China For A Lifetime Volunteer Program cleans up after a storm

Scott Haines, foreground, and Bob Lesperance, from All Around Home Maintenance, volunteered for China For A Lifetime. (contributed photo)

by Jeanne Marquis

The volunteer program of the China For A Lifetime (CFAL) committee helps local elderly and people with physical challenges who may not be able to otherwise afford certain seasonal help. During last week’s storm, an enormous pine tree fell across the driveway of an older couple on Pleasant View Ridge. Luckily their neighbors Matt and Laura were able to clear enough to enable the couple’s van in the garage and the wheelchair up the ramp. The following Saturday, CFAL assembled a crew to chainsaw through the rest of the tree and stack wood to be removed at a later date. Scott Haines and Bob Lesperance skillfully handled their chainsaws on a tree with a diameter far wider than their blades. Scott and Bob are in the process of starting their own business, All Around Property Maintenance. Wood stackers included Nick Marquis, Megan Marquis and Jeanne Marquis.

As the need for serving elders increases in China, CFAL is seeking volunteers in all areas: light yard work, minor home repair, grocery shopping assistance and drivers to medical appointments. To volunteer, contact us on ChinaForaLifetime@gmail.com. The first week of May, we will need volunteers to help clean up gardens and take yard waste to the transfer station. We will schedule the yard clean up sessions around the volunteers’ availability.

PHOTOS: Area food pantries walk to feed ME

Vassalboro Food Pantry team included, from left to right, Mary White w/Maggie, Cindy Ferland w/Feebee, Diane Bailey w/Midget and Shadow. Not in photo, Albert Ferland who was taking the picture.

The China Community Food Pantry’s Team that participated in the Feed ME 5K walk were, front row, from left to right, James Maxwell, Ann Austin, Rachel Maxwell, Naomi Harwath and Kimberly Goneau. Back, Brad Bickford, Caley Pillow and Aurie Maxwell.

Meanwhile, volunteers back at the China Food Pantry hold down the fort and prepare to serve clients.

Volunteers at China Community Food Pantry, from left to right, Cindi Orlando, Donna, and Jen Zendzian pack produce boxes.

On the porch at China Community Food Pantry: Kimberly Goneau, Peter Moulton, Jodi Blackinton and Susan Cottle stand ready to serve.

Contributed photos

Issue for April 21, 2022

Issue for April 21, 2022

Celebrating 34 years of local news

Vassalboro couple invites furry friends into their home for temporary care

Entering into the apartment of Justin Saragosa and Chris Choyce you’ll most likely hear tiny meows coming from a certain corner. In the summer of 2018 the young couple was facing increasing rent prices in Portland and decided to move up to central Maine, where Justin is from. When the pandemic hit they were temporarily furloughed. This newfound time inspired them to begin something they’d wanted to do: foster animals! The in-law apartment they’d moved to had a little extra space, an empty corner to be specific. The Kitten Korner was born on Easter Sunday 2020, becoming a temporary home to their first foster kittens… by Gillian Lalime

Your Local News

Select board approves trail at Spectacle Pond; postpones decision on background checks

VASSALBORO — Vassalboro select board members approved four of the varied items on their April 14 agenda, one formally; rejected one request; and postponed other decisions for more information…

Outside activities return to VCS; other good news

VASSALBORO — Vassalboro School Board members got quite a lot of good news at their April 13 meeting. Assistant Principal Greg Hughes shared the first item, in his administrator’s report: extracurricular programs are being scheduled again, after two years of pandemic-induced hiatus…

Planners review proposed new solar ordinance

CHINA — The three members of the China Planning Board participating in the April 12 meeting unanimously approved a change of ownership for a South China business…

Transfer station members advice selectboard to buy new loader, soon

CHINA — Members of China’s Transfer Station Committee voted unanimously at their April 12 meeting to advise China select board members to buy a new loader as soon as possible, before prices rise any more…

Road committee meets to discuss foreman’s paving schedule

CHINA — China Road Committee members met April 12 to discuss Road Foreman Shawn Reed’s proposed repaving schedule for 2022. They expressed no objections…

St. Michael student in Augusta uses “Principal for a Day” to help innocent of Ukraine

AUGUSTA When Natania, a first grader at St. Michael School, in Augusta, was informed she would get to serve as “Principal for a Day” on Tuesday, April 5. Her first thought was to use her newfound “power” to effect positive change…

Vassalboro Centenarian

VASSALBORO Lois Bulger, Vassalboro’s oldest citizen, was feted recently by her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, on the occasion of her 100th birthday…

Waterville Rotary Club donates money to improve high school challenges

CENTRAL ME The Waterville Rotary Club recently donated $500 to four local high schools to provide support to youth who are experiencing homelessness or other challenges that impact their learning and/or engagement in school.  Members of the Club’s Community Services Committee delivered checks in person to each of the schools…

Winslow baseball team holds clinic

WINSLOW The Winslow High School baseball team held a clinic for youth baseball on Thursday, April 7. Athletes in grades three through eight had a chance to go to an hour-long clinic to work on baseball skills with the high school team…

Files inducted in NHS

PALERMO Roger Files, a 12th-grader from Palermo, was recently inducted into the National Honor Society at Maine Connections Academy. He is among a total group of 12 students who received National Honor Society membership at the school, the state’s first online charter school. He plans to enter the workforce following graduation…

Winslow resident earns award from WGU

WINSLOW Bethanie Farr, of Winslow, has earned an Award of Excellence at Western Governors University College of Health Professions, in Jersey City, New Jersey. The award is given to students who perform at a superior level in their course work…

Local residents earn award from WGU

CHELSEA/WINSLOW The following local residents have earned an Award of Excellence at Western Governors University, in Jersey City, New Jersey. Marsha Polley, of Chelsea, and Kit Potelle, of Winslow…

Name that film!

Identify the film in which this line originated and qualify to win FREE passes to Railroad Square Cinema in Waterville: “You’ve got to ask yourself one question. Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya punk?” Email us at townline@townline.org with subject “Name that film!” Deadline for submission is May 13, 2022…

EVENTS: Senior Day in China every Wednesday

CHINA China residents enjoy Senior Day, at the portable building near the China Town Office. Senior Day is held every Wednesday, from 10 a.m. – noon, in the portable building at the China Town Office…

EVENTS: Knox-Lincoln SWCD to host Maine Audubon

ROCKPORT Knox-Lincoln Soil & Water Conservation District is hosting Maine Audubon to present Stream Smart Training – Phase One on Thursday, May 26, at the Camden Opera House and online…

EVENTS: Agriculture theme at Albert Church Brown Library

CHINA Spring is here and with it the Albert Church Brown Library, in China Village, is jumpstarting its programs and events with a line-up of agricultural themed activities. The upcoming schedule will provide an opportunity for the community gather indoors and out while easing back into a regular schedule…

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Blacks in Maine – Part 2 (new)

MAINE HISTORY — The first two Black men recorded in Augusta, according to Anthony Douin, one of the contributors to H. H. Price and Gerald Talbot’s Maine’s Visible Black History, were “York Bunker and Cuff.” They were in the garrison at Fort Western, built in 1754, “listed as servants and paid as privates”… by Mary Grow [2021 words]

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Blacks in Maine – Part 1

MAINE HISTORY — So far, people in this history series have been almost entirely the group that is still Maine’s majority population: white people descended mostly from inhabitants of the British Isles, plus representatives of other northern and western European countries. For example, Millard Howard wrote in his Palermo history that early settlers in that town came mostly from Massachusetts or New Hampshire, sometimes via coastal Maine… by Mary Grow [1944 words]

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Wars – Part 14

MAINE HISTORY — The wars on which this series has provided information so far began with fighting against the European power that once claimed the United States and continued with the 1861-1865 war between two parts of the United States… by Mary Grow [1747 words]

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Wars – Part 12

MAINE HISTORY — The United States Civil War, which began when the Confederates shelled Fort Sumter, South Carolina, on April 12, 1861, and ended with General Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, Virginia, on April 9, 1865, had the most impact on Maine, including the central Kennebec Valley, of any 17th or 18th century war… by Mary Grow [2191 words]

Give Us Your Best Shot!

The best recent photos from our readers!…

Webber’s Pond

Webber’s Pond is a comic drawn by an anonymous central Maine resident (click thumbnail to enlarge)…

CALENDAR OF EVENTS: Senior Day in China

CHINA — Senior Day is held every Wednesday, from 10 a.m. – noon, in the portable building at the China Town Office. Residents of other area towns are welcome to join in the fun and camaraderie… and many other local events!

Obituaries

CHELSEA – Gene M. West, 96, of Chelsea, passed away peacefully on Saturday, April 9, 2022. Gene was born in Saco on January 23, 1926, and was a graduate of Thornton Academy, in Saco, and Nasson College, in Springvale… and remembering 15 others.

Common Ground: Win a $10 gift certificate!

DEADLINE: Friday, April 12, 2022

Identify the people in these three photos, and tell us what they have in common. You could win a $10 gift certificate to Retail Therapy Boutique in Waterville! Email your answer to townline@townline.org or through our Contact page. Include your name and address with your answer. Use “Common Ground” in the subject!

Previous winner: Diane Gardner, Windsor

Town Line Original Columnists

Roland D. HalleeSCORES & OUTDOORS

by Roland D. Hallee | A strange phenomenon occurrs every spring in the north Atlantic. Large icebergs come floating down the south shore near Ferryland, Newfoundland, Canada. People journey to the site – some traveling thousands of miles – to see this spectacle. For the locals, it’s no big deal. But for others, seeing them for the first time, it’s a breath taking sight…

SMALL SPACE GARDENING

by Melinda Myers | Growing a beautiful landscape starts with the soil under your feet. The best place to start building a healthy soil foundation is with a soil test. The results will tell you what type and how much, if any, fertilizer is needed for the plants you are growing. Using the right type and amount of fertilizer is also good for your budget and the environment…

Peter CatesREVIEW POTPOURRI

by Peter Cates | Former First Lady Abigail Smith Adams (1744-1818) fearlessly felt little concern about the opinions of others and was a true Massa­chusetts Puritan at heart. Her father William Smith (1707-1783) was a Congregationalist minister in the Boston suburb of Weymouth and a man of importance there as was his father before him…

I’M JUST CURIOUS

by Debbie Walker | Let’s see what I can come up with tonight. This doesn’t mean I have tried them; I am seeing some of them for the first time myself. So let me know what you think?…

FOR YOUR HEALTH

(NAPSI) | If you’re like most people, this is a familiar scene: You’re nearing the end of your appointment with your physician, and they ask, “Do you have any questions?” You want to take advantage of the short amount of time you have with the one person who can decipher tests and explain medical issues specific to you, but you blank…

FOR YOUR HEALTH: Nine Questions To Ask Your Ophthalmologist

It’s smart to see your way clear to getting regular eye exams.

(NAPSI)—If you’re like most people, this is a familiar scene: You’re nearing the end of your appointment with your physician, and they ask, “Do you have any questions?” You want to take advantage of the short amount of time you have with the one person who can decipher tests and explain medical issues specific to you, but you blank.

Getting the most out of your regular eye exam depends on asking good questions. Not sure where to begin? Here’s a list of smart questions to ask your ophthalmologist at your next eye exam:

Am I at risk for eye disease? There are several risk factors for eye disease, including family history, ethnicity, age and so on. Take the time with your ophthalmologist to identify your own eye health risks.

Can my other health issues affect my eyes? Several systemic diseases, including high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes, can affect eyesight. Your ophthalmologist is the best person to discuss how your medical history can lead to potential eye disease.

Why is this test being done? During a routine eye exam, your ophthalmologist will run tests to screen for eye diseases and visual impairment. This can include checking how your pupil responds to light, measuring your eye pressure to screen for diseases such as glaucoma or dilating your eye to check the health of your retina.

Would you have this procedure yourself? Some eye surgeries are urgently required to protect your vision but others are optional, such as laser eye surgery or just one of a range of treatment options for your condition. An ophthalmologist will be able to help you decide if you are a good candidate for surgery, walk you through the latest data, and discuss potential risks.

Is this normal? Dealing with dry eyes? Noticing new floaters in your vision? Share these symptoms with your ophthalmologist. They can determine whether this is a normal part of aging or a sign of eye disease.

I can’t see well while reading or driving. What should I do? Usually, declining vision means you just need new glasses. But in some cases, there are alternatives to glasses that can improve your quality of life. If you’re having a difficult time enjoying your favorite hobbies and activities, ask your ophthalmologist if you’re a good candidate for newer vision correction options.

Will COVID-19 affect my eyes? Your ophthalmologist is your best resource for the latest information on diseases related to the eye, including eye-related symptoms linked to COVID-19. If you’re recovering from COVID-19, you may have concerns about how your eye health could be affected.

Should I buy blue light-blocking glasses? What about eye vitamins? There are lots of myths out there about eyes and vision. Before buying blue light-blocking glasses or other over-the-counter products that are advertised to save your sight, get the facts straight from your ophthalmologist.

My eyesight seems fine. Do I really need to come back? Your ophthalmologist can tell you how often you should be seen based on your age, risk factors and overall health.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends all adults get a comprehensive eye exam by age 40 and every year or two after age 65, even if your vision seems fine. That’s because leading causes of blindness can begin without any noticeable symptoms. An ophthalmologist—a physician who specializes in medical and surgical eye care—can help save your vision before it’s too late.

EyeCare America Can Help

If the cost of an eye exam is a concern, the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s EyeCare America program may be able to help. This national public service program provides eye care through volunteer ophthalmologists for eligible seniors 65 and older and those at increased risk for eye disease.

Learn More

For further information regarding EyeCare America and to see if you or someone you care for qualifies, visit www.aao.org/eyecare-america.

Agriculture theme at Albert Church Brown Library

Albert Church Brown Memorial Library in China Village (photo courtesy of library Facebook page)

Spring is here and with it the Albert Church Brown Library, in China Village, is jumpstarting its programs and events with a line-up of agricultural themed activities. The upcoming schedule will provide an opportunity for the community gather indoors and out while easing back into a regular schedule. Attendees are encouraged to use their own discretion regarding masking and social distancing. All events are free.

As the library launches its new Seed Sharing Library, Heron Breen of FEDCO will be sharing his expertise on Seed Saving on Sunday, April 24, at 2 p.m.

All are invited to come to Local Farm Days to view presentations of are farmers and producers. this family friendly event on Saturday, May 14, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

There will be a Story and Craft Time at 11 a.m. for the children, along with activities throughout the day. Perhaps you’ll win one of the door prizes that are donated by the vendors. Local farmers and producers are invited to participate in Local Farm Days to display and sell their goods and introduce their farms and businesses to the community. Please contact the library for an application at chinalibraryacb@gmail.com.

Some other programs: The Knitting Group has resumed meeting at the library on Tuesday afternoons from 3 – 5 p.m. Come and stitch a while.

A Themed Book Club will meet the fourth Thursday of the month at 1 p.m.. Books in any genre, according to the chosen theme will be discussed. Please contact the library website for updates.

Children’s Story & Craft Time will be held on the second Saturday of the month at 11 a.m. We will also meet up at the China School Forest for a Spring Story & Craft on Saturday, April 30, at 11 a.m., to go with the library sponsored StoryWalk® throughout the month of May.

For more information about these and/or other events and programs, please visit chinalibrary.org, follow on Facebook @chinalibrary, or stop by the library at 37 Main St., China Village on Tues. & Thurs. 2 – 6 p.m., and Sat. 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

China road committee meets to discuss foreman’s paving schedule

by Mary Grow

CHINA, ME — China Road Committee members met April 12 to discuss Road Foreman Shawn Reed’s proposed repaving schedule for 2022. They expressed no objections.

Reed’s list totals just under six miles in the north end of town. It includes about 1.5 miles on Pleasant View Ridge Road, starting from Lakeview Drive (Route 202); McCaslin Road (about half a mile); Dutton Road (a little more than a mile); Danforth Road (less than half a mile); Causeway Street (also less than half a mile); Peking and Canton streets (less than a quarter mile); a dead-end mile of Neck Road, south of the Stanley Hill Road intersection; and China’s share of Morrill Road (about three-quarters of a mile), which runs into Winslow.

After inspecting town roads this spring, Reed described Pleasant View Ridge Road as “really bad”; Peking and Canton streets as “falling right apart”; McCaslin Road as “terrible”; and the rest of the roads on his list as more than ready for repair.

However, Reed said, until the price of paving mix is known, it’s impossible to predict whether the town can afford to do everything on his list. He recommended select board members authorize seeking bids on paving mix as soon as possible. He plans again to consider bids jointly with neighboring Vassalboro, he said.

Once he has a price, he and road committee members can, if necessary, reconsider the list.

The April 12 committee discussion covered other town roads that will be on future lists; different types of paving; and the procedures for discontinuing existing town roads and for accepting new town roads. No decisions on these topics were expected or made.

I’M JUST CURIOUS: Cleaning tips, etc.

by Debbie Walker

Let’s see what I can come up with tonight. This doesn’t mean I have tried them; I am seeing some of them for the first time myself. So let me know what you think?

Do you have any problems with pet hair? It is suggested you get out your hairspray. Spray it onto a clean cloth and run it over in an area of pet hair.

Did you ever get makeup like mascara on your clothes? You guessed it, hairspray to the rescue. Spritz it with hairspray and let sit for 10 minutes. Rinse.

Need to remove an ink spot from fabric? Spritz hairspray onto the area. Rub away the stain with a clean cloth. (Tried it, it works!) One I haven’t tried is using hand sanitizer to remove ink.

Spraying a zipper with hairspray may help it to stay up. Let me know please.

Sticky labels or price sticker; spritz a layer of hairspray and wipe it away.

Runs in your pantyhose. Try spraying them with hairspray along the run. ( or stop with clear nail polish).

Ever get a razor burn? Place a wet tea bag over the cuts. The tannic acid in the tea works on the inflammation.

Before potting a plant, place tea bags on the drainage holes. They will help retain water and add life to your plant.

Shine your mirror? Brew a pot of strong tea and let it cool. Then dip a cloth into the brew and clean your mirror and buff to a shine.

If you have cooked on food to remove, fill the pot with warm water and drop in a tea bag. The acids help break up the food.

Want to keep your skin soft? Place a few green tea bags under the running water next time you take a bath. The green tea will help with rehydrating your skin.

Ever get a coffee or tea stain on clothing? Wet the area with cold water, put a pea-sized amount of whitening toothpaste on it. Wait minutes then rinse with cold water.

Did you ever hear of soaking a stiff paint brush in a pan of hot vinegar? Do it for about 15 minutes, then wash with dish soap and warm water. Let me know how it works, please.

Fly proof a picnic. Yes, you will have the weather for another picnic eventually! Set out vases of mint and basil down the center of the table. Flies dislike the odor and keep on traveling.

After cooking or cleaning have you had strong smells from your hands? I love this one. Put a dime size drop of toothpaste in each hand, rub together and rinse!

Unscented, hypoallergenic baby wipes make great makeup removers.

Use the baby wipes in your gym bag to clean off exercise equipment.

Clean your keyboard with baby wipes.

Got a bleach spot on your black pants? Use a black permanent sharpie and try your coloring skills. Now this one I have tried, and it works well. And those markers come in about 50 different colors.

I’m just curious how you do with these new thoughts. Contact me with any questions at DebbieWalker@townline.org. And as usual, thanks for reading. Have a great week!

REVIEW POTPOURRI: First Lady Abigail Smith Adams

First Lady Abigail Smith Adams

Peter Catesby Peter Cates

First Lady Abigail Smith Adams

Former First Lady Abigail Smith Adams (1744-1818) fearlessly felt little concern about the opinions of others and was a true Massa­chusetts Puritan at heart.

Her father William Smith (1707-1783) was a Congregationalist minister in the Boston suburb of Weymouth and a man of importance there as was his father before him, while Abigail’s mother Elizabeth (1721-1775) was a Quincy.

A shy girl by nature, she was also precocious and absorbed every detail of life around her. Her father, uncle and both grandfathers allowed her to listen in whenever they had gentlemen of standing visiting. She was the little crown princess royal; her maternal grandfather John Quincy taught her about all the boats in Boston Harbor while Grandmother Quincy thoroughly educated her in the ways of the world.

Abigail read voraciously in the libraries of her father and an aunt and particularly enjoyed the plays of Shakespeare and Moliere and the Greek and Roman historians. But the family was worried that she was more interested in reading than in being a good Congregationalist Christian.

John Adams

John Adams (1735-1826) was a 27-year-old country lawyer from nearby Braintree when he first saw her in the parsonage at Weymouth and within two years they would be married before she was 20, although the family considered most lawyers then lowlifes. (Calvin Coolidge faced similar resistance 140 years later as a Northhampton lawyer courting Grace Sprague from her upper class mother but Grace also knew what she wanted in a husband.).

Abigail proved to be a wonderful help mate to her husband in the managing of their farm, finances and the rearing of children while John and his more radical fire brand cousin Samuel Adams took a pro-active role during the events leading up to and including the American Revolution and afterwards.

Hubby would serve eight years as George Washington’s vice president after various diplomatic posts abroad, and then one term as president with the duplicitous Thomas Jefferson as his own vice president. Among the many letters exchanged between Abigail and her husband were several that bordered on the endearingly very intimate, which shall remain unquoted here.

Like Martha Washington, Abigail Adams missed her husband’s inauguration and received the following account of that day in relation to George Washington in one of his letters:

“A solemn scene it was indeed, and it was made effective to me by the presence of the General, whose countenance was as serene and unclouded as the day. He seemed to me to enjoy a triumph over me. Methought I heard him say, ‘I’m fairly out and you fairly in! See which of us will be happiest.’ ”

Abigail suffered from frail health much of her life and died at the age of 74 in 1818. Her husband died at 91 on July 4, 1826, the same day as Thomas Jefferson and exactly 50 years after the Declaration of Independence.

Their son John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) became president in 1825 and also served a single four-year term.

LEGAL NOTICES for Thursday, April 21, 2022

STATE OF MAINE
PROBATE COURT
COURT ST.,
SKOWHEGAN, ME
SOMERSET, ss
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
18-A MRSA sec. 3-801

The following Personal Representatives have been appointed in the estates noted. The first publication date of this notice APRIL 14, 2022 If you are a creditor of an estate listed below, you must present your claim within four months of the first publication date of this Notice to Creditors by filing a written statement of your claim on a proper form with the Register of Probate of this Court or by delivering or mailing to the Personal Representative listed below at the address published by his name, a written statement of the claim indicating the basis therefore, the name and address of the claimant and the amount claimed or in such other manner as the law may provide. See 18-C M.R.S.A. §3-80.

2022-106 – Estate of GERALDINE E. DAVIS, late of Pittsfield, Me deceased. Barry S. Bishop, 634 Snakeroot Road, Pittsfield, ME 04967 appointed Personal Representative.

2022-108 – Estate of PAUL C. VIGUE, late of Hartland, Me deceased. Sherry D. Vigue, 242 Ford Hill Road, Hartland, Me 04943 appointed Personal Representative.

2022-109 – Estate of ISAAC SAMUEL MILLER, late of Solon, Me deceased. Kimberly A. Miller, 723 Pennsylvania Ave., Palmyra, NJ 08065 appointed Personal Representative.

2022-111 – Estate of MICHAEL F. WASILEWSKI, late of Harmony, Me deceased. Deborah Wasilewski, 325 Cambridge Road, Harmony, Me 04942 appointed Personal Representative.

2022-112 – Estate of JOSEPH R. LABRIE, late of Fairfield, Me deceased. David J. Labrie, 14 Donald Street, Waterville, Me 04901 appointed Personal Representative.

2022-116 – Estate of ANITA J. ROBBINS, late of Starks, Me deceased. Carol Robbins, 174 Barton Hill Road, Anson, Me 04911 appointed Personal Representative.

2022-119 – Estate of BROOK C. HAYDEN, late of New Portland, Me deceased. Wanda M. Hayden, 789 Rome Road, Mercer, Me 04957 appointed Personal Representative.

2022-121 – Estate of EUNICE E. FORBUS, late of Cornville, Me deceased. Nicolette F. Currier, 31 Longview Drive, Norridgewock, Me 04957 appointed Personal Representative.

2022-122 – Estate of DIANE M. SHEA, late of Canaan, Me deceased. G. Theresa Shea, 29 Main Street, West Brookfield, MA 01585 appointed Personal Representative.

2022-124 – Estate of SHAWN G. LOPEZ, late of Lexington Township, Me deceased. Lee Harrity Lopez, PO Box 5254, Rocky Point, NY 11778 appointed Personal Representative.

2022-129 – Estate of WARREN C. SHAY, late of Skowhegan, Me deceased. Jeanne F. Shay, PO Box 3068, Skowhegan, Me 04976 appointed Personal Representative.

2022-131 – Estate of FLOYD E. WHITMORE, late of Norridgewock, Me deceased. Darlene R. Whitmore, 7 Fairview Avenue, Ellington, CT 06029 and Rita Chaykowsky, PO Box 658, Norridgewock, Me 04957 were appointed Co-Personal Representatives.

2022-132 – Estate of PATRICIA A. MAGOON, late of North Anson, Me deceased. Richard L. Magoon, 122 N. Main Street, North Anson, Me 04958 appointed Personal Representative.

2022-132 – Estate of PRESTON J. CLUTTER, late of Harmony, Me deceased. Margaret E. Clutter, 145 Athens Road, Harmony, Me 04942 appointed Personal Representative.

2022-135 – Estate of STANLEY C. PEASE, JR., late of Norridgewock, Me deceased. Delores Cecile Newell, 16 Airport Road, Norridgewock, Me 04957 appointed Personal Representative.

2022-136 – Estate of EMERLINE G. BARTLEY, late of Fairfield, Me deceased. Gordon H. Works, 114 Albion Road, Benton, Maine 04901 appointed Personal Representative.

2022-137 – Estate of TINA M. LIBBY, late of Anson, Me deceased. Edward G. Pelotte, 135 Roderick Road, Winslow, Maine 04901 appointed Personal Representative.

2021-340 – Estate of LOLA SPAULDING, late of Skowhegan, Me deceased. Clara M. Burrill, 107 Chase Hill Road, Canaan, Maine 04924 appointed Personal Representative.

To be published on APRIL 14 & 21, 2022.

Dated APRIL 11, 2022
/s Victoria Hatch,
Register of Probate
(4/21)

STATE OF MAINE
PROBATE COURT
41 COURT ST.
SOMERSET, ss
SKOWHEGAN, ME
PROBATE NOTICES

TO ALL PERSONS INTERESTED IN ANY OF THE ESTATES LISTED BELOW

Notice is hereby given by the respective petitioners that they have filed petitions for appointment of personal representatives in the following estates or change of name. These matters will be heard at 1 p.m. or as soon thereafter as they may be on ARPIL 27, 2022. The requested appointments or name changes may be made on or after the hearing date if no sufficient objection be heard. This notice complies with the requirements of 18-C MRSA §3-403 and Probate Rule 4.

2022-079 – Estate of NICOLE HAZEL FISH. Petition for Change of Name (Adult) filed by Nicole Hazel Fish, 134 Main Street, Apt. 3, Fairfield, Me 04937, requesting her name be changed to Nicolas Hunter Fish for reasons set forth therein.

2022-138 – Estate of DAWN MARIE LEE, adult of Fairfield, Me. Petition for Change of Name (Adult) filed by Dawn Marie Lee, 350 Norridgewock Road, Fairfield, ME 04937, requesting her name be changed to Dawn Marie Martin for reasons set forth therein.

Dated APRIL 11, 2022
/s/ Victoria Hatch,
Register of Probate
(4/21)

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Blacks in Maine – Part 2

by Mary Grow

Black Kennebec Valley residents

The first two Black men recorded in Augusta, according to Anthony Douin, one of the contributors to H. H. Price and Gerald Talbot’s Maine’s Visible Black History, were “York Bunker and Cuff.” They were in the garrison at Fort Western, built in 1754, “listed as servants and paid as privates.”

As the area near the fort was settled, Douin found limited evidence of Black residents, and no evidence of Black slaves.

He wrote that at the 1776 town meeting, voters approved taxing “Negroes and Mulatto servants at the same rate as apprentices and minors.” And he referred to several Black families mentioned in Hallowell midwife Martha Ballard’s diary; she delivered at least two of their babies.

After Augusta separated from Hallowell in February 1797, Douin wrote that small numbers of Black residents (five in the 1800 Augusta census) worked in “the few occupations opened to Blacks in the nineteenth century – laborer, barber, house servant, waiter, and hostler.”

By 1850, 55 of Augusta’s about 8,000 people were identified as Black, Douin wrote. One was a mill worker, originally from Tennessee, who had married a Maine woman; others were sailors.

(Douin said that Black sailors “played a role in the rich maritime history of the Kennebec River.” Price and Talbot added that in the 1850 census, Maine’s “maritime industries were combined under stevedores, fisherman, stewards, and shipwrights, which represented more than 50 percent of the black population.” The examples they gave suggest that most lived along the coast, from Portland to Machias.)

Maine Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Weston, Jr. (1782-1872; see the Dec. 10, 2020, The Town Line article on chief justices from Augusta) had a Black servant named Lucretia Crossman from 1820 on. “When she died in 1859, she was buried in the Weston Family Tomb at Cony Cemetery,” Douin wrote.

Three Black men left public records that Douin drew on for profiles.

John D. Carter was an outspoken opponent of slavery whose views were radical enough to split the Augusta Baptists into two churches in the spring of 1844. First Baptist parishioners considered slavery a sin and a violation of human rights. Carter and the rest of the Second Baptists went farther, holding that slave-holders could not be church members or ministers. Carter died July 17, 1844; the churches did not “reconcile” until 1849.

(In his 1870 history of Augusta, James North recorded the schism; he named the radical as J. T. Carter and did not mention his race.)

John Eason (May 14, 1776 – 1879) was a Free Will Baptist who helped build the Augusta church building and preached there when there was no regular preacher. Douin wrote that though “unlettered,” he had an excellent memory; he was called “Parson Eason” because of his sermons.

Levi Foye (May 29, 1799 – 1870) owned “one of the most popular restaurants in Augusta,” his Water Street oyster bar, opened around 1830.

A Massachusetts native whose father brought the family to Vassalboro, Foye’s first profession was as a sailor; during the War of 1812, he was a British prisoner in Halifax, Nova Scotia. His restaurant was successful enough that he was able to buy his family a Western Avenue house.

Among Augusta residents Foye was “well respected,” Douin said; but some of the troops who mustered in Augusta during the Civil War were so disrespectful that Foye closed the restaurant.

“An embarrassed Augusta community hosted a farewell party and presented Foye and his family with a very nice silver service,” Douin wrote.

After the war, Foye reopened the restaurant and ran it until his death.

Douin names two Black men from Augusta who served in the Civil War. Jackson Phillips (born in 1842; later in the book called Phillip Jackson) was a cook on the USS Tallapoosa, launched Feb. 17, 1863, a wooden steamer equipped with heavy guns and howitzers for stopping blockade runners and bombarding shore installations.

Adarastus Brown was in the 14th Rhode Island Heavy Artillery, a Black unit that “did garrison duty in Louisiana late in the war.”

William Lewis

The later list of Black Civil War veterans in Maine adds two more Navy men, William H. Lewis and William H. Manuel.

Lewis, according to an online source, served on two ships in the Union’s North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. Through September 1863 he was on the USS Commodore Perry, a former sidewheel ferry. She patrolled the North Carolina and Virginia coasts from January 1862 to the end of the war, helping capture Confederate ships and coastal towns and cities.

From December 31, 1863, through March 31, 1865, Lewis was on the USS Whitehead, a screw steamer built in 1861 that also patrolled off North Carolina.

Manuel first served in 1863, briefly, in USS Sabine, also in the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. The Sabine was an 1855 sailing frigate that had seen service off Paraguay before becoming one of the first ships to serve in the Civil war, watching the Florida coast.

By Nov. 18, 1863, Manuel had transferred to the USS Niagara, where he stayed until April 1, 1864.

USS Sabine

The Civil War Niagara was the second of that name, built for the Navy in 1855. She had already helped lay the first transatlantic cable in 1857 and 1858; returned Africans rescued from a slave ship to Liberia in 1858; and carried the first Japanese diplomatic delegation to Washington back to Japan in 1860 and 1861. In April 1861 she joined the East Gulf Blockading Squadron off Alabama and Florida.

When northern soldiers came home after the war, Douin wrote that freed slaves who had joined the army sometimes came with them. In Augusta, he said, more than a dozen Black families settled in the area that is now Ganneston Drive (running south off Capitol Street, west of the State House complex); the area was called Nigger Hill.

Douin wrote that their dwellings “were described as log cabins. By 1896 the colony had disappeared, leaving old cellar holes and broken stone fences to mark its existence.”

One former slave, Frederick Brown (1835 – 1919), connected with the 15th Maine when Union forces captured New Orleans. Coming to Maine with a captain from Bath, Brown moved to Augusta and got a job with Governor Samuel Cony’s son-in-law, Joseph H. Manley.

Manley was a close friend of James G. Blaine (see the Aug. 20, 2020, issue of The Town Line for a profile of one of Maine’s most famous politicians), and Brown found a new position as Blaine’s coachman, Douin wrote. Through these connections, he became the Augusta post office janitor when Manley was postmaster and later the State House night watchman, serving for 26 years.

Peter Samuel from Virginia was another former slave, who helped guide fellow slaves into Union-held areas before taking himself to safety. Douin wrote that in Augusta, Samuel married a French-Canadian – his first wife had been sold away from him before the war — and converted to Catholicism. He died June 1, 1904, aged 100, “and is buried in a segregated part of Old St. Mary’s Cemetery.”

The website Find a Grave identifies this cemetery as St. Mary of the Assumption Cemetery on the south side of Winthrop Street. Your writer found the “segregated part” is a strip about 12 feet wide on the extreme eastern edge of the cemetery, between the east fence and a one-lane paved road; the Samuels graves are in a north-south line between two large trees.

Many of the inscriptions have become less legible with time. Most of the dates below are from Find a Grave, which lists seven Samuels/Samuells.

The northernmost marker is a small stone for Anna Samuel, 1885-1886 (not listed by Find a Grave). There is a gap; then a twin headstone for Martha (June 14 – Aug. 17, 1893) and Mara (? 1891 – Aug. 16, 1891); a small stone for Rosie Samuell (1887-1896); another gap; a twin stone for Annie (Aug. 18, 1888 – June 1889) and Edie E. (May 20, 1891 – June 22, 1892); and Peter Samuel’s larger stone.

Find a Grave lists a headstone for Henry Samuell (1885-1886) that your writer did not see. South of Peter Samuel’s stone is one marking the grave of Fred, son of Fred? and Sadie Barton, who died July 27, 1911, aged three months and ? days. Find a Grave lists no Bartons in St. Mary’s Cemetery.

* * * * * *

Samuel Osborne

One of Waterville’s best-known Black residents was Samuel Osborne (1833 – July 1, 1904), janitor at Colby College from 1867 until 1903. Known as “Janitor Sam” and as “Professor” because of his appreciation for education and knowledge of the Colby campus, he has been the subject of many articles and a book, Samuel Osborne, Janitor, by Frederick Padelford (Colby 1896).

An on-line People’s History of Colby College says Osborne was born in slavery on a Virginia plantation. He married a fellow slave, Maria Iverson, before the Civil War. In May 1865, Colonel Stephen Fletcher, Colby 1859 and captain of the 7th Maine, helped him come to Waterville, and Colby President James Champlin helped him get a job in the Maine Central Railroad shops.

Two daughters came with Osborne, and in October 1865 Waterville Baptists raised money for him to return to Virginia for his wife, a third daughter and his father, “who had been a slave for seventy-two years.” The father promptly got the janitor’s job at Colby; when he died in 1867, his son quit the railroad and took over at the college.

The Osbornes had one son and seven daughters. Their son Edward “Eddie” Samuel Osborne entered Colby with the class of 1897, but dropped out and went to work for the railroad.

Price and Talbot wrote that Eddie Osborne was a messenger for 56 years for “what became the Railway Express Agency,…logging a million or more miles.” In 1944 he received the Agency’s first “diamond-studded pin” recognizing 50 years of service.

Samuel and Maria’s daughter, Marion Thompson Osborne (later Matheson), born about 1879, was Colby’s first female Black graduate, Class of 1900. (The first male Black graduate was Adam S. Green, Class of 1887.)

In addition to his extensive Colby responsibilities – “everything from keeping fires burning in all fireplaces to delivering the mail” – Osborne was active in the Waterville Baptist Church and in the Waterville Lodge of Good Templars, the national temperance organization.

Marion Matheson’s 1950 tribute to her father, excerpted in Price and Talbot’s book, includes anecdotes from her father’s life. One is a summary of his 1902 trip to Stockholm, Sweden, as a Good Templars delegate to an international convention. On the voyage over and back, he ate at the ship captain’s table; in Stockholm he was granted permission to sit on the royal throne; and he took a side trip to Scotland to visit former Waterville residents.

When he fell ill, Matheson wrote, college President Charles Lincoln White in his 1904 Baccalaureate address called him, “the Head Janitor whom all had learned to love and respect for his faithfulness and devotion to the interest of the college, of his gentle, warm and confiding nature because he cared for the sick, chided and erring and encouraged all by his simple, pure, and unaffected Christian life.”

The day of his death was “an incredibly sorrowful day for Colby,” the People’s History says. President White was at his bedside until the end. The college bell tolled 71 times. Matheson wrote that his funeral was the first one “held in the Chapel in Memorial Hall, as was his wish.”

An article in the 2018 issue of the Colby Echo, found on line, says Osborne was the subject of “vicious and despicable racism” and was not paid enough to support his family. The author is Alison Levitt, identified on line as the college’s Online & Social Media Editor.

The People’s History does not totally contradict Levitt’s portrait. The author wrote that Osborne “tirelessly endured their [students’] pranks and assaults on his intelligence” – and stood up for them when they got in trouble with faculty or administration members and joined Maria in inviting them for Thanksgiving dinners.

The author agreed that Osborne was not paid generously. In 1896, after 29 years on the job, he earned $480. Meanwhile, the college had grown from three buildings in 1867 to (by 1903 when he retired) seven buildings.

(These buildings were on the old campus by the Kennebec River; the college did not begin the move to Mayflower Hill until the 1930s. The People’s History writer said Colby had only one full-time janitor for “several decades” after Osborne’s retirement.)

Samuel and Maria Osborne and some of their children are buried in the family plot in Waterville’s Pine Grove Cemetery.

Main sources

Price, H. H., and Talbot, Gerald E., Maine’s Visible Black History: The First Chronicle of Its People (2006)

Websites, miscellaneous.