Vassalboro planners approve subdivision application; postpone other

by Mary Grow

At their Oct. 3 meeting, Vassalboro planning board members approved the subdivision application they postponed at their September meeting, and postponed a new application, for a small solar development, to November.

Darrell and Jessica Field presented requested additional information on their application to divide a lot in a subdivision on Katie Drive into two lots (see the Sept. 14 issue of The Town Line, pp. 2-3). Board members reviewed the 18 criteria for approval of a major subdivision, found the Fields’ project met them all and approved the application unanimously.

The solar project was presented by John Korkos, a project manager with ReVision Energy, on behalf of Ryan Bolduc, owner of apartment buildings including the former Volmer’s nursing home at 332 Main Street, between North and East Vassalboro villages.

Korkos explained that the requested project is a solar installation covering less than half an acre, intended to power the adjacent apartment building and others of Bolduc’s buildings. Power generated would go into the grid, but would not be sold; Bolduc intends what he generates only to earn credits for his properties.

Planning board members could not decide whether the project is a commercial solar development they need to approve, or the equivalent of a homeowner’s personal solar installation that does not need board action.

The power is going into the grid, which suggested commercial generation to some board members. But it is not to be sold, so, others argued, it is not used commercially.

Reference to definitions in the Vassalboro solar ordinance (Chapter 11 of the site review ordinance, added by voters in June 2023) and the moratorium ordinance (approved in November 2022 to give time to write and approve the solar ordinance) did not answer the question. Board members therefore voted unanimously to table the application until they get a legal opinion.

Board chairman Virginia Brackett told Korkos she would let him know as soon as possible whether he would be needed at the November board meeting.

Board members had no additional information on Ronald Weeks’ application, postponed in September; nor did they have an application for Kassandra Lopes’ relocation from one North Vassalboro building to the one next door, discussed in September.

Because the first Tuesday in November is Election Day, the next Vassalboro planning board meeting will be at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 14, in the town office meeting room.

VASSALBORO: Website management topic undecided, again

by Mary Grow

Vassalboro select board members sat behind their new laptop computers at their Oct. 5 meeting, for a long discussion that partly focused on the themes of residents’ knowledge of and involvement in town government.

One topic, left undecided again, was selecting a company to manage the town’s website, including presenting select board and other committees’ meetings live to an on-line audience and recording them for future viewing.

At their Sept.7 meeting, board members hosted a presentation on the TownCloud municipal website plan. They then created a committee to investigate more possibilities. (See the Sept. 14 issue of The Town Line, p. 2.)

Laura Jones, reporting for the committee, said members discussed what Vassalboro residents want and need and weighed pros and cons of TownCloud, Michigan-based Revize (serving Winslow and Camden, among other Maine municipalities) and Kansas-based CivicPlus (serving Lewiston and Belfast).

After discussing the companies’ offerings and costs, board members again tabled the issue. On Sept. 7, they had postponed a decision to Dec. 14, not expecting the committee report so promptly.

A related question about future web-shared meetings and the current Facebook page that Jones maintains was whether to allow public comment. Board members considered reports from nearby towns of people, often non-residents, interjecting irrelevant, offensive and abusive comments during public on-line meetings.

Town Manager Aaron Miller said the town’s attorney advised against allowing the public to post to the town Facebook page because comments might be inappropriate and town staff would need to spend time monitoring the site.

Select board members voted not to allow public comment on the Vassalboro Facebook page. As alternatives, Miller and board members encouraged residents to come to select board meetings, where chair man Chris French welcomes audience participation, or to contact board members, Miller or the town office by email, telephone, letter or personal visit.

Town appoints new CEO

Vassalboro’s new codes enforcement officer, Jason Lorrain, of Boothbay, attended the Oct. 5 select board meeting, where town manager Aaron Miller introduced him to board and audience members.

Lorrain was Boothbay’s codes enforcement officer, building inspector and plumbing inspector for seven years. Miller said he would start work in Vassalboro on Oct. 10.

He succeeds Robert Geaghan, Jr., who, several months ago, announced his intention of resigning by the end of October.

Board members made no decisions about what Jones and audience members said are another 20 or more Facebook pages and Instagram accounts set up by other town boards and committees.

In other business Oct. 5, Miller reported Vassalboro received state grants of a little over $95,000 for heat pumps in the town office building, the town garage and the North Vassalboro fire station. (See the town website, www.vassalboro.net, for details.)

Select board members unanimously approved appropriating $3,693 in town matching money from federal ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds.

Miller expects the heat pumps to be installed in mid or late November. He said the town can apply again for heat pumps for the Riverside fire station and the transfer station.

The manager reported on his discussion with a representative of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection on what more can be done to improve Eagle Park, located on the west bank of Outlet Stream between North and East Vassalboro.

The park already has trees planted, thanks to efforts by the town Conservation Commission. (See photographs on the front page of the June 29 issue of The Town Line.) Miller expects state funds to reimburse the town for the $3,200 worth of trees.

Select board signs letter of support for Webber Pond dam grant

Vassalboro select board members unanimously agreed at their Oct. 5 meeting to sign a letter of support for a grant application that, if successful, will provide federal funds for an improved fishway at the Webber Pond dam.

Resident Nate Gray, who works for the state Department of Marine Resources, said the Webber Pond dam is one of several projects included in a state grant application to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for $1.5 million. Chances of receiving the grant will increase if each local application provides evidence of municipal officials’ support and local matching money.

Vassalboro’s match of $50,000 could come from the income from the town’s alewife fishery, he suggested. The town contracts with an alewife harvester who traps and sells the small fish each spring – they’re used for lobster bait, and online sources list other uses – and shares the revenue with the town.

An improved fishway, plus the state-funded new culvert on Whitehouse Road, should double the number of alewives reaching Webber Pond and thus increase the harvest revenue, Gray said. He commended the state Department of Transportation for its help in opening culverts in various parts of Maine to improve access for migrating fish.

After considering three options, Gray said, the application is to fund a Denil fishway, like those already in place at the China Lake outlet dam and Ladd and Box Mills dams on Outlet Stream.

Gray said the deadline for the NOAA grant application is Oct. 16. He expects the grant recipients will be announced by mid-February 2024.

The manager asked select board members to consider how they want the park to look and be used, and to invite East Vassalboro resident and Conservation Commission member Holly Weidner to their Oct. 19 meeting for more discussion. Additional improvements might include a second path to the stream, picnic tables and a gazebo, though Miller also wants to leave open space.

Resident Thomas Richards informed board members of a water problem in North Vassalboro. On the east side of Main Street, he said, the ground is so saturated that the flagpole in front of the former school building is affected, and he has been told the next-door property-owner has trouble mowing his soggy lawn.

Richards does not know the cause of the problem. He wanted to make sure town officials were aware of it as they prepare to discuss Main Street repaving and related issues with state Department of Transportation officials.

French proposed a review and possible update of Vassalboro’s Marijuana Business Ordinance and TIF Ordinance. He added that the town’s transfer station committee might request a review of what he said is a 1988 transfer station ordinance.

Miller added amendments to the recreation committee bylaws and an addition to the town’s personnel policy to the list of documents board members should consider.

Resident Douglas Phillips reminded board members they had previously discussed using ARPA money to install a generator at the town office, so it could function during prolonged power outages. That topic, too, is slated for future discussion.

The next Vassalboro select board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19, in the town office meeting room.

Vassalboro Historical Society quilt show a success

submitted by Janice Clowes

During the weekend of October 7 & 8, 2023, the Vassalboro Historical Society (VHS) held a Quilt Show and a raffle. The quilt exhibit showcased vintage, heritage and contemporary quilts that were donated to the Society over the years. Two quilts were donated as part of the raffle. One quilt was a lovely twin quilt in blue, black, and white made by Judy Wentworth Goodrich.

Another quilt sewn by Peggy Dore Lawrence was donated for a raffle item. This quilt was of particular interest due to its connection with Peggy’s mother Phyillis Dore who donated her time and efforts throughout her life to the betterment of her community. The quilt was a “Crazy Quilt” pattern using fabrics that Phyillis had collected through the years. Phyillis’ quote “No Scrap Would be Left Behind” was the sentiment of the quilt donated.

The quilts were last displayed 18 years ago, in 2005. At that time the museum displayed approximately 20 quilts and coverlets. Since that time more than 30 additional quilts have been added to the VHS collection and range in historical value from the early 1800’s to the present.

The quilts were presented throughout the building (the former East Vassalboro Grammar School) and incorporated the fabrics to enhance its many ongoing exhibits.

The displays also centered around the month-long fundraising event which was a raffle showcasing various Vassalboro businesses, farms and individual patrons with values nearing $3,000.

VHS would like to thank the many patrons who supported by both donating the raffle items and those that took time to come and enjoy the quilts.

They look forward to future events of this kind and will keep you posted via VHS Facebook, Instagram (@vassalboroHistoricalSociety), website www.vhsme.org or you can call the museum at 207-923-3505 or email at vhspresident@gmail.com.

Photos of some of the quilts at the Quilt Show and raffle (photos by Laura Jones):

photo by Laura Jones

photo by Laura Jones

photo by Laura Jones

photo by Laura Jones

photo by Laura Jones

photo by Laura Jones

photo by Laura Jones

Vassalboro scouts welcome home Honor Flight veterans

Front row, from left to right, Arrow of Light William Vincent, of Vassalboro, Life Scout Nathan Polley, of Vassalboro Troop and Webelos Cub Scout Eli Richmond, all of Pack #410, in Vassalboro. second row, Cub Pack #604 Tiger Cubs Jeffrey Blais and Jett Jordan. Third row, Troop #410 Scoutmaster Stephen Polley. Fourth row, Wolf Scout Lux Reynolds, Wolf Scout Connor Millett, Dragon Scout Lila Reynolds, all Pack #410. Fifth row, Star Scout Michael Dellinger and Life Scout Cole Fortin, both Troop #410; the third scout carrying the American flag is Life Scout Macgyver Blundon, Troop #604 and the fourth scout carrying Scout flag is Tenderfoot Scout Ricky Phillips, of Winthrop Troop #604). All those in Vassalboro Pack and Troop #410, are from Vassalboro. (photo by Chuck Mahaleris)

by Chuck Mahaleris

Scouts from Vassalboro and the Winthrop area were on hand to welcome home the 24 veterans when they returned home after visiting Washington, D.C. as part of Honor Flight’s third “mission” of 2023.

“The event was a wonderful opportunity to teach scouts about both the Duty to God and Duty to Country, as well as the importance of using some of their personal time to honor those who have sacrificed for the life opportunities we all have living in this great country,” said Christopher Santiago, of Vassalboro, Pack #410 Cubmaster and Troop #410 Asst. Scoutmaster.

The veterans who served in World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War, and the Vietnam War, were able to tour, experience, and reflect at the memorials erected in their honor and memory through the efforts of Honor Flight. The scouts were part of the group welcoming back home these heroes from past conflicts.

Amanda Jordan said, “I’m so very proud of my two sons Jeffrey and Jett in their Cub Scout adventure today for Honor Guard and welcoming home the Veterans!”

Samantha Doody-Remington, Scoutmaster of Troop #604, said, “It is so important to teach each generation the valor of the generations that came before them. These scouts got to talk to and welcome home a man who stood up and served his country during the Vietnam War. When he got home, Arthur Wells probably didn’t get the best welcome and we wanted to make sure he knows how important he is to so many people. America is grateful not only for Arthur’s service but all of those who served. Welcoming them home is the least we can do.

EVENTS: UVD event rescheduled

photo credit: United Valley Democrats Facebook page

The United Valley Democratic (UVD) Committee ‘End-of Summer’ Event will instead celebrate Autumn on Saturday, October 7, at 327 Stevens Shore Road, in Palermo. It was originally scheduled the day the hurricane passed close to Maine’s coast, when many residents lost their power.

United Valley Democratic Committee (formerly the China Democratic Committee) was recently organized by combining Democratic committees from the adjacent towns in the Sheepscot River Valley including China, Vassalboro, Palermo and Windsor. While continuing to grow with other towns, the UVD committee meets regularly on the third Tuesday of each month at 5:30 p.m., and welcomes new members. Their facebook page has the most current event details.

Mark Brunton, chairman of the UVD Committee, explained the need for the reorganization, “UVD brings people together to make our communities stronger, healthier and improve the lives of all our neighbors. It made sense to combine our committees to raise our visibility and let people know they are welcomed to join us.”

To show your support, join the United Valley Democratic Committee’s Fall Celebration on October 7, from 2 – 8 p.m.

For more information, contact the UVD Committee at unitedvalleydems@gmail.com.

VASSALBORO: HVAC main topic for school

Vassalboro Community School (contributed photo)

by Mary Grow

A main discussion topic at the Vassalboro school board’s Sept. 19 meeting was HVAC – heating, ventilation and cooling – with the emphasis on cooling.

Vassalboro Community School (VCS) was uncomfortably warm during the September hot spell. Assistant principal Tabitha Brewer said teachers in the top-floor classrooms were invited to move their classes to cooler spaces elsewhere in the building.

Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer pointed out that when the VCS building was built in 1992, cooling “was not even on the architect’s radar.” Now, he and Director of Maintenance and Grounds Shelley Phillips are seeking input as they consider three main options: ceiling fans, heat pumps or a whole new HVAC system.

Ceiling fans would be the quickest and least costly option, as a temporary fix. Phillips brought photos of what she labeled “newer style commercial ceiling fans:” three blades “styled more like a wind turbine,” variable speed, with a 20- to 25-year life expectancy.

Winslow High School has them, she said, and staff find them effective and not disruptively noisy. They cost around $500 each; if fans were ordered this fall, they could probably be installed over Christmas vacation.

VCS has a heat pump to cool the office area for administrators who work in the summer, Pfeiffer said. Phillips has doubts about relying on heat pumps to cool so large and complex a building as VCS, which she said has 77,000 square feet of interior space.

There would have to be many of them, at $5,000 to $6,000 apiece, she said. Although state energy efficiency funds contribute to the initial cost, the pumps would need replacing every eight to 12 years without, as far as she knows, state aid.

A third option would be to hire an energy management consultant to review the current system, talk with staff and make recommendations for the building, probably including lighting as well as HVAC. This choice would be expensive and would take time.

From the audience, Chris French, chairman of the Vassalboro select board, suggested there might be state energy efficiency grants to help with the cost.

Resident John Melrose (who was instrumental in signing up Vassalboro for a solar farm project that has reduced electricity bills for the town and the school, Pfeiffer remembered) recommended assessing building energy use as background information for a consultant. A consultant might well come up with ideas locals had not considered, he added.

School board members intend to continue the discussion at future meetings. Board member Zachary Smith is leaning toward installing ceiling fans as a temporary solution.

“I just want the teachers to hear that we hear them, and we have a plan,” he said.

In other business Sept 19, VCS Principal Ira Michaud reported the school year had begun well. Pfeiffer, speaking for finance director Paula Pooler, said the budget is in good shape so far.

French asked if there was interest in exploring joining an organic waste diversion program. Pfeiffer suggested French and Phillips talk about it; Phillips said she has heard they’re expensive.

Board members discussed beginning to plan for the June 2024 promotion ceremony, remembering more elaborate pre-Covid recognitions of departing eighth-graders.

The next Vassalboro school board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17, at Vassalboro Community School.

Vassalboro select board discusses changes in town operations

by Mary Grow

At their Sept. 21 meeting, Vassalboro select board members debated at length three changes in town operations they hope will benefit residents.

One they approved: changed town office hours, effective at the beginning of the next calendar year for a 90-day trial (see box).

Updating town office electronics and adding electronic meeting information and perhaps electronic participation will take longer, and will cost money.

Updating the transfer station will take still longer and cost even more.

Town Manager Aaron Miller has been interested in upgrading electronic systems since he took office in January. A recurring theme is making it possible to broadcast select board’s – and probably other boards’ and committees’ – meetings so residents can watch from their homes. (See the report on the TownCloud presentation at the board’s Sept. 7 meeting in the Sept. 14 issue of The Town Line, p. 2.)

Making it possible for residents to participate remotely has been part of the discussion. By Sept. 21, newspaper reports of people harassing board meetings in other area towns led to expressions of doubt about that aspect.

Board members and Miller want to make sure all town committees obey state open meeting laws. However, they also want to avoid confusing residents with incomplete information. For example, they debated, inconclusively, whether draft meeting minutes, which might be subject to correction, should be made public, or whether to publicize only approved minutes.

Resident Laura Jones, a technical expert who brought a large screen to the Sept. 21 meeting and displayed relevant documents on it, will record a demonstration from Town Hall Streams for board members to review before their Oct. 5 meeting. The Town of China is among Maine municipalities using this service to broadcast and record meetings.

On a related issue, select board chairman Chris French said a needed upgrade of the Vassalboro town office telephone system will require upgrading “the whole IT [information technology] system.” He suggested Miller be authorized to ask for price quotes for the job.

The proposed changes at the transfer station are aimed at providing a drive-through building. Two lanes of traffic could go through, with drivers emptying trash into hoppers on each side; and there might be outside lanes allowing access from both sides of each hopper.

Changes in office hours

Vassalboro select board members voted unanimously to change town office hours, effective at the beginning of January 2024. Their goals were to accommodate people who want time to do business before they go to work, as well as those who stop in on the way home; and to give town office staff a four-day work week.

The new hours will be as follows:

  • Mondays: 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
  • Tuesdays early opening: 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
  • Wednesdays: 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Thursdays late closing: 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
  • Fridays through Sundays closed.

The total hours the office is open to the public will increase from 38.5 to 39, Town Manager Aaron Miller said. There will be no effect on Monday holiday closings. Staff will continue to work another 15 minutes after closing as they do now.

These hours will remain in effect for a 90-day trial, during the first quarter of 2024, select board members said.

The plan is similar to one prepared some years ago and rejected as too expensive – during the Sept. 21 discussion, Douglas Phillips, who is on the Transfer Station Taskforce, referred to it as “the million-dollar plan.” Lesser changes have been made since, implementing some of the recommendations.

Miller is envisioning a 60-by-80-foot building, perhaps a large Quonset hut, on a concrete pad. After discussion, board members decided the first step is to issue an RFP (Request for Proposals) inviting engineering firms to provide a cost for an engineering study of building needs and traffic design. Proposals will be due the afternoon of Nov. 16, before that evening’s board meeting.

The project is expected to include a new entrance from Lombard Dam Road, another issue that has been discussed at intervals for years.

Board members envision a two- or three-year project. Funding sources include the town’s transfer station reserve account, federal ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) money, perhaps local TIF (Tax Increment Financing) money and, Phillips suggested, grant money once the town has a plan in place.

TIF funding is currently unavailable because Vassalboro’s 2014 TIF development program has a short list of TIF-eligible projects, not including the transfer station. French said the local TIF ordinance needs to be updated.

French would also like board members to consider changing transfer station hours to give employees two consecutive weekdays off. Currently, the station is open from 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Board member Frederick “Rick” Denico, Jr., said those hours were approved in 1980, while his father was on the select board.

In other business Sept. 21:

  • Board members held a public hearing on state changes in general assistance funds, with, as usual, no public comments. Miller told board member Michael Poulin Vassalboro overspent its general assistance budget two years ago and underspent last year; this year, voters at the June town meeting approved $3,000 (which state funds supplement) and so far only a little over $300 has been spent.
  • Board members unanimously authorized Miller to spend $8,487 (from $10,000 budgeted) to buy a new Canon copier for the town office, with a five-year maintenance contract. It will be the office’s first color copier, Miller commented.
  • They appointed Scott Wentworth to the Cemetery Committee. Wentworth explained that he is familiar with cemetery maintenance issues through his genealogical research and work in cemeteries in Winslow.

The next Vassalboro select board meeting is scheduled for Thursday evening, Oct. 5.

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).

Vassalboro residents air anger over drivers on town roads

by Mary Grow

Some Vassalboro residents are fed up with people who do not drive safely, legally and respectfully on local roads, and they brought their complaints to the Sept. 7 select board meeting, not for the first time.

After a half-hour public hearing, Vassalboro select board members responded by creating a new committee to deal with one issue, the four-way intersection in East Vassalboro. Residents complained drivers going straight through on Route 32 exceed the 25-mile-an-hour speed limit, endangering pedestrians and local drivers trying to get out of their driveways. A nearby homeowner reported seeing vehicles ignore the stop sign on Bog Road and cross Route 32 at speed.

Town Manager Aaron Miller said the speed recording sign set up on Route 32 in July and August showed average speeds were not excessive, but occasionally drivers were recorded at 60 or more miles an hour. Residents Holly Weidner and Laura Jones questioned the accuracy of the result, suggesting that many drivers slow down when they see the sign.

Weidner and Jones urged select board and committee members to review the 2010 report on the East Vassalboro intersection, copies of which they distributed. Many of its recommendations appear to be still valid, they said.

Select board member Frederick “Rick” Denico, Jr., asked why nothing was done to implement the 2010 ideas. Weidner blamed a lack of collaboration and follow-through, including cost calculations.

The new committee, which Miller christened the East Vassalboro Village Project Team, will be asked to evaluate ways to slow traffic on Route 32. An initial proposal for four-way stop signs had little support Sept. 7. Other suggestions include a flashing light or speed bumps.

The committee’s suggested membership includes East Vassalboro residents, Miller and representatives of the planning board and the public works department. Anyone interested should contact the town office.

The second repeat complaint appeared on the meeting agenda as “Burnout Ordinance request,” referring to a request for a town ordinance to penalize drivers who deliberately burn out, annoying residents and leaving tire marks on the pavement (see the Aug. 24 issue of The Town Line, p. 2), including across the newly-painted stripes on Cross Hill Road.

Select board chairman Chris French referenced Title 29A, section 2079, of Maine law, which says, “Braking or acceleration may not be unnecessarily made so as to cause a harsh and objectionable noise.”

The concerned resident objected that the problem is less noise than damage, claiming rubber on the road wears out the pavement and reduces adjoining property values.

French said a local ordinance on a topic already covered by state law is not necessarily useful; and a local ordinance would have to be enforced locally, by Vassalboro Police Chief Mark Brown.

Lack of enforcement was the major problem with all the traffic offenses being discussed, board and audience members agreed. Denico reminded the group that at Vassalboro’s June 5 annual town meeting, voters rejected a chance to increase Brown’s weekly hours from 15 to 20 (see the June 8 issue of The Town Line, p. 2).

French said Brown does some traffic control, as his time permits. He listed some of the chief’s many other duties, a list Jones said she intends to put on the town’s Facebook page that she manages as a volunteer.

The other major agenda item Sept. 7 was a presentation by partners in TownCloud, the Maine-based company Miller recommends to take over design and maintenance of Vassalboro’s town website. Their business cards identify them as Christopher Haywood, Chief Amazement Officer, and Dennis Harward, Wizard of Light Bulb Moments.

Haywood said the seven-year-old company specializes in designing websites for small towns all over the country, including, in Maine, Bethel, Denmark, Livermore, Norway, Solon and St. Albans. Their goal is to make the sites simple, inexpensive, user-friendly, responsive and secure, to meet residents’ needs and minimize costs and staff time.

He demonstrated a sample website for Vassalboro, built using information imported from the current site. One example he showed was the agenda for the Sept. 7 meeting with the packet of accompanying documents, like the police report Jones proposed sharing on Facebook.

TownCloud’s proposal would cover the website and meeting agendas, not just the select board’s but other committees’. Haywood said some towns post agendas for up to 15 committees.

Miller said TownCloud was the least expensive of options he explored, at $3,754 for three years’ service.

Jones urged creation of another committee to collect residents’ input on what a website should include and how it should work. She promised a list of committee volunteers on Sept. 8.

Despite Harward’s reminder that the website can be modified any time, select board members postponed a decision to their first meeting in December (currently, Thursday, Dec. 14), to give more time for public input and a recommendation from Jones’ “Tiger Team.”

In other business, Vassalboro librarian Brian Stanley thanked the town’s public works crew for their help with ongoing renovations and asked about ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds for several projects, like improved ventilation and new rugs.

Because the library is a nonprofit organization, not a town department, select board members were unsure what kinds of work ARPA money could cover. They unanimously allocated $3,975 for a new front door that will be controlled by a push-button and thereby comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

On Miller’s recommendation, board members appointed Andrew Vear as an alternate member of the planning board.

They renewed the cemetery mowing contract with Scott Bumford, whose work was praised at the board’s Aug. 17 meeting.

The next regular Vassalboro select board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21.

VASSALBORO: Lack of information postpones project action

by Mary Grow

Vassalboro Planning Board members discussed two proposed projects at their Sept. 5 meeting, but lacked information to act on either one.

They had an incomplete application from Ronald Weeks to add what the agenda called “an Amish building” on a lot on Dam Road, on the southeast side of Webber Pond.

Weeks was not at the meeting. Board members postponed the application to their Oct. 3 meeting.

Darrell and Jessica Field were present to explain why they needed to clarify land titles as they prepare to subdivide a lot on Gray Road and Katie Drive in northern Vassalboro.

After reviewing the history of the 2001 Norman and Diane Bailey subdivision and the 2015 division of the original Field lot between family members, board members agreed the Fields, with the assistance of the original surveyors (K & K Land Surveyors, in Oakland, the Fields said), should prepare a major subdivision application for the Oct. 3 board meeting.

Board chairman Virginia Brackett assured them the task should not be too difficult, because with K & K’s original records most of the necessary information will be at hand.

The only other topic discussed, briefly, is another possibility for the Oct. 3 agenda. Board member Marianne Stevens reported that Kassandra Lopes, whose retail store on Main Street, in North Vassalboro, was approved by the board on June 6, has moved her business into the building next door.

The two single-story buildings on the east side of the street – years ago, the credit union and the post office, Brackett said – are owned by Raymond Breton and have frequently housed short-lived small businesses. Brackett said Lopes’ relocation is a change of use for the previously-empty building and should have planning board approval.