EVENTS: Sheepscot Lake Assn. annual membership meeting Thurs., July 21, 7 p.m. Palermo Consolidated School (2022)

Sheepscot Lake Association will be hosting its Annual General Membership meeting on Thursday, July 21, at 7 p.m., at the Palermo Consolidated School, on Rte 3. Please attend that evening to renew your membership, meet your neighbors, and discuss the programs that help keep the lake healthy. The Courtesy Boast Inspection Program, LakeSmart, Water Quality Testing, and the annual loon count are all important programs that need membership involvement to continue functioning. If you are not able to attend the meeting and would like to renew your membership, join SLA, or get involved in one of these programs, please email at sheepscotlakeassoc@gmail.com, or visit the website www.sheepscotlakeassocation.org.

EVENTS: Unity Parkinson’s Support Group

Unity Area Parkinson’s Support Group now meets 3rd Monday of the month from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m., at Unity Barn Raisers Community Building at 32 School St., in Unity. Come for education, support and free info. Call Eleanor at 948-1474 or email: dogisland52@gmail.com for more info.

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Native Americans – Conclusion

The Kennebec tribe, also known as Norridgewock and Kennebis, was an early Abenaki band who lived in the Kennebec Valley of Maine. Their name comes from the Kennebec River, which was named after the bay it emptied into — kinipek meaning “bay” in the Abenaki language.

by Mary Grow

No historian your writer has found says how many Native Americans lived in the Kennebec River Valley before the Europeans arrived. The Maine Historic Preservation Commission has a document on its website estimating 25,000. Another on-line estimate for Maine and Maritime Canada (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island) says 32,000.

Diseases brought by Europeans in the 1600s reduced the number by at least 70 percent and perhaps by as much as 90 percent. If 25,000 is accurate, a 90 percent reduction would have left only about 2,500 Native Americans in all of Maine.

A later figure comes from Old Fort Western Director Linda Novak’s bicentennial lecture. She said that by 1726, about 40 members of the Kennebec tribe were among an estimated “289 warriors remaining along the Kennebec.”

Beginning early in the 1600s, Europeans extended their clearings and buildings along the river from the coast to, eventually, Moosehead Lake. Because the settlers were moving into land already occupied by Native Americans, and because in general they had no respect for the earlier inhabitants, their advance was intermittently resisted by force. During the series of wars between 1675 and 1763, frontier settlements were repeatedly attacked and wiped out. In intervals of peace, the settlements would be reclaimed and new ones started, always farther up-river.

The story of this European conquest is told by European historians, writing from Samuel de Champlain in the 1600s to the present day. Their histories abound with stories of “savages” behaving savagely, torturing and killing men, women, children and domestic animals indiscriminately.

Nonetheless, most of the historians this writer has read expressed some sympathy for Native Americans. Many, while deploring attacks on European settlers, implied or said that the Europeans started it. The Native Americans were initially friendly, but European arrogance, indifference to indigenous values and occasional acts of violence turned them against the newcomers.

One example widely cited is a story from 1675. British sailors encountered a woman and child in a canoe on the Saco River and deliberately tipped over the canoe, to see whether it was true that Native American children were natural swimmers. The boy drowned; the father, a chief named Squando, not unsurprisingly retaliated against the British.

(In February of this year, the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation gave the Biddeford Culture and Heritage Center [BCHC] a $40,000 grant to help put up a statue of Squando. Peter Scontras, chairman of the BCHC’s Indigenous Peoples Awareness Initiative, said in an email that the statue “acknowledges the correct relationship between Indigenous people and English colonists.”

Total cost is estimated at $150,000. The BCHC is seeking additional funding and an appropriate site in the Biddeford-Saco area. Scontras described preliminary design plans, which he hopes will be final later this summer.

The Portland Press Herald’s and other local newspapers’ February 2022 stories about the statue were picked up by U.S. News and World Report and by The Navajo Times, published in Window Rock, Arizona.)

William D. Williamson, completing his history of Maine in 1832, talked a lot about relations with Native Americans in the first 13 chapters, covering the years from 1691 to 1763.

By 1703, he wrote, the Native Americans realized that the newcomers were overpowering them. “Every hope of enjoying their native land, freed of white men, was full of despondency.”

But his sympathy was definitely mixed. A few lines later, he wrote of the Native Americans, “They made no advancements in mental culture, moral sense, honest industry, or manly enterprize.” Blaming French influence, he referred to depravity, breach of treaties and “a keener appetite…for ardent spirits, for rapine, and for blood.”

Summarizing the situation around 1750, Williamson wrote about the “best and bravest of [British] men” who had died in the wars that had “nearly exterminated” the “savage tribes.” He described the settlers as resolute patriots who, after peace was (temporarily) agreed, “cheerfully returned to their habitations,” beginning a period of piety, harmony and union.

The French, continuing their rivalry with Britain, quickly stirred up more trouble for Maine settlers, and Williamson’s next chapters talked about “barbarians” and their “depredations,” including taking settlers prisoner and killing them.

While lamenting Europeans’ sufferings, Williamson added that 1756 was not a happy year for the Native Americans, either. Describing Maine tribes generally, presumably including the Kennebecs, he referred to their “state of despondency. The French neglected them, and they were wasted by the war, and more by the smallpox, which was destructive among them, as it was in the American camp.”

As British settlement expanded after the 1759 defeat of the French, Williamson implied that the Massachusetts government developed a sense of responsibility for the Native Americans, without considering whether it was welcomed. A new governor, Francis Bernard, was installed in 1760, and Williamson wrote that one of his ideas was to make Fort Halifax one of two “truck houses” to monopolize trade (the other was at Fort Pownal in what is now Stockton Springs, at the mouth of the Penobscot).

Each trading center would have 25 or 30 soldiers, “two chaplains and armorers.” The centers would supply everything the tribes needed, and Bernard expected “favor, presents, and honorable traffic” would win their permanent friendship.

The result Williamson described does not sound friendly. Before the year ended, he wrote, Governor Bernard proposed changing “the laws concerning the Indians” to prevent them from contracting such large debts that they could repay them only by selling themselves or their children; and further, when a Native American violated British rules, to replace fines, “which they can seldom pay” with “corporeal punishment.”

In 1919 Louis Clinton Hatch published a history of Maine that included a chapter on Native Americans, mostly spent delineating the different tribal groups. He gave wars with settlers relatively little attention, preferring to emphasize wars with the Iroquois tribes to the west.

“There is a sentimental tendency to bewail the hard fate of the Indian and to blame the English for exterminating his race,” Hatch wrote. But, he continued, the Abenakis were relocated, not exterminated; and had it not been for the French influence, they would have remained friends with the British, for protection against other tribes and for European goods.

Hatch went on to describe the Maine Native Americans’ way of life, emphasizing how much hard work it required. “The ‘lazy Indian’ is a figment of the white man’s prejudice,” he wrote.

More than 50 years later, Vassalboro local historian Alma Pierce Robbins expressed sympathy for the Kennebecs. In her 1971 bicentennial history, Robbins cited numerous earlier sources on local Native Americans as she summarized the roles of the British and French in stirring animosity in Maine.

One of her sources described the Kennebecs as “sincere and faithful devotees of the Catholic Church.”

Another of her chosen quotations, from Thomas Hutchinson’s 1764 History of Massachusetts, is from a 1688 letter from “Randolph” to William Penn: “These barbarous people, the Indians, were never civilly treated by the late Government, who made it their business to encroach upon their lands, and by degrees to drive them out of it all.”

(The quotation is also found on line on page 574 of Massachusetts clergyman Cotton Mather’s 1702 Magnalia Christi Americana [The Glorious Works of Christ in America], attributed to “our late secretary Randolph.” Edward Randolph held the title of secretary in the Massachusetts colonial administration in the 1680s; Wikipedia says he died in April 1703, but perhaps Mather’s “late” meant only that he was no longer secretary.)

Robbins stated her own view: “There is no doubt that Vassalborough was homeland for Indian tribes from earliest times and they struggled to hold it until they were nearly destroyed. Who can blame them; they knew it for the beautiful land it is.”

Early chapters in the history of Maine edited by Richard W. Judd and others and published in 1995 include Native Americans’ perspectives. Harald E. L. Prins wrote about Europeans dividing tribes against each other and introducing devastating diseases. By the 1670s, he said, tribes in the northeast, including Maine, were tired of British clearing forests, providing liquor and especially allowing their free-roaming cattle to destroy Native American agricultural fields.

David L. Ghere gave a more detailed indictment of British actions, as when he accused British interpreters of deliberately mis-explaining Dummer’s Treaty, signed in July 1727 with Maine and Canadian Wabanaki leaders.

One example: “Wabanaki submission to English rule, for instance, was translated simply as a salute to the Massachusetts governor. Since the governor responded by saluting the Wabanaki leaders, the Indians assumed this indicated equal status and not subjugation.”

After 1727, Ghere wrote, Kennebec Valley Native Americans lost their leading role in wars against the Europeans, as they consolidated farther up the river. In the fighting between 1744 and 1763, Wabanakis from Canada attacked settlers along the Kennebec. Some Kennebecs joined them; other tribal members warned the British of pending attacks.

The building of Forts Halifax and Western in 1754 created “an untenable situation” for the Kennebecs, Ghere wrote, “which resulted in a gradual disintegration of the tribe.” Families deserted the valley to join other bands in Canada or elsewhere in Maine.

After the 1760s, the Kennebecs as a group almost entirely disappear from European historical records. One exception is in Kingsbury’s history, which mentions a French priest named Juniper Berthune who held Catholic services “among the Indians” after the Revolutionary War at a “mass house” on the Sebasticook.

Individual Native Americans associated with the Kennebec Valley get occasional notice, like Natanis, probably a Norridgewock, and Sabatis, perhaps a Passamaquoddy, who were among local guides for General Benedict Arnold’s 1775 expedition to attack Québec.

* * * * * *

Last week’s article ended with the explanation of the heart shape carved into a boulder on the shore of China Lake. In Rufus Jones’ The Romance of the Indian Heart, the carving was attributed to a Kennebec chief named Keriberba, who settled his small band on the west shore of the lake’s east basin after the British destroyed the French mission and Indian settlement at Norridgewock in 1724.

Jones wrote that after the group’s sacred symbol was restored, they lived in peace for a few more years. The British fort at Ticonic, built in 1754, cut off their annual trips back to Norridgewock to raise corn in the cleared fields, but they could still hunt and fish.

Then one day “when Keriberba was now an old chief of seventy-five years,” they saw settlers felling trees on the east shore, in an area where they habitually fished in a brook that ran – and still runs – into the lake. Not long afterward, another family started clearing just north of their village, “and they saw a cow where they had usually looked for deer or for bear.”

According to the China bicentennial history, these settlers were members of the Clark family, from Nantucket via Gardiner, Maine. In Gardiner the Clarks met surveyor John “Black” Jones, who had surveyed around China Lake in 1773; they came to claim lots in the spring and summer of 1774.

The Kennebecs met with the settlers and, despite no common language, enjoyed their popcorn and molasses candy, Jones wrote. But they doubted coexistence was possible.

On Keriberba’s advice, they joined other Abenakis who had migrated to Passamaquoddy Bay.

Jones concluded his story by writing that Quakers from China and Vassalboro used to visit the Passamaquoddies; “one wonders whether any of them then remembered that they too had sprung from the shore of the same lake as their visitors.”

Jones never claimed his story was all true, calling it part history and part imagination; and the China bicentennial history says the explanation of the carved heart in the granite boulder falls into the imagination category. But if the right part is true, this small band from China Lake may have been the last organized group of Kennebecs to leave the central Kennebec Valley.

Main sources

Grow, Mary M., China Maine Bicentennial History including 1984 revisions (1984).
Hatch, Louis Clinton, ed., Maine: A History 1919 ((facsimile, 1974).
Judd, Richard W., Churchill, Edwin A. and Eastman, Joel W., edd., Maine The Pine Tree State from Prehistory to the Present (1995).
Kingsbury, Henry D., ed., Illustrated History of Kennebec County Maine 1625-1892 (1892).
Maine Writers Research Club, Maine Indians in History and Legends (1952).
Robbins, Alma Pierce, History of Vassalborough Maine 1771 1971 n.d. (1971).
Williamson, William D., The History of the State of Maine from its First Discovery, A.D. 1602, to the Separation, A.D. 1820, Inclusive (1832).

Erskine Academy third trimester honors (2022)

(photo credit: Erskine Academy)

Grade 12

High Honors: Julia Barber, Alana Beggs, Jacob Bentley, Jack Blais, Autumn Boody, Olivia Bourque, Lilian Bray, Kevin Brownell II, Emily Clark, Jesse Cowing, Jasmine Crommett, Isabella DeRose, Luke Desmond, Alexander Drolet, Coralie Favier, Emma Fortin, Jenna Gallant, Rayne George, Josette Gilman, Samantha Golden, Trace Harris, Isaac Hayden, Hayden Hoague, Grace Hodgkin, Rachel Huntoon, Emma Jefferson, Grace Kelso, Mallory Landry, Aidan Larrabee, Isavel Lux Soc, Hunter Marr, Calvin Mason, Kaden McIntyre, Adam Ochs, Abigail Peaslee, Tony Pedersen, Matilde Pettinari, Devon Polley, Sarah Praul, Riley Reitchel, Mackenzie Roderick, Abbey Searles, Andrew Shaw, Hannah Soule, Lily Thompson, Daniel Tibbetts, Lily Vinci and Summer Wasilowski.

Honors: Isaac Baker, Nickolas Berto, Jon Bonner Jr, Evan Butler, Lodin Chavarie, Nicholas Chavarie, Daniel Cseak, Colby Cunningham, Kaden Doughty, Abigail Dutton, Kelsie Fielder, Chase Folsom, Wyatt French, Ciera Hamar, Larissa Haskell, Krystal Ingersoll, Hunter Johnson, Taidhgin Kimball, Lili Lefebvre, Shawn Libby, Madison Lully, Rebecca Main, Malcolm Martinez, Wes McGlew, Rebecca Morton, Brady O’Connor, Lilly Potter, Julian Reight, Parker Reynolds, Ely Rideout, Shawn Searles, Nathaniel Solorzano, Natalie Spearin, Hannah Strout – Gordon, Hannah Torrey, Samuel Worthley, Emily York.

Grade 11

High Honors: Carson Appel, Andrew Bentley, Abigail Beyor, Katherine Bourdon, Breckon Davidson, Nicole DeMerchant, Lillian Dorval, Lilly Fredette, Loralei Gilley, Cooper Grondin, Nabila Harrington, Grady Hotham, Grace Hutchins, Olivia Hutchinson, Hallie Jackson, Beck Jorgensen, Kaiden Kelley, Dale Lapointe, Brenden Levesque, Malachi Lowery, Emily Majewski, Lily Matthews, Timber Parlin, Kayla Peaslee, Jonathan Peil, Gabriel Pelletier, Sophia Pilotte, Kaden Porter, Alexis Rancourt, Samantha Reynolds, Sarah Robinson, Noah Rushing, Jarell Sandoval, Gabriela Sasse, Zuriah Smith, Sophie Steeves, Aidan Tirrell, Mackenzie Toner, Emma Tyler, Katherine Williams and Damon Wilson.

Honors: Molly Anderson, Kassidy Barrett, Eve Boatright, Angel Bonilla, Caleb Buswell, Marianna Charlebois, Kayleen Crandall, Grace Ellis, Myra Evans, Hailey Farrar, Brianna Gardner, Ciara Glidden, Alivia Gower, Mallary Hanke, Ronald Haskell Jr, Jakob Kennedy, Brady Kirkpatrick, Casey Kirkpatrick, Siena Klasson, Matthew Knowles, Lydah Kong, Meadow Laflamme, Emmet Lani-Caputo, Zephyr Lani-Caputo, Bryce Lincoln, Gwen Lockhart, River Meader, Gage Moody, Angelina Ochoa, Ezra Padgett, Hannah Patterson, Jenna Perkins, Casey Petty, Karen Potter, Cadence Rau, Ally Rodrigue, Conner Rowe, Emmalee Sanborn, Sammantha Stafford, Emma Stred, Paige Sutter, Colby Willey, Joseph Wing and Keanah Young.

Grade 10

High Honors: Lacey Arp, Isabella Boudreau, Heather Bourgoin, Robin Boynton, Elizabeth Brown, Nolan Burgess, Makayla Chabot, Elise Choate, Alexia Cole, Caleigh Crocker, Brielle Crommett, Noah Crummett, Gavin Cunningham, Hailey Estes, Kaylee Fyfe, Jackson Gamblin, Meilani Gatlin, Caleb Gay, Leah Grant, Nathan Hall, Tara Hanley, Natalie Henderson, Hannah Kugelmeyer, Stephanie Kumnick, Mackenzie Kutniewski, Carol Labbe, Sydney Laird, Sophie Leclerc, Aidan Maguire, Richard Mahoney III, Holden McKenney, Austin Nicholas , Jazel Nichols, Jeremy Parker, Remy Pettengill, Nathan Polley, Jessica Pumphrey, Keith Radonis, Giacomo Smith, Kinsey Stevens, Lara Stinchfield, Reese Sullivan and Baruch Wilson.

Honors: Abigail Adams, Austin Armstrong, Duncan Bailey, Kellsie Boynton, Wyatt Bray, Kaleb Brown, Nathalia Carrasco, Hayden Chase, Simon Clark, Thomas Crawford, Keira Deschamps, Brayden Erie, Hunter Foard, Cole Fortin, Brayden Garland, Jessica Hendsbee, Lilliane Herard, Kiley Lee, Landon Lefebvre, Jack Lyons, Liberty Massie, David McCaig, Carlos Michaud, Gavin Mills, Lucas Mitchell, Cami Monroe, Alexis Moon, Royce Nelson, Alejandro Ochoa, Nora Schweter-Clarkson, Adam St. Onge, Hayden Turgeon, Ryan Tyler, Jack Uleau and Haley Webb.

Grade 9

High Honors: Ava Anderson, Emmett Appel, Bryana Barrett, Noah Bechard, Geneva Beckim, Octavia Berto, Brooke Blais, Carter Brockway, Keenan Clark, Madison Cochran, Hannah Cohen-Mackin, Gabrielle Daggett, Brady Desmond, John Edwards, Chloe French, Ellie Giampetruzzi, Tristan Goodwin, Jonathan Gutierrez, Brandon Hanscom, Emma Henderson, Serena Hotham, Kailynn Houle, Ava Kelso, Rion Kesel, Sophia Knapp, Lucy-Anne Knowles, Bodi Laflamme, Chase Larrabee, Jack Lucier, Owen Lucier, Eleanor Maranda, Jade McCollett, Abigail McDonough, Shannon McDonough, Madison McNeff, Owen Northrup , Makayla Oxley, Sadie Pierce, Wallace Pooler IV, Elsa Redmond, Justin Reed, Lillian Rispoli, Nathan Robinson, Laney Robitaille, Carlee Sanborn, Joslyn Sandoval, Aislynn Savage, Kyle Scott and Zoey Smith.

Honors: Haileigh Allen, Kaleb Bishop, Lauryn Black, Olivia Brann, Paige Clark, Dylan Cooley, Andra Cowing, Lauren Cowing, Aydan Desjardins, Ryan Farnsworth, Lucas Farrington, Kaylee Fortier, Kenneth Fredette, Echo Hawk, Parker Hunter, Walker Jean, Montana Johnson, Kaiden Kronillis, Cassie LaCroix, Addison Mort, Thomas Mullens, Colin Oliphant, Gavyn Paradis, Ava Picard, Bronwyn Potter, Alyssa Pullen, Carter Rau, Achiva Seigars, Jordyn Smith, Parker Studholme, Katherine Swift, Grant Taker, Grace Vashon and Clara Waldrop.

EVENTS: Palermo library 2022 annual meeting slated

Captain David Sulin in Civil War attire. (photo by Mrs. Sulin)

Learn about Palermo Soldiers’ role in the Battle of Gettysburg at the Palermo Community Library’s Annual Meeting.

The Palermo Community Library will celebrate its 20th anniversary at the annual meeting on Sunday, July 10, 2022, at 2 p.m. The Palermo Historical Society joins the library in co-hosting our featured speaker, Captain Sulin, a member of Maine 20th Volunteer Infantry Company B reenactors. Captain Sulin will tell us about soldiers from Palermo and their role in the Battle of Gettysburg. He will also bring lots of artifacts and personal items from the Civil War.

Although the meeting starts at 2 p.m., Captain Sulin encourages the public to come as early as 1 p.m. to look at his large display and ask any questions you may have. Captain Sulin’s talk will serve as a nice lead-in to the Maine 20th reenactor’s Palermo Days encampment next to the Worthing House August 12, 13, and 14.

This is a public meeting and all are invited. Light refreshments will be served. The library is located at 2789 Route 3. For more information call 993-6088 or email palermomelibrary@gmail.com or visit www.palermo.lib.me.us.

PHOTO: Winslow Black Majors (2022)

2022 Winslow Black Majors baseball team: front row, from left to right, Sam Clark, Cooper Routhier-Starkey, Owen Laqualia, Freddie Ouellette, Scott LeClair and Jacoby Bragdon. Back row, Coach Clark, Ben Schmidt, Reese O’Brien, Frank Farnham, Brandon Roderick, Jack Flaherty, Coach Starkey, Coach Bragdon. (photo by Missy Brown/
Central Maine Photography)

PHOTO: Waterville Yellow Minors (2022)

The 2022 Waterville Yellow Minors baseball team: front row, from left to right, Alex Pellotte, Micah Wisewell, Kyle Draling, Landen Beck, Kobe Garay and Harrison Timmins. Middle row, Bryce Blackstone, Mikeeridan Sheets, Joseph Alix, Max Poulin and Dean Quirion. Back row, coaches Victor Garay, Nate Quirion, Josh Blackstone and Jen Beck. (photo by Mark Huard/ Central Maine Photography)

MY POINT OF VIEW: Freedom faces ongoing struggles

by Gary Kennedy

FREEDOM is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants, without hindrance or restraint. Also, the absence of subjection to foreign domination or despotic government. Also, freedom is the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved. Freedom is traditionally understood as independence of the arbitrary will of someone else. Freedom can be defined in a great number of ways.

I have been putting pen to this very topic for years for The Town Line newspaper. Every year I think there is no more I can write but as I am an ardent reader I find a life time full of what could be defined as freedoms. However, it comes to mind that the readers of my articles are now many. We have a tremendously diverse community, many of which are unfamiliar with our country and its freedoms and what they mean to us. A good example would be the Philippine population is the largest minority in Maine, followed by the Somali immigration. That being said, I could go back to the first article I wrote 20 years ago because it was a reminder and a teaching, too.

During a recent survey of what the Fourth of July depicted, some of the responses were off the wall. So every year I feel we must remind all people what this holiday is, in fact, all about. It might appear on an immigration test. The first part of my narrative defines basic freedom but says nothing about how it came about, nor does it discuss the ongoing struggle we face and sometimes take for granted.

Eugene Delacroix did the great work La Liberte. It is a beautiful work of art but symbolic. Lincoln never stood in the fray of battle as depicted in the work. However, the battle for freedom for the most part could have looked a lot like the art. John Trumbull’s Depiction of the 4th in 1818 is fantastic also, John was also a veteran.

The birth of American Independence was actually voted on July 2, but the holiday was to be celebrated on the fourth. The Declaration of Independence was adopted by our Continental Congress, for the most part written by Thomas Jefferson. America was born, at least on paper. The 13 original colonies served their political ties to Great Britain.

We here in Maine take a lot of pride in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, an American poet from Portland, who wrote such works as Paul Revere’s Ride and the song of Hiawatha and Evangeline, to name just a couple. There is a statue of him in Congress Square, in Portland.

Long story short, the Revolutionary War was fought against Great Britain. The war began on April 19, 1775, and lasted to September 3, 1783. The turning point in the war was considered to be the battle of Saratoga. The war encompassed 165 battles with 291,557 American deaths and 671,846 wounded. It is estimated that the British suffered only 25,000 casualties. The French were our allies and they lost a couple of million souls. The French also gave us the Statue of Liberty in 1885. It took from 1875 to 1884 to build. History has shown France to be a great friend and ally. However, the politics of today shows us different pictures of friends and allies. Sad but the world is not in a very good place right now.

All that being said we need to strive once again for a better world, where all can live in Freedom and Peace. Have a happy and safe Fourth of July my friends. Share what you have with those in need. Be very careful with the fireworks. Make this a time of thoughtfulness and reflection. Save a special prayer for those who are suffering in other countries and fighting for the independence that we hold dear. May they also celebrate freedom one day. Happy Fourth and God bless.

Erskine Renaissance awards 2022

Seniors of the trimester, from left to right, Larissa Haskell, Madison Lully, Jesse Cowing, and David Martinez-Gosselin. (contributed photo)

On Friday, June 10, 2022, Erskine Academy students and staff attended the final Renaissance Assembly of the year to honor their peers with Renaissance Awards.

Recognition Awards were presented to the following students: Aydan Desjardins, Kenneth Fredette, Morgan Miller, Austin Nicholas, Lilly Fredette, Zuriah Smith, Emma Jefferson, Isavel Lux Soc, Gabriella Berto-Blagdon, Sarah Praul, and Malcolm Martinez.

In addition to Recognition Awards, Senior of the Trimester Awards were also presented to four members of the senior class: Larissa Haskell, daughter of Tanya Haskell, of China; David Martinez-Gosselin, son of Louise McMillan, of Whitefield; Madison Lully, daughter of Janet and Kevin Lully, of China; and Jesse Cowing, son of Kirsten and Anthony Cowing, of Palermo. Seniors of the Trimester are recognized as individuals who have gone above and beyond in all aspects of their high school careers.

Faculty of the trimester, from left to right, Colt Pierce and Shara MacDonald. (contributed photo)

In appreciation of their dedication and service to Erskine Academy, Faculty of the Trimester awards were also presented to Colt Pierce, maintenance, and Shara MacDonald, health educator.

CRITTER CHATTER: Update on center releases

A fawn at the Duck Pond Wildlife Center. (photo by Jayne Winters)

by Jayne Winters

Although spring always brings admissions of injured, sick and newly-orphaned wildlife to the Wildlife Care Center, May and June are also the months that find Don and his volunteers releasing rehabbed critters back to the fields and woods where they belong. The animals have depended upon human assistance to regain their health or simply mature to an age where they can face the world on their own. Release sites are selected in advance and must meet Don’s criteria: a good distance from houses and highways and readily available water sources.

Seven of nine deer have been successfully released, all together in one area. Assistants with a couple of blankets – and nets on hand if necessary – helped Don herd them toward the transport trailer and seven happened to run in as a group. Don returned home to get the remaining buck who readily entered the trailer, but was unwilling to leave it at the release site. Not wanting to stress it any further, Don left the trailer door open and upon returning a couple hours later, found the deer had come out but was lying on the ground, apparently unable to get up. Sadly, the buck had to be euthanized, likely due to an unknown injury. One more deer remains to be captured and released.

The three bobcat kittens, now a little over a year old, will be released next week individually and at different locations. Despite eating well and thriving last summer, they were too small to survive on their own in the fall, so were kept over the winter and are now ready to venture out into their natural habitat. Although somewhat accustomed to human interaction, the kittens have maintained their defensive characteristics and continue to be cautious. It shouldn’t take them long to adapt to life away from the Care Center. The female weighs about 20 pounds while her two brothers are a little heavier at probably 25 Pounds. They’re lean, mean fighting machines!

Two opossums and two flying squirrels have also been released, all in one area. This was an unusual year for flying squirrels as there were only two admissions, not the usual 40-50. Of course, there are many months ahead of us! The three remaining foxes will be released within the next couple of weeks. All raccoons have been transferred to another rehabber, so the focus will be on the expected summer and fall admissions.

The day I was visiting with Don, he asked if I had my camera – he had a young weasel in the incubator, so of course, I had to get some photos! It’s being fed formula several times a day and is probably only a couple of weeks old as its eyes aren’t open yet. When I returned later in the afternoon, four 1-2 days-old mice or rats (so small it’s hard to be sure) had been admitted. Never a dull moment at the Wildlife Care Center.

Don continues to keep admissions and long-term residents at a limited number by transferring many rescued critters to other rehabbers who have generously offered to assist in their care. Please check these websites to see if there is a rehabber closer to you to help keep critter care at Duck Pond more manageable: https://www.mainevetmed.org/wildlife-rehabilitation or https://www.maine.gov/ifw/fish-wildlife/wildlife/living-with-wildlife/orphaned-injured-wildlife/index.html.

– Donald Cote operates Duck Pond Wildlife Care Center on Rte. 3 in Vassalboro. It is a non-profit state permitted rehab facility supported by his own resources & outside donations. Mailing address: 1787 North Belfast Ave., Vassalboro ME 04989 TEL: (207) 445-4326. PLEASE NOTE THE PRIOR wildlifecarecenter EMAIL ADDRESS IS NOT BEING MONITORED AT THIS TIME.