Covers towns roughly within 50 miles of Augusta.

Someday we’ll look back…

by Melissa Martin

The future will find us looking back on the pandemic of 2020. Articles in newspapers will be archived. Children will grow up with school cancelation tales. Each individual will have a similar, yet a distinctive story about the coronavirus. The days of COVID-19 will be transcribed in history books.

I grew up inside of books. Escaping between the front and the back covers brought solace from external and internal chaos. Traveling faraway, but still staying home was possible within the pages. Each person is a story and each person has a story. Whether fiction or nonfiction, stories R US.

From the beginning of the beginning, humans lived and then told narratives about tragedy and triumph. Themes of birthing and themes of dying – foundation of humanity. Themes of relationship and religion. Themes of love and lust, faithfulness and infidelity, fulfilled hearts and broken hearts. Themes of what was lost and themes of what was found. Good vs. evil. Right vs wrong. Rich vs poor. Tales of acceptance and tales of betrayal. Anecdotes about sex, kids, money; three salient aspects of daily living—full of drama. And chronicles of plagues, epidemics, and pandemics. Science fiction thrillers about diseases that devour humankind get made into movies. Fantasy, reality, or both?

Did the high school years of reading Harlequin Romance paperbacks insult my cerebral cortex? Probably. A masculine hero always rescued the fragile female. Girls were often portrayed as feisty, frigid, or frumpy. Love was the sickness in these mindless books—but also the medicine.

I grew up inside of an ink pen. With millions of words dancing inside my head, I tried to empty them out onto paper. Swirling-twirling words full of adolescent angst. Using poetry to alleviate the confusion and problems brought on by puberty. Journaling the day’s events into a pastel-colored diary with a key. Hiding it away from prying eyes of others. Years of writing for personal turned into writing for public. Through phases, stages, and ages, a writer writes. Because stories R US.

“Like many others who turned into writers, I disappeared into books when I was very young, disappeared into them like someone running into the woods. What surprised and still surprises me is that there was another side to the forest of stories and the solitude, that I came out that other side and met people there. Writers are solitaries by vocation and necessity. I sometimes think the test is not so much talent, which is not as rare as people think, but purpose or vocation, which manifests in part as the ability to endure a lot of solitude and keep working. Before writers are writers they are readers, living in books, through books, in the lives of others that are also the heads of others, in that act that is so intimate and yet so alone.” – Rebecca Solnit, in her essay Flight, from The Faraway Nearby

A recent article in Forbes is telling how to author our story. “COVID-19 has many of us hunkering down in place and social distancing. If you are a writer, and have all your survival needs met (food, shelter, support), then it might be the opportunity you need to get your story written. Whether it is a memoir (and boy will some be coming out about these times), or a novel, as an author and widely published writing coach who teaches for Writer’s Digest and NYU, I can share some tips on how to make the most of your story.”

Writer Garrett Graff is seeking stories from a wide range of US residents to compile a portrait of a nation in the grip of Covid-19. “We are living history every hour right now, for better or for worse, with little sense of which it is…My goal with this oral history project will be to capture the messiness and uncertainty as this pandemic unfolds.” Read more www.wired.com and email your stories to covid@wired.com.

One does not need to be a professional writer to compose her/his own account of the pandemic of 2020. Just follow the basics. A story needs to have a narrative arc (a beginning, middle, and end). The best character arc reveals an inner transformation, not just a change in circumstances.

You are part of the pandemic story and so am I. Write your own story and send it to your newspaper’s Letter to the Editor. Stories R US.

Melissa Martin, Ph.D. is an author, columnist, educator, and therapist. She lives in Ohio.

Maine Department of Labor announces new alphabet system for unemployment claims

Maine Department of Labor

After receiving an unprecedented number of unemployment claims due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the Maine Department of Labor (MDOL) announced a new alphabetical-by-last-name call-in schedule for Maine people filing for unemployment benefits. The new schedule will help reduce phone line congestion as the Department ramps up its capacity to receive and process claims.

Starting Monday, April 6, Maine people seeking to file for unemployment by calling the 800 number with last names beginning with A-H should call on Monday; I-Q on Tuesday; R-Z on Wednesday. Thursday and Friday will be left unassigned for those who miss their alphabetical day or need to call at that time.

Unemployment insurance: Online (available 24/7) at https://www.maine.gov/unemployment/

By phone: 1-800-593-7660 (8 a.m.-12:15 p.m.)

TTY users call Maine Relay 711

For password resets and basic questions, contact a Career Center: https://www.mainecareercenter.gov/locations/index.shtml.

For more information and resources, visit the Department’s COVID-19 page: https://www.maine.gov/labor/covid19/, and follow the Maine Department of Labor on Facebook @MElabor and Twitter @maine_labor.

Federal Family First Leave Policies: On Wednesday, April 1, the new Families First Coronavirus Response Act went into effect. This federal Act requires some employers in Maine to provide their employees with paid sick leave and expanded medical leave for reasons related to COVID-19. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) is responsible for implementation and enforcement of the Act. For more information: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic, including answers to a wide range of anticipated questions from both employees and employers. The website also includes posters that employers will be required to display at their worksites.

As always, our frequently updated FAQs on unemployment insurance and COVID-19 measures—we update them several times a week — can be found: https://www.maine.gov/labor/covid19/.

Agricultural producers eligible for SBA paycheck protection program

The Department of Treasury and Small Business Administration (SBA) has released an interim final rule on the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Agricultural producers are eligible to participate in the program and should reach out to their bankers and/or agricultural lenders to apply. While SBA still needs to confirm some administrative details, loans will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis and producers can get started on the application now.

Camp Bomazeen to break out new logo for 75th season

Eagle Scout Dalton Curtis (left), of Skowhegan Troop 485, and Second Class Scout Zachary LeHay (right), of Sidney Troop 401, drew the two new patches. (photo source: Camp Bomazeen)

New patch design by Eagle Scout Dalton Curtis.

Camp Bomazeen this summer will have special patches designed by local Scouts to help commemorate its 75th season. Eagle Scout Dalton Curtis, of Skowhegan Troop #485, and Second Class Scout Zachary LeHay, of Sidney Troop #401, drew the two patch designs which will be used this summer at Camp Bomazeen. The Scouts will each receive a $75 campership to Camp Bomazeen from the Bomazeen Old Timers but Curtis may not need it as he has applied to be a part of the 75th anniversary staff.

In 1945, Waterville Scout Richard Chamberlain named Camp Bomazeen after the brave leader of the local Norridgewock Abenaki tribe.

For the 75th anniversary, Camp Bomazeen opened up the patch design to a Scout and had two top selections. Dalton’s design will be used for the 75th commemorative merchandise. The second design, rendered by Zachary will be used for the patch Scouts receive for attending camp this summer. Christopher Bernier, who runs the Bushcraft area at Camp Bomazeen, provided the finished renderings based on the two designs that will be used for production.

New patch designed by Scout Zachary LeHay.

TIMMY’S TUNES: Maine native’s latest music wins more recognition

by Tim Forsman
Colby Radio Host

Ellis Paul

The Storyteller’s Suitcase
Rosella Records – 2019

Ellis Paul recently received notification that a song from his latest album, his 20th, The Storyteller’s Suitcase, had received two awards at the 16th Annual International Acoustic Music Awards. His song,I Ain’t No Jesus was the Overall Grand Prize Winner and also claimed first place in the Outstanding Roots/Americana category. In the song, the singer claims no divine powers or assistance in his awkward interactions with the opposite sex. The “Suitcase”album itself also was named the 2019 Album of the Year at the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference. In a survey of folk radio DJ’s from across the country, the album was the 8th most played recording of 2019. And that was from an album that wasn’t released until June 2019.

Ellis Paul, who now calls Charlottesville, Virginia, his home base, grew up in Aroostook County, graduated from Presque Isle High School, and traveled to Boston College on a track scholarship. When a injury sidelined his running, his love for music and his writing skills soon led him to become an active member of a surging Boston folk music scene. Over the years, he has won major Boston Music Awards 12 times. And in 2014, he was in the inaugural Maine Music Awards Hall of Fame class, along with David Mallett.

The Storyteller’s Suitcase is a wonderful collection of songs with “story” being the key word. The song, Scarecrow In A Corn Maze tells of the problems faced by a small-time U.S.veteran. The Battle of Charlottesville relates the weekend that a right-wing rally came to Paul’s adopted hometown. Before the weekend was over, three people had died and and the entire country was in an uproar.

There are many Maine name drops throughout, “picking up a “walkin’ man … on a road in Millinocket” and the song Five Alarm Fire on the 4th of July shares a surprisingly humorous story of a huge 1979 holiday fire at the family homestead in Washburn, Maine.

I should mention that Ellis is also a talented graphic artist. The album cover and the booklet of this CD is filled with his charming illustrations. And it is packaged as a CD case-sized hardcover book.

There are travel songs on this album, which is expected when you know that Ellis spends many weeks of each year traveling coast-to-coast, bringing his live performances to audiences in concert halls, church stages, folk coffeehouses, and house concerts. This is presented in song with Kiss Me ‘Cause I’m Gone and truly so in the title song, The Storyteller’s Suitcase. As his notes on the song state: “Suitcases, guitars, journals & pens, Late nights drinking with strangers and friends … Bar and theaters, stages and spots.These are the things that make up the life of a traveling songwriter.”

Live in concert, Ellis Paul keeps his audience spellbound. His songs and the characters within capture the hearts and attention of those listening. His guitar playing is mesmerizing. And then Ellis the Storyteller emerges. Between songs, even during songs, his spoken poetry and stories draw you in and make you wish he could stay all night, telling tales and spinning his magic.

Twenty albums in, Ellis Paul still continues to weave his songs and tell his stories and clearly still has many more to share. The Storyteller’s Suitcase is very deserving of the accolades it has received.

RIYL – (Recommended If You Like) –

  • Ellis Paul “Stories” a very strong song collection – Black Wolf Records 1994. (may be available only as download)
  • Ellis Paul “Live” (2000 – Rounder Records) – Experience a master artist taking his listeners by the hand, and leading them through a memorable performance.

Tim Forsman has had a lifelong love of music and “no talent to create it myself.” I’ve hosted a radio show, “Jigs, Hoedowns & Songs O’Tragedy” at Colby College, on WMHB Radio for over 30 years.

No awards from Oak Grove Foundation this year

Oak Grove School Foundation will not be sending grant awards this Spring due to the Covid-19 virus and the stressed condition of our financial resources. We are thankful for all the people in our community who exert themselves for the well being of the young people that Oak Grove seeks to support. We look forward to recovering from this pandemic and returning to the major grant business in 2021.

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Augusta & Vassalboro

Europeans trading furs with the natives.

by Mary Grow

For those who don’t recognize my name, I wrote stories about China and Vassalboro local meetings until they were canceled. Now I plan a series on the history of this part of the Kennebec Valley, starting with today’s introduction to two of eight towns — some now cities — created along the Kennebec River between Augusta and Fairfield. As our present circumstances range from the inconvenient to the fatal, it seems appropriate to look selectively at the highs and the lows (followers of The Capitol Steps will instantly flip the initial letters of the two nouns) of our area before our time here.

What is now, and has been for 200 years, the State of Maine, was first explored and settled by Europeans by way of the Atlantic Ocean (see The Town Line, March 19, 2020), and ocean transportation has been important in its history and economy ever since (see The Town Line, March 12, 2020).

From the coast, European exploration, land claims and settlements moved inland up rivers, for the obvious reason that boats and ships were the major means of moving people and especially goods. Although the area was well inhabited before Europeans arrived, Native tribes did not use wheeled vehicles; their trails were unsuited to wagons and even to horseback riders.

Rivers maintained their importance as running water became a source of industrial power, encouraging the growth of towns and cities. As more people arrived, European population expanded outward from river basins.

The central part of the Kennebec River, from Augusta through Waterville on the west bank and Clinton on the east bank, illustrates these generalizations.

The area was part of the land granted to the Plymouth Colony of Massachusetts by King James I of England. The grant extended for 15 English miles on each side of the river.

Leaders of the Plymouth Colony built a trading post on the east shore at Cushnoc, where Fort Western, in Augusta, now stands, in 1625, and traded with local Natives for almost 40 years. According to Henry D. Kingsbury, principal editor of the immense and detailed History of Kennebec County Maine 1625-1892, visitors to the site included Governor William Bradford, Captain Miles Standish and John Alden (of “Why don’t you speak for yourself, John?” fame).

When the Native inhabitants, backed by French from Canada, again tried to drive out English settlers beginning in the 1660s, the Cushnoc post closed and the English retreated to the coast. Nonetheless, Kingsbury calls the Plymouth colonists, “remotely the pioneers of Augusta.”

By the 1750s, the French & Indian threat had diminished so that settlement of inland Maine became possible.

Thus in 1753, the General Court in Boston endorsed a new company called the Kennebec Purchase, opening the way to legal settlement of the Kennebec River valley. Bostonians Dr. Sylvester Gardiner and Florentius Vassall were two of the leading investors. The Plymouth Colony built Fort Western, in Augusta, the same year, and in 1754 built Fort Halifax, in Winslow, and a road connecting them.

The present City of Augusta and state capital had its origin on the east bank of the river at the Cushnoc site. In 1761, surveyor Nathan Winslow laid out and marked lots on land extending three miles from the Kennebec on both sides, covering present-day Augusta and parts of neighboring towns. Kingsbury comments that many of those lot lines exist today, as roads, lot lines and other divisions.

The plan in Kingsbury’s Kennebec County history closely resembles the riverine piece of the Vassalboro plan described below: mile-deep narrow lots along the river, mile-deep three-times-as-wide lots in the next tier; mile-deep lots half as wide as the second ones for the third tier. A major difference is that almost every lot has one or more names written on it.

In 1771, the Fort Western settlement was incorporated as the town of Hallowell – not the Hallowell we know, but a 65,715-acre-tract that included present-day Hallowell, Augusta, Chelsea and much of Farmingdale and Manchester.

Residents of the north end of the new town, known as The Fort, and the south end, called The Hook, disagreed about many things, including religion. The breaking point came in February 1796, when the Massachusetts General Court approved building the first bridge across the Kennebec from The Fort, though Hook residents also wanted it. People from the two areas demanded separation, and on Feb. 20, 1797, the north end was incorporated as the Town of Harrington.

Fort Western in 1754.

The name honored one of George II’s ministers, Lord Harrington. It had been used in 1729 on the Maine coast for what is now Bristol, and did not last long.

The new Harrington’s residents did not like the name either. The Massachusetts General Court granted their petition to change it to Augusta on June 9, 1797.

Kingsbury guesses opposition to the first name might have been because migratory fish were caught there and remaining Hallowell residents corrupted the new name to Herring-town.

The name Augusta, like Harrington, had been used before, for a small settlement in what is now Phippsburg that was destroyed by an Indian raid. Kingsbury surmises the name might have been chosen for the new inland town simply because it was not easily made into a joke.

Other sources say the name honors Augusta Dearborn, daughter of New Hampshire physician Henry Dearborn, who fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill, accompanied Benedict Arnold on the famous march to Québec that went up the Kennebec and later served as Secretary of War under President Thomas Jefferson, and in the U. S. House of Representatives.

The Town of Vassalboro is the next town north of Augusta on the east side of the river. It is named after Florentius Vassall and was at first spelled Vassalborough; the town clerk had adopted the modern spelling by 1818, according to Alma Pierce Robbins’ 1971 History of Vassalborough Maine. Originally the town was 31 miles wide, 15 miles on each side of the Kennebec plus a mile’s worth of river.

A plan of the eastern half reproduced in the 1971 history is apparently the work of two successive surveyors. In 1761, the Kennebec Purchase Proprietors had Nathan Winslow survey the first three miles inland from the river. In 1774 they hired John Jones to survey another two miles from the river and to lay out lots.

The plan, reportedly a 19th-century copy of the original Jones map, shows 47 lots extending east from the river. According to the Vassalboro history, they were supposed to be 50 rods wide by one mile deep. Next came a narrow line that might be a rangeway and another tier of lots, each three times as wide as the riverfront ones, that were reserved for the proprietors. After another maybe-rangeway, a third tier, each lot half as wide as those in the second tier, encompassed “7 Mile Pond” (now Webber Pond).

A comparatively wide north-south open area, probably the demarcation between the two surveys, is bounded on the east by two more tiers of the medium-sized lots separated by a possible rangeway.

“12 Mile Pond,” now China Lake, is identified creating an irregularity in the northeastern side of the plan, and a rounded intrusion in the southeast suggests that what is now Three Mile Pond was known but not mapped.

In the 21st century, surveyors define a lot that is more than twice as long as it is wide as a “spaghetti lot.” In Maine law, the definition is “a parcel of land with a lot depth to shore frontage ratio greater than 5 to 1.” In 1993, spaghetti lots were forbidden in land under the jurisdiction of the Land Use Planning Commission.

MAJOR SOURCES:

Kingsbury, Henry D., ed. Illustrated History of Kennebec County Maine 1625-1892 1892\Robbins, Alma Pierce History of Vassalborough Maine 1771 1971 n.d. (1971)

Web sites, miscellaneous

NEXT: Staying on the east side of the Kennebec, earliest history of Winslow, Benton and Clinton.

DAR announces citizenship award winners

Winners of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Good Citizenship Award and of the American History Essay contest from left to right, Alden Wilkinson, Keith Radonis, Georgianna Davidson, Abigail Clark, Natalie Dube, Davyn Swindells. (contributed photo)

Local students from area schools have been selected as winners of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Good Citizenship Award and of the American History Essay contest.

The Koussinoc chapter, in Augusta, conducted a ceremony on March 9, at the Lithgow Library, to honor these students. The topic for the essay was, The Voyage of the Mayflower, the student took the persona of a passenger on that ship. Winners taking second place were, in sixth grade, Davyn Swindells, seventh grade, Natalie Dube and eighth grade was Georgianna Davidson. The first place winners were sixth grade Alden Wilkinson, seventh grade, Abigail Clark and eighth grade was Keith Radonis. All students are from St. Michael School, in Augusta. Abigail Clark also won for the state division and will be attending the Spring State Conference, in Augusta, in April.

Two senior students were entrants for the Good Citizen Award. Julia Basham who is a student at Erskine Academy and Makaelyn Porter, a student from Southern Aroostook Community High School. The students are chosen by faculty and student body for their qualities of dependability, service, leadership and patriotism. The student then submits a packet of personal data stating how and why they feel they show these qualities.

Vassalboro Community School students at State House

On February 18, sixth graders traveled to the state capitol to be Pages for the Day. Students worked in both the Senate and the House, and met their local representatives, Sen. Matt Pouliot and Rep. Dick Bradstreet. (photo by Victor Esposito)

(photo by Victor Esposito)

Central Maine Youth Hockey Association Black Mites 2019

Members of the Central Maine Youth Hockey Association Black Mites team are, front, from left to right, Finnegan Cotter-Hayes, Tucker Hussey, Maggie Tibbetts, Lillian Wheeler, Stephen Spear and Landyn Caouette-Nye. Back, Coach Benjamin Wheeler, Owen Mitchell, Issac Dostie, Jude Espinoza, Amelia Castonguay, James Laliberty, Easton Gradie, Thomas Jewell, Maxwell Poulin, Coach Josh Mitchell and Coach James Laliberty.(photo by Mark Huard, Central Maine Photography)