CHINA: Only half dozen attend first broadband committee information meeting

by Mary Grow

Only half a dozen residents came in person to the China Broadband Committee’s (CBC) first public informational meeting July 11, with three or four more watching virtually; but discussion was lively and varied during and after the committee’s slideshow.

The purpose of the meeting was twofold: to explain what the committee, created by China selectmen in 2017, is doing and plans to do, and to enlist support for the expanded and improved broadband service committee members hope to offer.

Sharing the explanations, committee members said their goal is to provide affordable, reliable, high-speed internet to every China householder who wants it. They talked about the need for adequate bandwidth so students can do schoolwork while parents manage their office work from home, without computers slowing.

A main advantage of the plan, in committee members’ opinions, is that the town will own the fiber network. The committee has worked for months with Mark Ouellette, President of Machias-based Axiom Technologies, and plans to contract with his company to run the system.

Replying to questions from resident Brent Chesley, Ouellette said his standard contracts run for 10 to 15 years, with “kick-out clauses” at three-year intervals in case China officials become dissatisfied. Axiom will be the internet service provider, will be responsible for all needed repairs and will hire a local service technician to provide speedy customer service.

To make the system work, a new fiberoptic network needs to be built throughout the town. The first steps in building the network are surveying existing infrastructure, notably telephone poles, and obtaining construction money.

CBC members are ready to contract with Hawkeye Connections, based in Poland, Maine, to do the survey. The cost is estimated at $10,000. So far, an application for a state planning grant has failed, and China selectmen have postponed action on using town funds to their July 19 meeting.

Until the survey is done, the construction cost is a rough estimate: $5 to $6 million. Committee members intend to ask selectmen to ask voters to approve a bond issue on Nov. 2 to cover the cost – or maybe only part, if the CBC can get one or more construction grants, committee member Jamie Pitney suggested.

Grants are definitely a possibility, ex officio committee member and Selectman Janet Preston said, because “Broadband is the buzzword right now, with federal and state governments.”

Ouellette agreed. Municipally-owned broadband is “a movement” in Maine, he said, partly because of the pandemic increasing the need for reliable service and partly because many residents are tired of the inadequacies of their commercial providers.

Another point committee members made repeatedly is that their plan will not increase taxes. User fees will cover Axiom’s costs and profit and the bond repayment. After the first two years, fees will generate revenue for the town, which will increase when the bond is fully repaid (presumably after 20 years).

The present plan is for tiered levels of service at different prices. Ouellette and committee members have repeatedly said they hope to price the lowest tier, 50 over 50 (50 megabits download and 50 megabits upload), at around $55 a month and the highest tier, gig over gig (one gigabit down and one gigabit up), at no more than $200 a month.

The construction phase is expected to last up to two years and to include free connections and hook-ups for all immediate subscribers. People who build a new house or decide they want broadband later are likely to be charged to connect; but grants, broadband revenue or some other source might control costs.

The system will have excess capacity to accommodate growth, Ouellette said.

Committee members did not ignore the uncertainties in their projections and plans. One unknown is how many China residents will sign up for Axiom’s service. Revenue projections are based on an initial rate of 35 percent, or 835 households – conservative, committee members said – and a five percent a year increase.

Construction costs are another unknown, not only because of lack of information about current facilities, but also, committee members said, because growing interest in broadband expansion could lead to higher materials prices, supply bottlenecks, contractors’ delays or all three.

Committee member Tod Detre pointed out that if voters approve the bond issue on Nov. 2, selectmen can postpone acting if too few residents have signed up, prices have gone too high or other unforeseen difficulties have arisen.

Committee members and audience member Paul Blair, a Winslow native who now lives in Silicon Valley and vacations on Three Mile Pond, hope all will go smoothly. They listed some of the benefits if China had one of the best broadband systems in the state, including offering gig over gig service:

Part-time residents like Blair could spend more time – and money – in town, because they could work from their vacation homes, visit their doctors via telemedicine and generally be geographically more independent.
Full-time residents, especially those currently poorly served or not served at all, would have faster, more reliable internet for work, education, socializing, entertainment and other on-line activities.
New businesses, especially high-tech businesses, might consider locating in China, making the CBC plan “an investment to develop the community,” Pitney said – but not to turn China into a city, Blair and fellow audience member Jeanne Marquis added.

The July 11 community meeting was recorded and is available for viewing on the town website, www.china.govoffice.com, under the Live Stream heading on the left side. The Live Stream page includes lists of previous and future meetings.

Detre has the assignment of developing a CBC website on which information can be posted between meetings. He invites anyone with website experience who would like to help to get in touch with him at tod@tod.net.

CBC members scheduled their next virtual committee meeting for 5 p.m. Thursday, July 15. One topic on the agenda will be planning future informational events.

China comprehensive plan revision – comments due by July 13, Nov. 2 vote pending

by Mary Grow

China’s revised comprehensive plan is scheduled to be submitted to voters at the Nov. 2 local election.

The plan is on the town website, under Comprehensive Planning Committee. The title of the 169-page document is “China 2020 COMP PLAN submitted Dec. 23, 202 Final.” Another copy is on line at maine.gov/dacf/municipalplanning/comp_plans/.

The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry is accepting comments on the document through Tuesday, July 13. The purpose of the department review is to make sure the plan is consistent with the state’s Growth Management Act.

Comments should be submitted to ruta.dzenis@maine.gov (Senior Planner Ruta Dzenis) or to the Municipal Planning Assistance Program, Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, 22 State House Station, Augusta ME 04333-0022.

Erskine Academy third trimester honor roll 2021

(photo credit: Erskine Academy)

Grade 12

High honors: Abbygail Blair, Everett Blair, Johnathan Blair, Nomi Bouwens, Samantha Box, Anthony Chessa, Ashley Clavette, Nolan Cowing, Joleigh Crockett, Cody Devaney, Abigail Dumas, Amelia Evans, Addison Gamage, Margaret Gamage, Avril Goodman, Avery Henningsen, Haley Laird, Isabela Libby, Emily Lowther, Chiara Mahoney, Jonathan Martinez, Gavin Mills, Michael Nicholas III, Brian Ouellette Jr, Olive Padgett, Courtney Paine, Annaliese Patterson, Aiden Pettengill, Anna Pfleging, Sydni Plummer, Harry Rabideau, Kristin Ray, Joshua Tobey and Dylan Wing.

Honors: Mara Adams, Brooke Allen, Philip Allen, Alyeska Anderson, Isabella Bishop, Christopher Bourdon, David Bourgoin, Trevor Brockway, Emma Burtt, Saydi Cote, Joshua Cowing, Jacob Devaney, Phillips Gidney, Patrick Hanley, Hailey Haskell, Braydon Hinds, Paeshance-Rae Horan, Emma Hutchinson, Keith Knowles, Kaylah Kronillis, Sierra LaCroix, Colby Lloyd, Hailey Mayo, Elek Pelletier, Allison Roddy, Acadia Senkbeil, Hanna Spitzer, Riley Sullivan, Riley Toner, Jake Williams, Ryan Williams and Mollie Wilson.

Grade 11

High honors: Isaac Baker, Maylien Beermann, Autumn Boody, Lilian Bray, Emily Clark, Liberty Crockett, Colby Cunningham, Michele De Gugliemi, Isabella DeRose, Luke Desmond, Kaden Doughty, Emma Fortin, Josette Gilman, Samantha Golden, Trace Harris, Grace Hodgkin, Rachel Huntoon, Grace Kelso, Mallory Landry, Aidan Larrabee, Lili Lefebvre, Hunter Marr, Calvin Mason, Wes McGlew, Rebecca Morton, Brady O’Connor, Adam Ochs, Abigail Peaslee, Devon Polley, Lilly Potter, Sarah Praul, Letizia Rasch, Paige Reed, Riley Reitchel, Parker Reynolds, Mackenzie Roderick, Abbey Searles, Andrew Shaw, Hannah Soule, Natalie Spearin, Hannah Strout – Gordon and Lily Vinci.

Honors: Julia Barber, Alana Beggs, Jacob Bentley, Jack Blais, Daniel Cseak, Alexander Drolet, Abigail Dutton, Kelsie Fielder, Wyatt French, Jenna Gallant, Larissa Haskell, Isaac Hayden, Emma Jefferson, Hunter Johnson, Tanner Klasson, Shawn Libby, Isavel Lux Soc, David Martinez – Gosselin, Malcolm Martinez, Kaden McIntyre, Patrick Merrill, Julian Reight, Daniel Tibbetts, Hannah Torrey and Samuel Worthley.

Grade 10

High honors: Hailey Acedo-Worthing, Carson Appel, Abigail Beyor, Eve Boatright, Katherine Bourdon, Breckon Davidson, Nicole DeMerchant, Lillian Dorval, Loralei Gilley, Alivia Gower, Cooper Grondin, Elizabeth Hardy, Grady Hotham, Grace Hutchins, Olivia Hutchinson, Beck Jorgensen, Kaiden Kelley, Meadow Laflamme, Zephyr Lani-Caputo, Dale Lapointe, Dinah Lemelin, Brenden Levesque, Malachi Lowery, Lily Matthews, River Meader, Nabila Meity, Maddison Paquet, Timber Parlin, Kayla Peaslee, Jonathan Peil, Gabriel Pelletier, Sophia Pilotte, Kaden Porter, Ingrid Ramberg, Alexis Rancourt, Cadence Rau, Samantha Reynolds, Sarah Robinson, Ally Rodrigue, Noah Rushing, Emmalee Sanborn, Sophie Steeves, Daniel Stillman, Emma Stred, Jacob Sullivan, Mackenzie Toner, Emma Tyler, Lauren Tyler and Damon Wilson.

Honors: Kassidy Barrett, Angel Bonilla, Zane Boulet, Alexis Buotte, Caleb Buswell, Grace Ellis, Hailey Farrar, Alyssa Gagne, MaKayla Gagnon, Brianna Gardner, Carson Grass, Acadia Kelley, Brady Kirkpatrick, Casey Kirkpatrick, Matthew Knowles, Emmet Lani-Caputo, Joseph Lemelin, Gwen Lockhart, Brooklyn McCue, Gage Moody, Angelina Ochoa, Ethan Ouellette, Angelyn Paradis, Michael Perez, Casey Petty, Kathleen Pfleging, Karen Potter, Conner Rowe, Jarell Sandoval, Zuriah Smith, Kiley Stevens, Paige Sutter, Aidan Tirrell, Colby Willey, Katherine Williams and Joseph Wing.

Grade 9

High honors: Isabella Boudreau, Heather Bourgoin, Robin Boynton, Elizabeth Brown, Kaleb Brown, Nolan Burgess, Nathalia Carrasco, Elise Choate, Brielle Crommett, Noah Crummett, Gavin Cunningham, Keira Deschamps, Hailey Estes, Kaylee Fyfe, Brayden Garland, Caleb Gay, Nathan Hall, Natalie Henderson, Stephanie Kumnick, Mackenzie Kutniewski, Carol Labbe, Sydney Laird, Logan Lanphier, Aidan Maguire, Richard Mahoney III, David McCaig, Alexia McDonald, Holden McKenney, Austin Nicholas, Jazel Nichols, Jeremy Parker, Nathan Polley, Kinsey Stevens, Lara Stinchfield, Reese Sullivan and Baruch Wilson.

Honors: Tristan Anderson, Leah Bonner, Wyatt Bray, Eva Carlezon, Megan Carver, Simon Clark, Marshall Clifford, Hunter Foard, Leah Grant, Tara Hanley, Bella Homstead, Kameron Kronillis, Sophie Leclerc, Kiley Lee, Brody Loiko, Jack Lyons, Carlos Michaud, Royce Nelson, Alejandro Ochoa, Alyssa Ouellette, Remy Pettengill, Keith Radonis, Gavin Rowe, Giacomo Smith and Haley Webb.

Lake Association Annual Meetings 2021

Image Credit: chinalakeassociation.org

2021 Lake Association Annual Meetings

*   *   *

THREE MILE POND
???

CHINA LAKE
Saturday, July 31 • 8:30 – 11:30 a.m.
China Middle School

WASHINGTON LAKES
???

WEBBER POND
SAT., AUGUST 14, 9 a.m.
Vassalboro Community School

ANNABESSACOOK LAKE ASSN.
???

*   *   *

To be included in this list, contact The Town Line at townline@fairpoint.net.

The 2021 China Lake watershed based survey completed

by Jeanne Marquis

China Lake Association has announced the China Lakes Watershed-Based Survey has been completed and available to the public on their Website at https://www.chinalakeassociation.org/news.

The China Lake Watershed Survey systematically documented areas of soil erosion, ascertained the level of severity at each site and recommended viable solutions. The watershed survey is part of the Watershed-based Management Plan currently in development that will identify strategies for improving the water quality of China Lake over the next ten years.

The reason why the 2021 survey is relevant is the water quality of a lake is determined to a large extent by its watershed – the land that drains into the lake. The China Lake watershed extends 26 miles in Albion, Vassalboro and the towns of China. What happens on property anywhere in this area, even if the property is not in view of the lake, can eventually drain into the lake and impact water quality.

Scott Pierz, president of the China Lake Association, explains, “Historically, China Lake has been on the Department of Environmental Protection’s list of impaired waterbodies for such a long time. Algae blooms started to appear in the early 1980s.”

Soil erosion is a major contributor to quality issues because soil contains the nutrient phosphorus. Much of the phosphorus is naturally occurring in the soil from leached minerals or decaying organic materials. However, some phosphorus enters the soil from human practices such as phosphates in laundry detergent or from the application of fertilizers, both organic and chemical additives. Why phosphorus is potentially harmful to the quality of a lake is it feeds the algae causing a bloom depleting the water’s oxygen content. The lower oxygen level upsets the eco-balance, decreasing the overall water clarity and creating a dead zone that is not habitable by fish life.

The survey was conducted on October 3, 2020, as a project partnered by the China Lake Association (CLA), the Kennebec County Soil & Water Conservation District, China Region Lakes Alliance (CRLA), Kennebec Water District, Town of China, and Maine DEP. A team of local volunteers and technical leaders from the partnering organizations identified and prioritized 161 sites that were current sources of soil erosion and stormwater runoff on developed land within the watershed area.

They used standardized field data sheets and maps to indicate roads, buildings, driveways and stream crossings that were sources of soil erosion contributing to the polluted runoff into China Lake.

Each site was rated with a risk assessment of low, medium to high and recommendations for solutions were identified. Twenty sites were considered a high impact to the lake, 59 were medium impact, and the remaining 82 were low impact. The majority of the sites, 67 percent, were found in residential areas.

These sites tended to have less severe erosion issues that could be easily fixed at minimal cost. Seventeen percent of the sites were identified on private, state or town roads. The remaining sites were at lake accesses, commercial property, construction sites, driveways, public land and on trails. The China Lakes Association will reach out to all identified sites with recommended solutions. Project partners will seek grant funding to help cover costs, and the Youth Conservation Corps programs may be able to assist in erosion correction projects.

Pierz reminds us, “Every one of us, in some way, is impacted by China Lake’s water quality, and it’s up to us now to take action and do our part to help reduce stormwater impacts so that in the future we can all enjoy the beauty of China Lake, our recreational opportunities, and the wildlife that is so special to the environment in which we live.”

Since the 1980s when the algae blooms were at their worst in China Lake, considerable progress has been made due to the work of local and state organizations.

Pierz reported, “Regarding most recent trends, during the summers 2017 through 2019, China Lake experienced the best water quality in 30 years! This fact was corroborated through ongoing water quality monitoring completed by the Kennebec Water District during each of those summers. In 2020 water quality was down a bit, but we’re hopeful that all efforts provided by the CLA and CRLA programs, across time, will help heal China Lake.”

The South China Public Library: Central ME Nonprofit Spotlight

photo courtesy of South China Library

by Bob Bennett

As I believe most of we humans are aware, especially in these difficult times, change is inevitable. For the most part, the results of these events are positive, at least in the long run, and we look back with gratitude and acceptance. The South China Public Library is undergoing change to a great degree at this moment and those of us associated with this special organization are certain that ultimately, we will have an entity that will continue to provide the services to our community for which our library has been noted for nearly two centuries.

The verification of this “old age” is that the South China Public Library is the oldest continuously operating public library in the state of Maine. It was established in 1830 and its founders included members of the Jones family and other Quaker families. The library is also one of the oldest nonprofit organizations in the state, incorporated in 1912. The building presently in use by the library had its main section constructed in 1900 and the addition now housing the children’s room was built by volunteers in 1980.

Our historic, treasured building does not have bathroom facilities and we are not able to expand at the current site. Our central location has always made the library very accessible for the residents of South China and for its numerous summer visitors and seasonal residents. In addition, the library’s site directly across from the South China Community Church has allowed us to coordinate our annual fundraisers (until this year) such as the library’s book and pie sale and the church’s chicken barbecue and summer sale. This is a tradition we hope to continue, even with our relocation “around the corner.” These community interactions have always been at the heart of our existence.

The programs the library offers are in many ways our most vital services, and our children’s programs may best reflect this. Every summer for a number of years, we have offered a kid-oriented series of get-togethers, usually on Wednesday mornings, that spotlight local resources and presenters focusing on young people. These range from Mr. Drew and his amazing animals (he “zoomed” with our young patrons recently), to local fire departments stressing the importance of safety, and ice cream trucks, offering a “taste of the good life.”

These foxes were seen recently at the South China Public Library. Perhaps they are interested in reading up on ancestors. (photo by Bob Bennett)

These presentations, starting in late June after schools close and extending into the middle of August, are intended to bring young people together and to encourage reading and learning in the summer. Traditionally, the children’s room is packed as Mr. Drew’s unique critters crawl over willing listeners while he describes their lifestyles or fairy house builders present their construction techniques. We also occasionally host adult-oriented speakers and encourage public interaction and, of course, circulate many books, movies, and audiobooks and provide 24/7wireless internet access. In addition, reflecting our rather unique heritage, all of these activities are provided totally by volunteers supported by a board of directors consisting of local residents. All financial donations go to support the South China Library and its services. And in the last several years, much of those funds have been directed toward the new library.

Having outgrown our present site, the South China Library purchased the Rufus M. Jones House and property that rests largely between the Jones Road and Lakeview Drive, in South China. The ground breaking ceremony for new construction was held on August 6, 2018, and work has continued at a relatively slow pace since then. The portable classroom purchased from the town of China for $1 has been added to the new building as well. This new location will give us more and better organized interior space and will have the amenities that will allow our patrons and volunteer staff to be more comfortable year round. In the future we plan to develop the Jones house as an attractive historic venue. Fundraising for this still-evolving change in the library’s life is ongoing, and the results will ultimately continue our mission and efforts for a long time to come.

In conclusion, the South China Public Library is a vital, useful and compassionate presence in our town and the surrounding area. We have been in existence for 191 years and during that time have provided a multitude of services to untold numbers of loyal receivers. Change is inevitable, and we look forward to the future.

Please support your local library.

The Town Line will continue with a series on local nonprofit groups and their work in their respective communities. To include your group, contact The Town Line at townline@townline.org.

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Churches – Part 4

South China Meeting House.

by Mary Grow

Two churches in the Town of China were added to the National Register of Historic Places on Aug. 4, 1983. The earlier is the Pond Meeting House, on Lakeview Drive, built in 1807. The South China Meeting House, now South China Community Church, on Village Street, dates from 1884. Both were originally houses of worship for the Quakers, or Society of Friends.

The present Town of China’s first settlers, two generations of the Clark family, came in 1774 and established their homesteads around China Lake’s east basin. Originally named Jones Plantation after surveyor John Jones, the area was Harlem from 1796 to 1822 and became China in 1822, with various boundary changes along the way.

In his chapter on the Society of Friends in Kingsbury’s Kennebec County history, Rufus Jones, China’s most famous Quaker, wrote that Miriam Clark, wife of settler Jonathan Clark, and her sons Andrew and Ephraim were Quakers; her husband and two other sons were not.

Andrew and Ephraim Clark made their homes on the east shore of the lake. For the first few years, the nearest Quaker meeting was 40 miles away in Durham.

In 1780, the Vassalboro Friends established the earliest meeting in Kennebec County, Jones wrote. The first Vassalboro meeting house, built in 1785-86, was near the Kennebec River, about 10 miles from the Clarks’ China home. In 1797 the East Vassalboro meeting house opened, an easy ride across China Lake.

Enough other Quaker families arrived in the next two decades to justify a China meeting, which began in 1802 in Lemuel Hawkes’ house. Jones quoted from February (2nd month, to Quakers) 1807 minutes of the China Friends meeting, at which they voted to share the cost of building a 30-by-40-foot meeting house on land bought from Jedediah Jepson. They appointed Jepson, Reuben Fairfield, Isaac Hussey and James Meader as the building committee, instructing them to work as they thought best and report when necessary.

Pond Meeting House

The Pond Meeting House is about three miles south of the north end of the lake. Gregory Clancey, the architectural historian who wrote the application for National Register recognition in April 1983, described it as “a modest but pleasing post and beam structure, devoid of all ornament or stylistic claim, save for the concern with regularity and proportion characteristic of Federal buildings.”

The building is a story-and-a-half high with a steep roof. The equally tall entranceway, attached at right angles on the west side of the building, has separate entrance doors with a window between them.

Although Quakers always accepted women as entitled to speak at meetings and to act as preachers, inside a meetinghouse men sat on one side and women on the other, usually with a moveable partition between them. They would be together for worship, separated for business meetings.

Update on Victor Grange

The May 13 history article was about Victor Grange in Fairfield Center, the oldest continuously operating Grange in the central Kennebec Valley area. Since then, Barbara Bailey, the Grange member who contributed so much to the story, has sent out the Grange’s summer newsletter.

One theme is continuing work on the grounds and building. The new parking lot beside the Grange Hall is finished and in use. Interior work has run into unexpected problems, as so often happens with old buildings (readers will remember, of course, that the hall was built in 1902 and 1903).

The section headed “The Insulation Saga” explains that Grange members are fund-raising to insulate the building. The first step, finished in May, was “to get all the critter droppings cleaned out and disinfected” to protect the ceiling.

An insulation vendor explained that insulating required adding ventilation. Grangers are now seeking someone who can ventilate and insulate the top of the building, as they continue to raise funds to pay that person. Suggestions, volunteers and donations are welcome.

The mailing address is Victor Grange, c/o Roger Shorty, 118 Oakland Road, Fairfield, Maine 04937; the email address is Victorgrange49@gmail.com. The Grange has a Facebook page that includes information on coming events, the second theme of the newsletter.

These include hosting the Fairfield Historical Society’s annual Quilt Show on Saturday, July 10, and Sunday, July 11, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $5 to view more than 50 antique and new quilts. Grange members will provide lunches and snacks.

On Saturday, July 31, from 9 a.m. to noon, Rita Fortin, President of the Clinton and Somerset County extension services, will host a free workshop on canning green beans. She is scheduled to return on Saturday, Aug. 28, same hours, to talk about canning tomatoes. Interested area residents can sign up at the Grange email address above or by contacting Fortin directly at 453-2945 or ritafortin2@gmail.com.

The Pond Meeting House originally had two rooms separated by what Clancey called “a shutter-door attached to the ceiling with iron hooks.” The interior was a single room by 1983, except that in 1930 a corner had been partitioned off to make a kitchen.

Clancey described the interior with its exposed beams and hand-hewn pine floorboards and roof timbers. The meeting house was by then, as it is in 2021, part of the China Friends Camp, founded in 1953 under the auspices of the New England Yearly Meeting of Friends.

What is now the South China Community Church was initially a Friends meeting house also, built in 1884 on the north side of Village Street.

The first church building on the lot, Jones wrote, was the Second Baptist Church’s brick meeting house, built in the 1820s or 1830s. On May 10, 1856, church members approved selling the building. It was moved, and in 1862, they put up a larger wooden building on the lot.

The South China Baptists were active in the prohibition movement in the 1860s and 1870s. On Oct. 1, 1869, Jones wrote, “a liquor man” burned down their church. The Friends later bought the lot for a dollar on condition that they build a house of worship.

The China bicentennial history names the building committee for the new meeting house: five men, one surnamed Philbrook and four surnamed Jones.

The earliest section of the meeting house, Clancey wrote, was a single room in a minimally-decorated, clapboard-sided story-and-a-half building with a pitched cedar-shingled roof, its gable ends on the north and south. There were three windows on each of the long sides and a small vestibule on the south (street) side

About 1900, Clancey wrote, the vestibule was extended across the gable end and four street-facing windows were added. At the west end of the vestibule a square tower not much taller than the building was constructed, with a south-facing door in the base. Another door was added to the east end of the enlarged vestibule.

At that time, the upper part of the tower was shingled rather than clapboarded and was “painted a darker color than the rest of the church,” Clancey wrote. Later (undated) additions included a room behind the tower attached to the original west wall and a small shed that Clancey wrote was a kitchen in 1983.

The interior was remodeled repeatedly. The change Clancey mentioned specifically was the 1970s addition of a stained-glass window parishioners bought from Whittimore Associates, of Needham Heights, Massachusetts.

Meanwhile, the building was home to weekly Friends meetings until the 1930s, when the congregation became too small to support a pastor. In 1935, the bicentennial history says, the Friends proposed uniting village residents in the South China Community Fellowship, which continues active today.

The Friends own the church building. Fellowship members retain their individual religious affiliations, but they cooperate to maintain the building, select a minister and organize and finance community religious and social activities. Current Pastor Paul Harwath has served since 2012, according to the church website.

Clancey’s 1983 application for National Historic Register listing included three other buildings associated with Rufus Jones, who was profiled in the July 30 and August 6, 2020, issues of The Town Line.

Two residential buildings gained individual listings and will be discussed, with a third, in the next article in this series. The third nominee, the South China Public Library across Village Street from the church, was rejected by the keepers of the National Register.

The square story-and-a-half library building was built in 1900, Clancey wrote, with donated materials and local labor. It housed books for a library originally incorporated in 1830. Library association members have described the South China Library as the oldest continuously functioning library in Maine, but not the oldest library (see box).

The first library in the State of Maine (before Maine was a state)

Blue Hill Library

The Blue Hill library, in Hancock County, was organized in 1796 in the local grocery store, with the grocer as the librarian. According to an on-line history, “Overdue fines were six cents a week, with additional fines of two cents per page for spilled drops of oil or tallow.”

The library’s bookplate, which the history site says is still used, was designed by the first Congregational minister in town, Jonathan Fisher (1768-1847; in Blue Hill from 1794 to 1837). Fisher, one of the founders of Bangor Theological Seminary, was also an artist (his self-portrait is on his Wikipedia page), a writer (including local newspaper reporting) who could bind his own books, a scientist, mathematician and surveyor. He built his house and designed and built furniture.

The Blue Hill Library history page explains that lack of interest caused the library to close before the Civil War. After almost 20 years, a new group reorganized it in the 1860s as the Ladies Social Library of Blue Hill.

The ladies met once a week to swap and discuss books over dishes of ice cream. By 1895, Blue Hill had a new town hall and the library had two rooms on the ground floor. The first professional librarian, a Colby College graduate named Anne Hinckley, was hired in or soon after 1930.

In the 1930s, the library had a car that was its bookmobile, used to bring books to remote residents and to students in Blue Hill’s seven elementary schools and George Stevens Academy. The history site says library services included party planning.

Besides Hinckley, two other women are associated with the 20th-century Blue Hill Library, according to the history site.

Adelaide Pearson was responsible for hiring Hinckley and was the driving force behind the first separate library building, a brick structure designed by Augusta architects Bunker and Savage and opened in March 1940. She and Hinckley persuaded the federal Public Works Administration, created to combat the Depression by funding big public works projects, that a library in Blue Hill, Maine, qualified.

An on-line photo shows the ground-breaking for the building, Dec. 19, 1938, with the comment, “It was 12 degrees below zero.”

Dorris Parker was the first full-time Blue Hill librarian. She started as head librarian in 1944 and retired in 1981. An on-line photo, from the 1950s, shows a small, dark-haired woman behind a large, rather cluttered circulation desk that has three panels across the front and two more on back-folded side wings, each with a scene that appears to depict a historical event. Well-filled bookshelves rise on either side of the desk and the office area behind it.

The Blue Hill Library remains active today, in space that was doubled by a $2 million expansion in 2000 and 2001. The expansion provided a children’s room and a community meeting room. The website says the library building typically hosts 450 meetings and 400 library-sponsored events annually.

Clancey had the library building on his nomination list because, he wrote, “Rufus Jones served as library president 1919-1948, the only civic activity with which he was associated.”

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).

No quorum for China recreation committee, but discussions continue

Hikers on Bridge in Thurston Park (Photo courtesy: Town of China)

by Mary Grow

With only Chairman Martha Wentworth and member Todd Dunn at the June 23 China Recreation Committee meeting, discussion could not lead to any votes, but they and an interested resident talked about program plans.

The town-owned ballfields for which the committee is responsible are being used for spring sports. Wentworth said the dugouts had been refurbished by volunteers from Central Church, after the committee bought materials.

The recreation committee plans to schedule two August movie nights. Dates and names of movies are to be determined. Wentworth said whatever is shown will be “family-oriented.”

The committee has up to $1,000 to buy a screen, projector and speakers, she said. The first two she expects to cost about $300 each.

There will be no charge for admission, and Wentworth sees no reason to limit attendance to China residents. Those who want to sit in the front rows need to bring their own blankets and sit on the ground; those who prefer chairs will set up farther back.

Dunn and Wentworth considered inviting a town nonprofit organization to sell refreshments during the movies, but were unable to make a decision.

They intend to ask movie audience members for suggestions for additional programs and to invite them to sign up to assist the committee. They discussed working with school officials, the China Days Committee or organizations like the Four Seasons Club that promote sports and recreation. Especially, they welcome suggested activities that would encourage children to exercise outdoors, after too much time indoors.

Wentworth and Dunn scheduled the next recreation committee meeting for Wednesday evening, July 28. Wentworth will try to find out in advance how many members can come, so she can cancel the meeting if there is no quorum.

China will not receive ConnectMe grant

by Mary Grow

The China Broadband Committee (CBC) did not get a state ConnectMe grant that members had hoped to use to hire Hawkeye Connections, Inc., of Poland, Maine, to establish the cost of new broadband infrastructure for the town.

Meeting the afternoon of June 23, committee members and consultants who had watched part of the state meeting that morning agreed they had not heard China on the list of towns receiving grants.

CBC members had asked for $7,500, to be matched with $2,500 from town Tax Increment Financing funds. Their goal was to have Hawkeye engineers give them a firm figure for construction costs.

There was consensus no other possible grant could provide funds soon enough so that Hawkeye engineers could survey the town in July and the committee could report costs to the selectboard in August. Other possible sources of an immediate $10,000 were discussed, including asking the selectmen for money from the contingency fund voters approved at the June 8 town meeting.

The China Broadband Committee invites all residents to a public meeting to learn about the proposed broadband expansion in town. The meeting will be at 4 p.m., Sunday, July 11, in the China Middle School gymnasium. Committee members and consultants plan a short presentation followed by a question and answer session.

On June 25, committee member Jamie Pitney emailed that Ronald Breton, Chairman of the China Selectboard, agreed to add a request for $10,000 from contingency to the July 6 selectmen’s agenda, if committee members submit one.

The same day, Mark Ouellette, President of Axiom Technologies, the company CBC members plan to have as internet provider, reported that Hawkeye engineers plan to do a detailed survey that would result in a firm construction-cost estimate; but, he said, the work will take two months, not the one month CBC members had planned on.

CBC members plan to ask selectmen to put a construction bond issue on the Nov. 2 local ballot. Pitney said they should have information to the selectmen by July 29, in preparation for discussion at the Aug. 2 selectmen’s meeting.

The committee has discussed rough estimates of potential construction costs. Given the uncertainty, and, Pitney added, fluctuating costs of materials, members decided they had no “ceiling” figure they could use as they explain their proposal to town residents and officials.

The other major action at the June 23 meeting was a final review of the informational flyer the committee will distribute as widely as possible, to ensure residents are aware of their plan and have opportunities to get more information.

The next CBC meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, July 1.

China planners spend time on final Solar Energy System ordinance review

by Mary Grow

China Planning Board members ignored most of their June 22 agenda to spend time on a final review of the Solar Energy Systems Ordinance they hope selectmen will present to voters on Nov. 2 and voters will approve.

Running out of time to finish, they scheduled a special meeting Monday evening, June 28. At that meeting, they agreed, non-unanimously, on a version to forward to the selectboard.

An early (May 2021) draft of the ordinance is on the town website, www.china.govoffice.com, under the Planning Board. Board members intend to publicize their final draft after they submit it to the selectboard.

Most of the June 22 and June 28 work was grammatical; major substantive issues have been resolved. The exception, discussed June 28 and at several prior meetings, was how to treat solar panels when determining lot coverage by impervious surfaces.

The panels have two parts, the relatively small bases on which the supporting poles stand and the much larger panels themselves. Since the panels are tilted, they cover slightly less ground than their actual size.

To help control erosion, state and town regulations limit the amount of ground area on a lot that can be covered by structures with impervious surfaces. If an ordinance treats a solar panel as a structure, the area covered by panels is limited – in the Town of China, to 20 percent of the lot in rural areas and 15 percent in shoreland zones (the two areas where the draft ordinance would allow rows of solar panels).

The state Department of Environmental Protection and many Maine towns do not call solar panels structures. A solar array that covers a lot almost completely, like the one on Route 3 outside Augusta that was repeatedly referenced by planning board members, is allowed.

China Planning Board members have called a solar panel a structure. They have thereby limited the amount of ground covered by installations they have approved under existing ordinances. Solar developers have asked them to change their approach.

The draft ordinance slightly modifies previous practice by providing that the tilt of the panels be considered in determining the area covered.

Board member Scott Rollins proposed a further compromise: count only one-half of the area of the panels as structures or impervious. The change would let a developer cover up to 40 percent of a lot, board member James Wilkens quickly calculated.

Rollins made three main points:

The ground under solar panels is covered with grass and other low plants that absorb water dripping from the panels, rather than letting it run off. A solar array thus does not cause erosion.
Since China’s lot coverage limit is one of the lowest around (to help protect the town’s lakes, people have said at previous meetings), making solar panels follow structure regulations is an unnecessarily restrictive provision that discourages solar development in town.
Solar is a form of renewable energy that should be encouraged.

Wilkens and board Chairman Randall Downer were primarily concerned about the appearance of a field of panels like the one on Route 3, having heard multiple negative comments.

Downer fears too little restriction on lot coverage would lead China voters to reject the ordinance. He wants it approved Nov. 2; his goal is “never [again] to have to make it up as we go along on solar applications” to match them to ordinances written for buildings.

Wilkens added that even with the restrictions, China has attracted solar projects.

Rollins’ motion to include the 50 percent rule in the draft ordinance was rejected on a vote of one in favor (Rollins) to three opposed (Downer, Wilkens and Natale Tripodi).

Downer proposed a different compromise: ask selectmen to put a second question to voters about how limited the size of solar arrays should be. Rollins did not object. He and Downer intend to work on the wording of such a question before the planning board’s July 12 meeting.

As the June 28 meeting ended, board members voted 3-0-1 to forward the ordinance to the selectboard, with Rollins abstaining.

The only other issue covered on the June 22 agenda was resident Brent Chesley’s request for a clarification of a section of the minutes from the Feb. 23 planning board meeting. Codes Officer Jaime Hanson recommended adding Chesley’s suggested explanation, and board members approved unanimously.