Howard Hill Park dedication

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Photo by Norm Rodrigue

Join the Kennebec Land Trust and the city of Augusta to celebrate the dedication of Howard Hill Historical Park. Remarks begin at 4 p.m. on Thursday, October 10, at the historic Gannett treehouse overlook. Plan ahead to allow plenty of time to hike into the overlook (visit our website for trailhead meeting locations and times, www.tklt.org or call 207-377-2848).

In March of 2017 the Kennebec Land Trust (KLT) transferred the 164-acre Howard Hill property to the city of Augusta. This transaction successfully completed an eight-year process undertaken by the KLT to conserve this property in perpetuity for the benefit of Maine’s people and wildlife. At the time of the transfer, Augusta Mayor David Rollins noted: “This is an important day in the history of this City. Through the dedicated efforts of the folks at Kennebec Land Trust and the generosity of​ their donors, all Mainers, especially future generations, will reap the benefits of their work.”

Since 2018, the city’s Conservation Commission, KLT staff, and volunteers have been constructing a new trail network in the Park. Kim Vandermeulen, KLT Board President observed, “KLT is very grateful to the volunteers and we admire their efforts to construct a new trail system. Their work is a gift to everyone who lives, works, and visits Augusta.”

Judy Camuso, commissioner, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife; Howard Lake, KLT Director; Bill Bridgeo, Augusta City Manager; Augusta Mayor Dave Rollins; and Andrew Silsby, President of Kennebec Savings Bank, will provide remarks at 4:00 p.m.

If you cannot attend but have questions about Howard Hill please call the KLT office at (207) 377-2848 or visit our website: www.tklt.org.

Kennebec Historical Society honors archivist Plummer

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The Kennebec Historical Society’s Personnel Committee has picked longtime archivist Ernest L. Plummer, of Pittston, as the first recipient of the society’s newly-established W. Scott Hill Service Award.

Plummer resigned this month after having volunteered in a variety of KHS positions over 16 years, including two terms as president. He and his wife, Joan, plan to move closer to his daughter’s family in Massachusetts.

Ernest L. Plummer

A native of Buffalo, New York, and a retired industrial chemist, Plummer has upgraded and maintained the KHS collections database, enabling catalogers to embed photographs and scanned images or original written documents into the record. The improvement in quality and quantity of society holdings has effectively opened KHS files to many more researchers seeking to learn more about some aspect of Kennebec County history.

Plummer became KHS vice president in 2007 and was elected to two-year terms as president in 2009 and in 2013. Under his leadership, the society pressed forward with efforts to retire the $190,000 mortgage on its present home, the Henry Weld Fuller Jr. house in Augusta, a goal that was achieved less than four years later. He also has been the society’s executive director and treasurer, and he recruited his wife to manage the society’s membership database, which she has done for several years.

He also spent much of his time assisting researchers and fostering cooperative relationships with other historical societies in the county. He clocked several hundred volunteer hours per year for the society’s benefit. As he winds up his years of service, he is training six volunteers to carry on his work of cataloging materials in the database.

For these achievements and others, the KHS Personnel Committee selected Plummer for the Hill award, which was established this year to honor society members who have initiated or organized landmark improvements in the society’s operation, reputation or contributions to the community. The award is named for W. Scott Hill, an Augusta physician who was one of the society’s co-founders and its first president.

The 560-member Kennebec Historical Society, a private, nonprofit organization, was founded in 1891. Its mission is to collect, preserve and make available to the public historical documents and illustrations that pertain to the history of Kennebec County and its 30 municipalities. The society hosts monthly historical lectures in a variety of locations in the county.

For more information, please contact KHS Administrative Director Scott Wood at 622-7718.

Paige Hutchins Named to SNHU Dean’s List

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MANCHESTER, NH — Paige Hutchins of Augusta has been named to Southern New Hampshire University’s winter 2019 Dean’s List. The winter term runs from January to May.

KHS September program presents story of trains

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Photo of the Maine Central Railroad Station, in Augusta, courtesy of The Kennebec Historical Society, Augusta, Maine.

Born in Bethel in 1835, Thomas Holt was active as an architect in Central and Western Maine from 1859 to 1870. In 1865 he designed the Portland and Kennebec Railroad Station in Augusta, which burned while under construction in the city’s Great Fire that year. Between 1871 and 1876, Holt served as Chief Engineer of the Maine Central Railroad, designing railroad buildings and bridges as well as conducting surveys for new rail lines. In 1876, he moved to California, where he pursued careers in architecture, railroading, mining, and lumbering. He died in 1889 from pneumonia contracted in a blizzard in Nevada.

The KHS September speaker, a native of Portland, Maine, Earle G. Shettleworth, Jr., attended Deering High School, in Portland, Colby College, in Waterville, and Boston University and was the recipient of honorary doctorates from Bowdoin College, in Brunswick, and the Maine College of Art. At the age of 13, Shettleworth became interested in historic preservation through the destruction of Portland’s Union Station in 1961. In 1971 he was appointed by Governor Kenneth Curtis to serve on the first board of the Maine Historic Preservation Commission, for which he became architectural historian in 1973 and director in 1976. He retired from that position in 2015. Shettleworth has lectured and written extensively on Maine history and architecture and served as State Historian since 2004.

The Kennebec Historical Society September Presentation is free to the public (donations gladly accepted). The presentation will take place on Wednesday, September 18, 2019, at 6:30 p.m., at the Hope Baptist Church, located at 726 Western Avenue, in Manchester. The program will be preceded at 4:30 p.m., by a potluck supper and at 6 p.m., by the society’s annual meeting and election of officers and directors. For details about the potluck supper, please contact Anne Cough, either by email at acough60@aol.com or by phone at 582-2823.

Students named to the University of Vermont dean’s list

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Three area students were named to the dean’s list at the University of Vermont, in Burlington, Vermont. To be named to the dean’s list, students must have a grade-point average of 3.0 or better and rank in the top 20 percent of their class in their respective college or school.

Kayla Christopher, of Oakland, Natalie Palmer, of Augusta, and Kaitlyn Sutter, of Palermo.

 

 

Ducks Unlimited to hold annual banquet

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Image credit: Ducks Unlimited (ducks.org)

The Kennebec Valley Ducks Unlimited will be holding its 49th annual banquet on Saturday, September 14.

The banquet will be held at the Club Calumet, 334 West River Rd., in Augusta, and will include live and silent auctions, raffles, games of chance and more. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m.

Tickets are $60 for singles and $90 for couples, and $35 for Greenwing.

For tickets or more information, contact Artie Crocker at 441-2445. Or you may purchase tickets online at www.ducks.org/maine/events.

Mitchell Caron graduates from Castleton University

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Mitchell Caron, of Augusta, graduated with a bachelor of science in exercise science from Castleton University, in Castleton, Vermont, following the successful completion of the spring semester in May 2019.

Students earn degrees from the University of Vermont

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Area students recently earned degrees from the University of Vermont, in Burlington, Vermont, during commencement.

Peter Ackerman, of Augusta, graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in film and television studies.

Devin Beckim, of Augusta, graduated with a bachelor of science degree in computer science.

Emily Higgins, of Waterville, graduated cum laude with a bachelor of science degree in athletic training education.

Natalie Palmer, of Augusta, graduated with a bachelor of science degree in environmental studies.

Kaitlyn Sutter, of Palermo, graduated with a bachelor of science degree in professional nursing.

Local students on University of New Hampshire’s dean’s list

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The following students have been named to the Dean’s List at the University of New Hampshire for the spring 2019 semester, in Durham, New Hampshire.

Matthew Murray, of Augusta, earning highest honors.

Madeline Lewis, of Augusta, earning highest honors.

Cody Short, of Fairfield, earning high honors.

Bradford Wilbur, of Fairfield, earning honors.

Carly LaRochelle, of Fairfield, earning highest honor.s

Elijah Caret, of Oakland, earning highest honors.

Hannah Duperry, of Oakland, earning highest honors

Adam Bovie, of Vassalboro, earning highest honors

Alex Stewart builds shelter at Lincoln School in Augusta

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Alex Stewart, center, with his scout troop.

by Ron Emery, committee member

On Saturday, April 6, Troop #479 honored an Eagle Scout at a Court of Honor held at the China Baptist Church for Augusta resident Alex Stewart. Family, friends and Scouts attended the ceremony marking the advancement of this young man to the highest rank in Boy Scouts.

Alex Stewart

Alex joins a group of 40 Eagle Scouts from Troop #479 who have completed community service projects with the help of fellow Scouts and other volunteers throughout Kennebec Valley.  Each Eagle candidate must plan and supervise an Eagle service project to demonstrate his capacity and willingness to exert his leadership ability in activities that are constructive and worthwhile in his community.

Alex used his Eagle Project to give something back to his elementary school, Lincoln School. He collaborated with Jonathan Stonier, director of buildings and grounds for the Augusta School Department, to build a covered outdoor area in an underutilized space near the school. He received assistance from adult leaders and older Scouts as well as Custodian Brian Bolstridge the first two days of construction. He also received help from the younger Scouts on the third day to spruce up the grounds around the project with mulch, landscape rocks and several flower beds. He hopes the teachers and students will be able to use the structure as an outdoor learning station.

Also in attendance were Scoutmaster Scott Adams, to present the Eagle Scout Awards. Sean Stewart (Alex’ brother) gave the Eagle Scout Challenge and also asked Alex and other Eagle Scouts to reaffirm the Scout Oath.

Alex is a graduate of Cony High School, in Augusta, and lives with his parents, Greg and Kristina Stewart, in Augusta. He was on the Cony golf team. This summer he is working at Shaw’s, in Augusta, and will be pursuing a degree in engineering at the University of Maine in the fall.