Issue for July 4, 2024
Vassalboro Methodist Church receives community building grant
The Vassalboro United Methodist Church (VUMC) has received a $10,000 grant from the Community Building 2024 fund of the Maine Community Foundation (MaineCF). VUMC welcomes and offers services and support to all people. This grant will help improve accessibility to VUMC programs and services throughout the building and community…
Dirigo Lodge #104 gives away Bikes for Books
Dirigo Lodge #104, of Weeks Mills, recently presented 20 bicycles to students at the Windsor Elementary School in their sponsored Bikes for Books program. Every student is awarded a ticket for each book they read to be entered into a drawing for the bicycle give-away. This marked the 12th year the Dirigo Lodge sponsored the program…
Town News
Former China Dine-ah to become daycare
CHINA – The former China Dine-ah, on Lakeview Drive (Route 202), which was closed by the pandemic in the spring of 2020, is moving toward becoming a daycare called Grace’s Busy Bees, directed by Grace McIntyre…
China Lake alewife restoration initiative receives international award
CHINA – The China Lake Alewife Restoration Initiative, a complex, ambitious and highly collaborative project, has shown remarkable success since its completion. The effort has now received international recognition and was awarded the 2024 “Distinguished Project Award” at the recent 15th International Symposium on Ecohydraulics and Fish Passage held in Quebec City, Canada… Submitted by Landis Hudson
TNT Competitive Edge dance team is heading to national competition
FAIRFIELD – Competitive Edge Dance Team is a group of young dancers based out of TNT Dance Studio, on the Center Road, in Fairfield. The Studio began as Terri’s School of Dance and was founded by Theresa “Terri” Glidden 50 years ago. It is now owned and operated by Terri’s daughter, Tiffany Glidden, and Jesse Klein… by Mark Huard
Support The Town Line: An open letter to our readers
For the past 33 years, The Town Line has pledged a mission statement to “create a vibrant rural community connecting our towns, organizations and individuals through communication, education and public dialogue.” It’s all part of The Town Line’s mission to be a positive force in our community and bring together the rural towns of central Maine by promoting better understanding of our surroundings…
Name that film!
Identify the film in which this famous line originated and qualify to win FREE passes to The Maine Film Center, in Waterville: “Badges? We don’t need no stinkin’ badges!” Email us at townline@townline.org with subject “Name that film!” Deadline for submission is July 5, 2024.
TEAM PHOTO: PAL Minors champions
FAIRFIELD – 2024 PAL Minors Championship game winners on June 15, at the Fairfield PAL field. Team Galushas took home the trophy with a 14-10 win over Village Market…
TEAM PHOTO: PAL Majors champions
FAIRFIELD – 2024 PAL Majors Championship game winners on June 15, at the Fairfield PAL field. Team Pillsbury took home the trophy with a 8-2 win over Clinton…
Local students named to president’s list at Plymouth State Univ.
CENTRAL ME – Local students have been named to the Plymouth State University president’s list for the spring 2024 semester, in Plymouth, New Hampshire. Named were…
Griffin Brown named to the College of Charleston president’s list
OAKLAND – Griffin Brown, of Oakland, was named to the College of Charleston Spring 2024 president’s list, in Charleston, South Carolina. Brown is majoring in physics.
Local happenings
EVENTS: Annual 11-Hour continuous soccer game planned for July 13
WATERVILLE – Over 500 players, including 17 high school soccer teams from around the state, will join the 11-hour, continuous soccer game “Kick For Cass” on Saturday, July 13, at Thomas College, in Waterville. The annual event is held in memory of Cassidy Charette, former midfielder for Messalonskee High School Girls Soccer who wore the #11 jersey before her passing in a tragic hayride accident on October 11, 2014…
EVENTS: Chadwick Cemetery Association annual meeting
CHINA – The Chadwick Hill Cemetery Association will hold its annual meeting on Thursday, July 11, 2024, at 4 p.m., at the South China Community Church, 246 Village St., South China. New members are welcome. All interested parties are invited to attend. For additional information contact Jiff Zimmerman at 445-4000…
EVENTS: China Village Fire Dept. annual chicken BBQ July 6
CHINA – The annual chicken barbecue sponsored by the China Village Fire Department will take place on Saturday, July 6, 2024, at 11 a.m.
The cost is $15 and will include a half chicken, baked beans, potato chips, roll and can of soda or bottled water. They plan to offer a drive-thru service again this year. Tables and chairs will be available for seating inside the station, or meals may be packaged to go…
CALENDAR OF EVENTS: Public supper in Freedom
FREEDOM – There will be a public supper on Saturday, July 6, 2024, 4:30 – 6 p.m., at the Freedom Congregational Church Hall. Menu will include roast pork, mashed potato, gravy, baked beans, vegetable, dinner rolls, punch, coffee, and assorted homemade desserts. Adults $10, children 12 and under, $5, children 3 and under eat free… and many other local events!
Obituaries
AUGUSTA – Nancy Edith Caron, 78, passed away on Thursday, June 20, 2024, at the Maine Veteran’s Home, in Augusta. Nancy was born on January 15, 1946, a daughter of Edward and Anna-Lee (Cross) Littlefield…
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: China – Palermo (new)
CHINA/PALERMO HISTORY — The next town north of Windsor is China, which, like Windsor, began life as a plantation and did not acquire its present name for some years after the first Europeans settled there… by Mary Grow
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Windsor
WINDSOR HISTORY — Your writer has chosen next to discuss the eastern towns, starting with the southernmost, Augusta’s eastern neighbor, Windsor. Henry Kingsbury commented in his Kennebec County history, at the beginning of his chapter on Windsor, that the town had “two of its sides parallel with the general course of the Kennebec river,” though it had no frontage… by Mary Grow
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Clinton
CLINTON HISTORY — The town of Clinton, Benton’s ancestor and northern neighbor, is the northernmost Kennebec County town on the east bank of the Kennebec River. Historian Carleton Edward Fisher wrote that Clinton’s first white settler was probably Ezekiel Chase, Jr., who might have arrived by 1761, before the Kennebec Proprietors claimed the area… by Mary Grow
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Benton
BENTON HISTORY — Continuing north on the east side of the Kennebec River, the next town after Winslow is Benton. Next north of Benton is Clinton… by Mary Grow
Common Ground: Win a $10 gift certificate!
DEADLINE: Wednesday, July 11, 2024
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: Jane Vigue, Winslow
Town Line Original Columnists
SCORES & OUTDOORS
by Roland D. Hallee | While driving into work one morning last week, I hit a swarm of dragonflies along the Seaward Mills Road, in Vassalboro. It resembled snow coming at you while driving through a storm. They were coming at me too fast for me to even get an educated guess as to how many there were…
MY POINT OF VIEW
by Gary Kennedy | Well, Julie and I just arrived back home from our humanitarian mission in the South Pacific. Our plane trip both going and coming was a literal nightmare which took two days each way. Lay overs were the worst of it, sleeping in airport chairs, etc., is murder on your body…
PLATTER PERSPECTIVE
by Peter Cates | Bradley Cooper’s Maestro gave a somewhat superficial depiction of the marriage of Leonard and Felicia Bernstein while biographies of David Ewen, John Gruen and Joan Peyser filled in some facts and personal, at times biased observations, Gruen providing fascinating interviews as well…
THE BEST VIEW
by Norma Best Boucher | “I have a baby sister!” she yelled riding her bike up and down the street. That was what my parents told me my older sister Marlene did on the day I was born. I wasn’t there, of course, but I always felt pride and love knowing that she was so excited that I was born…