I’M JUST CURIOUS: The right place

by Debbie Walker

I read an amazing theory on Facebook, a computer social program, I have no idea who is the author, but I am impressed with the words of wisdom. If you already saw this, I hope you will enjoy the premise of the theory again.

A man was giving his daughter the gift of an old “seen better days” car. His instruction was for her to take it to a car dealer to see what they would offer to purchase the car. She came back and told her dad they offered $1,000.

Next, he told her to take it to a pawn shop to see what their offer is. Well, that price was only $100.

Lastly, he told her to take the car to a car club meeting to see if there was any interest. Some people in the club offered $100,000 for it since it was an iconic car and sought after by many.

I am quoting the story now: “The father said to his daughter, ‘The right place values you the right way. If you are not valued, do not be angry, it means you are in the wrong place. Those who know your value are those who appreciate you. Never stay in a place where no one sees your value.’”

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we were all raised to be aware of our personal value? Are you aware of your value in your daily life? Do you know your value to your childhood family, friends, and teachers? Do you know your value to the family you are raising? Do your spouse and family know their value to you?

I’ll bet you never thought much about it even after reading the story, but take a few minutes to think about this, what would your value be? What value do you give others?

None of this has anything to do with dollars and cents. Since I am retired the career/job aspect doesn’t fit my life’s value. I am looking back at my employment years and I believe I placed too much value in that part of my life. It had a great deal to do with what I saw as my value of myself.

Raising my daughter, I am not sure either of us truly understood “value”. I think she looked at me as “something to survive”. We argued quite a bit. I think we both looked at each other more with the word “tolerance”!

Unfortunately, in my married life my husband suffered from depression most all his life. I doubt either of us valued the other. After too many years I did realize I was in the wrong place.

These days I am very aware of my wonderful friendships and family and how much we value each other. If you doubt your value, are there grandkids around? The first time this little chubby toddler came running towards me with arms flying wildly hollering “Nana” hug! Value, oh yeah!

I’m just curious if any of this has you changing your perception of value. It did me.

Contact me with any comments or questions at DebbieWalker@townline.org.

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful week!

REVIEW POTPOURRI – Conductor: Herbert von Karajan

Herbert von Karajan

Peter Catesby Peter Cates

Herbert von Karajan

Herbert von Karajan’s 114th birthday anniversary is April 5. He may have been arguably the most powerful conductor to emerge in the entire world of classical music after World War II, around 1947, following de-Nazification proceedings (in order to work during the Hitler years, he had to join the Nazi party, like several million others, but he was not a war criminal and did have a Jewish wife whom he kept protected).

In the immediate aftermath of World War II and living in a very low profile manner (and from hand to mouth) in a shabby apartment in Vienna while it was still occupied by the Russians, an Englishman came visiting with bottles of brandy and several rolls of sausage. He was Walter Legge and he was in charge of recording at EMI in London. BTW, if Legge had been caught by the Russians with the brandy and sausages, he would have been thrown in prison several years for smuggling, if not shot.

Walter Legge

Legge had created the world-renowned Philharmonia Orchestra primarily for studio recording and had recruited the finest musicians for its ranks. He also had a hard and fast rule in which each musician had to re-audition each year to maintain the Orchestra’s incomparable standard, unlike other major orchestras in which its members could rest a bit more comfortably on their backsides.

Legge had already hired such brilliant conductors as Walter Susskind, Alceo Galliera , Paul Kletzki, Rafael Kubelik and a few others as drillmasters but he wanted a more permanent music director. Karajan had already recorded several extraordinary 78 sets with orchestras in Ger­many, Holland, Italy and Vienna for such labels as Polydor and Columbia (Highly recommended are the Polydor recordings of Beethoven’s 7th, Brahms 1st, Dvorak’s New World and the Tchaikovsky Pathetique Symphonies, each of which Karajan left at least five different recordings. The Polydors were released in a CD set by Deutsche Grammophon a few years ago and are frequently available via the internet sources or accessible on youtube. ).

Until 1955, Karajan recorded a pile of distinguished recordings with the Philharmonia Orchestra and was Music Director during most of the 50s of the La Scala Opera House in Milan, Italy.

Karajan unfortunately aroused the enmity of Germany’s then more powerful conductor Wilhelm Furtwangler (1886-1954) who was also an interpretive genius on a different, possibly more sublime level. And Furtwangler reigned supreme as the music director of the Berlin Philharmonic. The older conductor did everything he could to make Karajan’s life difficult in blocking the younger man’s ability to work. The two had one huge personality conflict.

However, after Furtwangler’s death in 1954, the story is related that that orchestra was feeling demoralized, its management appointed Karajan, he came to the first rehearsal and he stated to the players that, “We will play great music as we always did in the past.”

Karajan also made millions of dollars for the orchestra and himself over the next 30 years through the recordings and videos, few of which have gone out of print.

Out of the many Karajan recordings on my shelves, I recommend the 1982 live Mahler 9th Symphony, the 1961 Puccini Tosca with Leontyne Price, the mid ‘60s Mascagni Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncovallo Pagliacci, any one of his Beethoven Symphony cycles and his gripping performance of the Sibelius 4th Symphony.

Herbert von Karajan died in 1989 at the age of 81.

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Wars – Part 14

The battleship USS Maine.

by Mary Grow

Mexican & Spanish-American

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.

Ongoing were a third category, wars the United States’ founders fought to establish and expand its land area. From their first arrival in the 1600s, Europeans pushed aside the Native Americans, from the eastern seaboard first and the rest of the continent later.

(Consequences of those years persist as Natives reclaim parts of their historic home. See, for example, here in Maine the restoration to the Passamaquoddy tribe of 140 acres of the 150-acre Kuwesuwi Monihq, Pine Island [or White’s Island], in Big Lake.)

Starting with 13 states facing the Atlantic Ocean, the country reached to the Pacific with the 1850 admission of California. Adding Utah in 1896 brought the number of states in the continental United States to 45 by the end of the 19th century. Oklahoma was added in 1907, Arizona and New Mexico in 1912.

Alaska went from a territory to state in January 1959. Hawaii became the 50th state in August of the same year.

Two formally declared wars were part of 19th century growth, one with Mexico (April 25, 1846 – February 2, 1848) that added land in the southwest and one with Spain (April 21 – December 10, 1898) that gave the United States its first overseas territories.

(Liberia, in west Africa, was settled beginning in 1820 by former slaves from the United States, under the auspices of the American Colonization Society [ACS]. The historical consensus is that it was never a United States colony or possession; in fact, Wikipedia says, “The United States government declined to act upon requests from the ACS to make Liberia an American colony or to establish a formal protectorate over Liberia, but it did exercise a ‘moral protectorate’ over Liberia, intervening when threats manifested towards Liberian territorial expansion or sovereignty.” Liberia became an independent country on July 26, 1847.)

* * * * * *

Wikipedia explains that the prelude to the war between the United States and Mexico was the declaration of independence by residents of part of northern Mexico in 1836. The Battle of the Alamo in late February and early March 1836 was part of that struggle.

Mexico did not recognize Texas as an independent republic. The United States (and Britain and France) did. Most Texans, Wikipedia says, were willing to join the United States, and after political maneuvering, Texas became a state on Dec. 29, 1845.

In the spring of 1846, President James Polk sent United States military forces into the new state. Mexican forces resisted, leading to battles in April and May followed by a May 13 United States declaration of war.

A series of battles stretching as far west as present-day California led to United States occupation of major Mexican cities, including in September 1847 Mexico City. The war was officially ended by the Feb. 2, 1848, Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Mexico gave up the area that, Wikipedia says, became “the present-day states of California, Nevada, and Utah, most of New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado, and parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming.”

* * * * * *

The proximate case of the Spanish-American War was the sinking of the battleship Maine in Havana Harbor on Feb. 15, 1898. Built at the navy yard in Brooklyn, at a cost of almost $4.7 million, and commissioned Sept. 17, 1895, she was the first ship named in honor of the State of Maine.

Wikipedia says the Maine had been sent to protect United States interests as Cubans fought for independence from Spain. Later in 1898, a naval inquiry concluded a bomb had been the cause; but, Wikipedia says, some naval officers suggested instead an internal explosion in a coal bunker. A 1974 re-investigation supported their theory. Wikipedia says the cause of the sinking “remains a subject of debate.”

Meanwhile, however, United States opinion had settled immediately on Spain as the villain. With “Remember the Maine!” as its battle cry, Congress approved a declaration of war on April 21, 1898. Fighting in Cuba and in the Spanish possessions of Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines was over by August. On Dec. 10, 1898, the Treaty of Paris ended the war and gave the United States the former Spanish territories.

* * * * * *

The effects of the Mexican War and the Spanish-American War in Maine were slight. Exceptions would be the few families with members who served, who had connections with the affected areas or were otherwise involved on a personal level.

In his history of the State of Maine, Louis Hatch didn’t mention the Mexican War. About the Spanish-American War, he wrote that in response to President William McKinley’s call for volunteers, Maine sent “one regiment of infantry, four batteries of heavy artillery and a signal corps, amounting in all to 1,717 non-commissioned officers and men.”

Other Maine men volunteered, and Portland’s and Bath’s “volunteer naval reserve associations” were “mustered into United States service,” Hatch wrote. The troops assembled in Augusta. He said nothing about casualties.

The 1898 Maine Adjutant General’s report, found on line, has long lists of Kennebec Valley volunteers.

Most local historians omit any mention of either war. Two exceptions are Alma Pierce Robbins, in her Vassalboro history, and General Isaac Bangs, in the military history chapter of Edwin Whittemore’s Waterville history.

Robbins wrote that when the “off and on” Mexican border dispute led to the United States declaration of war in 1846, not many people in Vassalboro cared. “Those who had gone west and those who were ‘tired of farming’ did go,” she wrote.

In the 1890s, as tension with Spain mounted preceding the Spanish-American War, Vassalboro was involved in national military exercises.

“Encampments and ‘war games’ were encouraged everywhere,” Robbins wrote. Massachusetts troops came “to compete with Maine men to demonstrate proficiencies in military techniques, with official sanction.”

Some of the encampments were on Horace Sturgis’ River Road farm. Robbins’ history includes a photograph of then-Colonel Theodore Roosevelt’s mounted Rough Riders in front of Sam Mitchell’s house on the River Road at Riverside in 1897, as they recruited area volunteers.

About the actual war Robbins was silent. But, she said, names of Vassal­boro residents who died in the Spanish-American War and World War I share a bronze plaque on the bridge at North Vassalboro.

The plaque has been moved since Robbins’ history was published in 1971 and is now on the larger of the two stones in the memorial on Main Street, in North Vassalboro. The memorial sits in front of the large building that used to be the North Vassalboro schoolhouse, then the town office and later a health clinic.

The names from 1898 are Prince Bessey, John O. Brown, Alton M. Lord, Andrew Peterson, Agra Pooler (state military re­cords list his name as Ogra), Fred Pooler, Bert J. Priest, Charles H. Priest, Charles H. Simpson, David Simpson and William J. Surman.

Prince Manter Bessey

Robbins erred when she wrote that all these men died in the Spanish-American war; your writer has found post-war information about several of them.

On-line sources say Prince M. Bessey was born Sept. 14, 1879, in China, Maine. On May 17, 1898, he enlisted from Augusta as a private in Battery A, Maine Volunteer Artillery Battalion; he was discharged May 31, 1899, in Savannah, Georgia.

After the war Bessey lived in North Vassalboro from 1907 to 1911. He worked as a salesman in several places, including Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he met and married Nora Smith in 1920. After he retired from Gimbel’s Depart­ment Store in 1948, the couple moved to Nora’s home town, Ceredo, West Virginia, where he died.

Charles Henry Priest was born July 12, 1881, in East Vassalboro, and died June 27, 1960. He is buried in Priest Hill Cemetery.

Peterson and Fred Pooler were privates in Battery A; each was 19 when he enlisted. Both Poolers were reportedly born in Waterville. Ogra or Agra Pooler, who enlisted at 21, was a North Vassalboro resident.

David Simpson, a Waterville native, was 24 when he enlisted. Surman was 27; his birthplace is listed as Dover, England.

Most Battery A men were from Lewiston or Auburn. In addition to those from Vassalboro, an on-line list includes First Lieutenant and Assistant Surgeon Robert J. Martin and Privates Harvey J. Libby, Nathan T. Shaw, of Augusta. Bangs’ chapter in Whittemore’s history gives names of a dozen privates from Waterville in Battery A, including Joseph Butler, who enlisted May 17, 1898, and deserted at Fort Popham July 16, and another deserter named Edward Lessor.

Battery C included 21 more Waterville men and smaller numbers from Augusta and Fairfield.

Bangs added a list of a dozen Waterville men who served in the First Maine Infantry in the Spanish-American War. William J. Surman is one of them. In the Maine Adjutant-General’s Report for the year 1901, Ogra Pooler, Charles H. Priest and William J. Surman are listed among Company D men who received $22 each in “Extra Pay of Maine Volunteers.”

The war with Spain continued until 1902 in what some historians call the Philippine-American War, as the United States consolidated its power over those islands. It was an appropriate introduction to the 20th – and 21st – centuries, as one country or ideology after another used – and uses – force against others.

Update from Brown Memorial Library in Clinton

The Dec. 2, 2021, article in this series talked about the Brown Memorial Library in Clinton, named in honor of William Wentworth Brown (April 19, 1821 – Oct. 22, 1911). The article said that Brown gave the library a portrait of himself by Frederic (or Frederick) Porter Vinton (Jan. 29, 1846 – May 19, 1911); in November 2021, the portrait had been sent away for cleaning.

William Wentworth Brown

It is now back on the wall, and assistant library director Cindy Lowell says she and Director Cheryl Dickey-Whitish are very pleased. Mr. Brown is “holding a pair of red gloves you couldn’t even see before,” she said. The head of his cane is visible and his hair and beard have turned from salt-and-pepper to almost pure white.

The following information is copied from the March-April 2022 issue of the Clinton Community Newsletter.

“The Trustees of the Brown Memorial Library recently had Mr. Brown’s very large 100-year-old portrait sent to a professional art restoration company for cleaning. Last week the portrait was returned to its place of honor displaying new details that were previously hidden by layers of coal dust!”

The newsletter has a color picture of the portrait and invites area residents to stop in to see it, an invitation Lowell seconds.

Brown Memorial Library is at 53 Railroad Street, in Clinton, on the east side of the street a block north of Main Street (Route 100).

Main sources

Hatch, Louis Clinton, ed., Maine: A History 1919 ((facsimile, 1974)
Robbins, Alma Pierce, History of Vassalborough Maine 1771 1971 n.d. (1971)
Whittemore, Rev. Edwin Carey, Centennial History of Waterville 1802-1902 (1902)

Websites, miscellaneous

Roderick receives MPA award

Mackenzie Roderick

CHINA, ME — Mackenzie Roderick, of China, a senior at Erskine Academy, has been selected to receive the 2022 Principal’s Award, Headmaster Michael McQuarrie announced. The award, sponsored by the Maine Principal’s Association, is given to recognize a high school senior’s academic excellence, outstanding school citizenship, and leadership.

Roderick is a consistent high-honors student in a highly competitive academic program that includes all classes taken at the honors or accelerated level and numerous Advanced Placement and Concurrent Enrollment courses with nearby colleges. She has received recognition and accolades from within and outside of the school for her standout accomplishments in the classroom, athletics, and voluntary community service. Roderick has been awarded for outstanding achievement in calculus and statistics, excellence in Spanish, top performance in student council, and she is the Valedictorian for Erskine Academy’s class of 2022.

“Mackenzie is universally respected and esteemed by the school community. She is an exemplary student, school and community citizen, and a fine representative of Erskine Academy and young people. Mackenzie personifies the school’s core values of scholarship, leadership, stewardship, and relationships,” noted Headmaster McQuarrie when making the award.

Northern Light Sebasticook Valley Hospital partners with Healthy Living for ME

Healthy Living for ME welcomes Northern Light Sebasticook Valley Hospital as a community provider in the statewide network.

As a community healthcare provider, Sebasticook Valley Hospital, in Pittsfield, will be offering workshops in the area of chronic disease self-management education and caregiver support. These evidence-based workshops are free to participants and designed to help them learn and build the skills they need to manage a number of chronic/ongoing health conditions and/or their unique caregiver situation. The workshops may be offered in-person, virtually, or by telephone.

In advance of the workshops’ launch through Sebasticook Valley Hospital, staff from the hospital are participating in leader trainings through Healthy Living for ME this spring.

“Joining the Healthy Living for ME network will help us bring more resources to our community that support Maine caregivers and help Mainers manage chronic conditions and improve their overall health and wellness. As a healthcare provider in the community, we are committed to helping build a healthier future for Maine,” said Sherry Tardy, Director of Community Health for the Pittsfield hospital. “We look forward to launching these workshops soon!”

“We’re glad to have Sebasticook Valley Hospital join us as a partner. This partnership will help to expand access to our workshops in the Sebasticook Valley region of central Maine, giving more Mainers the tools they need to manage their own ongoing health issues or to get the support and skills to help them as caregivers,” said Jen Paquet, Training Manager of Healthy Living for ME.

Healthy Living for ME supports Sebasticook Valley Hospital and other community providers through shared funding streams, including grants through the Administration for Community Living. The funding supports leader trainings, materials for programs, and overall coordination for the effective delivery of workshops in the community.

To learn more about Healthy Living for ME and our resources and programs, visit www.healthylivingforme.org, call 1-800-620-6036, or email info@healthylivingforme.org.

If your organization is interested in collaborating with Healthy Living for ME, or if you are an individual interested in volunteering with Healthy Living for ME, we invite you to contact info@healthylivingforme.org.

Swift announces candidacy for House District #62

Pam Swift

PALERMO, ME – Pam Swift, MD, a Democrat from Palermo, has announced her candidacy for Maine’s House of Representatives in District #62, which includes the communities of Palermo, China, Somerville, Windsor, and Hib­berts Gore.

“With decades of work experience in both healthcare and agriculture, I understand that the well-being of our families is fundamentally tied to affordable healthcare, access to nutritious food, and the health of our soil, air, and water,” Swift said. “My education and lived experience will make mine a valuable voice in the Maine Legislature.”

Swift earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science with the intention of becoming a veterinarian, but later decided to pursue a medical degree. After graduating from medical school and completing her residency in obstetrics and gynecology, Swift joined a large practice that specialized in high-risk obstetrical cases, where she worked her way up to full business partner. After 23 years practicing medicine, Swift returned to her animal science roots and purchased a farm in Palermo with her husband, Don, where they raise grass-fed sheep, free-range organic laying hens, and acorn-fattened pigs.

Swift is serving her second term on the select board, in Palermo. Although the board’s three members span the political spectrum, they work together with the common goal of doing what’s best for the community as a whole. Most recently, the select board worked cooperatively with the Palermo Volunteer Fire Department and Liberty Ambulance to create a new service for Palermo residents that will provide a more rapid response as well as a higher level of emergency medical care.

As a representative, Swift would focus on ensuring her neighbors have access to affordable healthcare, reducing the cost of prescription medications, and preventing and treating opioid addiction. She is also interested in issues related to food sovereignty, supporting Maine’s small family farms, and dealing with the threat imposed by PFAS (or forever chemicals). Regarding the environment, Swift notes observable changes that concern her. Due to drought, there have been years where she’s had to start feeding her sheep hay in August instead of December because the grass didn’t grow back after the first round of grazing. This dramatically increases the cost of production. Also, milder winters mean more ticks in the spring and fall resulting in a higher risk of contracting tick-borne diseases, not just for people, but for horses, cattle, and dogs as well. And Brown-tailed moths, the new scourge, are negatively impacting both quality of life and businesses—especially those involving tourism.

“In my previous work as a physician, and now as a member of the select board, I have a proven record of working effectively with people from all walks of life,” Swift said. “As a candidate, my goal is to help create and pass legislation that will lead to healthy, fulfilling lives for my fellow Mainers.”

Swift, who has qualified for the ballot, is running as a Clean Elections candidate.

VETERANS CORNER: Grants available to retro fit homes for veterans wheelchair bound

by Gary Kennedy

I met a veteran the other day in a wheelchair and just began a conversation with him. It seems he and his wife are both veterans. I being in a chair myself began talking about some of the difficulties involved. He concurred and explained he had an old house and it was difficult to get around and do things. I told him I have the same problems but applied for V.A. grants which are supposed to help with those problems. To my surprise and amazement he wasn’t aware of these programs.

I was thrilled to be able to help him and his significant other with just some information and advice. There are several grants out there to help make improvements such as bathroom renovation and accessibility for the wheelchairs etc. also there are grants for remodeling your home if it’s not safe or navigable. There are also grants which could build you a small home. (S.A.H Grant) Specially Adapted Home can mean remodel an existing home or even build a home on land you already own. Currently the S.A.H Grant is $101,754. A local agent is Kevin Nash. He can be reached at KEVIN.NASH@VA.GOV. However, he lives in Vermont and does it all by phone.

Although this sounds like a wonderful thing that is being given to the veterans it doesn’t come without its problems. Two by fours are closing in at $9 per 8 per foot and two by six are nearing $19. In any case most well known contractors won’t work with less than one-third down, which is only fair in my opinion. You can’t honestly expect professionals to supply materials and labor without some help from the customer. That is a normal amount required if you are having a home built without V.A. assistance. The VA Grant doesn’t give that. This grant is only given once, so its use must be monitored and protected.

One other grant should be mentioned is the “CAREGIVER GRANT” which is available in levels. The first level is loss of use of legs or an arm and a leg, or just not being able to do certain things on your own. An example would be you need help washing, bathing, dressing, tying your shoes, cooking, feeding, medication delivery and safety. I believe the current stipend that is given is approximately $1,681. This can be paid to your wife or significant other. It is a tax free amount for delivering care.

The second level is for one who is wheelchair bound and unable to do other necessary functions of everyday living. I believe the stipend for this level is around $2,600. There are more situations which you should or could apply for. Contact Ms.Tammy Holman at tammy.holman@va.gov at the Veterans Administration at Togus. Her telephone number is 207-623-8411 extn. 5906 or 7987. She can send you a flyer with all the qualifications.

All except the (S.A.H. Grant) are easy to apply for and obtain. If you qualify for the S.A.H. Grant you should have no problem with the remodel or constructions if you are prepared to contribute one third of the needed money. The way I understand it is this upfront money will be refunded to you along the way. If you don’t have it, I haven’t been able to find an option. However, I will check with the Secretary of V.A. for an answer for you. Also if you do receive a loan at the bank, how and when do you get your money back. Make sure you receive an answer. These people are still working at home and refuse to come to you. I have tried. Perhaps with help from my group we can get answers or possible changes.

I probably should mention the Adaptive Equipment Grant which allows the veteran to apply for addendums to his/her vehicle to aid in his being able to transfer into his vehicle which may have been given by the VA. I was given a vehicle and told I could receive a wheelchair lift and other accessories. I called the administrator of the adaption equipment, Evangeline Boyle, who is located at Boston VA Healthcare system, 940 Belmont Street Brockton, MA 02301, telephone number, 508-583-4500. And she told me I would have to drive to Boston for a driving test. I had to forgo this free needed equipment as I don’t drive to Boston because of the distance and the other problems with that long a drive, in that congested area.

The VA gave me a grant for a remodel or new house as well as money for a new vehicle yet they wouldn’t send someone to our VA facility to do what is needed in my case and the case of others. Also, why would I have to take a driver test for a wheelchair lift? I will not allow veterans to be abused not even myself. This process/procedure is not acceptable. I will address this when I contact the National Director. Military abuse has become Elder Abuse.

So all this information being given should lead you to placing the appropriate phone call or email. I know for many of you the initial down payment can be a very big problem. I have been waiting for two years to receive what they say I qualify for. If you qualify, why is it so difficult to receive? That would be a good question unless the government really doesn’t want you to seek this sort of relief. Frank Siller who leads the Tunnel to Towers Foundation in honor of his brother’s death, Stephen, during 9-11, gives his money from the heart. You don’t need to contribute if you’re the recipient. The vets he serves don’t have to pay upfront money also. The difference is there is no politics involved.

I hope I have been of some help. God bless America and also to those in the Ukraine that are having a taste of hell. Some of our great veterans are on their way there now to help. I wish I were one. May God bless and keep them safe. My email is garyek55@gmail.com.

PHOTOS: Battle of Maine winners 2022

Grand champion

Club NAHA Karate-Do Team Member Matthew Christen Captured 1st place in forms and 2nd place in weapons at the Battle of Maine Martial Arts Championships. He also won the Grand Championship Title for forms. (photo by Mark Huard)

Double winner

Huard’s Martial Arts Student Madalyn Taylor 7 of Fairfield captured 1st place in forms and 3rd place in fighting at the Battle of Maine Martial Arts Championships on March 26. (photo by Mark Huard)

SCORES & OUTDOORS: Flying squirrels do exist in Maine

Photo courtesy of timbergrove.org

Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

Did you know flying squirrels exist in Maine? Well, be it known that Maine is home to the northern flying squirrel.

The northern flying squirrel, Glaucomys sabrinus, is one of two species of the animal, the only flying squirrels found in North America. The northern flying squirrel is found in coniferous and mixed forests across the top of North America, from Alaska to Nova Scotia, south to North Carolina and west to California. The flying squirrel was placed on the protection list on June 6, 2011, by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

If you want to see a flying squirrel you will have to be an early riser, because the flying squirrel, unlike its cousins, is nocturnal. All other North American squirrels are active during the day.

Arboreal rodents, they have thick light brown or cinnamon fur on their upper body. A furry membrane extends between the front and rear legs, and allows the animal to glide through the air. It’s grayish on the flanks and whitish underneath. They have large eyes and a flat tail. They can also be identified by their long whiskers, which are common to nocturnal mammals.

A flying squirrel doesn’t actually fly, but glides downward, using the wide flaps of skin along its sides to help slow its descent. To become airborne, this mammal leaps and spreads its legs, uses its tail as a rudder and moves its legs. Immediately after it lands, it will scurry to the far side of the tree just in case an owl is in pursuit. They can glide distances of 20 to 30 feet.

Northern flying squirrels are an important prey species for the Spotted Owl. Other predators include large birds, especially the Great Horned Owl, hawks, the American Marten, the Canadian Lynx and Red Fox.

The major food sources for the squirrels are mushrooms of various species, although they also eat lichens, nuts, tree sap, insects, carrion, bird eggs and nestlings, and buds and flowers. The squirrels are able to locate truffles. (If you follow the Peanuts comic strips, presently Linus has Snoopy sniffing for truffles – he needs a flying squirrel.) Although they also seem to use cues such as the presence of coarse woody debris, indicating a decaying log, and spatial memory of locations where truffles were found in the past.

They are also known to cache food for when food supplies are lower. These caches can be in cavities of trees, as well as in the squirrels’ nest. Lichens and seeds are commonly cached.

The northern flying squirrel nests in holes in trees, and will also build outside nests called dreys. They sometimes use cavities created by woodpeckers.

Except when rearing young, the squirrels shift from nest to nest frequently. They often share nests. Although there usually are 2-5 individuals in a nest, it was once observed that over 50 individuals were occupying one nest.

The sharing of nests is important in maintaining body temperature in the winter, as flying squirrels do not hibernate. In the winter, they tend to live in conifer areas of mixed woods, while in summer they are found in conifers and deciduous areas. This behavior is associated with the belief that the canopy cover is important in protecting the squirrels from predation and colder temperatures. In all but the worst severe weather conditions, the squirrels are active year round.

Squirrels, in general, get no respect. They are a nuisance around bird feeders and can raise havoc in a garden, not to mention them digging through your pumpkins in search of the seeds. But, did you know that January 21 is Squirrel Appreciation Day? Founded by Christy Hargrove, a wildlife rehabilitator, from Asheville, North Carolina, in 2001, that day is set aside annually to give us all the opportunity to enjoy and appreciate the tree-climbing, nut-gathering neighborhood squirrels. That includes flying squirrels, too. I guess it’s too bad we missed that celebration this year.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

With the Boston Marathon approaching in a couple of weeks, what is the distance of a marathon race?

Answer can be found here.

Roland’s Trivia Question for Thursday, April 7, 2022

Trivia QuestionsWith the Boston Marathon approaching in a couple of weeks, what is the distance of a marathon race?

Answer:

26.2 miles.