for a treat!

Raingutter Regatta

Troop #603 Scouts Gibs Schefter and Jacob Blais are shown coordinating the races. Parents interested in Scouting should check out the Pine Tree Council website. (contributed photo)

The American Legion Post #205 hosted a Raingutter Regatta for Pack #603 as they opened their doors for a new school year. Over 30 families participated, and the kids built, raced, and took home their boats.

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: More high schools

Old Erskine Academy

by Mary Grow

China Academy, China misc, Erskine Academy

The Massachusetts legislature chartered China Academy in June 1818. Charter language quoted in the China bicentennial history is almost identical to the language used 50 or so years later for Hallowell Classical and Scientific Academy: purposes are to promote “piety, and virtue,” and to provide instruction “in such languages and in such of the liberal arts and sciences” as the trustees prescribe.

The school initially had five trustees, four China Village residents and Rev. Daniel Lovejoy, from Albion, father of Elijah Parish and Owen Lovejoy. Elijah and Owen attended China Academy, and Elijah taught there in 1827, after he graduated from Waterville (later Colby) College. In 1819, the Academy charter was changed to allow 15 trustees.

The first China Academy building was on the shore of China Lake, across from the present site of the China Baptist Church (built in 1814, relocated in 1822). John Brackett donated the land, “in consideration of the love and good will” he had for the trustees; the only condition was that they keep the fence around the lot in repair.

The trustees had a wooden building constructed; the bicentennial history says classes began in or before September 1823. The first two principals were Colby graduates.

In 1825 the Maine legislature approved a land grant for China Academy. In November 1829, the trustees sold the lot in what is now Carroll Plantation (on Route 6, in Penobscot County, east of Lincoln and Lee) for $3,400 (about 30 cents an acre, the bicentennial history says).

With legislative support and “an encouraging student enrollment,” the trustees put up a two-story brick building on Main Street, in China Village, across from the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library (that former house dates from about 1827 and has been a library since 1941). First classes were in November 1828, with 89 students.

From 1835 to 1844 China Academy did well, under Principal Henry Paine, the bicentennial history says. There were 221 students in 1835 and again in 1844, most from China but some from other Maine towns. Teachers included a Colby senior, a Colby graduate and at least one woman, Sarah A. Shearman, in charge of “instruction in the ornamental branches.”

School was held for four 12-week terms, beginning “the first Mondays of March, June, September, and December.” The history quotes advertisements in the weekly China Orb newspaper that said quarterly tuition was $3 for basic English reading and writing; $4 for advanced English courses; and $5 for “Latin, Greek, and French.”

The Academy had no dormitory. The history says it (trustees, teachers or both?) helped students find nearby places to board, at rates ranging from $1.33 to $1.50 a week.

After Waterville Academy was chartered in 1842 and organized successfully by James Hanson (graduate of China Academy and Colby College – see The Town Line, July 29) and Paine left China in 1844, China Academy enrollment dropped. By 1850, average enrollment was around 50 students. The Civil War caused a temporary closure.

After the war, the Academy reopened and, the history says, in 1872, “had a staff of five who were teaching 40 to 60 students a term.” Terms were “shortened to ten weeks,” and tuition increased to $3.50 a term for basic English, $4.50 for advanced English and $5.50 for foreign languages or bookkeeping. Music was added, 20 lessons for $10; the history does not specify vocal, instrumental or both.

The history says that students’ records “included the number of words misspelled, the number of times tardy, and the number of days they were caught whispering in class.”

After state law required free high schools in 1880, China Academy apparently became a hybrid – the history says the brick Academy building was used to teach free high school classes, but “This institution still called itself China Academy and was supervised by a board of trustees.”

Enrollment rose – “54 students in the spring of 1883, 70 in the fall of 1884, and 88 in the spring of 1885.” The history notes that more girls than boys enrolled in each of those terms, after years when male students had been more numerous.

The history lists courses offered, in a “four-year course sequence” in 1884-85: “English, math, geography, history, bookkeeping, sciences, and philosophy,” plus Greek and Latin “if requested.” There were two or three terms a year, and financial support came from the local school district, other nearby China districts and one district in Albion.

In 1887 the brick building was deemed unsafe and was blown up, scattering fragments of brick onto adjoining properties. The trustees sold the lot to the local school district. “Willis R. Ward built a wooden schoolhouse at a cost of $1,000 which served as both high school and elementary school from 1888 to 1909.”

In 1897, China voters appropriated no money for high schools, so the bicentennial history says China Village residents funded one anyway, with state aid. By 1899 village residents also relied on “contributions and subscriptions” to keep high school classes going.

Courses included “advanced English, mathematics,…science… and a five-student Latin class.”

The China Village free high school gradually lost students early in the 20th century and closed in 1908. Many students transferred to China’s other private high school, Erskine Academy (see below).

The wooden building remained an elementary school until the consolidated China Elementary School opened in 1949. It was sold and became a two-story chicken house. The building was demolished in 1969 and replaced by a house.

A China Village high school was re-established from the fall of 1914 through the spring of 1916 – the bicentennial history gives no reason. Classes met in the second floor of a building (later the American Legion Hall) on the southeast corner of the intersection of Main Street, Neck Road and what is now Causeway Road.

The China bicentennial history provides partial information on three other nineteenth-century high schools in China, in Branch Mills Village, in South China Village and at Dirigo.

The earliest, the East China high school in Branch Mills, “was established about 1851 in a building constructed for that purpose by Mr. Barzillai Harrington.” The building was on the south side of the village main street, west of the bridge across the West Branch of the Sheepscot River. It appears as a large rectangle on the town map in the 1856 Maine atlas, labeled “B. H. Academy.”

In 1852, the history says, elementary classes met in “Mr. Harrington’s high school building” because the district schoolhouse was “in such poor condition.”

An 1856 advertisement for the school listed Claudius B. Grant as the principal for an 11-week term beginning Sept. 1. Tuition was $3 per term for basic English, $3.50 for advanced English and $4 for “languages,” unspecified.

The bicentennial history cites China town reports saying high school classes were provided in Branch Mills in 1857 for one term; in 1865 for one term, taught by Stephen A. Jones, of China; in 1882, for two terms, taught by Thomas W. Bridgham, of Palermo; and in 1883 for one term, taught by J. A. Jones. The writer found no evidence of continuous classes, and locations were not specified.

Though classes were listed in 1882 and 1883, the Branch Mills map in the 1879 Maine atlas identifies the building by a name, indicating it was a private home. The China history says the Academy building was sold in the 1880s. Henry Kingsbury’s Kennebec County history says it was in 1892 the Good Templars Hall.

A footnote in the bicentennial history adds: “In 1894 the school committee recommended a term of high school at Branch Mills, but the town records provide no evidence that it was held.”

The high school in South China Village started in the 1860s and ran at least intermittently through the spring of 1881, according to the bicentennial history.

In 1865, former primary school teacher T. W. Bridgham taught a spring high school term. In 1877-78, A. W. Warren was teacher for a seven-week term. F. E. Jones taught 51 students in the fall of 1880. The next spring, J. E. Jones taught what was apparently the final term, “with the expenses being borne by three adjacent school districts.”

The writer of the bicentennial history found only a single reference to the high school at Dirigo (or Dirigo Corner), where Alder Park and Dirigo Road meet what is now Route 3 (Belfast Road). In 1877 and 1878, the town report described two China free high schools, South China “and a 20-week term at Dirigo.”

Fred D. Jones was the teacher at Dirigo, “and the supervisor of schools commended the residents of this quite small school district for supporting so long a term.”

(Attentive readers will have noticed numerous teachers named Jones. They were probably related, at least distantly, and were probably members of the Society of Friends. The genealogical section of the China history has 25 pages of Joneses, several identified as teachers.)

Yet another private high school, Erskine Academy, opened in September 1883 and is thriving today. The China history gives a detailed account of its origins: it became a private academy because China voters at the beginning of the 1880s refused to accept donated money for a public high school.

As the history tells the story, Mary Erskine inherited her husband Sullivan’s considerable wealth when he died in 1880. Having no children, she consulted John K. Erskine, her late husband’s nephew and executor, about ways to use the money.

John Erskine, who regretted his own lack of educational opportunity, suggested endowing a high school in the Chadwick Hill school district, south of South China Village. Mary Erskine agreed, and at a Nov. 13, 1880, special town meeting, voters accepted a $1,500 trust fund for a free high school.

At the annual meeting in March 1881, voters reversed the decision and told the town treasurer to return the money. In March 1882, school supporters presented an article again offering the $1,500 and “specifying that the town would not pay for providing the school building.” Voters passed over it, that is, did not act.

A month later, a group of supporters asked the Erskines to let them establish a private high school. Mary Erskine approved and helped organize a board of trustees headed by renowned Quaker Eli Jones (see the July 8 issue of The Town Line). John Erskine was vice-president and Samuel Starrett treasurer.

The trustees “bought the seven-acre Chadwick common from A. F. Trask for $100.” (Wikipedia says the campus is now about 25 acres.) Mary Erskine donated $500 for a building.

Starrett encouraged the owners of a disused Methodist church on the lot to sell it at auction. They did, and he got it for $50.

The trustees had the building moved to the middle of the lot and turned into a schoolhouse. “A bell tower and other necessary buildings” were added, and Mary Erskine donated a bell and furnishings in the spring of 1883.

The trustees organized a “tree-planting picnic:” area residents were invited to bring a picnic dinner and a tree. The China history says the grounds gained about 250 trees.

Mary Erskine attended Erskine High School’s opening day in September 1883. There were two teachers and “more than 50 students.”

The school ran two 11-week terms a year, and in some years “a shorter summer term.” The history lists 16 courses: “reading, grammar, elocution, arithmetic, algebra, history, geography, natural philosophy, bookkeeping, ancient languages (Latin and Greek), botany, geology, astronomy, and anatomy and physiology.”

By 1887, increased enrollment required a third teacher. The building “was raised ten feet to make room for more classrooms underneath.”

Students from Chadwick Hill and other school districts came and went by the term, not the year. Therefore, the history says, it was not until 1892 “that four students finished four years apiece so that the first formal graduation could be held.”

Trustees had a dormitory for girls built in 1900 and “later” (the history gives no date) another for boys. In 1901 the Maine legislature incorporated the school as Erskine Academy and approved an annual $300 appropriation.

Erskine’s original school building was destroyed in a fire on Nov. 5, 1926. Fortunately, Ford gymnasium had opened in November 1925; the bicentennial history says classes were held there until a new classroom building was ready in 1936.

The history also said that Mary Erskine’s bell was saved from the fire and “mounted on campus.” In the fall of 1971, someone stole it.

Main source

Grow, Mary M., China Maine Bicentennial History including 1984 revisions (1984).

Lawrence High School girls soccer

Lawrence girls soccer team captains, from left to right, Emily Rhoades, Jaylin Woods, Mariah Laury and Kaysa Salisbury. (photo by Missy Brown, Central Maine Photography)

Kneeling, from left to right, Whitney Churchill, Emily Rhoades, Desiree Clement, Zoe Hutchins, Hailey Manzo, Kylie Delile and Mariah Laury. Standing, Assistant Coach Sara Hebert, Zoie Wars, Kaysa Salisbury, Taylor Pellerin, Mya Williams, Hayely Woods, Olivia Cleaves, Natalee Gordon,Taylor Levesque, Kylie Yeomans, Kelsie Smith, Aubrianna Grant, Jaylin Woods and Coach Corrie Kemp. (photo by Missy Brown, Central Maine Photography)

Children’s Author of Marine Conservation Series makes sure books are available free to children everywhere

Twisted Orca books

Look out at the ocean as far as you can see. There’s a magical world right below the waves! Twisted Orca, a family friendly conservation site, wants every child to stare into the ocean in awe of the amazing world before them!

Twisted Orca books deliver positive messages about sea animals through what The Bay Magazine calls “adorably lovable characters”.

While hard copies of the books are available at retailers such as Walmart, Amazon and Barnes & Noble, author Keri Newman wants to be sure the books are accessible to children everywhere.

“One day a teacher reached out to me and told me how much her class loved our books, and how she had given her classroom copy to a little girl whose family couldn’t afford books. I wanted to make sure that regardless of income, children all over the world could learn about saving the ocean”.

Three of the most popular books are now available to download as part of free educational kits on Twisted Orca’s website. The kits also include free themed coloring pages, conservation pledges and Ocean Hero Certificates that kids can sign and save.

For those who wish to purchase items, hard copies of all the books, as well as exclusive ocean inspired art and gifts for the whole family can be found at Twistedorca.com. For teachers, groups, or families on a limited budget, the free book kits are fun and available to all!

Keri Newman, founder of Twisted Orca, is a Marine Naturalist and whale enthusiast from Rhode Island. She is currently involved in a project with the World Cetacean Alliance in the United Kingdom to publish a Worldwide Guide for Responsible Whale Watching. Wholesale copies of Twisted Orca books are available for resale through Stillwater Books.

WASHINGTON: Appleton Rug Hookers exhibit at Gibbs Library

Gibbs rug hookers

At the Gibbs Library now through the end of October is a delightful show: the art and handwork of the Appleton Rug Hookers. The rugs are a colorful reflection of rural life, blending traditional and updated subjects and techniques. The show includes three Blue Ribbon winners from the Union Fair. Stop by and be charmed.

The Artists’ Statement:

Appleton Rug Hookers (Originated in 2004)

The first group consisted of three people, now there are 12. As some folks leave, other folks join.

Many rugs have been created and finished in the 17 years they have been active. They even found a way around COVID, by hooking at the town park, in Warren, with masks and social distancing.

Some of the rugs have been used in the homes of the creators. Many more were given as gifts.

The group used all wool in rugs in the beginning. Now, other material is being used to create interesting effects. Some of them are wool-yarn, ribbons, silk, roving, nylon stockings, and cotton.

Wool hooked rugs can be washed in cold water if they are hooked with colorfast material. They are made with much stronger backing than the old burlap formerly used, making them very durable and practical.

Golf Fore Kids’ Sake raises over $48,000 for BBBS

First place gross, Bank of New Hampshire

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mid-Maine’s 2021 Kennebec Valley Golf Fore Kids’ Sake, presented by Kennebec Savings Bank, raised $48,300 to benefit school and community-based mentoring services for children in Kennebec and Somerset counties. Twenty teams competed in the annual golf tournament, held September 3, at Belgrade Lakes Golf Club.

2021 Kennebec Valley Golf Fore Kids’ Sake Tournament Winners:

First Place Gross: Travis Frautten, Paul Collins, Matt Worthen and Sean Rankin (Bank of New Hampshire)

Second Place Gross: Scott MacCheyne, Todd Beacham, Mike Frautten and Mike Wilson (Great Falls Holdings)

First Place Net: Andy Dionne, Tim Borelli, John Smith and Jason Brown (MaineGeneral Health)

Second Place Net: Jake Coan, Ngoni Ditma, Randall Anderson and Lucas Worell (Cornerstone Insurance)

Contest Winners: Longest Drive (Men): David Chayer.

Longest Drive (Women):  Jessica Smart.

Closest to Pin (Men): Matt Loubier.

Closest to Pin (Women): Nicole Labbe.

Putting Contest: Bob Gatof.

Chipping Contest: Shad West.

Kennebec Valley Golf Fore Kids’ Sake is generously sponsored by: Kennebec Savings Bank (Presenting Sponsor); G&E Roofing, Cives Steel Company and Skowhegan Savings (Major Sponsors); Darlings, Central Maine Motors Auto Group, Sprague & Curtis, Lajoie Bros., New Hampshire Bank and Great Falls Holdings (Scoreboard Sponsors); SAPPI, InterMed and Mr. Bob Gatof (Lunch Sponsors)

First place net, MaineGeneral Health

Second place gross, Great Falls Holdings

Second place net, Cornerstone Insurance

Vassalboro Fire Department receives canned drinking water for wildfire response

Vassalboro firefighter Lt. Donald Breton, right, accepts canned water donated by Anheuser-Busch, from Mike Crowell, left, and Nate Purington, both of Valley Distributors, Inc., of Oakland. (contributed photo)

The Vassalboro Fire Department recently received canned emergency drinking water to help provide critical hydration to its responders during this year’s wildfire season. On September 13, Valley Distributors, Inc., of Oakland, a local Anheuser-Busch wholesaler partner, delivered one pallet load to the department to help support its wildfire response needs. Maintaining firefighters’ hydration during long incidents or disasters such as wildfires is a major safety concern for many departments.

“Firefighters lose a tremendous amount of fluid during high-intensity response such as battling wildfires in addition to other fires. Proper hydration is critical to ensure the safety of our firefighters and to keep them performing at their best,” said Lt. Donald Breton. “Thanks to this water donation from Anheuser-Busch and the National Volunteer Fire Council, we have the resources to keep our firefighters hydrated and ready to respond when needed.”

The water was donated by Anheuser-Busch through a partnership with the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC). Anheuser-Busch has a longstanding tradition of providing emergency drinking water and supplies for disaster relief efforts. The company periodically pauses beer production each year to can emergency drinking water to be ready to lend a helping hand during natural disasters and other crises.

Building on this commitment, the brewer teamed up with the NVFC – the leading nonprofit membership association representing the interests of the volunteer fire, emergency medical, and rescue services – in 2019 to provide emergency drinking water to help firefighters stay hydrated and healthy when responding to wildfires and large incidents. To date, the program has donated over 3.2 million cans of water to volunteer firefighters across the country.

Learn more about the program at www.nvfc.org/water.

Vassalboro celebrates 250 years as a town

Vassalboro parade

Vassalboro Rec did a great job decorating their float for Vassalboro’s 250th birthday parade on Saturday,
September 11. (photo by Melissa Olson)

Color Me Fun Run

Getting colored at the Second Annual Color Me Too Fun Run, sponsored by the Vassalboro Business Association and Vassalboro Recreation Department. Kerri Foster is coloring Mason Gilman at one of the stations during the race on Sunday, September 12. (photo by Kevin Giguere, Central Maine Photography)

Scavenger winners

The winners of Vassalboro’s Sestercentennial Scavenger Hunt are, from left to right, Micki, Jamie and Brad Berard. They all worked together as a family and got 15 of the 21 items. (photo by Jessica Breton)

EVENT: Recover Out Loud in Maine’s Capital September 30

Join the Maine Recovery Advocacy Project as we Recover Out Loud in Maine’s Capital! and celebrate International Recovery Day and National Recovery Month on September 30th, 2021 from 5 to 10 pm in Mill Park!

The night will start out with live performances by North Wood Outlaws, The Young Swagg, and TreeLock. Followed by a live-streamed concert, featuring Macklemore, as part of a nationwide recovery initiative—supported by iHeart Media and Variety—and produced by Mobilize Recovery.

Guest speakers will include Mayor Dave Rollins, Carolyn Delany (founder of Journey Magazine), Representative Charlotte Warren, Councilor Courtney Allen, and many of Maine’s recovery community leaders.

Food will be on-site to purchase from the popular Two Maine Guys food truck.

Organizers will be accepting donations to support the launch of the Augusta Recovery Reentry Center (ARRC), an initiative of the Maine Recovery Advocacy Project, Maine Prisoner Reentry Network, Young People in Recovery – Augusta, and Fresh Out Sober Living. Donate today! (Please dedicate all donations to the “Maine Fund”!)

This Event is Supported By:
(Host Committees In Formation)

Recovery Champions
Journey Magazine, Honorable Sara Gideon, Bernstein Shur

Recovery Allies
R.A.M Window Cleaning and Property Maintenance LLC, Dr. Winifred Tate, AngleZ Behavioral Health Services, Crisis & Counseling Centers,

Friends of Recovery
Honorable Eddie Dugay, Sari Greene, Betsy Sweet, Representative Charlotte Warren

Partners Tabling at the Event

Savida Health, Maine Prisoner Reentry Network, Fresh Out Sober Living, Young People in Recovery – Augusta, Maine Women’s Lobby, Recover2gether, MHHS Club at the University of Maine at Augusta, PRCC “Maine’s Recovery Hub”, The Augusta Teen Center, Dignity, Church of Safe Injection, Groups Recover Together, LINC, Crisis & Counseling (OPTIONS, Parents Case Management, SUD Services, and 5K Race)

Learn more about levels of sponsorship here. Please reach out to courtney@recoveryvoices.com if you would like to sponsor or table at the event.

A special thank you to The City Of Augusta for helping to make this event possible with the support of the stage and venue, and for their commitment to the recovery community in Augusta.