PHOTO: Spirit Squad in Waterville

Front row, from left to right, Jaelynn McInnis, Sophia Barnaby, Amy Burton-Wing, Addilyn Jones, and Ava Frost. Middle row, Joella Smith, Olivia Bradstreet, Maggie Barcarcel, Janaya George, Addysin Petell, and Makenzie Burton-Wing. Back row, Assistant Coach Haley Twitchell, and Coach Crystal Cullen. (photo by Missy Brown, Central Maine Photography)

Scouts hold uniform distribution day

Photo by Chuck Mahaleris

by Chuck Mahaleris

Dozens of youth from across central Maine came to the Goodwill Store, in Waterville, on September 27, for the Scout Uniform Bank. The annual event is a way to assist families during these difficult financial times. Scouts who attended the event left with a gently-used uniform shirt, pants, neckerchief, hat and even patches. Youth who had outgrown their uniform could trade theirs in for another. Sabrina Garfield, of Winslow, is the Cubmaster of Winslow Pack #445.

Winslow Cub Scout Pack #445 Cubmaster Sabrina Garfield explained that this uniform bank is truly needed during these challenging economic times. (photos by Chuck Mahaleris)

“Scouting is a great experience,” she said. “I do a lot of activities with my kids but it is nice to do these activities with other people as well. They have made a lot of friends in Scouting.” Garfield said that there were several families in her pack that would benefit from the uniform bank. “It is really helpful,” she said. “The prices of everything is going up and this is a tremendous help to a lot of people.”

Throughout the year, Goodwill Industries of Northern New England collects Scouting uniform items that are donated at its various locations. Chris Bernier, a member of the Kennebec Valley District Scouting Committee from Winslow, receives these items, sorts them and prepares them for the annual uniform bank. Areli Watkins, of Palmyra, he is a third grader who is homeschooled. Areli said he liked this uniform event and received a new hat, shirt, neckerchief and other items.

“This is great,” he said. He recently joined Cub Scout Pack #428, in Pittsfield, but had a fun time at that first meeting where he learned how to cook a hamburger and was happy to have a uniform to wear for the rest of the meetings. Cyndi Davis, of Oakland, has been volunteering at several of these uniform banks. “We are helping Scouts get fitted out so they fit in,” Davis said. “This makes it a level playing field. Every scout has the same uniform. We like to treat every kid the same.”

Wyatt Collins is a Scout from Fairfield and volunteered to help at the uniform bank. He appreciated all the food people gave to help support the Scouting for Food drive. (photos by Chuck Mahaleris)

There were several volunteers from Winslow, Oakland, Belgrade, Sidney, Augusta, and Fairfield. Wyatt Collins of Fairfield is a Tenderfoot Scout in Troop 433. As people came in to look at uniforms, they turned in food for the Scouting for Food Drive. Wyatt helped with the collection of those food items. “It is important to help other people,” Wyatt said. “It is important for Scouts to help in their community.”

Bernier praised the relationship Scouting has built with Goodwill Industries. “There is a lot of good that happens in one night but it is thanks to a year-long effort by Goodwill Industries and we are very grateful for their partnership.”

Cyndi Davis is a Scouting volunteer from Oakland and enjoys giving her time in Scouting and in the Order of the Arrow to help improve the lives of others. (photos by Chuck Mahaleris)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Waterville woman organizes inaugural Maine Book Festival

Over 100 attended the inaugural Maine Book Festival, in Hallowell. (photo by Jonathan Strieff)

by Jonathan Strieff

More than 20 vendors from all over Maine filled the Stevens Commons lawn, in Hallowell, on Sunday, October 1, for the first Maine Book Festival. Well over 100 attendees circulated among the stalls of local authors, crafters, and book sellers throughout the day-long event in the warm autumn sunshine. Besides the vendors, the event featured book and poetry readings, presentations from varied literary organizations and live music.

The Maine Book Fest was created by Maddie Smith, a 22-year-old Waterville resident who operates The Banned Bookstore, an online and pop-up book store featuring titles that have been banned from schools or faced other forms of censorship. Smith said the idea to celebrate the rich diversity of writers, publishers, and readers in central Maine came from attending a similar festival near Cleveland, Ohio.

The morning began with a welcoming address by Virginia Marriner, the executive director of Literacy Volunteers of Kennebec. Marriner praised the enthusiasm of the event participants before detailing some of the work her group does. For 50 years, the mission of LVK has been to improve reading, writing and literacy skills of adults so each individual may reach their potential.

photo by Jonathan Strieff

Volunteer tutors offer learner-centered guidance for overcoming all kinds of barriers to literacy, from promoting family literacy and early childhood intervention, to working with English as a Second Language learners, adults with learning disabilities, as well as high school equivalency degree coaching. Marriner spoke extensively about the impacts low literacy can have on peoples lives, from poverty rates and employment challenges to increased incidences of incarceration, and encouraged participants to support the children’s programming LVK does to help create lifelong readers.

The group has installed “StoryWalks,” posted pages from children’s books, along popular walking trails in Augusta, Hallowell, and Gardiner, as well as built “little library” free book boxes throughout the city to help increase access to books. LVK will be hosting a children’s book giveaway Trick or Treat event on Saturday, October 28, from 1:30 – 3:30 p.m., at the Lithgow Public Library, in Augusta.

The next presentation was led by three members of Z about creating and maintaining a book club. The three members took turns speaking to both the joys and pleasures of participating in a book club as well as the logistics involved in managing the group. The Lone Pine Book Club meets in person monthly to discuss a selected book. A far greater number of members participating online using the Fable app to share their opinions between in person meetings. Besides the enjoyable discussions, and discovering books one would never otherwise read, the three members agreed the greatest aspect of book club participation was the sense of community built over time with the other members.

When asked, most festival goers included building community as a primary reason for attending the event. Will Neils, of Appleton, portrayed the value of the event in somewhat darker terms.

“I’ve traveled all over this land,” said Neils, “and I’ve never seen the level of belligerent ignorance out in society today. The only antidote to that is knowledge because knowledge is power.”

Jonathan Strieff is a freelance contributor to The Town Line.

SNHU announces summer 2023 President’s List

Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), in Manchester, New Hampshire, announces the following students to the Summer 2023 President’s List.

Talon Mosher, of Winslow, Alisha Barrette, of Skowhegan, Candice Eaton, of Waterville, Alyson Cass, of Waterville, Matthew Bandyk, of Jefferson, David Gerry, of Fairfield, Stormy Wentworth, of Fairfield, and Jacob Colson, of Albion.

Those named to the dean’s list include: Carrielee Harvey, of Waterville, Robert Farrington, of Augusta, and Ashley Parks, of Anson.

The summer terms run from May to August.

PHOTO: Football season in full swing

Waterville Junior High School running back, Alex Roth, #17 (eighth grader), during a recent game vs. Brunswick, held in Waterville. (photo by Galen Neal, Central Maine Photography)

Maine Pond Hockey Classic fundraiser actively seeking business sponsors and participating teams

The popular Maine Pond Hockey Classic – a fun-filled throw-back experience that attracts thousands of fans and participants each year – will be held Saturday, February 9, through Monday, February 11, 2024, at the scenic Snow Pond Center for the Arts, in Sidney 8 Goldenrod Lane. The event is a fundraiser for the Alfond Youth & Community Center – a unique partnership of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Waterville,

The Waterville Area YMCA, and the Alfond Youth Center, serves more than 5,000 youth in Maine through its main facility, in Waterville. AYCC is actively seeking sponsors interested in having a positive, enduring impact on young people, as well as 120 teams of eight players each. Registration opened August 1, 2023, with information available at MPHC’s website, https://www.mainepondhockey.org, or by emailing MEPondHockeyClassic@Gmail.com.

“Folks absolutely love this authentic pond hockey experience,” said Patrick Guerette, the Tournament Director. “They love the charm and nostalgia of watching or playing hockey on frozen ponds, which evokes a sense of camaraderie, outdoor adventure, and a return to the sport’s roots.”

Guerrette noted that a just-secured grant from the Maine Office of Tourism spotlights a huge vote of confidence for the Maine Pond Hockey Classic and the positive community and economic effects it will have throughout central Maine.

The event planners say the Maine Pond Hockey Classic will be “a hockey tournament and much, much more” – a kind of winter carnival with additional activities and entertainment offered, including live music, food vendors, interactive games, and opportunities for families and friends to enjoy a truly memorable weekend together. In addition to the life-changing impact sponsorship can have on young people, sponsors will enjoy the benefits of highly positive exposure and visibility through their participation in the event. Sponsorship packages include branding opportunities, promotional materials, and acknowledgments that showcase sponsors’ commitment to supporting youth and community programs.

For more information or to register, please contact Patrick Guerette, Tournament Director, at 207-873-0684 or MEPondHockeyClassic@Gmail.com.

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Agriculture – Part 3

Southdown sheep.

by Mary Grow

This subseries began last week to talk about some of the central Kennebec Valley’s agricultural pioneers whom Samuel Boardman named in his chapter on agriculture in Henry Kingsbury’s Kennebec County history.

One was Rev. William Pitt Addison Dillingham, of Sidney, who was previously noticed in an introductory essay on agriculture in the March 18, 2021, issue of The Town Line.

Dillingham (Sept. 4, 1824 – April 22, 1871) was primarily a minister, mostly in the Universalist church. Sidney historian Alice L. Hammond wrote that one of his posts was with the Sidney First Universalist Society, of which his father-in-law, Dodavah or Dodivah Townsend (June 4, 1775 – Dec. 4, 1852; one of Sidney’s early settlers), was among the organizers in June 1840.

Dillingham and his wife, Caroline Price Townsend (born May 25, 1817), owned a farm that Hammond said was called Fairview Farm and was also the home of Caroline’s father.

(The 1879 map of Sidney shows no Dillingham property. There is a D. Townsend house, on the north side of Bartlett Road, closer to Tiffany Road than to Pond Road. The 1856 map shows the same D. Townsend property.)

Hammond wrote that Dillingham brought two sheep breeds, Oxford Downs and Southdowns, to Sidney in 1858.

Oxford Downs sheep.

The Southdown, according to Wikipedia, is the smallest of British sheep breeds “and the basis of the whole Down group of breeds.” Southdowns were first bred in East Sussex, England, around 1800, for both wool and meat.

Boardman said it was Charles Vaughan, of Hallowell, who brought the first Southdowns into Maine, in 1834.

Wikipedia says Oxford Downs were bred in Oxfordshire (hence the name) in the 1830s, by cross-breeding Cotswold rams with Southdown and Hampshire Down ewes. The result is a large sheep with short white wool and “a large, meaty carcass,” making it a breed raised primarily for meat.

C. K. Sawtelle also raised sheep in Sidney, according to Hammond and Boardman.

Boardman called cattle – cows and oxen – “the real basis of successful agriculture.” He again credited Benjamin and Charles Vaughan for importing valuable breeds that got the Kennebec Valley off to a good start.

Soon, however, interest waned, and herds began to deteriorate, Boardman wrote. Among a new generation of farmers who “took up the responsibility of obtaining high priced registered stock from abroad, or improving the best of that which remained” in the 1830s and 1840s, he named Luther and Bradford Sawtelle, of Sidney.

The index to Hammond’s history has almost two pages of Sawtelles, from Abbie Z. to Zypporah, plus a column of Sawtells; and there is a multi-page summary genealogy. Kingsbury explained that an early Pond Road settler named Moses Sawtelle had seven sons and was distantly related to another settler named John Sawtelle: “This accounts for the frequency of the name in Sidney.”

Luther Sawtelle (Aug. 7, 1800 – June 25, 1872) and Bradford Jorel Sawtelle (May 18, 1811 – Nov. 12, 1897) were sons of John and Thankful (Robbins) Sawtelle. When Kingsbury wrote his history in 1892, he said Luther’s oldest son, Ambrose, was living on the family homestead, a farm Luther bought in 1824 called Pleasant Plain Farm, and Bradford (by then in his early 80s) was farming part of it.

Summer Sweet apple.

Hammond listed apples, hay and potatoes as other important products of Sidney farms. Hay, she pointed out, was a common export from much of Maine to cities in Massachusetts while horse-drawn transport prevailed. In 1850 she found that Sidney “produced more than 5,700 tons of hay.”

Apples were the “second largest crop” in Sidney in the first half of the 1800s. Farmers planted apple trees “along stone walls or together in clumps on less desirable land” that wasn’t as good for raising hay. Early varieties included Baldwin, Ben Davis and Stark.

Hammond named Sidney farmer Paul Bailey as an experimental apple breeder, “originating a variety named Bailey’s Golden Sweet.”

An on-line source called Out on a Limb Apples recognizes another Sidney-bred apple: Ichabod Thomas created the Summer Sweet around the year 1800. It’s described as a yellow apple with “a beautiful golden apricot-orange blush” and usually “apricot around the stem area.”

The Summer Sweet is “medium-small,” about two inches in diameter, firm-fleshed, with “a mild sweet flavor, best for fresh eating or sauce. It makes a thick, creamy, tropical-flavored sauce—with hints of banana and pineapple —that takes a while to cook down and may need some added water to keep it from burning to the bottom of the pot.”

Ichabod Thomas

On-line sources say that Ichabod Thomas (March 14, 1758 – Feb. 25, 1845) was born in Marsh­field, Massa­chusetts. He was a Revolu­tionary War veteran, having served almost a year in two different regiments. Moving to Maine, on March 10, 1791, he married Mehitable Crosby (Sept. 16, 1767 – April 26, 1842) in Winslow; she was from Albion.

The couple had seven children between 1791 and 1805. The oldest was born in Vassalboro, before Sidney became a separate town on Jan. 20, 1792.

Thomas was a respected citizen, according to records Hammond found and another on line. She identified him as Sidney’s first town clerk, elected at the first town meeting. An on-line record says he held the office two later years, and was a selectman for five years and town treasurer for two non-successive terms.

He and Mehitable died in Brownville, Maine, and are buried in Brownville Village Cemetery with his mother, Eleanor (Mrs. Joseph) Thomas, who died in June 1823 aged almost 96.

Other Sidney residents were apple growers, on various scales. In 1876, Hammond said, the largest apple orchard in Kennebec County was the Bowman brothers’ on Middle Road, which had 75,000 trees.

Hammond wrote that Sidney’s apple crop became less important after the mid-1800s, “as the original trees grew old and there were few new plantings.”

Sweet corn was “a major crop for a good many years” in Sidney, Hammond said. She credited Isaac Winslow, “of Vassalboro,” with learning how to process food while he was in France “on naval duty” and starting a canning factory “around 1840.”

Sweet corn, Hammond wrote, was well suited to less specialized farms: “It provided a cash crop, utilized the farm manure, produced cattle forage, and used family labor….”

It was in 1850 that the railroad along the east bank of the Kennebec River first reached Waterville, Hammond wrote, expanding markets for up-river farmers. Sidney farmers ferried crops to railheads in Riverside and North Vassalboro while the water was open.

In winter, “they risked their lives, teams, and loads to venture across the ice. Many stories have been told of the close calls they had and of the not-so-fortunate who went through the ice.”

Isaac Winslow and corn canning

An on-line account says a Frenchman, Nicolas Appert, invented canning vegetables as a method of preserving food in 1809, thereby earning a reward offered by the Emperor Napoleon as he sought to feed the French Navy. The process was quickly brought to England and America.

For sweet corn, the process consisted of taking the kernels off the cob; putting them in a glass bottle (originally) or a can; heating them to kill bacteria; and sealing the container. First done by hand, it was soon mechanized.

Isaac Winslow

Another on-line site, a Warren County, Ohio, web page, says: “Isaac Winslow is believed to have been the first to successfully can sugar corn for market. He made his experiments in 1842, and applied for a patent which was not granted until 1863.”

Isaac Winslow is mentioned in Alice Bibber’s 1989 paper titled Nearly All in the Family: Nathan Winslow and His Family Network, published in Vol. 28 of Maine History and available online through the University of Maine’s Digital Commons.

Bibber’s focus was on the extended family that assisted Isaac’s older brother, Nathan Winslow (born in March 1785), a Portland-based inventor and merchant whom she credits with “launching the first corn-canning operation in the United States.”

Canned corn from 1800s.

She added, “Although twentieth-century historians credit Isaac with being the first person to preserve corn in tin cans, at least one contemporary who talked with Nathan Winslow about the business stated that the latter had made the experiments.”

Bibber mentioned Isaac as sailing to Le Havre, France, in 1818, not in the Navy but on a family whaling ship; and taking his ill sister-in-law, Nathan’s wife, to Madeira in 1842, where she died early in 1843.

“Some time earlier,” Bibber wrote, “Isaac Winslow had returned home with information about a French method of preserving food in sealed cans.” Nathan and Isaac decided to try it; Bibber wrote they used as “a base of operations” the family farm, which was apparently in Falmouth.

A factory was set up in 1852. When patents were issued in 1862, Bibber wrote, they were in Isaac Winslow’s name, but “assigned to” Nathan’s nephew, John Winslow Jones.

Bibber mentioned Vassalboro once: after Isaac’s father married Lydia Hacker, from Massachusetts, his wife’s family moved to Brunswick and “made marriage ties with a Vassalboro family.”

There is one more possible connection: the Winslows were Quakers, and Vassalboro and China had relatively large numbers of Quakers. However, your writer found no evidence confirming Alice Hammond’s statement that Isaac Winslow lived in Vassalboro.

Main sources

Hammond, Alice, History of Sidney Maine 1792-1992 (1992).
Kingsbury, Henry D., ed., Illustrated History of Kennebec County Maine 1625-1892 (1892).

EVENTS: 5th Annual Nosh & Knock Off set

The Waterville Public Library is planning to get away with criminal mischief again this October as it hosts Nosh & Knock Off: An Interactive Mystery Event – an evening of mystery and magic at the Waterville Public Library, on Saturday, October 28, 2023! This 5th annual fundraiser will be a live-acted, not-to-be-missed once-in-a-lifetime event! Nosh & Knock Off 2023 will feature an original script, Murder at the Epilogue Club, written and directed by a local playwright and beloved friend of the library, Emilienne Ouellette. The mystery will be live-acted and feature some of our region’s most illustrious and remarkable theatrical talent! Nosh & Knock Off is a sure bet for an evening full of delight and frivolity. All proceeds go to a fantastic cause: supporting Waterville Public Library programs and services. Be a part of the “welcome back, better than ever year!”

The cost to attend is $50 per person and includes a wide array of delightful libations and refreshments throughout the evening. Tickets are limited and go quickly! Buy tickets at https://wplnk23.eventbrite.com. For more information, call the Waterville Public Library at 207.872.5433 or email librarian@watervillelibrary.org. This is a 21+ event, and tickets will likely not be available at the door as they’ll be sold out. Yes, it’s that good!

Murder at the Epilogue Club:

The time, the roaring 1920s. The place, The Epilogue Club, an after-hours speakeasy at the Waterville Public Library teeming with flappers, gangsters, and ladies of the night. Nearly everyone becomes a suspect when scandalously sexy nightclub singer, Trixie Harridan, dies onstage mid-performance. Work with your teammates to discover whodunnit as the story unfolds around you at this interactive comedic murder mystery. Featuring local acting talent and an original script by Emilienne Ouellette.

Cast of Characters: Trixie Harridan – Bee Tyler; Thomas Gunn – Art Meneses; Scott – Paul Herard; Fitzgerald – Erik Hyatt ;Zelda Harridan – Sarah Johnson; Mort Pestle – Tim Croce; Jade Chatelaine – Lisa St. Hilaire; Lily LaFleur – Serena Sanborn; Norwood Helm – Nathan Sylvester; Taffeta Slick – Samantha Delorie; Clara Copper – Lauren Ouellette; Amethyst – Dawn Wiers; Diamond – Jennifer Day; Emerald – Phoebe Sanborn; Ruby – Dana Bushee; Sapphire – Hana Valle; The Johns – John Buys, Richard Meng, Matt Stanford, Stevie Webb, Greg Wiers.

Donor opportunities are still available! Email office@watervillelibrary.org for more information! This interactive mystery theater production, starring esteemed members of our community and cast members on loan from the Waterville Opera House, is the Waterville Public Library’s largest annual fundraiser, with all proceeds from the event going directly to support library programming.

KVCOG schedules household hazardous waste pickup dates

The Kennebec Valley Council of Governments, based in Fairfield, plans to host Household Hazardous Waste Collection Days in October in Kennebec and Somerset counties.

Skowhegan, Anson, Bingham, Canaan and Madison will collect from 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Oct. 7, at the Skowhegan Transfer Station, 29 Transfer Station Drive. This is open to residents of those towns, who must call their own town office to schedule a time slot (Skowhegan, 207-474-6902; Anson, 207-696-3979; Bingham, 207-672-5519; Canaan, 207-474-8682; Madison, 207-696-3971).

Winslow, Belgrade, Clinton, Fairfield, Oakland and Waterville will collect from 8 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Oct. 21, at Winslow Public Works, 135 Halifax St. Residents must call their municipal office to schedule a slot (Winslow, 207-872-2776; Belgrade, 207-495-2258; Clinton, 207-426-8322; Fairfield, 207- 453-7911; Oakland, 207-465-7357; Waterville, 207-680-4200).

Those who don’t have an appointment slot made with their town will not be able to drop off that day.

Many chemicals commonly used around the home are hazardous, either alone or when combined with other chemicals, and need to be disposed of by professionals trained to handle hazardous materials, according to a KVCOG news release.

Improper disposal of these materials can disrupt the function of sewage treatment plants or private septic systems, contaminate ground water, and harm animals and residents. Items that are difficult to recycle or dispose of — such as electronic waste, batteries, paint, anti-freeze, chemical cleaners, yard chemicals, old fuels, oils and mercury thermostats — many of which can also become harmful if left unmonitored.

The council will have local law enforcement officials on hand in Winslow and Skowhegan to collect and properly dispose of any pharmaceuticals that residents want to bring in.

PHOTO: Getting ready for some football

Waterville Youth Football team members Jackson Troxell and Tatum Vaughn, practicing at a recent clinic. (photo by Missy Brown/ Central Maine Photography staff)