THE BEST VIEW: Confessions of a Hockey Mom

/0 Comments/in /by
by Norma Best Boucher

I remember the day; I remember the hour; I even remember the skipped heartbeat when I first heard my six-year-old son Alan’s words: “I want to be a hockey player.”

Translation – You can be my hockey mom.

* * * * * *

“I have to teach him to skate?” I asked my husband. “You’re the athlete in the family—you teach him to skate.”

“You teach him to skate,” he said, “and I’ll teach him to play hockey.”

“Why me? Remember, I’m the one who took dancing lessons because I was so clumsy and at age five sat on my thumb and broke it and couldn’t be in the recital.”

“So?” he answered. “You were a cheerleader.”

“But I only did that to get into the games for free.”

“Skating is great exercise,” he added.

“This was my last rational plea. “But I’m Mrs. Couch Potato!”

Smiling, he answered, “I rest my case.”

* * * * * *

“My, God, he skates just like you.”

I had warned him, right? Hadn’t I warned him?

One year of intensive training, a frostbitten nose, frostbitten toes, a thousand miles on the car and another five thousand miles on my ice skates, not to mention the wear and tear on my body and all he could say was, “My, God, he skates just like you.”

What did I learn from this experience? I learned two things: one, once a couch potato always a couch potato and two, when you sit on your thumb at age five, it takes only six weeks to heal, but when you sit on our thumb at age 30, it takes six months to heal.

* * * * * *

“Hey, Mom, I’m on a hockey team. I’m number 6.”

Translation – He can now skate up and down the ice using a cutoff $20 hockey stick as a lethal weapon, and he can now legally crush against the boards any player who dares to touch that puck.

As the weeks went by, I learned hockey lingo.

Faceoff – This is when ten players line up with sticks to kill the puck to win or to kill each other – if they lose.

Off-sides – Technically this means a player went over his own blue line before the puck. The result is a face-off in front of his team’s goalie. Realistically this means if your son does this more than once or if a goal is scored, the mother of your team’s goalie will attack you because you are sitting closer to her than your son.

Checking – This is the legal crushing of bodies against the boards.

Charging – This is checking with the intent to kill but failing.

Major Penalty—This is checking with the intent to kill and succeeding.

“Get His Number!” – This is yelled by the mother of the player who was charged and still lives for revenge.

Burn – This is when a forward from one team skates past the defensemen of the other team and scores a goal. All the mothers then yell, “Get his number!” and the entire opposing team charges after the scorer.

(Note: If this player is your son, this is not a pretty picture.)

* * * * * *

“Hey, Mom, we’re going to play in a Squirt Tournament.”

Translation – I can now watch my seven-year-old kill or be killed in an arena with hundreds of frenzied mothers screaming, “Get his number!”

* * * * * *

Our team skated out. The nine-year-olds who could skate forward, backward and stop were line one, the Midgets. The eight-year-olds who could only skate forward and stop were line two, the Pipsqueaks. The seven-year-olds who could neither skate backward nor stop were line three, the Smurfs.

Not being able to skate backward was only a minor problem. The Smurfs just skated forward all the time. Not being able to stop was another story. Most hockey players do the snowplow where they stop sharply, turning their skates to the left or right and spraying a little loose, scraped ice to the side. Unable to do the snowplow, the Smurfs had developed a variety of methods for stopping. Some players dragged the toe of one skate; some skated into the boards; some skated into other players; and others did a pirouette-like whirl where they turned around on their toes in one spot.

The warmup started. Everyone was excited. Even I, who’d had nightmares about sending my lamb to the slaughter, was excited.

That was before I saw the opposing team’s players.

That’s our Rambo line,” volunteered the woman next to me. They’re our seven-year-olds.”

Just then five Rambo line players raced across the arena and snowplowed ice up onto the Plexiglas in front of us. At that precise moment I knew we were in trouble.

“Here comes our Commando line. They’re our eight-year-olds.”

Each of the Commando line players lined up on their blue line and took slap shots, one after another. Each puck sped past their goalie and into the net.

I wanted to stand up and yell “Help!” but all I could do was stare.

“And here are our nine-year-olds. We call them the Terminators.”

Dare I look?

In a gust of wind five giants skated past us. The top of my son’s helmet reached only to their shoulders.

Our goalie’s mother jumped up and screamed hysterically, “My, God, he shaves,” but all I could do was slouch in my seat, mumble incoherently, and pray, “Let Alan live, God, just let him live.”

“Which kid is yours?” the woman asked.

Alan’s over there, number 6. He plays center.”

“The one with the toothy grin and dimples?”

“Yes.”

“A shrimp, huh?”

“No, Smurf.”

“That’s my kid over there. Hey, Butch!” she yelled. “He’s the number one Terminator, the captain.”

As she said this, Attila the Hun with five o’clock shadow skated by and smiled.

“What happened to his front teeth?” I asked.

“Lost them in the last game.”

I stared in horror.

“You should have seen the other guy,” she boasted.

“Not my son, God, please, not mine.”

Throughout the game our coach played the Midget and Pipsqueak lines as much as possible. Everyone said he played them to keep the score at a respectable 15-0. Personally, I think he played them to keep the Smurfs alive, and I was grateful.

During the game Mrs. Terminator, as I had begun to call her, gave me a synopsis of her team’s successes.

“We’re undefeated, you know.”

Somehow that didn’t surprise me.

“In fact, no team has ever scored one goal against us.”

Somehow that fact didn’t surprise me either.

“Butch is the top scorer. If he scores one more goal in this game, he’ll have a triple hat trick, nine goals in the same game, and that will be a team record.”

She was praying for records, and I was praying for lives.

“You know, you get what you pay for,” she offered.

“I beg your pardon?”

“I mean, I paid $250 for my kid to play on this team. They practice Monday through Friday and play games on Saturday and Sunday.

“I only paid $75 for Alan to play.”

“Ha!” she laughed. You wasted your money. Looks as if you paid $75 for a seat on the bench.”

She was definitely beginning to annoy me.

Just then one of the Pipsqueaks changed up lines, but the door was closed. In an attempt to get off the ice, he tried to put his leg over the boards. Unsuccessfully, I might add. Butch skated by, and with a motion of his hand he flipped the Pipsqueak over the boards and onto his head.

The rest, as they say, is history. That Pipsqueak was followed by other Pipsqueaks, and they were followed by Midgets. Relentlessly, Butch skated our players into exhaustion, into fear, and just plain into the boards.

“I told you,” Mrs. Terminator repeated. “Two hundred fifty dollars makes a winner.”

Suddenly, my heart was in my throat. The Smurfs were going out. There were five little cherub-faced seven-year-olds carrying $20 hockey sticks cut in half to reach their chins. Some skated into the boards; some skated into each other, one dragged a toe; and all pirouetted from blue line to blue line.

“This is a three-ring circus,” Mrs. Terminator laughed. “It’s worth my $250 just to see this.”

Right then I was beginning to imagine what she’d look like without her front teeth.

Butch had two minutes left to score his triple hat trick goal, and he was determined to succeed. The Smurfs gave up chasing and lined up for the attack. The next 30 seconds, a scene from a Marx Brothers movie, were the longest 30 seconds of my life.

Butch skated around his cage with the puck and headed straight for our zone. The only obstacle blocking his way was Alan. I covered my face, and that’s when I heard the hit.

I peered through my fingers, and there was my Smurf literally plastered chest-to-chest with Butch. Alan lost his grip and slid to grab Butch’s waist – and Butch skated on. Holding on for dear life, Alan then slipped down to Butch’s legs – and Butch skated on. Suddenly, Alan lost his grip and with stick and body flat on the ice he hooked butch’s skate with the curve of his cutoff $20 hockey stick – and Butch still skated on, dragging Alan and his stick behind him.

Everyone just watched. This was going to be the record-breaking hat trick goal and another shut out for the Terminators.

Butch wound up, and the shot echoed in the silence. The puck headed straight for the left-hand bottom corner of the cage. But wait! The puck hit the pipe, and the ringing shook the crowd.

The puck then deflected off Alan’s stick and shot into open ice. Smurf defenseman number 14 was doing a pirouette on the blue line, and with pinball precision he accidently slapped the puck into the opposing team’s zone and toward their net. The goalie dropped to his knees – going, going and through his legs – Score!

No triple hat trick goal and a score against the shutout champs.

Our entire bench jumped on Smurf number 14 in ecstasy. Butch jumped on Alan in rage.

At that point everything went black for me. The next thing I remember was Butch in the home penalty box, a two-minute penalty for roughing. Through his face mask I saw his glaring eyes and clenched toothless jaw.

Alan was in the guest penalty box, a two-minute penalty for holding. Through his face mask I saw his dimples and toothy grin.

My Smurf was now a full-fledged hockey player. He had scored his first assist, gotten his first penalty, and was still alive to brag about it.

Mrs. Terminator was on her feet shaking a clenched fist, “Hey, Ref,” she screamed. “I didn’t pay $250 for my kid to sit the bench.”

I just smiled.

At this point, Mrs. Terminator saw me and yelled, “What are you grinning about, Lady? Your kid’s on the bench, too.”

I turned to face her, eye to eye, hockey mom to hockey mom.

“I know,” I quipped smartly, “but I only had to pay 75 bucks for my kid’s seat.”

(I had the privilege of watching these seven-year-old Smurf hockey players grow up and win the Maine 1991 Class A State Hockey Championship. Also, the editor of The Town Line, Roland Hallee, was the assistant coach of that team.)

AARP NEWS YOU CAN USE: AARP offers free tax assistance for seniors

/0 Comments/in /by
by Joyce Bucciantini

February is one of the most beautiful times in Maine. Gone are the super short days of early winter, leaving us with more daylight to enjoy the great outdoors in Maine. Many cities and towns have winter-themed celebrations which might include snow sports, ice fishing, or maybe an opportunity for hot cocoa. These are great ways to fight off cabin fever and reconnect with our neighbors and friends. For those who enjoy warmer activities, there is always excitement to be found at the state high school basketball tournaments during the February school vacation week.

In between enjoying the bright winter weather and fresh air, we must also keep in mind a yearly task that we all must do, but few enjoy: get our taxes done! Yes, as surely as the new year moves forward, it is important to start making a plan for gathering our financial information and completing our tax forms. However, there is good news! The AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program offers free tax preparation services in 47 locations in Maine. Last year, 240 Tax-Aide volunteers filed 13,671 Federal returns helping Maine taxpayers receive $10.4 million in Federal refunds. They also filed thousands of state tax returns, all at no cost!

This remarkable program offers free tax preparation services, focusing on taxpayers who are over 50 years old and have low to moderate incomes. AARP Foundation Tax-Aide is offered by AARP Foundation in partnership with the Internal Revenue Service. All Tax-Aide volunteer counselors are IRS-trained and certified to prepare and file most types of federal and state tax returns for Maine taxpayers.

The online Tax-Aide Site Locator tool will help you find the Tax-Aide location nearest to you. This website provides the locations, the operating schedules and who to contact for making tax preparation appointments. Visit https://www.aarp.org/money/taxes/aarp_taxaide/locations/ or call 1-888-227-7669 for more information.

AARP Foundation Tax-Aide appointments fill up fast. It is a good idea to make your appointment early in the tax season. Then you can rest easy and enjoy all that the great Maine outdoors has to offer, or for indoors fun, check out an AARP Maine coffee social near you. Perhaps I’ll see you there!

Joyce Bucciantini is a retired middle school educator. She currently coordinates Delta Kappa Gamma’s Read to Me program, is a tutor with Literacy Volunteers-Androscoggin, and is an active AARP Maine volunteer. In her spare time, she enjoys her gardens, being outdoors and traveling.

Up and Down the Kennebec Valley: China high schools – part 2

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

Erskine Academy

by Mary Grow

Note: part of this article, like part of last week’s, was first written in September 2021.

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

As the history tells the story, Mary Erskine inherited her husband Sullivan’s considerable wealth when he died in 1880. She consulted John K. Erskine, Sullivan’s nephew and executor, about ways to use the money. (The history says she had no children; on-line sources say Mary and Sullivan had a son, born in 1832 – perhaps died or estranged by 1880? – and a daughter, by 1880 married with three children.)

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

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

A month later, a group of supporters asked the Erskines to let them establish a private high school. Mary Erskine approved and helped organize a board of trustees headed by renowned Quaker, Eli Jones.

John K. Erskine was the trustees’ vice-president, Dana C. Hanson secretary and Samuel C. Starrett treasurer. Hanson and Starrett were China selectmen in 1876 and 1877 and again, significantly, in 1881 and 1882.

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

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

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

The trustees organized a “tree-planting picnic:” area residents were invited to bring a picnic dinner and a tree. The China history says the grounds gained about 250 trees. A “very happy” Mary Erskine attended Erskine High School’s opening day in September 1883.

Erskine started with two teachers, one also the principal, and “more than 50 students.” The teachers were Colby College graduate, Julia E. Winslow, and Castine Normal School graduate, William J. Thompson.

As Henry Kingsbury finished his Kennebec County history in 1892, he wrote that at “the Erskine School” “under the principalship of William J. Thompson, many young people are receiving a serviceable article of real learning.”

Thompson, Kingsbury said, was born in Knox County and taught in South Thomaston and Searsport before becoming Erskine’s first principal in 1883. The school “has flourished under his management,” Kingsbury wrote.

The China history says in 1885, Carrie E. Hall, from East Madison, succeeded Winslow. In May 1887, Thompson and Hall married; both taught at Erskine until Carrie died “in the spring of 1900.”

Her widower stayed as principal until 1902, and lived until 1949. Find a Grave says both were born in 1860, and both are buried in Chadwick Hill cemetery, near Erskine Academy.

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

By 1887, increased enrollment required a third teacher, not named in the China history. The building “was raised ten feet to make room for more classrooms underneath.”

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

Trustees had a dormitory for girls built in 1900 and “later” (the history gives no date) one for boys. Students who roomed on campus “brought their own food and fuel from home and prepared their own meals,” the history says.

In 1901 the Maine legislature incorporated the school as Erskine Academy and approved an annual $300 appropriation.

The China history says after 1904, Erskine Academy and China Academy, in China Village (see last week’s article), became China’s town-supported high schools. Town Superintendent Gustavus J. Nelson (1896 and 1897, 1899 to 1901 and 1903 through 1907) came to a financial agreement with the Erskine trustees, and “the trustees accepted Dr. Nelson’s ideas about such matters as curriculum and entrance examinations.”

In the fall of 1904, the history says, “three local students passed the superintendent’s entrance examination, and ten more were admitted conditionally.”

China Academy closed in 1909, leaving Erskine China’s only high school. For reasons the bicentennial history does not explore, Erskine’s enrollment went down so dramatically in early 1913 that the State of Maine downgraded it to a Class B school (two instead of four years, a single teacher instead of two or more).

In the fall of 1913 Erskine had 16 students. The history says enrollment doubled to 32 by February 1914, “and the one teacher was overworked.” The state restored a Class A rating in 1915, and enrollment continued to climb: 46 students in the fall of 1916, 50 in 1919, with a record entering class of 26 and three teachers “for the first time in many years.”

More students needed more space; the history credits relatives of the Erskines, Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Ford, from Whitefield, with buying a nearby house and turning it into a boys’ dormitory, named Ford Cottage. Another house became the Erskine Cottage Annex, housing “four girls and a teacher.”

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

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

Erskine Academy’s website says the school has been a nonprofit organization since 1974. It explains that tuition paid by the eight towns from which most of its students come does not cover costs, so tax-deductible donations are welcome.

The eight towns are listed as Chelsea, China, Jefferson, Palermo, Somerville, Vassalboro, Whitefield and Windsor. Erskine also accepts privately-paid students and, the website says, international students.

China school students who became college presidents

Kingsbury named two men who attended China schools (at least elementary schools) and later became college presidents: Stephen A. Jones and George F. Mosher.

Stephen A. Jones was the second president of what Kingsbury called Nevada State College (later University of Nevada at Reno, according to on-line information) from 1889 to 1894.

During his tenure, the “faculty increased to 15 members… and enrollment grew to 179 in his final year as president.” He oversaw the school’s first graduation, in 1891.

The Jones genealogy in the China bicentennial history includes Stephen Alfred Jones, oldest son of Alfred H. Jones and Mary Randall (Jones) Jones (they were second cousins), of China. Alfred Jones taught in freedmen’s schools in Virginia and North Carolina.

Stephen went to the Providence, Rhode Island, Friends School and then to Dartmouth, from which he graduated in 1872, “receiving both MA and PhD from that institution.”

Married to Louise Coffin, he taught Latin and Greek at William Penn College in Iowa, where their older son was born; and then studied in Bonn, Germany, where their younger son was born. After heading the University of Nevada, the genealogy says, he retired to San Jose, California, returning at intervals to visit China relatives.

The genealogy calls Stephen “a good teacher,” with “excellent literary qualifications” who had “excellent results” when he taught in Branch Mills in 1865. It quotes a biographical cyclopedia saying his “large stature and commanding presence, pleasant but firm,…won the respect and confidence of his students and had a strong influence over them.”

 * * * * *

George F. Mosher was the seventh president of Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan, from September 1886 to 1901. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Bowdoin, he was a nurse during the Civil War, and served “in a German consulate” before coming to Hillsdale.

An on-line list of Hillsdale presidents says “Mosher’s years as president were a period of particularly high academic achievement. Hillsdale was widely known as one of the strongest small colleges in the Midwest.”

*****

A digression: Hillsdale’s first president, Daniel McBride Graham (1817-1888), was an Oberlin College graduate who served Hillsdale, then Michigan Central College in Spring Arbor, from its opening in 1844 to 1848. It started with “only five students in a small, deserted, two-room store.”

In 1848, Graham resigned “to become a pastor in Saco, Maine.” In 1855, the school moved about 25 miles to Hillsdale and changed its name.

Graham returned to become the school’s fourth president from 1871–1874. The list of presidents says: “Facing almost total destruction of the campus by fire, Graham led the rebuilding of the campus during the 1873 financial panic.”

Spring Arbor is now home to a private Free Methodist university described on line as “the second-largest evangelical Christian university in Michigan.”

Main sources

Grow, Mary M., China Maine Bicentennial History including 1984 revisions (1984)
Kingsbury, Henry D., ed., Illustrated History of Kennebec County Maine 1625-1892 (1892)

Websites, miscellaneous.

FOR YOUR HEALTH: Understanding Thyroid Health

/0 Comments/in /by

Once properly diagnosed, thyroid disease can be treated in many ways.

(NAPSI)—An estimated 20 million Americans have some form of thyroid disease.1 During January, recognized as Thyroid Awareness Month, YARAL Pharma is raising awareness of thyroid disease, particularly hypothyroidism, a condition in which the thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormone. Despite its prevalence, thyroid disease remains widely misunderstood, with many people unaware of its signs and symptoms.

The Role of the Thyroid

The thyroid, a small butterfly-shaped gland located in the neck, plays a vital role in regulating metabolism, energy levels, and overall hormonal balance. Conditions such as hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, and thyroid nodules can significantly impact health and quality of life. However, up to 60% of individuals with thyroid disease are unaware of their condition, often due to a lack of awareness about the signs and symptoms, leading to delays in diagnosis and treatment.1

Signs and Symptoms

Thyroid disorders can manifest in various ways, including fatigue, weight changes, mood fluctuations, and cognitive difficulties. These symptoms often resemble common day-to-day ailments, making them easy to overlook. As a result, many patients live with thyroid conditions for years before seeking treatment.
What Can Be Done

Treatment for thyroid disease varies depending on the type and severity of the condition, as well as the patient’s age and overall health. Some common treatments include:2

• Antithyroid drugs: These medications stop the thyroid from producing hormones.
• Radioactive iodine therapy: A widely used and effective treatment involving the oral intake of radioactive iodine. Most patients who undergo this therapy eventually develop hypothyroidism.
• Beta-blockers: These medications don’t affect the thyroid but can help manage symptoms such as rapid heart rate, tremors, and nervousness.
• Surgery: In rare cases, a healthcare provider may recommend surgically removing the thyroid. Patients undergoing this procedure will need to take synthetic thyroid replacement hormones for the rest of their life.
• Thyroid hormone replacement: For hypothyroidism, patients typically take a daily dose of synthetic thyroxine (T4), a hormone that replaces what their thyroid can no longer produce.

Take Control of Your Thyroid Health

If you’re experiencing symptoms of thyroid disease or have concerns about your thyroid health, don’t wait—talk to your healthcare provider to learn more about diagnosis and treatment options.

References

1. American Thyroid Association. Press Room. https://www.thyroid.org/media-main/press-room/. Accessed 20 Dec. 2024.
2. Cleveland Clinic. Thyroid Disease. Cleveland Clinic, https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/8541-thyroid-disease. Accessed 20 Dec. 2024.
Sponsored by YARAL Pharma, Inc.

EVENTS: The Waterville Opera House raises the curtain on its 2025 season with “The Cottage”

/0 Comments/in , /by

The Waterville Opera House (WOH) kicks off its 2025 theatrical season January 31 – February 9, with The Cottage, a hilarious new comedy by Sandy Rustin.

This brand-new, side-splitting romp is an outrageous tale of sex, betrayal, and desire. A series of revelations cascades in a domino effect as one woman decides to expose her latest affair to both her husband and her lover’s wife. The true meanings of fate and faith, identity and infidelity, love and marriage are all called into question as a surprising and hilarious web of secrets unravels in this ridiculously funny romantic comedy.

Playwright Sandy Rustin also penned the stage adaptation of Clue, which the Opera House produced in 2021. Fans of that production will find the same rapid-fire comedic timing, clever turns of phrase, and well-placed occasional slapstick in The Cottage. A tight cast of six characters gallivants through an increasingly outrageous situation in a script that seems to set a new world record for twists-per-minute.

The Cottage first premiered on Broadway in summer 2023 with a powerful cast and under the direction of Jason Alexander (of Seinfeld fame). For the Waterville Opera House to have the opportunity to stage such a new work so soon after its Broadway debut is a point of excitement for many working on the production.

“The Cottage feels fresh,” said actress Sarah Harlow, who leads the six-player ensemble in the role of Sylvia. “It’s got a lot of twists and turns, and each character has many dimensions to them, which is not always the case for a farce, and certainly not always the case for female characters in a farce.”

Rustin’s play cleverly spins and subverts several tropes and attributes of the classic farce and comedy-of-manners subgenres to create a work that feels fresh and is undeniably original.

The Cottage opens Friday, January 31, at 7:30pm. Evening performances follow February 1, 7, and 8 at 7:30 p.m., with 2 p.m., matinées on February 2 and 9. The Waterville Opera House is proud to offer an ASL interpreted performance on Sunday, February 2, at 2 p.m.

This production is sponsored by Mid-Maine Restoration and Marie Cormier.

The Cottage is presented by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing, LLC, servicing the Dramatists Play Service collection.

Season Pass

The 2025 theatrical season continues April 25 – May 4, with Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical, followed by mystery/thriller Deathtrap August 29 – September 7, and then concluding with the beloved classic musical, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, November 14 – 30. Season Passes are now on sale at operahouse.org. Theatregoers can enjoy a 20 percent discount off their purchase when they reserve tickets to all four 2025 productions in one transaction.

Tickets are available now. Go to operahouse.org, call 207-873-.7000, or visit the Ed Harris Box Office, in the Paul J. Schupf Art Center, 93 Main Street, Waterville, to make reservations.

EVENTS: KPAC resumes rehearsals

/0 Comments/in , /by

Kennebec Performing Arts Company resumed rehearsals the week of January 26 in preparation for its spring concerts, which are scheduled for May 2 and 3. KPAC welcomes experienced and committed musicians to join the groups, with open enrollment continuing through February. From the rehearsal process through the seasonal performances, the KPAC groups aim for the highest standards in rehearsal etiquette, routine and practice. All vocalists and instrumentalists must be able to read music and be proficient in the technical aspects of performance.

The spring choir repertoire features works by Vivaldi, Gershwin, Tin, and an anticipated collaboration with the KPAC Jazz Band. In addition, the jazz band will feature music of Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, as well as rock and funk tunes. The wind ensemble will perform a range of pieces spanning nearly 150 years, from Strauss and Sousa to more recent movie themes, and a piece composed in 2015, Of Our New Day Begun, honoring those lost in the Charleston, South Carolina, church shooting.

KPAC Choir rehearsals resumed on Monday, January 27, at 6:30 p.m., at Hope Baptist Church, 726 Western Ave, Manchester 04351. The jazz band began rehearsals on Tuesday, January 28, at 5:45 p.m., in the chorus room, at Cony High School, Pierce Drive, Augusta 04330, followed at 7 p.m., by the wind ensemble in the Cony band room. No preregistration is required. For more information, email kpac.maine@gmail.com, or visit https://www.facebook.com/KennebecPerformingArtsCompany.

EVENTS: Erskine Academy to host 8th grade open house

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

Erskine Academy invites all eighth-grade students and their parents from the surrounding communities to attend the 8th Grade Open House, on Wednesday, February 26, at 6:30 p.m., in the gym. All incoming freshmen and their parents are highly encouraged to participate in this event, as registration materials will be available and information about the course selection process will be provided. In the event of inclement weather, a snow date has been scheduled for Thursday, February 27.

Parents who are unable to attend are asked to contact the Guidance Office at 445-2964 to request registration materials.

FARMGIRL AT HEART: Winter sowing in Maine

/0 Comments/in /by
by Virginia Jones

Maine is one of those states that seems to keep winter close at hand. We have a very long cold season with short warmer seasons following. It seems like winter could last forever. Even though we have longer seasons of frigid weather that doesn’t mean that we have to discontinue our gardening until the warmer temperatures come our way.

Last Winter I discovered a type of gardening called Winter Sowing. I happened to be scrolling through some YouTube videos and something came up about this type of gardening. I found it to be an interesting way to jump start my desire to get some seeds into the soil in the middle of the cold and frigid weather. You can do winter sowing from December thru January, and even possibly into February and March.

I have always enjoyed getting out in the garden, although this past year, my garden got away from me. That doesn’t mean that I won’t try again to conquer the weeds and have some healthy and amazing produce throughout the year.
I don’t really have the funds or the space to set up a greenhouse indoors so this was the perfect solution for getting some plants started to germination. It takes items that we all pretty use every day.

To get started, you need to collect a few items: one gallon water jug or clean one gallon milk jug, duct tape, box cutter, oointed tool for poking holes, waterproof magic marker, compost or seed starter, seeds (heirloom, self-sowing, hardy and frost tolerant varieties), spray bottle filled with water.

The first step, after having washed each jug, is to poke several holes in the bottom of each jug in order to have drainage. After having done that, you then need to take your box cutter and cut around the jug leaving a two-inch hinge for opening and closing. Fill each jug with an ample amount of soil mix, bringing it almost to the rim of the bottom of your jug. You then need to plant your seeds; there should be the number of seeds as stated on the package for the alloted space. It is important to choose seeds that need to be stagnated over the winter or ones that require a cooler temperature to bring them to germination. Taking your water bottle, spritz the soil several times until moist but not soaking wet.

You now can close your water jug and tape around the jug sealing it closed. This will allow the moisture to collect and keep your seeds moist for growth. Label each jug with the seed names that you have planted inside. It is a good idea to just have one variety of seed per jug. * Be sure to keep the cap on the jug until seeds have germinated and grown several inches, then remove cap in order to have some air flow.

You can now place your jugs in a place where they will receive ample sunlight, yet be free from wind and heavy snowfall. They should be on a level surface as well. All that is left is to observe the magic of germination.

If you have any questions or comments, you can email me at acupfullofcountry@gmail.com or find me on Instagram @farmgirl2heart.

PHOTO: Success on the ice

/0 Comments/in , , , , /by

James Owens, son of Anne Owens, of Vassalboro, caught this beautiful brown trout, in China Lake, on Saturday, January 18. The trout was 19 inches long and weighed 3 pounds.

CRITTER CHATTER: Reminiscing – Part 4

/0 Comments/in /by
by Jayne Winters

As noted in recent columns, I’ll be sharing some of Carleen Cote’s past articles because Duck Pond Wildlife Care Center isn’t accepting any wildlife or phone inquiries right now. What follows is a story entitled, Labor of Love, from August 3, 2002:

“This week’s Critter Chatter is not about the Duck Pond Wildlife Care Center and its current population, nor is it about the time and efforts my husband, Donald, and I invest in caring for the babies that arrive at the Center for a second chance at life. It is about the students at Windsor Elementary School who care enough about the wildlife to put their own time and effort into raising money to help buy food and other supplies for our young boarders.

Last fall, teacher Sheila Ready called to ask if her students could come for a tour of the Center. She told me that perhaps another fundraiser for the Center would be undertaken by the students and she thought seeing the animals would give the students a perspective of what we do and the animals we care for – and how the money they raised would be used. The class arrived and, to their credit, the students were well-behaved and appeared to enjoy their tour.

In June, I received a call from Sheila telling me she had a very special surprise – and did I want her to mail it to me or could I come to the school and accept the gift. I decided to go to the school (taking along some of the young critters to show) and talk about the animals and our work at the Center. I took a baby raccoon and a flying squirrel. The children listened attentively and asked many good questions. They then very proudly and excitedly presented me with a check for $374.

The students raised this in one week. Sheila’s students used computer technology to make posters and covers for the donation cans. They spoke to classes to tell students why the money was being collected and about their tour of our Center and the wildlife they saw. They also studied eco-systems, nature and safety with wildlife – stressing never to touch any wild animal they might encounter. In math class, real money is used to learn counting – and that was donated. The donations came from many sources – from students’ allowances or, perhaps, tooth fairy money and, of course, parents also donated.

The class that raised the most money was treated to ice cream floats. This year, Mrs. Stanley’s and Mrs. Beasley’s tied for first place.

Great job, students! Your thoughtfulness, generosity and hard work is very much appreciated. The money you raised will buy lots of food for all the little animals and birds here at the Center. We cannot thank you enough for remembering us and wanting to help support the wildlife.”

Wildlife rehab facilities are typically non-profits that primarily depend on personal resources and outside donations. For any students who would like to help riase funds for such an important cause, please be advised that Duck Pond has been working with Wilderness Miracles Rehab, in Bowdoin, (Kathi at 207-720-0074), Misfits Rehab, in Auburn (Jen at 207-212-1039), Bridget Green, in Wiscasset (207-631-0874), Critterville Wildlife, in Brooklin (845-549-2407), and Saco River Wildlife (207-702-1405). Pam Meier at Mid-coast Maine is a turtle rehabber and can be reached at The Turtle’s Back (203-903-2708). Please check these websites for a rehabber close to you: https://www.mainevetmed.org/wildlife-rehabilitation or https://www.maine.gov/ifw/fish-wildlife/wildlife/living-with-wildlife/orphaned-injured-wildlife/index.html In addition, you can contact your local Animal Control Officer through your town office. – PHONE MESSAGES & EMAILS ARE NOT BEING MONITORED AT THIS TIME.