Endicott College, in Beverly, Massachusetts, has announced its Spring 2022 dean’s list students. Hunter Scholz, of Augusta, a history major, is the son of Kimberly Scholz and Stephen Scholz
Hailey Hobart, of China Village, studies/education major, is the daughter of Deborah Hobart and Daniel Hobart.
Alana York, of Palermo, a business management major, is the daughter of Cheryl York and Andrew York.
Webber Pond.
The Board of Directors of the Webber Pond Association (WPA) is recommending that WPA members approve the Revised WPA Bylaws shown below at the August 13, 2022, Annual Meeting.
ARTICLE I. NAME AND PURPOSE Page 1
ARTICLE II. MEMBERSHIP AND MEMBER MEETINGS Page 1
ARTICLE III. BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND BOARD MEETINGS Page 2
ARTICLE IV. OFFICERS Page 3
ARTICLE V. INDEMNIFICATION Page 3
ARTICLE VI. AMENDMENT Page 4
A. NAME: The name of the Corporation is the Webber Pond Association, Incorporated (“WPA”).
B. PURPOSE: The purpose of the WPA shall be to protect and improve the water quality and water level management of Webber Pond to enhance recreational enjoyment. This shall be accomplished through education, conservation efforts, active management, and timely identification and correction of problems that arise.
C. REGISTERED AGENT and OFFICE: The Registered Agent and Registered Office of the WPA shall be as designated by the Board of Directors or President. The address of the Registered Office may be changed from time to time by the Board of Directors, President, or the Registered Agent.
A. MEMBERSHIP: Membership shall be open to any person who supports the purposes of the WPA. A member in good standing is defined as an individual who supports the purposes of the WPA and has paid annual membership dues.
B. DUES: Membership dues shall be as determined by the Board of Directors. Members are to be notified of the dues amount at least 14 days prior to the Annual Meeting by the Secretary, President, or designee. Dues cover the period from one Annual Meeting to the day before the next Annual Meeting.
C. MEMBERSHIP PRIVILEGES: Only members in good standing are entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting or any Special Meeting, serve as a Director or Officer, or serve on a committee. Each member in good standing shall have the right to cast one vote. The approval of a majority of members is required to elect members of the Board of Directors and Officers of the WPA; amend the Bylaws of the WPA; approve the sale or other disposition of all, or substantially all, of the assets of the WPA; and approve the dissolution of the WPA, or merger/consolidation into another legal entity.
D. VOTING QUORUM and MAJORITY RULE: Twenty members of the WPA must be present in person or by valid proxy at Annual or Special member meetings to vote on agenda items. A valid proxy shall serve as a presence for quorum purposes. A majority vote of members present, in person or by valid proxy, is required to pass a motion.
E. PROXY VOTING: Any member in good standing that cannot attend the Annual Meeting, or any Special Meeting, has the right to appoint another member in good standing to attend the meeting and vote in their place as a proxy. The member appointing the proxy must sign and date a WPA proxy form authorizing the proxy to attend a specific meeting and vote on their behalf. To be valid, the proxy form must be signed and dated by the member not more than 60 days prior to the meeting, be presented by the person representing the member to the Secretary or the person presiding at the meeting before or at the commencement of the meeting and shall be effective only for the meeting specified in the document. A member in good standing may only act as a proxy for up to two members in good standing. Members who have signed a proxy form have the right to revoke the proxy by providing written notice to the President or Secretary of the WPA at least 24 hours prior to the meeting.
F. ANNUAL MEETING: The Annual Meeting of the membership of the WPA shall be held on a Saturday in August, or as determined by the Board of Directors. The purpose of the Annual Meeting is to elect Officers and Directors for the following year, receive reports of the actions of the WPA and discuss issues of concern. Notice of the Annual Meeting shall be sent by the Secretary, President, or designee at least 14 days prior to the meeting and include the agenda for the meeting, the dues amount, and the recommended slate of Officers and Board Members.
G. SPECIAL MEETINGS: Special Meetings of the membership of the WPA may be called by the President, any five Directors and Officers, or any seven members of the WPA. Notice of a request for a Special Meeting shall be sent to the President and Secretary 28 days prior to the proposed meeting date and shall include the purpose of the meeting and a proposed agenda. The request including purpose and agenda shall be forwarded to members by the Secretary or President at least 14 days prior to the proposed meeting date.
H. POLL OF MEMBERSHIP: The Board of Directors my put questions to members by email if this is determined to be in the best interests of the WPA. The Board will include its position on questions posed.
A. RESPONSIBILITIES: The management and administration of the WPA shall be entrusted to the Board of Directors. The Board shall define, establish, and maintain policies and practices as necessary for the operation of the WPA.
B. NUMBER: There shall be a minimum of 5 and no more than 15 members of the Board of Directors, including those Directors serving as Officers.
C. QUALIFICATION: A person must be recognized as a member in good standing of the WPA to be a member of the Board of Directors.
D. TERM: Directors shall serve for a term of three years and remain on the Board until they resign or are replaced by vote of WPA members in good standing. Directors may be re-elected with no term limits. The Board may implement a system of staggered terms for Directors whereby approximately one-third of the Directors may be elected at each Annual Meeting, to provide continuity for the Board.
E. NOMINATION: 1. A Nominating Committee of 3 to 5 Board Members appointed by the Board of Directors shall ask WPA members for any expressions of interest in becoming a WPA Officer or Director or their recommendations for WPA Officers and Directors by the end of May. The Nomination Committee shall prepare a slate of candidates for the Board of Directors and Officers for review and vote at least 14 days prior to the June Board Meeting. The slate of Officer and Directors recommended by the current Board members will be included in the Notice of the Annual Meeting to be sent to members 14 days before the Annual Meeting.
F. MEETINGS: Board of Directors meetings may be called by the President or a majority of the Board members.
G. VOTING QUORUM: The attendance of half or more of the current Board members in person or electronically shall constitute a quorum to approve motions.
H. VOTING: For all matters coming before the Board of Directors, a majority vote of those at a meeting in person or electronically at which a quorum is present shall prevail.
I. USE OF ELECTRONIC MEANS: To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Board of Directors and committees may conduct business by electronic means, including, but not limited to, electronic attendance and email notices to Directors and committee members.
J. WATER QUALITY AND WATER LEVEL COMMITTEE: A standing committee of no less than 5 and no more than 11 members appointed by the Board of Directors, with a majority being Board Members and the balance being WPA members in good standing who have indicated an interest in participating. The committee shall develop, maintain, administer, and communicate water quality and water level monitoring and management procedures for the WPA. These shall be based upon Webber data, best practices, and recommendations from the Town of Vassalboro and relevant State of Maine and federal agencies. The committee shall also promote education and outreach programs that encourage best practices for lake users, such as the LakeSmart program that helps lakefront property owners manage their land to protect water quality.
K. VACANCIES: Vacancies in the Board may be filled by the Board of Directors. The person so selected will serve until the next Annual Meeting.
L. CONFLICT OF INTEREST: If any matter comes before the Board in such a way as to give rise to a conflict of interest, the affected Director shall make known the potential conflict, answer any questions that may be asked of them and withdraw from the meeting until the matter has been brought to a vote. The affected Director shall not participate in discussions or vote on the matter and shall not be included in the calculation of a quorum for the vote on the matter.
M. DISQUALIFICATION AND TERMINATION: Three absences from meetings of the Board of Directors shall constitute grounds for disqualification. Two-thirds of the Board of Directors shall have the authority to terminate a person’s position on the Board of Directors.
A. OFFICERS: The Officers shall be a President, Vice-President, Treasurer, and Secretary. The Secretary and Treasurer may be combined at the discretion of the Board of Directors.
B. QUALIFICATIONS: A person must be recognized as a member in good standing of the WPA to be a WPA Officer.
C. TERM: Officers shall serve for a term of two years and remain in office until they resign or are replaced by vote of WPA members in good standing. Officers may be re-elected with no term limits.
D. PRESIDENT: The President shall be the chief executive and administrative officer of the WPA, leading the affairs of the WPA in a manner consistent with the Purpose of the WPA and in cooperation with the Board of Directors. The President will preside at all Board, Annual and Special meetings and perform other duties as assigned by the Board of Directors.
E. VICE PRESIDENT: The Vice President shall perform duties as assigned by the President and the Board of Directors. In the absence or disability of the President, the Vice President shall perform the duties of the President.
F. TREASURER: The Treasurer shall keep accurate records of all monies received and paid out and shall have custody of all property, including bank accounts. All funds shall be paid out as directed by the Board of Directors or President. The Treasurer shall make a report of the financial condition of the WPA at Board and Annual member meetings.
G. SECRETARY: The Secretary shall count votes at meetings, keep a faithful record of all meetings, and perform other secretarial duties as required. Draft minutes of Board Meetings are to be sent to the Board within 2 weeks of the date of any Board Meeting. Draft minutes of Annual and Special Meetings are to be sent to the Board for review within 14 days and shall be reviewed by the Board promptly, so that they can be forwarded and to the members of the WPA within 28 days of the date of the Annual or Special Meeting.
H. VACANCIES: Vacancies in any Officer position may be filled by the Board of Directors. The person so selected will serve until the next Annual Meeting.
A. INDEMNIFICATION: The Directors, Officers, volunteers, employees, and agents of the WPA shall not be individually or personally liable for the debts or obligations of the WPA and shall be indemnified by the WPA against all financial loss, damage, cost, and expense (including attorney’s fees) reasonably incurred by or imposed upon them in connection with or resulting from any civil or criminal action, suit, proceeding, claim, or investigation in which they may be involved by reason of any action taken or omitted to be taken by them in good faith as a Director, Officer, volunteer, employee, or agent of the WPA.
B. PRUDENT CARE: Indemnification is subject to the condition that a majority of a quorum of the Board of Directors comprised of those Directors who are not parties to such action, suit, proceeding, claim, or investigation, or if there be no such quorum, independent counsel selected by a quorum of the entire Board of Directors, shall be of the opinion that the person requesting indemnification acted in good faith and in the reasonable belief, under the circumstances, that their actions were in the best interests of the WPA, or that such person took or omitted to take such action in reliance upon advice of counsel for the WPA or acted on information furnished by a Director, Officer, employee, or agent of the WPA and accepted in good faith by the person seeking indemnification.
C. BENEFIT: The indemnification provided herein shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors, or administrators of any Director, Officer, volunteers, employee, or agent and shall not be exclusive of any other rights to which such party may be entitled by law or under any resolutions adopted by the Board of Directors.
D. INSURANCE: The WPA shall procure insurance covering the Directors, Officers, and volunteers of the WPA against any liability incurred in such capacity or arising out of their status as such.
A. AMENDMENT: These Bylaws may be amended at any Annual or Special Meeting of members by a majority vote of members in good standing present in person or by proxy where a quorum exists. Suggestions for changes to the Bylaws to be made at an Annual Meeting must be submitted to the President and Secretary by any member in good standing no later than July 1 so that they can be considered by the Board of Directors and sent to WPA members with the Board’s input for consideration at least 14 days prior to the Annual Meeting. Suggestions for changes to the Bylaws to be made at a Special Meeting must be submitted to the President and Secretary by any member in good standing at least 28 days prior to the proposed Special Meeting so that they can be considered by the Board of Directors and sent to WPA members with the Board’s input for consideration at least 14 days prior to the proposed Special Meeting.
The Sheepscot Lake Association annual meeting, held on July 21, was well attended, and successful, according to association officials. (contributed photo)
The Sheepscot Lake Association held its annual meeting on Thursday, July 21. The meeting was very successful and well attended, with Matt Scott, retired Maine fisheries biologist as keynote speaker. Matt devoted many years in working to protect our lakes and ponds through organizations such as the Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program (VLMP).
The lake association also honored retiring board member, co-founder and past vice president Lynda Pound, for her more than 10 years of service to Sheepscot Lake.
If you were unable to attend and would like additional information about the Sheepscot Lake Association, or would like to renew your membership, or become a member, please visit their website: www.sheepscotlakeassociation.org. You can also reach them via email: sheepscotlakeassoc@gmail.com.
Image Credit: chinalakeassociation.org
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SHEEPSCOT LAKE ASSN.
THURSDAY, JULY 21
7 p.m.
Palermo Consolidated School
Route 3
CHINA LAKE
SATURDAY, JULY 30
9 – 10:30 a.m.
China Middle School
Lakeview Drive
WEBBER POND
SATURDAY, AUGUST 13
10 a.m.
Vassalboro Community School
Webber Pond Road
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To be included in this list, contact The Town Line at townline@fairpoint.net.
Ashley Wills, of Palermo, photographed this unusual sunset over Sheepscot Lake.
Hello fellow Lake-lovers! It doesn’t seem possible, but Summer 2022 is now upon us! The Sheepscot Lake Association looks forward to another summer full of fun-filled lake activities. We welcome both new members and returning to the lake association and thank you all for your continued support.
We will be hosting our Annual General Membership meeting on Thursday, July 21, at 7 p.m., at the Palermo Consolidated School, on Rte 3. Please join us that evening to renew your membership, meet your neighbors, and discuss the programs that help keep our Lake healthy. The Courtesy Boast Inspection Program, LakeSmart, Water Quality Testing, and the Annual Loon Count are all important programs that need membership involvement to continue functioning. If you are not able to attend the meeting and would like to renew your membership, join SLA, or get involved in one of these programs please email us at sheepscotlakeassoc@gmail.com.
Three board member positions are available starting July 2022 as we have some members retiring from their posts. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Lynda Pound and Sharon Nichols for their time and dedication during their years of service. If you or someone you know may be interested in serving on the board please put your name into nomination and attend the meeting on July 21.
Another exciting announcement is that SLA now has an online merchandise store. For a full selection of merchandise, you can purchase at any time via this website link: https://www.bonfire.com/store/sheepscot-lake-association/. We will have a limited selection for purchase as well at our meeting.
These are great ways to get involved and help be a part of preserving something special, Sheepscot Lake.
For more information you may also reach out to us either by email, or on our Sheepscot Lake Association Facebook page or the website (sheepscotlakeassociation.org). Thank you for your support, and we look forward to seeing you on July 21st!
Submitted by Maria O’Rourke
President, Sheepscot Lake Association
Sheepscot Lake Association will be hosting its Annual General Membership meeting on Thursday, July 21, at 7 p.m., at the Palermo Consolidated School, on Rte 3. Please attend that evening to renew your membership, meet your neighbors, and discuss the programs that help keep the lake healthy. The Courtesy Boast Inspection Program, LakeSmart, Water Quality Testing, and the annual loon count are all important programs that need membership involvement to continue functioning. If you are not able to attend the meeting and would like to renew your membership, join SLA, or get involved in one of these programs, please email at sheepscotlakeassoc@gmail.com, or visit the website www.sheepscotlakeassocation.org.
Captain David Sulin in Civil War attire. (photo by Mrs. Sulin)
Learn about Palermo Soldiers’ role in the Battle of Gettysburg at the Palermo Community Library’s Annual Meeting.
The Palermo Community Library will celebrate its 20th anniversary at the annual meeting on Sunday, July 10, 2022, at 2 p.m. The Palermo Historical Society joins the library in co-hosting our featured speaker, Captain Sulin, a member of Maine 20th Volunteer Infantry Company B reenactors. Captain Sulin will tell us about soldiers from Palermo and their role in the Battle of Gettysburg. He will also bring lots of artifacts and personal items from the Civil War.
Although the meeting starts at 2 p.m., Captain Sulin encourages the public to come as early as 1 p.m. to look at his large display and ask any questions you may have. Captain Sulin’s talk will serve as a nice lead-in to the Maine 20th reenactor’s Palermo Days encampment next to the Worthing House August 12, 13, and 14.
This is a public meeting and all are invited. Light refreshments will be served. The library is located at 2789 Route 3. For more information call 993-6088 or email palermomelibrary@gmail.com or visit www.palermo.lib.me.us.
Early drawing – An Indian Campsite At The “Rips” On Cobbossee Stream, Maine, Circa 1750.
Last week’s article talked about Native American sites along the Kennebec River between Fairfield and Sidney on the west bank, but the east bank between Ticonic (Winslow) and Cushnoc (Augusta) was skipped for lack of space. This week’s article will remedy the omission by talking about Vassalboro and about sites inland on the east side of the river (as was done for the west side last week).
Vassalboro either was popular with the Kennebec tribe or has been more thoroughly explored than other areas (or both), because various histories mention several areas connected with Native Americans, including at least one Native American burial ground on the Kennebec.
Alma Pierce Robbins, in her Vassalboro history, quoted a historian of the Catholic Church in Maine who claimed Mount Tom was an “Indian Cemetery.” Mount Tom is now in the Annie Sturgis Sanctuary a little north of Riverside, on the section of old Route 201 between the present highway and the river named Cushnoc Road.
Charles E. Nash, in the chapter on Native Americans in Kingsbury’s Kennebec County history, reported a large burial ground north of the mouth of Seven Mile Stream (or Brook), which runs from the southwest corner of Webber Pond to join the Kennebec at Riverside.
Kingsbury himself, in his chapter on Vassalboro, suggested that Robbins’ source and Nash were talking about the same site. Kingsbury wrote that the burial ground was the south side of Mount Tom, “sloping to the brook, on the Sturgis farm.” Artifacts and bones were still “plentiful” there in 1892, he said.
Nash wrote that the Native American name for Seven Mile Brook was Magorgoomagoosuck. James North, in his history of Augusta, spelled it Magorgomagarick.
The pestle was used against the mortar for crushing and grinding and were commonly used for meal preparations such as reducing grain and corn into wheat and meal. Mortar and pestles would have also been used in the preparing of medicine as well as the manufacturing of paint.
An undated on-line copy of a University of Michigan document titled Antiquities of the New England Indians includes descriptions and photographs of a variety of artifacts, including knives, axes and mortars and pestles. The writer explained that mortars and pestles, either wooden or stone, were essential for crushing dried corn kernels.
One pestle that the writer particularly admired came from Vassalboro, and when the description was written it was owned by Kennebec Historical Society. It is now in the Maine State Museum, according to KHS archivist Emily Schroeder.
The pestle is described as 28.5 inches long, made of green slate, topped with a small human head. The illustration shows an almost round head, with oval eyes, a nose indicated by two straight lines with a connecting line at the bottom and a pursed mouth. The writer said the lower half of the pestle was found near Seven Mile Brook; the upper half was found a few miles away four years later, and “The two pieces fitted perfectly together.”
The pestle was broken intentionally, the writer asserted. He wondered whether the destruction of what could be seen as an idol was related to the nearby seventeenth-century Catholic mission.
There are also references to a Native American site farther north along the river, on the section of old Route 201 called Dunham Road.
Robbins wrote that many artifacts had been found on the shores of Webber Pond – so many, she said, that cottages built around 1900 used them as trim around fireplaces.
The major Native American site in Vassalboro located and partly investigated to date was at the outlet of China Lake in East Vassalboro, partly on property on the east side of the foot of the lake and the east bank of Outlet Stream owned for generations by the Cates family. The Vassalboro Historical Society museum in the former East Vassalboro schoolhouse has a room dedicated to information about and artifacts from the site.
According to the exhibit, the area was occupied at least sporadically from 10,000 years ago until Europeans displaced the Native Americans. Different types of tools, weapons and houses are displayed or illustrated and explained. Alewives were harvested at the China Lake outlet 5,000 years ago.
Correspondence on exhibit shows that the Maine Historic Preservation Commission listed the Cates farm site as a protected archaeological site on the Maine Register of Historic Places in the fall of 1989, as requested by George Cates.
The part of China Lake that is in the Town of China was also frequented by Native Americans. The town’s comprehensive plan says the Maine Historic Preservation Commission has found prehistoric sites on two islands in the lake, Indian Island in the east basin and Bradley Island in the west basin (plus one at the north end of Three Mile Pond, and an accompanying map shows a fourth site on Dutton Road). Commission staff think it “highly likely” that there are other sites in town, especially along waterways.
According to the China bicentennial history, the lake was part of one of the Native Americans’ routes inland from the coast in the fall. After final seafood feasts, people would paddle up the Sheepscot to a place about two and a half miles south of China Lake, portage to the south end of the lake and paddle northwest to the outlet in Vassalboro. From there Outlet Stream carried them to the Sebasticook and then to the Kennebec at Ticonic.
The Kennebecs left behind on the west shore of the southern part of the lake’s east basin a heart shape carved into a boulder. World-famous Quaker Rufus Jones, of China, told a story about this carving several times, including as a chapter in Maine Indians in History and Legends.
Jones began by warning readers that his version of The Romance of the Indian Heart is part history and part imagination. He refused to say which was which.
The legend features a Kennebec brave named Keriberba, son of Chief Bomazeen (or Bomaseen, mentioned in the June 9 article in this series), from Norridgewock, and his wife Nemaha, from Pemaquid, whom he met at one of the annual seafood feasts at Damariscotta.
Coming home from the coast, Keriberba, Nemaha and their companions stopped to roast and eat the last clams on the west shore of China Lake’s east basin by “a large sentinel granite rock” from the glacial age. They continued to Norridgewock, where Father Sebastian Rale married them beneath a picture of the Sacred Heart that hung above the altar.
Nemaha immediately organized a group named “The Sisters of the Sacred Heart,” Jones wrote. The women took lessons from Father Rale and hosted an annual feast.
When the British soldiers made their final and successful attack on Norridgewock in August 1724, Keriberba and a few other young men “escaped across the river.” Nemaha grabbed the picture of the Sacred Heart from the church and with others of her sisterhood ran to a secret hiding place in the woods.
The next morning the two groups reunited. After burying Bomazeen, Father Rale and others, they gathered up what the British had left of their belongings and went back to settle at the feasting spot on China Lake.
Jones described the 300-year-old pines that sheltered their wigwams, and the shrine they built for the Sacred Heart picture that became “the center of their religion.” The importance of the picture was reinforced when, one evening, Keriberba called across the lake, “Le sacré Coeur,” (“the sacred heart” in Father Rale’s native French). His words echoed back to him across the water.
Jones wrote that he too had experienced the echo, from the place on the shore that repeats whole sentences. But to the Kennebecs, it seemed to be the voice of the Great Spirit. From then on, Keriberba called every evening and they were comforted by the reply.
Jones described years of living in peace, traveling to Norridgewock to grow corn (because they could not clear enough land by the lake), hunting deer, moose and an occasional bear, importing clams that fed muskrats (both edible), netting and smoking alewives. As children were born and grew up, the group became larger.
One night, a storm destroyed the Sacred Heart shrine and blew the picture into the lake, where it turned to pulp. The next day, Keriberba began carving a recreation of the sacred heart into the granite rock.
When his picture was finished, the group feasted and danced until late at night. Before they went to bed, Keriberba stood beside his carving and shouted, “Le sacré coeur” – and the words came back just as they should.
There is a little more to Jones’ story; it will be continued next week.
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Your writer has found only bits and pieces of information about Native Americans in the areas now included in the towns of Albion, Clinton and Palermo, and nothing from Windsor.
The 2004 report on the archaeological survey around Unity Wetlands and along the Sheepscot River, reprinted on line and mentioned last week, cited a person named Willoughby who, in a 1986 publication, described one pre-European relic from Albion. The reference is to “an isolated Indian artifact recovered by a farmer in the town of Albion – a ‘mask-like sculpture’ of sandstone with pecked and incised eyes, mouth, and other facial lines. It is unclear if the portable rock sculpture was found within the Unity Wetlands study area or simply nearby.”
A photo of what is almost certainly the same sculpture, described as “found while digging potatoes in Albion, Maine” appears in the on-line Antiquities of the New England Indians. The writer described the head as sandstone, about 10 inches long by two inches thick at the thickest point.
The writer continued, “Its natural smooth surface was used for the face, and the rougher fractured surface of the back was smoothed by pecking.” The face tapers to a chin; ears round out on either side; two small round dark eyes each has a circular outline; a smaller dark circle represents the nose; and parallel horizontal lines make a slightly off-center mouth.
The writer described traces of red pigment on the front and yellow pigment on the back. He surmised the effigy came from a grave.
Clinton’s 2006 comprehensive plan says the Maine Historic Preservation Commission had found four prehistoric sites within the town boundaries, one on the Kennebec River, one on the Sebasticook River and two on Carrabassett Stream. Commission staff suggested waterside archaeological surveys. The 2021 plan gives no new information.
Palermo historian Millard Howard doubted there were permanent Native settlements within the boundaries of present-day Palermo, either before or after 1763, because, he wrote, most settlements were on rivers like the Kennebec or the lower Sheepscot.
Kerry Hardy’s map of Native American trails converging on Cushnoc shows one from the coast near Rockland that crosses the east branch of the Sheepscot River a little north of Sheepscot Pond, about where Route 3 now runs east-west a bit south of the middle of town.
Linwood Lowden began his history of the Town of Windsor with the first European settlers. Because the Sheepscot River running out of Long Pond is in southeastern Windsor, including the junction of Travel Brook, it seems likely that parts of the town would have been at least a Native American travel route, if not home to settlements.
Grow, Mary M. China, Maine Bicentennial History including 1984 revisions (1984).
Hardy, Kerry, Notes on a Lost Flute: A Field Guide to the Wabanaki (2009).
Howard, Millard, An Introduction to the Early History of Palermo, Maine (second edition, December 2015).
Kingsbury, Henry D., ed., Illustrated History of Kennebec County Maine 1625-1892 (1892).
Maine Writers Research Club, Maine Indians in History and Legends (1952).
Robbins, Alma Pierce, History of Vassalborough Maine 1771 1971 n.d. (1971).
Websites, miscellaneous.
by Mary GrowChina’s Transfer Station Committee members held a short June 17 meeting to share updates on various projects, with acting committee chairman Mark Davis (former chairman Lawrence Sikora has resigned from the committee) presiding virtually.
One job is done, Palermo representative Robert Kurek reported. He and China Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood updated the contract between the two towns that lets Palermo residents use China’s transfer station; China select board members approved it; two of Palermo’s three select board members did the same, and he expects the third, who was absent from the meeting, to have no objections (see The Town Line, June 16, p. 3).
A second project, making more use of information obtained from the Radio Frequency ID (RFID) tags issued to transfer station users, is about to get a boost, Director of Public Services Shawn Reed said. Former town employee and committee member Ashley Farrington plans to see what can be done to make the tags more useful.
Palermo member Chris Diesch, who has compiled information from RFID records, plans to share her results with Farrington. Committee members again emphasized that RFID data do not identify individual users.
Reed said he is making progress toward buying the new Volvo loader that select board members authorized. He has a locked-in price – higher than when the select board acted – and might get the machine this fall.
The loader will come with a bucket. Reed said he is looking for reasonable deals on two other attachments discussed with select board members, a snow pusher and a grapple, the latter to help pile brush, metal and similar materials. Kurek endorsed investing in a grapple – very useful, he said.
Reed reported no progress on siting a new concrete storage pad; codes officer Jaime Hanson resigned before he finished advising on possible locations. Davis reported no progress on finding a cover for the second compactor.
Prices for recyclables remain low, Reed said. China’s transfer station currently accepts number two plastic, clear and colored; cardboard; and magazines and newspapers.
Committee members do not plan to meet again until September, with the date to be determined.
To the editor:Please join me in voting for Katrina Smith as State Representative on June 14 in the primary elections. The representative area will be District #62, which includes China, Palermo, Somerville, and Windsor.
When asked what she perceives to be our state’s greatest challenge over the next ten years, she replied, “The greatest challenge to Maine is rebuilding our economy after the loss of thousands of businesses throughout the pandemic. The state has one of the worst business environments in the country and, without improving it, we will not keep the next generation in Maine and will not see prosperity for our people but only further dependence on state resources.” (https://ballotpedia.org/Katrina_Smith).
We have seen so many small businesses forced to close because of COVID restrictions. We need to help regenerate small businesses, again. I believe Katrina is the person to help us do this. Katrina lives with her family in Palermo, and she says she loves the hardworking people who believe in the way life should be. Please join us at the polls and make a positive change for Maine!
Bonnie Hunter
Palermo