Issue for July 28, 2022
Over 200 captivated by Mr. Drew’s animals
Mr. Drew and His Animals Too visited the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library, in China Village, earlier this month, captivating an audience of over 200 children and their parents, grandparents, and others of all ages, being the largest turn out ever for the library… by Carla Gade
Your Local News
Select board postpones action on broadband expansion
CHINA — China select board members were joined by local, out-of-town and out-of-state spokespeople for broadband service at the July 18 select board meeting…
Vassalboro nomination papers available
VASSALBORO — Nomination papers for the November Election will be available Monday, July 25, 2022, at the Vassalboro Town Clerks office. The following position is available…
Waterville Opera House announces 2023 season
WATERVILLE – The Waterville Opera House (WOH) is delighted to announce its 2023 theatrical season. Two amazing musicals and two entertaining plays will reignite the stage of the historic 120-year-old theatre in downtown Waterville…
Wynn Pooler earns All-American honors
CHINA – Wynn Pooler, recently completed his freshman year at Erskine Academy, in South China. He has been named an Academic All-American by the National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA) for his accomplishments this past year…
Sheepscot Lake Assn. meeting successful, well attended
PALERMO – 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…
Maine Farmland Trust awards grants to local farms
ALBION – Maine Farmland Trust (MFT) announced the award of six matching grants totaling $300,000 to Ironwood Farm, in Albion, and five other farms across the state upon their completion of MFT’s Farming for Wholesale program…
Winslow Garden Club holds annual meeting
WINSLOW – Winslow Garden Club’s July meeting at Fort Halifax Park, in Winslow, had a special guest, Town Manager Erica Lacroix…
Waldo County GOP selects McLaughlin for House District #40
WALDO COUNTY – Waldo County Republicans have announced that Joseph McLaughlin, of Lincolnville, was selected as candidate for Maine House District #40 at a special replacement caucus held July 20…
PHOTO: Meet the 2022 Major/60 Cal Ripken World Series Waterville team
WATERVILLE – Team photo of the Waterville Cal Ripken World Series team…
PHOTO: Hussey family kids earn yellow belts
CHINA – Hussey family children, Eleanor Hussey, Lydia Hussey, Tucker Hussey, and Jackson Hussey, all of China, recently earned their respective yellow belts at Huard’s Martial Arts Dojo, in Winslow…
China to hold Window Dressers workshop
CHINA – The China for a Lifetime Committee is planning a Window Dressers workshop this November 7-13, at the China Lake Camp, off the Neck Road, on the west side of the lake. The initiative is a volunteer-led, barn-raising effort to construct low-cost “window inserts” that can significantly reduce residential energy costs…
Planning well underway for China Community Days festivities
CHINA – Local residents of China are hard at work organizing the activities and festivities for the China Community Days celebration planned for the weekend of August 5-7…
Name that film!
Identify the film in which this famous line originated and qualify to win FREE passes to Railroad Square Cinema in Waterville: “Play it Sam. Play ‘As Time Goes By.” Email us at townline@townline.org with subject “Name that film!” Deadline for submission is August 5, 2022…
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Natural resources – Part 4 (new)
CENTRAL ME HISTORY — “Augusta has been abundantly supplied…with the best of granite, easily quarried, and of convenient access,” Augusta historian James North wrote. He expressed surprise that the resource was not developed earlier; not only did the workers on the 1797 Kennebec bridge and the 1808 jail use boulders instead, but, he wrote, three gentlemen who built houses in the first decade of the 1800s brought granite for the foundations from the Boston area, “at great expense”… by Mary Grow [1858 words]
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Natural resources – Part 3
CENTRAL ME HISTORY — Attentive readers will have noted that the previous discussions of brickyards and brick-making have omitted the two cities in the central Kennebec Valley, Augusta and Waterville. Your writer deliberately saved them for last, because they have so many buildings of brick and granite as to deserve extra space… by Mary Grow [1929 words]
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Natural resources – Part 2
CENTRAL ME HISTORY — Last week’s article talked about some of the towns in which European settlers found naturally-occurring resources, like stones and clay. Stones were described as useful for foundations, wells and similar purposes on land; another use was for the dams that have been mentioned repeatedly… by Mary Grow [1886 words]
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Natural resources – Part 1
CENTRAL ME HISTORY — As the preceding articles have at least partly shown, pre-European inhabitants of the Kennebec Valley lived off the land, using natural resources to provide food, shelter, clothing, transport, decoration and other necessities and frivolities… by Mary Grow [1937 words]
CALENDAR OF EVENTS: So. China Library annual meeting
SOUTH CHINA — The South China Public Library 192nd annual meeting will be held Monday, August 1, at 6 p.m. Free and open to all. New location: 27 Jones Road (the new library building). There will be light refreshments… and many other local events!
Lake Association meetings
Dates and times for local lake association meetings, including Sheepscot Lake, China Lake and Webber Pond…
Webber’s Pond
Webber’s Pond is a comic drawn by an anonymous central Maine resident (click thumbnail to enlarge)…
Obituaries
CHINA – Sharon Marie Fletcher, 62, of Waterville, peacefully passed away on Wednesday, July 13, 2022, at Northern Light Inland Hospital, following a lengthy illness. She was the daughter of Paul Fletcher Sr. and Erdine (Bronn) Fletcher, of China… and remembering 8 others.
Common Ground: Win a $10 gift certificate!
DEADLINE: Wednesday, August 10, 2022
Identify the people in these three photos, and tell us what they have in common. You could win a $10 gift certificate to Hannaford Supermarket! Email your answer to townline@townline.org or through our Contact page. Include your name and address with your answer. Use “Common Ground” in the subject!
Previous winner: Marylou Ripley, Oakland
Town Line Original Columnists
SCORES & OUTDOORS
by Roland D. Hallee | It has been reported that a bevy of swans has been spotted on Webber Pond. Interesting. So I had to investigate. Oh, by the way, a bevy of swans is when they are on the ground. While in flight they are called a wedge…
CRITTER CHATTER
by Jayne Winters | I wasn’t sure what this month’s article would be about, but after just a few minutes of talking with Don, we agreed a thank-you was in order to some local farmers who recently helped during a shortage of fresh milk for this year’s fawns…
I’M JUST CURIOUS
by Debbie Walker | I am back in Florida and the weather is no better here than there. But I do miss that lake view. While I was up there, I picked up a brochure for Sebasticook Region Land Trust to look at. It is what they called their Spring Newsletter 2022…
REVIEW POTPOURRI
by Peter Cates | When I was in third grade, an aunt gave me a calendar with paintings and photos of all the presidents from George Washington to Dwight D. Eisenhower. I remember being fascinated by these names and faces…
LIFE ON THE PLAINS
by Roland D. Hallee | Back in the ‘50s and ‘60s, life on the plains was relatively simple. During the winter, it was school, and during the summers, we pretty much discussed that a couple of weeks ago…
FOR YOUR HEALTH
NAPSI | COVID vaccines and boosters have reduced the threat of COVID, allowing many people to gather, travel, and celebrate with more peace of mind. Vaccines and boosters provide the best protection against the worst outcomes of COVID, yet people still have many questions around boosters…