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Up and Down the Kennebec Valley: China schools (Continued into the 20th century)

January 15, 2025/0 Comments/in China, Local History, School News, Up and Down the Kennebec Valley/by Mary Grow

by Mary Grow

As mentioned in previous articles about 19th-century Maine elementary schools, in 1894 the state legislature passed a law that began, “The school districts in all towns in this state are hereby abolished.”

The law further directed towns to take over “all school-houses, lands, apparatus and other property owed and used by the school districts hereby abolished.” The property thus taken was to be appraised and district taxpayers reimbursed.

No school was closed by the new law. But in the future, town meeting voters, on the superintending school committee’s recommendation, could close or relocate schools.

The law further required each town to provide at least 20 weeks of schooling a year, and to raise at least 80 cents per inhabitant in local school money, or lose its state funding.

Textbooks continued to be a town responsibility. If a student lost, destroyed or damaged a book, the parent or guardian was expected to recompense the town. If the parent or guardian did not comply, the cost would be added to his next tax bill.

The 1975 China bicentennial history says the main goal of the 1894 law was “to improve primary education by making possible larger consolidated schools which could readily be graded.” In addition to fewer school buildings with more students, other hoped-for effects were standardized school years and school sizes.

A side effect was the need to provide transportation for students who no longer had a schoolhouse within walking distance. The China history named the cost of transportation as a reason “voters were not particularly happy” with the new law.

The history says an immediate effect of the law was to close five schools, supposedly permanently (including China Neck Road with its dilapidated building, mentioned last week; your writer guesses those students went to nearby China Neck school), and six more for “part of the year.” The following sentence says in 1894 15 schools operated “at least part of the year,” only three fewer than in 1893.

The history also summarizes China’s 1894 education budget. The $3,502.39 for “school-houses and furniture” probably included paying districts for their buildings. Voters appropriated $128.80 for textbooks and $90.50 for repairs.

Another $2,604.86 to support schools included “$2,227.85 for teachers’ salaries, $237.80 for transportation, and $139.21 for ‘wood and incidentals.'”

In 1895, voters discontinued five more schools and ordered the selectmen to “dispose of” three of the buildings. They then reversed course and re-established one school whose building they’d just voted to get rid of, plus one discontinued in 1894. The result was 13 schools in 1895.

That year, teachers’ salaries cost $1,808.45, and transportation only $131.50. The history comments that school officials failed to explain to voters how they had reduced “both the number of schools and the transportation costs,” an achievement they were unable to repeat in future years.

Over the next two decades, the history describes repeated rearrangements, including building new school buildings. The result was a gradual reduction in the number of operating schools in town: 12 in 1903; between eight and 10 from 1910 through 1925, as some were closed and others reopened; seven in 1927; six in 1930; and five from 1936 to 1949.

These last five were the four village schools, in China Village, South China, Weeks Mills and Branch Mills, and the (Pigeon) Plains schoolhouse in southeastern China, on Dirigo Road north of Weeks Mills Village.

School consolidation was “difficult to achieve in China,” the history says. “Some of the small rural schools could not be closed without incurring high transportation costs and parental wrath.”

The Hanson District school, in the east-central part of town, was one example.

The history says this school was closed in 1894. At the March 1900 town meeting, voters authorized buying a lot and building a new schoolhouse, “at a cost of almost $400.” The building was not finished until October; school reopened on Oct. 29, and the so-called fall term ran until March 1901.

In 1906, “new seats were installed” – and attendance fell below eight students, the minimum prescribed by state law. For the next three years, 1907, 1908 and 1909, school officials recommended keeping the school open, and voters approved, because of the new building and the “great distance” to any other school.

The Hanson school apparently continued, with “a bare minimum attendance” through the spring of 1913, when it was finally closed, “and the students transported to Branch Mills,” the village in extreme eastern China shared with Palermo.

Not even the four village schools had consistent high enrollments. Branch Mills, especially, the history says, tended to attract few students. In 1901 and 1902, its average enrollment was 12, compared to around 45 in the China Village School at the north end of town.

By 1901, the history says, the China Village school was “divided into…a primary school and a grammar school,” the earliest example mentioned of a graded school. By 1915, all China schools were graded.

The history suggests that transferring school management from districts to the town did little to alleviate three other problems mentioned repeatedly in discussions of Maine education in the 19th and early 20th century: truancy, poorly maintained buildings and undertrained teachers.

The history quotes school superintendents’ complaints about truancy in 1913, when George Paine “calculated that out of the 145 day school year, the average attendance was only 47 days”; and in 1928, when Carl B. Lord’s annual report reminded parents that children aged from seven to 16 “must be in school, unless they are ill or excused from attendance by the State Department of Education.”

By the 20th century, superintendents complained less often about unsafe and drafty buildings and more about inadequate flooring, furnishings, lighting and sanitary facilities. Despite annual expenditures on buildings running around $500, “there was always more work than money.”

In 1912, for instance, the history says every classroom still had double desks, “although the teachers thought single desks would be more conducive to quiet study.”

And, a footnote says, “At least, there were desks; in 1906 superintendent [Gustavus] Nelson had reported that some of the students in the China Village primary school had been sitting on dry goods boxes.”

In 1922, the Weeks Mills schoolhouse got “new desks purchased by the community” – whether double or single, the history does not say. That same year, three schools “were screened by the efforts of the teachers and pupils.”

The Vassalboro bicentennial history cites a 1922 state law that required schools to eliminate “those little buildings out back:” privies. China apparently complied gradually. The history mentions (but fails to describe) “approved toilets” added in South China in 1924. In 1926, Superintendent Lord said the Lakeside and Chadwick Hill schools needed toilets connected.

Electricity was added in China’s five remaining schoolhouses in 1937 and 1938. In 1938, Superintendent Lord wrote that three of the five had lighting that was nearly up to state standards, three had “satisfactory school desks,” one had running water and “none has sanitary toilets.”

State laws required increased teacher training, and China teachers’ qualifications increased accordingly. So did salaries, though the history comments that “school superintendents seldom thought them high enough.” Until at least the early 1930s, teachers were paid only for the weeks they actually spent in a schoolroom.

As mentioned above, transporting students became increasingly expensive as the number of schools decreased. In 1899, the China history says, the legislature required towns to provide transportation, authorizing each town’s school committee “to decide which students should be transported.”

This unfunded mandate – to use a modern term – meant that in 1899, “China spent $328.80 for transportation and therefore could afford to provide only twenty-four weeks of school.” The history quotes the school committee’s report: committee members tried to balance transportation and schooling, and “We have not responded to all the calls for transportation; we could not.”

Transportation contracts went to the lowest bidders, the history says, and “drivers supplied their own vehicles.” The earliest conveyances were open pungs (one-horse sleighs). In 1904, China’s school committee required “all permanent transportation supported by the town” to use covered vehicles.

In the 1920s, “cars or converted trucks” began to replace horses.

The China history gives Superintendent Lord credit for starting the movement toward a single consolidated China Elementary School in 1931, when he recommended starting a building fund. The Depression postponed his plan, but he continued to argue for it from 1936 on.

Voters rejected the idea for years. Not until March 1946 did they make the first appropriation, against the town budget committee’s advice.

China Elementary School on Lakeview Drive opened in April 1949, and the remaining five primary schools were closed.

Carl Burton Lord

Carl Burton Lord served as school superintendent in China from 1924 to 1953 (according to the China bicentennial history) and in Vassalboro from 1924 to 1955 (according to the Vassalboro bicentennial history). The Carl B. Lord Elementary School, in North Vassalboro, which opened in 1962, was named in his honor.

(Your writer does not know why the two towns shared a superintendent for almost three decades. The Vassalboro history says by 1935, Vassalboro, China and Winslow had formed a school union; Wikipedia says School Union #52 was dissolved in 2009, when the legislature mandated a statewide reorganization.)

Despite Lord’s importance in these two towns, on-line information is scarce. Sources say he was born May 13, 1894, in either Liberty or Kennebunk. His parents were William A. Lord (1867 – 1945) and Sarah Jane or Sadie J. (Weagle) Lord (1871 – 1936). They died in Vassalboro and are buried in Nichols Cemetery.

Carl Lord was the oldest of William and Sadie’s three children. He graduated from Colby College, Class of 1915.

He married Mildred Bessie Clarke, of Washington, D. C., on Tuesday, June 10, 1919. She was born in June, 1899, in Washington and died May 22, 1992, in Waterville.

Carl and Mildred had two children, Bernice Mae (or May) (Lord) Peterson, born May 9, 1920, and died Aug. 15, 2021, and John William Lord, born in 1922, Colby Class of 1948, died Oct. 4, 2006.

Carl Burton Lord died in North Vassalboro in July 1969. He is buried in the North Vassalboro Village Cemetery, as are his widow, his younger brother Maurice and members of Maurice’s family.

Main sources

Grow, Mary M., China Maine Bicentennial History including 1984 revisions (1984)
Robbins, Alma Pierce, History of Vassalborough Maine 1771 1971 n.d. (1971)

Websites, miscellaneous.

Husson University announces Spring 2024 local academic award recipients

January 15, 2025/0 Comments/in Community, School News/by Website Editor

Husson University announces Spring 2024 academic award recipients

Husson University has announced academic achievements of students recently named to the President’s List, Dean’s List and Honors List for the Spring 2024 semester of the 2023-2024 academic year.

Full-time online students who earn President’s List, Dean’s List and Honors List recognition must be enrolled as an undergraduate, carry a full-time load of 12 credit hours over the course of 21 weeks, complete all attempted courses in the time allotted, and achieve a designated semester grade-point average. Credits from pass/fail classes do not qualify toward meeting the minimum credit hour requirement.

President’s List: 3.80 to 4.0 semester grade-point average. Dean’s List: 3.60 to 3.79 semester grade-point average. Honor’s List: 3.40 to 3.59 semester grade-point average

Feed Abdulmohsin, of Augusta, – President’s List – BS Biology – Biochemistry.
Malak Alkattea, of Augusta – President’s List – BS Pre-Medicine.
Brayden Barbeau, of Augusta – Honors – BS Business Administration.
Alyssa Bell, of Sidney – President’s List – BS Accounting – Master of Business Administration.
Samantha Bell of Sidney – Dean’s List – BS Graphic/Visual Design.
Hope Bouchard, of Clinton – President’s List – BS Biology.
Evan Bourget, of Winslow – President’s List – BS Sport Management.
Leanna Breard, of Norridgewock – President’s List – BS Health Sciences – Doctor of Physical Therapy.
Rebekah Bucknam, of Oakland – Dean’s List – BS Nursing.
Elizabeth Campbell, of Waterville – President’s List – BS Elementary Education.
Luke Desmond, of Vassalboro, – President’s List – BS Criminal Justice.
Emma Doiron, of Augusta – Dean’s List – BS Nursing.
Alexis Dostie, of Sidney – President’s List – BS Nursing.
Warren Dowling, of Liberty – Dean’s List – BS Video/Film Production.
Emily Dunbar, of Canaan – Dean’s List – BS Nursing.
Dayton Dutil, of Winslow – President’s List – BS Exercise Science – Doctor of Physical Therapy.
Sierra Gagnon, of Sidney – Honors – BS Nursing.
Izaak Gajowski, of Winslow – President’s List – BS Elementary Education.
Rylie Genest, of Sidney – President’s List – BS Pre-Medicine.
Jaden Grazulis, of Waterville – Honors – BS Exercise Science – Doctor of Physical Therapy.
Cooper Grondin, of Vassalboro – Dean’s List – BS Business Administration- Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management – Master of Business Administration.
Trent Gunst, of Skowhegan – President’s List – BS Mass Communications – Journalism.
Joseph Hamelin, of Waterville – President’s List – BS Exercise Science – Doctor of Physical Therapy.
Gunnar Hendsbee, of Fairfield – Dean’s List – BS Criminal Justice – Psychology.
Avery Henningsen, of Palermo – Honors – BS Mass Communications – Sports Journalism with a Certificate in Marketing Communications.
Abbigail Hreben, of Oakland – Honors – BS Secondary Education – Physical Science.
Megan Huesers, of Winslow – Dean’s List – BS Health Sciences – Doctor of Pharmacy.
Jazmin Johnson, of Clinton – Dean’s List – BS Business Administration- Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management – Master of Business Administration.
Brooklyn Kelly, of Winslow – President’s List – BS Business Administration with Certificates in Hospitality, Small Business Management and Leadership – Master of Business Administration.
Jordan Lambert, of Sidney – President’s List – BS Exercise Science – Doctor of Physical Therapy.
Hannah Lee, of Washington – Honors – BS Healthcare Administration & Public Health – MS Occupational Therapy.
Timothy Lessa, of Winslow – Dean’s List – BS Health Sciences – Doctor of Pharmacy.
Madeline Levesque, of Augusta, ME – President’s List – BS Graphic/Visual Design with Certificates in Marketing Communications and Photography.
Jasmine Liberty, of Waterville – Dean’s List – BS Healthcare Administration & Public Health – MS Occupational Therapy.
Chiara Mahoney, of Whitefield – President’s List – BS Elementary Education.
Colin Manning, of Skowhegan – Dean’s List – BS Elementary Education.
Ryan Martin, of Winslow – President’s List – BS Accounting – Master of Business Administration.
Karalee Milewski, of Augusta – Dean’s List – BS Psychology.
Savannah Millay, of Chelsea – President’s List – BS Psychology – MS Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
Casey Mills, of Augusta – President’s List – BS Financial Planning.
Gage Moody, of Windsor – Honors – BS Criminal Justice – Psychology.
Lauryn Noyes, of Skowhegan – Dean’s List – BS Forensic Science.
Richard Orgill, of Fairfield – Dean’s List – BS Psychology – MS Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
Cameron Osborne, of Augusta – President’s List – BS Healthcare Administration & Public Health – MS Occupational Therapy.
Natasha Parker, of Anson – President’s List – BS Criminal Justice – BS Psychology – MHRT/C Certification.
Trevar Pease, of Canaan – Honors – BS Exercise Science – Doctor of Physical Therapy.
Kayla Peaslee, of South China – President’s List – BS Healthcare Administration & Public Health – MS Occupational Therapy.
Ryan Pelletier, of Augusta – President’s List – BS Graphic/Visual Design.
Kaden Porte, of Palermo – President’s List – BS Business Administration- Master of Business Administration.
Rylee Poulin, of Oakland – President’s List – BS Elementary Education.
Joey Ramsdel,l of Skowhegan – President’s List – BS Elementary Education.
Karlie Ramsdell, of Winslow – President’s List – BS Biology.
Mitchel Reynolds, of South China – Dean’s List – BS Exercise Science – Doctor of Physical Therapy.
Marjanna Roy, of Skowhegan – Honors – BS Criminal Justice – Psychology with a Paralegal Certificate in Advanced Criminal Practice.
Roxanne Sasse, of Windsor – Dean’s List – BS Exercise Science – Doctor of Physical Therapy.
Jackson Stafford, of Winslow – Honors – BS Mass Communications – Sports Journalism with a Certificate in Digital and Social Media Marketing.
Kara Stelly, of Augusta – Honors – BS Nursing.
Madisyn Stewart, of Oakland – Dean’s List – BS Health Sciences – Doctor of Physical Therapy.
Riley Sullivan, of Windsor – President’s List – BS Legal Studies – Pre Law with Certificates in Business Administration and Criminal Justice, a Paralegal Certificate and a Paralegal Certificate – Advanced Civil Practice.
Logan Tardif, of Waterville – President’s List – BS Health Sciences – Doctor of Pharmacy.
Alexis Trask, of Winslow – Dean’s List – BS Forensic Science.
Jenna Veilleux, of Winslow – President’s List – BS Biology.
MaryJo Wadsworth, of Washington – President’s List – BS Video/Film Production.
Jude Wallace, of Augusta – President’s List – BS Business Administration- Financial Management.
Payson Washburn, of Skowhegan – President’s List – BS Criminal Justice.
Avery Willett, of Waterville – Dean’s List – BS Hospitality & Tourism Management.

Erskine Academy first trimester honor roll

January 15, 2025/0 Comments/in China, Community, Erskine, School News/by Website Editor

Grade 12

High Honors: Emmett Appel, Emily Bailey, Bryana Barrett, Noah Bechard, Geneva Beckim, Rylan Bennett, Octavia Berto, Jayda Bickford, Kaleb Bishop, Lauryn Black, Brooke Blais, Olivia Brann, Lauren Cowing, Kaden Crawford, Lillian Crommett, Gabrielle Daggett, Trinity DeGreenia, Aydan Desjardins, Aidan Durgin, John Edwards, Ryan Farnsworth, Josiah Fitzgerald, Hailey Garate, Ellie Giampetruzzi, Kaylene Glidden, Brandon Hanscom, Serena Hotham, Kailynn Houle, Alivia Jackson, Ava Kelso, Sophia Knapp, Jack Lucier, Owen Lucier, Eleanor Maranda, Jade McCollett, Abigail McDonough, Shannon McDonough, Madison McNeff, Addison Mort, Thomas Mullens, Makayla Oxley, Noah Pelletier, Elsa Redmond, Justin Reed, Lillian Rispoli, Laney Robitaille, Carlee Sanborn, Joslyn Sandoval, Aislynn Savage, Achiva Seigars, Jordyn Smith, Zoey Smith, Larissa Steeves, Katherine Swift, and Clara Waldrop.

Honors: Daphney Allen, Ava Anderson, Carter Brockway, Paige Clark, Madison Cochran, Dylan Cooley, Andra Cowing, Brady Desmond, Lucas Farrington, Wesley Fulton, Addison Gagne, Keeley Gagnon, Abbi Guptill, Jonathan Gutierrez, Landen Hayden, Montana Johnson, Rachel Johnson, Rion Kesel, Bodi Laflamme, Chase Larrabee, Shelby Lincoln, D’andre Marable, Lilas Moles, Elijah Moore, Colin Oliphant, Gavyn Paradis, Ava Picard, Victoria Rancourt, Carter Rau, Nathan Robinson, Kyle Scott, Emily Sprague, and Parker Studholme

Grade 11

High Honors: Connor Alcott, Emily Almeida, Addyson Briggs, London Castle, Nathan Choate, William Choate, Drew Clark, Timothy Clavette, Madeline Clement-Cargill, Claire Davis, Sylvia Davis, Joshua Denis, Audryanna DeRaps, Lauren Dufour, William Ellsey Jr., Jacob Faucher, Ethan Frost, Madison Gagnon, Stephen Gould, Kolby Griatzky, Madison Griffiths, Aiden Hamlin, Evan Heron, Mia Hersom, Halle Jones, Kasen Kelley, Talula Kimball, Timothy Kiralis, Kayle Lappin, Jacob Lavallee, Ava Lemelin, Jaden Mizera, Jack Murray, Elijah Nelson, Bayley Nickles, Jordyn Parise, Ruby Pearson, Jacoby Peaslee, Abigail Peil, Elijah Pelkey, Isabelle Pelotte, Emily Piecewicz, Taisen Pilotte, Hannah Polley, Logan Poulin, Desirae Proctor, Owen Robichaud, Brynna Rodrigue, Kameron Rossignol, Jackie Sasse, Autumn Sawyer, Edward Schmidt, Benjamin Severy, Kathryn Shaw, Madelynn Spencer, Abigail Studholme, Leah Targett, Donovan Thompson, Kammie Thompson, Addison Turner, and Finnegan Vinci.

Honors: Savannah Baker, Gavin Bartlett, Anders Bassett, Lucas Berto, Julia Booth, Brock Bowden, Addyson Burns, Benjamin Carle, Lillian Clark, Lucas Crosby, Mason Decker, Charles DeSchamp, Riley Dixon, Solomon Fortier, Willow Haschalk, Cadence Homstead, Easton Houghton, Aidan Huff, Jacob Hunter, Alexus Jackson, Natthaya Khositanont, Savannah Knight, Bernhard Kotter, Nathaniel Levesque, Kloie Magoon, Brayden McLean, Paige McNeff, Parker Minzy, Tucker Nessmith, Phoebe Padgett, Jackson Pelotte, Chase Pierce, Joeseph Pilsbury, Allianna Porter, Alexander Reitchel, Leahna Rocque, Eva Simmons, Nichala Small, Blake Smith, Benjamin Sullivan, Phoebe Taylor, Kamryn Turner, Charles Uleau, Oryanna Winchenbach, Ella Winn, Addison Witham, Brody Worth, and Maddilyn York.

Grade 10

High Honors: William Adamson IV, Isaac Audette, Olivia Austin, Ashton Bailey, Jeremiah Bailey, Linnea Bassett, Luke Blair, Jackson Blake, Silas Bolitho, Madeline Boynton, Cassidy Brann, Delaney Brown, Liam Burgess, Olivia Childs, Hunter Christiansen, Botond Csaszi, Jilian Desjardins, Ryley Desmond, Robin Dmitrieff, Logan Dow, Isabella Farrington, Gianna Figucia, Audrey Fortin, Aina Garcia Cardona, Adalyn Glidden, Bailey Goforth, Cody Grondin, Madison Harris, Eva Hayden, Lilly Hutchinson, Reid Jackson, Johanna Jacobs, Ivy Johns, Callianne Jordan, Sawyer Livingstone, Jasai Marable, Annie Miragliuolo, Alexis Mitton, Jacoby Mort, Molly Oxley, Caylee Putek, Gabriel Ratcliff, Sovie Rau, Tayden Richards, Lailah Sher, Bryson Stratton, Gabriel Studholme, Sabrina Studholme, Kaleb Tolentino, Carter Ulmer, Tyler Waldrop, and Eryn Young.

Honors: Ariana Armstrong, Delia Bailey, Benjamin Beale, Lucas Beale, Hailey Boone, Seth Bridgforth, Logan Chechowitz, Khloe Clark, Owen Couture, Slayde Crocker, Connor Crommett, Bradley Cushman, Landen DeCosta, Kiley Doughty, Kelsie Dunn, Delaney Dupuis, Gavin Fanjoy, Danica Ferris, Madison Field, Annabelle Fortier, Nicholas Gould, Kaylee Grierson, Addison Hall, Camden Hinds, Spencer Hughes, Evan James, Peyton Kibbin, Chantz Klaft, Maverick Knapp, Mason Lagasse, Bryson Lanphier, Matthew Lincoln, Jack Malcolm, Kate McGlew, Gaven Miller, Kienna-May Morse, Emi Munn, Lauryn Northrup, Madeline Oxley, Layla Peaslee, Bryson Pettengill, Teagan Pilsbury, Noah Pooler, Dylan Proctor, Samuel Richardson, Colton Ryan, Lucas Short, Ian Smith, Hellena Swift, Malaya Tagalicud, Braeden Temple, and Isabella Winchenbach.

Grade 9

High Honors: Joshua Bailey, Hunter Baird, Madeline Berry, Ella Beyea, Dominic Brann, Nicholas Carle, Ryan Carle, Lily Chamberlain, Jack Coutts, Ryleigh French, Jasmine Garey, Shelby Gidney, Kolby Glidden, Rachel Grant, Naomi Harwath, Christina Haskell, Bristol Jewett, Colbie Littlefield, Dylan Maguire, Stella Martinelli, Lainey McFarland, Ava Miragliuolo, Annabella Morris, Grant Munsey, Lexi Pettengill, Angelina Puiia, Jakobe Sandoval, Parker Smith, Khloe Soucy, Maxine Spencer, Ethan Studholme, Reid Sutter, Benjamin Theberge, Audrey Tibbetts, Hannah Tobey, Kayleigh Trask, Kallie Turner, Kinsey Ulmer, Sorrel Vinci, Mackenzie Waldron, and Leah Watson.

Honors: Clifton Adams IV, Landon Alexander, Torren Ambrose, Dawson Baker, Brooke Borja, Mackenzie Bowden, Aiden Brann, Jackson Bryant, Kenneth Cobb, Daegan Creamer, Dylan Dodge, Heleana-Marie Doyon, Taylor Gagnon, Tyler Gagnon, Riley Gould, Myla Gower, Amiah Graves, Bruce Grosjean, Griffin Hayden, Baylee Jackson, Josephine Kelly, Gabriella Lathrop, Marlin Lawrence, Dorothy Leeman, Bella Lefferts, Madison Levesque, Mason Marable, Mason Mattingly, Alexander Mayo, Orin McCaw, Ayla McCurdy, Max McKenlogue, Annaleysha McNeil, Grace Oxley, Paige Perry, Carter Peterson, Nolan Pierce, Reed Pilsbury, Brandon Piper, Camryn Prosper, Kenzie Pyska, George Roderick, Thomas Roe, Jacob Rogers, Jacob Shanholtzer, Jaylynn St. Amand, Leigha Sullivan, Eli Vallieres, and Reid Willett.

Husson University Online celebrates Term 4 academic award recipients

January 8, 2025/0 Comments/in Cornville, School News, Whitefield, Winslow/by Website Editor

Husson University Online has announced the academic achievements of students recently named to the president’s list, dean’s list and honors list for Term 4 of the 2023-2024 academic year. Courses for full-time online undergraduate students are offered over the course of seven weeks. This accelerated timeframe provides adult learners with an opportunity to balance existing personal and professional commitments as they complete their studies.

Full-time online students must be enrolled as an undergraduate, carry a full-time load of 12 credit hours over the course of 21 weeks, complete all attempted courses in the time allotted, and achieve a designated semester grade-point average. Credits from pass/fail classes do not qualify toward meeting the minimum credit hour requirement.

President’s List: 3.80 to 4.0 semester grade-point average

Dean’s List: 3.60 to 3.79 semester grade-point average

Honor’s List: 3.40 to 3.59 semester grade-point average

Ashley Castagnetto, of Winslow, – President’s List – BS Healthcare Administration & Public Health;

Sarah Rodrigue, of Cornville, – President’s List – BS Accounting;

Vivian Tschamler, of Whitefield, – Dean’s List – BS Psychology.

Sophia Labbe named to Lasell University Fall 2024 dean’s list

January 8, 2025/0 Comments/in School News, Vassalboro/by Website Editor

Sophia Labbe, a Lasell University student, from Vassalboro, was named to the dean’s list for their academic performance in the Fall 2024 semester, in Newton, Massachusetts.

Judson Smith adjusting well at Maine School of Science & Mathematics

January 8, 2025/0 Comments/in Community, School News, Vassalboro/by Mary Grow

Judson Smith, center, flanked by his mother Lisa Libby, left, and his father Zachary Smith. (contributed photo)

by Mary Grow

Vassalboro resident Judson Smith, 14, has no regrets about choosing the Maine School of Science and Mathematics (MSSM), in Limestone, as his high school.

Home for Christmas break after his first semester, Smith said adjustment wasn’t easy, but now, “I’m happy with it. I really like the school.”

His parents, Zachary Smith and Lisa Libby, are also pleased with their son’s choice. They appreciate the education, and the frequent contact with the school – the one day their son was ill, they had a conversation with the school nurse who attended him in his dormitory room.

Courses are hard, advanced enough that students can arrange to get college credit at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. Smith is satisfied with his A’s and B’s.

MSSM students take at least four core courses a semester; Smith’s were math, science, English and French. Next semester, maybe six, he said.

Students live on campus. Their dormitory, close to the academic building that also houses Limestone Community High School, has two wings for boys and two for girls, plus common areas: a lounge, a kitchenette, a room with pool tables, a fitness room and a gym. In the academic building is an Olympic-size swimming pool that MSSM and LCHS share, Smith said.

In some ways, Smith makes MSSM sound almost overprotective. Students need a phone app to check out of their dormitories. There are mandatory study hours from 6:30 to 8 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays, with students who have shown a need for supervision expected to report to the library and the rest to study in their rooms or other appropriate places (including picnic tables in mild weather). Students’ bicycles were locked in a storage shed before the first snowfall.

Every student has a campus job, Smith said, though nothing that takes a lot of time away from education.

Students also enjoy a multitude of activities, sports and clubs. The seniors who serve as dorm residents organize activities. Every other weekend offers a shopping trip to Presque Isle, a city half an hour away that’s almost six times the size of Limestone.

The lettuce club intrigues Smith’s mother. Smith explained that the club meets annually: a head of lettuce is put before each student, and whoever eats his or hers fastest becomes club president.

When a student has a birthday, the food service staff bakes him or her a cake.

Most important, Smith said, is the constant support, from teachers, other staff and fellow students. When he found himself ill-prepared for one of his courses, he was able to get almost daily help from his teacher and from other students. By next year, he sees himself helping first-year students.

“It’s definitely a difficult school. They try their best to make it fun, but a challenge at the same time,” he summarized.

Erskine announces Renaissance awards

December 18, 2024/0 Comments/in Community, Erskine, School News/by Website Editor

Staff of the Trimester award recipient Gilberto Ortiz, left, and Faculty of the Trimester award recipient Tyler Belanger. (Contributed photo)

On Friday, December 13, 2024, Erskine Academy students and staff attended a Renaissance Assembly to honor their peers with Renaissance Awards.

Tenure awards were presented to eleven faculty members: David Farady for 15 years of service; Jon Jorgensen, Jenny Sutter, Jennifer Tibbetts, and Brian Dutil for 20 years of service; Susan Beckwith, Deann Porter, and Jamie Soule for 25 years of service; Deidre Dail and Cheryl York for 30 years of service; and David Barden for 40 years of service.

Renaissance Recognition Awards were presented to the following students:

Audrey Tibbetts, Mason LaGasse, Oryanna Winchenbach, Donovan Thompson, Kammie Thompson, Walker Jean, and Olivia Brann.

In addition to Recognition Awards, Senior of the Trimester Awards were also presented to seven members of the senior class: Octavia Berto, daughter Catherine and Jonathan Berto, of China; Elsa Redmond, daughter of Christopher and Laurie Grassi Redmond, of China; Ava Kelso, daughter of Storm and Bradley Kelso, of Vassalboro; John Edwards, son of Melissa and James Edwards, of Palermo; Gabrielle Daggett, daughter of Amber and Christopher Daggett, of Chelsea; Kaylene Glidden, daughter of Kim and Rob Picard, of Vassalboro; and Emmett Appel, son of William Appel and Suzanne Brown, of Windsor. Seniors of the Trimester are recognized as individuals who have gone above and beyond in all aspects of their high school careers.

In appreciation of their dedication and service to Erskine Academy, a Staff of the Trimester award was presented to Gilberto Ortiz, Custodian; and a Faculty of the Trimester award was presented to Tyler Belanger, Special Education Instructor.

Congratulations to all award recipients!

Senior of the Trimester award recipients, front row, from left to right, Ava Kelso, Elsa Redmond, and John Edwards. Back, Kaylene Glidden, Octavia Berto, Emmett Appel, and Gabrielle Daggett. (Contributed photo)

Danica Serdjenian elected Phi Kappa Phi

December 4, 2024/0 Comments/in School News, Waterville/by Website Editor

Danica Serdjenian, of Waterville, was recently elected to membership into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest and most selective all-discipline collegiate honor society, at University of Rhode Island. Serdjenian is among approximately 20,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni to be initiated into Phi Kappa Phi each year. Membership is by invitation only and requires nomination and approval by a chapter.

Vassalboro Community School first quarter honor roll (2024)

December 4, 2024/0 Comments/in School News, Vassalboro/by Website Editor

Vassalboro Community School (contributed photo)

GRADE 8

High honors: Basil Dillaway, Zoe Gaffney, Allyson Gilman, Savannah Judkins, Cheyenne Lizzotte, Agatha Meyer, Grace Tobey and Ava Woods.

Honors: Holden Altenburg, Samuel Bechard, Peyton Bishop, Bryleigh Burns, Fury Frappier, Jack LaPierre, Kaitlyn Lavallee, Elliot McQuarrie, Jaelyn Moore, Jayden Portillo, Kassidy Proctor and Landen Theobald.

Honorable mention: Emelia Bartlett, Emiy Clark, Ariyah Doyen, Baylee Fuchswanz, Lillyana Krastev and Mia McLean.

GRADE 7

High honors: Grace Clark, Marian Estabrook, Leah Huden, Sarina LaCroix and Cameron Willett.

Honors: Nolan Altenburg, Zander Austin, Xainte Cloutier, Twila Cloutier, Kaylee Colfer, Samantha Craig, Riley Fletcher, Brandon Fortin, Aubrey Goforth, Aubrey Judkins, Lucian Kinrade, Landon Lagasse, Arianna Muzerolle, Olivia Perry, Elliott Rafuse, Juliahna Rocque, Isaiah Smith, Charles Stein, Haven Trainor and Meadow Varney.

Honorable mention: Aliyah Anthony, Camden Foster, Peter Giampietro and Jaxon Presti.

GRADE 6

High honors: Ryder Austin Hunter Brown, Grayson Brown, Reese Chechowitz, Kamdyn Couture, Levi DeMerchant, Anthony Dyer, Cooper Grant, Olivia Lane, Brooklyn Leach, Simon Olson, Landon Quint, Willa Rafuxe, Alana Rogerson, Addison Sugar and Robert Wade.

Honors: Rylee Boucher, Braiden Crommett, Molly Dearborn, Liam Dowe, Mikkah-Isabella Grant, Hunter Green, Ashlynn Hamlin, Sophia-Lynn Howard, Tanner Hughes, Kendall Karlsson, Aria Lathrop, Landon Lindquist, Alexis Reed, Jackson Robichaud, Asher Smith, Elliot Stratton, and Mason York-Baker.

Honorable mention: Eli Dulac, Avery Hamlin, Keegan Robinson, and Christopher Santiago.

GRADE 5

High honors: Camden Desmond, Jaxson LaFlamme, Tucker Lizzotte, Evelyn Meyer, Sawyer Plossay and Allysson Portillo.

Honors: Olivia Booker, Marley Field, Emma Freeman, Norah French, Henry Gray, Finn Malloy, Gage Nason, Gabriella Reynolds, Oliver Sugden, Alivia Twitchell, Mayla Wilson and Alivia Woods.

Honorable mention: Titus Caruthers, Owen Clark, Francis Farrell, Ember Irwin, Raegin Rodgers and Trenten Theobald.

GRADE 4

High honors: Aaliyah Dpyen, Tristan Plossay, Aryn Rogerson, Wynn Trainor, and Samuel Tuttle.

Honors: Estelle Ford, Levi Hotham, Rose Matulis, Jocelyn Parsons, Sydney Suga, Aria Tardiff, Anastaysha Timberlake, and Ryan York.

Honorable mention: Airibella Bossie, Cameron Bossie, Christopher Bourgoin, Payton Bowring, Alexander Buckley, Jaxon Crommett, Matthew Henrikson, Jackson Ingerson, Lillian Noll, Bianca Pooler, Dominic Poulin, Richard Schmidt, Quentin Tarr, Meaghan Trask and Jens Tyrol.

GRADE 3

High honors: Bruce Brothers, Mason Hardy, Kylie Killam, Declan McLaughlin, Parker Poulin, Heaven Smith, Natalie Vannah, and Declan Wade.

Honors: Violet Barrows, Conner Cayouette, Cole Craney, Tarynn Crommett,Elijah Farshid, Isabelle Giguere, Mason Gilman, John Gray, Austin Henry, Ashlynn Levesque, Matthew Maxwell, Charlotte Phelps, Sawyer Presti, Lux Reynolds, Camdin Rodgers, Nevaeh Smith, Lennox Tardiff and Tyler White.

Honorable mention: Spencer Brown, Jeremiah Clawson, Oliver Lessard, Ryley Lindquist, Blayke Melanson, William Parks and Abigail Richards.

Up and Down the Kennebec Valley: Education: Waterville, Winslow high schools

November 13, 2024/0 Comments/in Local History, School News, Up and Down the Kennebec Valley, Waterville, Winslow/by Mary Grow

by Mary Grow

Before moving on to 19th-century Winslow and Waterville high schools, your writer will share one more item about Waterville grammar schools. With its ramifications, it was too long for last week’s article.

Readers learned last week that Waterville school authorities once created two classrooms in the town hall. Following is another example of improvised classroom space, from Henry Kingsbury’s 1892 Kennebec County history.

Kingsbury quoted a resident’s article in the April 21, 1882, “Waterville Mail” remembering when George Dana Boardman taught in “Lemuel Dunbar’s carpenter shop,” because there was no schoolhouse in his newly-created district.

Your writer thought it appropriate to add that Boardman (Feb. 8, 1801 – Feb. 11, 1831) was an internationally known missionary, and Dunbar (May 3, 1781 – c. Aug. 6, 1865) did important work in Waterville.

Boardman, a native of Livermore, Maine, was half the graduating class at the Aug. 1, 1822, first commencement at Waterville College (now Colby College).

He taught at least one term of school in Dunbar’s shop in 1820, while still a student, according to Aaron Appleton Plaisted’s chapter on early settlers in Rev. Edwin Carey Whittemore’s 1902 Waterville history. On July 16 of that year, Kingsbury said, Baptist minister Rev. Jeremiah Chaplin baptized Boardman.

After graduation, according to Wikipedia, Boardman was a Waterville College tutor in 1822-1823, before he went to Andover (Massachusetts) Theological Seminary. When he was ordained a Baptist minister in West Yarmouth, Maine, on Feb. 16, 1825, Wikipedia says Chaplin, by then Waterville College’s President, was a speaker.

On July 4, 1825, Boardman married Sarah Hall (Nov. 4, 1803 – Sept. 1, 1845), from Alstead, New Hampshire. On July 16, they sailed for Calcutta, on their way to Burma (now Myanmar), where they spent their lives as missionaries.

The couple lost at least two sons in infancy; the survivor they named George Dana Boardman (frequently called “the Younger,” Wikipedia says). After Boardman’s early death from consumption (tuberculosis) in Burma, Sarah married another missionary and associate, Adoniram Judson.

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The other half of Boardman’s class was Ephraim Tripp (c. 1799 – April 7, 1871). After graduation, according to on-line information about Waterville/Colby graduates, he served as principal of Hebron Academy in 1822-1823. Then he, too, became a tutor at his alma mater, from 1823 to 1827.

During these years, according to the chapter in Whittemore’s history on Waterville churches, Tripp was one of the three-man building committee for the First Baptist Church, planned in 1824 and dedicated Dec 6, 1826. The dedication ceremony included “a sermon by Dr. Chaplin.”

Later in his life, Tripp was a teacher in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and in Mississippi, and was Clerk of Courts in Carroll County, Mississippi. He died in Winona, Mississippi (now the Montgomery County seat), at the age of 72.

(The author of the chapter on churches in the Waterville history is “George Dana Boardman Pepper, D.D., LL.D., Lately President of Colby College.”

(Pepper [Feb. 5, 1833 – Jan. 30, 1913] was the fourth and last child of John and Eunice [Hutchinson] Pepper. Born in Ware, Massachusetts, he attended two seminaries and Amherst College. From 1860 to 1865, he was pastor of Waterville’s First Baptist Church. Changing to education, he taught religious subjects before and after serving as Colby College’s ninth president from 1882 to 1889. Religion ran in the family; Find a Grave identifies his father as Deacon and one of his older brothers as Rev.)

* * * * * *

Lemuel Dunbar was born in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, and married Cordana Fobes there on June 23, 1806, according to Find a Grave. This source says he bought land in Waterville Oct. 1, 1805; Plaisted said he moved to Waterville around 1808. They agree he built his house and shop at the corner of Main and North streets, at the north end of the present downtown.

Sources disagree on how many children Dunbar had. One implies that Cordana died and he remarried; Find a Grave says Cordana lived until 1869.

Their oldest son was Otis Holmes Dunbar (May 22, 1807 – Sept. 30, 1892), like his father a carpenter. Find a Grave says he was born in Penobscot, Maine; married Mary Talbot in Winslow, Maine, in 1836; worked in Maine and “the Boston area”; and by June 1860 was living in Princeton, Illinois, where he died. His body was returned to Waterville for burial in Pine Grove Cemetery with family members.

Find a Grave says the Dunbars had nine children, born between 1807 and 1826, and lists three daughters and three sons buried in Pine Grove Cemetery. Youngest son Lemuel was the only one still alive in 1902, Plaisted wrote.

Chaplin taught the first Waterville College classes in July 1818 in a house not far from Dunbar’s shop, according to Edward W. Hall’s chapter on Colby in Whittemore’s history.

Hall continued, “In 1821 the South College was built and eighteen rooms finished besides fitting up a part of the building for a chapel. The second dormitory, known as the North College…was built in 1822.” Dunbar was the carpenter for both buildings, he said.

By 1902, Plaisted said, Dunbar’s original house had been removed and replaced, and the shop had been converted to a house “now occupied by Mr. A. M. Dunbar” (the first Lemuel’s grandson?).

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Your writer’s next topics are Winslow and Waterville high schools, about which she has found little second-hand information. Long-time readers will remember that second-hand information is important: original research, in enclosed spaces among unknown people, has been forbidden since this series started early in the Covid epidemic.

The earliest information your writer found about Winslow high schools was from Kingsbury. He said in 1892, Winslow appropriated $250 to support two free high schools. One, he said, was in “the village of Winslow” and the other “in the eastern part of the town near the Baptist church.” That year they had 80 students between them.

Two on-line sites provide tantalizing bits of information from the first half of the 20th century. One says a wooden, three-story high school building on Halifax Street (which was then Getchell Stret) burned in 1914 and was rebuilt on the same lot in 1915. Halifax Street, also Route 100, runs east from the Kennebec at Fort Halifax.

Another site says the new high school that opened on Danielson Street in 1929 replaced the previous schools, plural. The Danielson Street school started out housing grades seven through 12, but seventh grade was soon moved elsewhere. Danielson Street, site of the current Winslow High School, is several blocks north of Halifax Street.

* * * * * *

Your writer’s short part-article on Waterville’s high schools in the Sept. 9, 2021, issue of “The Town Line” is unsatisfactory, in spite of editor Roland Hallee’s attractive illustrations. The following paragraphs will expand it a bit:

Elwood T. Wyman, in his chapter on public schools in Whittemore’s history, listed the “masters” of Waterville’s public high school “since its permanent organization in 1876.” There were nine of them up to 1902, and Richard W. Sprague, Colby Class of 1901, was about to become the tenth. Wyman commented that “every one of the masters in the list quoted has been a Colby graduate.”

This permanently organized school was not Waterville’s first high school, but information on previous ones is scanty. From what Wyman wrote, it appears that by the 1830s, some, at least, of the district schools provided some high-school-level courses. Wyman mentioned that in 1855, “Latin and French were authorized as studies in the high school.”
Education Winslow and Waterville high schools number 224 for Nov 14 2024