A blood drive hosted by American Legion Tardiff-Belanger Post #39, 20 S. Maple Street, Madison, will take place on Thursday, June 27, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sign up at redcrossblood.org or call 800-733-2767 or contact Richard at drwho57_57@yahoo.com for your appointment. The time to give blood is NOW!! FMI: contact Richard at drwho57_57@yahoo.com.
Albion town office. Photo source: Town of Albion Facebook page
Albion bicentennial photo contest is open to anyone, but photos must be taken in Albion.
There are four categories: people, animals, still life and landscape in three age groups, 12 years old and under, 13-20, and over 20.
All submitted photos must be in printed form and matted. Photos no larger than 5×7. Mat will be pinned up so when it is returned the mat may be damaged. Pictures may be in color or black and white. The photos must be taken by the entrant, and entries are limited to one entry per category.
Cash prizes will be awarded to first, second and place place in each age group and each category. All first place winners will be entered in a grand prize contest with the winner’s photo to appear on the front cover of the 2025 town report.
Photos must include name of entrant, phone number, address and location of photo taken. The town of Albion reserves the right to use the photos on their website.
Entries must be submitted by Thursday, July 18. Entries may be dropped at the town office or with Pam Wallace and Miranda Perkins at the Besse Building on a designated date to be announced later. Questions may be emailed to pllwallace@gmail.com or acbmperkins@gmail.com with subject “photo contest”.
Good Will-Hinckley’s L.C. Bates Natural History Museum (photo credit: https://www.gwh.org/)
The following programs will be presented at L.C. Bates Museum, on the campus of the Goodwill-Hinckley School, on Rte. 201, in Hinckley.
photo source: JMG.org
As we all know, history cannot be changed and, sometimes unfortunately, it can be repeated in a negative sense. But most important of all, it must never be forgotten. This is one of the primary goals of our now, solidly in place, China Historical Society, and to follow that path we are going to coordinate an event with our annual meeting on Thursday, July 18. Since this is the 75th anniversary of the opening of the consolidated China School, we intend to hold our meeting at the present Middle School, on Lakeview Drive, and follow that event with a reunion of China students who attended the school from as far back as we can find them up to and including the present day.
While some of the fine points of this plan still need to be worked out, it is receiving strong support from RSU #18. While we realize that folks who switched to the school when it opened in 1949, from the numerous “neighborhood” facilities, are pretty well along in years, we hope there are a few who might be willing to share their memories of this change, which must have been dramatic to say the least.
Even though my personal ties to China only go back 42 years, I know several folks who started their education, as did most of us, at age 5 or 6, here in town in the early 1950s. Richard Dillenbeck, of the first class, is one of those and he has agreed to be the featured speaker for the discussion. If you readers have knowledge of other individuals who might be willing to share their memories and experiences in the new building, please inform them of our plan and have them reserve the date and a time frame of 6 to 6:30 p.m. We also would like to do a tour of the Middle School to allow those earlier “residents” who haven’t been inside for a while and all others to see the huge changes that have occurred in the five room original structure with a kitchen in the basement.
So, in conclusion, we will use The Town Line and social media sites related to China to keep everyone up to date and work to make this a memorable activity; stay tuned!
This year Rotary District #7790 will host the three-day district conference in Waterville. The conference will bring many first-time visitors to the city, all to support District Governor Tina Chapman. Waterville supports two Rotary clubs, the Waterville Sunrise Club and the Waterville Noon Club, which is Tina’s home club.
The conference will highlight many of the community projects that local Rotary clubs and Rotary International support while highlighting all Waterville and the surrounding area has to offer. The clubs that are a part of District #7790 range from Augusta to Presque Isle, and even reaches up into Québec. The district is one of the few in the country to be bi-lingual and covers area in more than one country.
Two cultures, two languages, two countries, one Rotary District. Highlights of the conference include interactive activities that highlight our local region, tastings of a few favorite restaurants, and speakers on multiple subjects focusing mostly on mental health. Other activities include a Summer Garden party, at Colby College, a House of Friendship to meet members of other clubs, and a featured film at the Maine Film Center. This year’s theme is Hope in Action.
The keynote speaker is filmmaker and motivational speaker, Kevin Hines. Hines is a bestselling author, global public speaker, and award-winning documentary filmmaker. In the year 2000, Kevin attempted to take his life by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. Many factors contributed to his miraculous survival including a sea lion which kept him afloat until the Coast Guard arrived. Kevin now travels the world sharing his story of hope, healing, and recovery while teaching people of all ages the art of wellness and the ability to survive pain with true resilience.
Kevin’s documentary Suicide: The Ripple Effect will be shown at the Maine Film Center, 93 Main Street, in Waterville, and is open to the public as well as his Keynote Presentation. Tickets for the film and presentation are available now on the district’s website at https://portal.clubrunner.ca/50110/clubdirectory.
For more information on the Waterville Rotary clubs, the conference, or the keynote presentation visit watervillerotary.com.
With the great success of last year’s garden tour, Lincoln County Historical Association (LCHA) was inspired to seek additional private gardens to showcase. Happily, seven more homeowners have agreed to open their gardens to visitors for the 2024 Gardens of Lincoln County tour.
The gardens, which are in and around the towns of Wiscasset and Nobleboro, feature woodland environments as well as sunny country gardens. Two of them have been featured in Down East magazine, and all are bound to provide elements to spark the imagination of local gardeners. One of the gardens, for example, includes a delightful potting shed made from vintage windows. A beautiful old work table stands on a brick floor, and a wrought iron chandelier provides a touch of whimsy.
Ticket holders will drive themselves to the homes between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., on Saturday, June 22. In addition to intriguing landscapes, they may observe plein air painters at their easels. There will be flower arranging demonstrations and lessons in making biochar, a horticultural supplement that holds water and nutrients for the plants.
Tickets can be purchased online for $35 at www.lincolncountyhistory.org.
The Vassalboro Public Library is planning to present a play as part of a library fundraiser on October 19 and 20. The play, entitled Murder by the Book, is written by Canadian playwright, Laura Teasdale, and it is inspired by the books by Louise Penny which feature the investigator Armand Gamache. Louise Penny has provided in the play’s development and availability. Murder by the Book is a comedy set in a small town much like Vassalboro. The murder (sort of) takes place in the local library, much like the Vassalboro Library.
Opportunities to join the cast of the production are open to people of all ages. Anyone interested in participation, either in the cast or in supportive roles, is urged to attend their next meeting on Saturday, May 25, at 9:30 a.m., at the Grange, 353 Main St., Vassalboro. Interested participants may also contact the library at 207-923-3233, email at vplibrary@gmail.com, or register through the library website.
In celebration of the natural beauty of Washington Maine, the Washington Lakes and Watershed Association (WLWA) is sponsoring its Fourth Annual Photo Contest and Exhibition.
You are invited to explore and submit photos of the natural aspect of Washington waters or watershed and taken between July 1, 2023 and July 1, 2024. Enty deadline: July 22.
Photos will be on the exhibition at the Corner Gallery, 302 Liberty Rd,. Washington, August 4-9th and at the WLWA Annual Meeting, August 10th, Medomak Family Camp.
Awards for winners and second place in each of four divisions plus a People’s Choice Award for the photo with the greatest number of votes.
For full information re the rules, entry forms, and last years entries, go to www.washingtonlakesassociation.org.
If you can hold a pencil or pen, you can draw. A lot of people say, “I can’t draw a straight line.” Well, that’s what rulers are for.
Join Connie Bellet at the Palermo Community Center, on Turner Ridge Road, across from the ball field, on Saturday, June 15, and Sunday, June 16, at 2 p.m., for a fun adventure in learning how to draw. Bellet, a professional artist who has been drawing and painting most of her life.
The Sunday class will focus as much as possible on each student’s passion. Paper, drawing boards, easels (if preferred), pencils, and, of course, erasers, will be provided. The cost for both classes is $45 per student, and the sessions will run about an hour and a half. Please call Connie at 993-2294 for information and to enroll. Classes are limited to 10 students, so please call soon to reserve your place.
These classes are a fundraiser for the Living Communities Foundation, which runs the Community Center and hosts the Palermo Food Pantry. It also sponsors the Palermo Community Garden and the Great ThunderChicken Teaching Drum.
The weather did not hamper crowd enthusiasm. (photo by Wally McKenney)
For the past three years since the pandemic, the Oakland American Legion Post #51 has directed the Annual Memorial Day parade which is one of the largest in Central Maine. Veterans lined the front of the parade to local school bands, classic cars, military vehicles, Police and Fire departments, Shriners and among many others. Each year they are looking for more to participate. Any groups are encouraged to contact the post for next year’s attendance.
The Kora Drifters are a parade unit of the Kora Shrine, in Lewiston. The Drifters were started by Bernie Fortin, of Vassalboro, in 2018, and have since expanded to 14 members. They raise funds for the Shriners hospitals, in Massachusetts, and all money raised goes to those charities. Any other expenses they pay out-of-pocket. They are known for their distinctive bright green colors and love to entertain. The Shriners are currently scheduled to parade in 27 different events this year, to include Maine’s largest festivals such as the Clam Festival, the Moxie Festival, and the Lobster Festival. Really what you have is 14 guys dedicated to supporting child patients at the hospitals. With the added bonus of making people happy at the same time. On Memorial Day they participated in parades in Oakland, Skowhegan, and Old Orchard Beach.
Tracey Frost riding in the Memorial Day Parade. (photo by Galen Neal, Central Maine Photography)