Issue for May 9, 2024
Mothers-to-be honored at tea party
Even before a baby is born it is best for his or her mother to have every ‘i’ dotted and every ‘t’ crossed. While expecting a new bundle of joy is exciting, unless an expecting or new Mom has supportive relatives or friends close by, she can feel alone. January 2023 the ladies of Sew for a Cause, decided on a way to give support to mothers-to-be, and celebrate the joy of new life in young families… by Roberta R. Barnes
China Girl Scouts raise funds for humane society
In October of 2023 China Area Girl Scout Troop #1496 voted on areas of interest to explore as a year project. Animals won the vote. The scouts learned about the in-progress building of the new Kennebec Valley Humane Society facility. After reaching out to the Director Hillary Roberts, the troop decided a group to bring supplies needed to stock the shelves of the new facility which was set to open in early 2024…
Town News
Select board looks at VSD finances in hour-long discussion
VASSALBORO – The May 2 Vassalboro select board meeting featured an hour-long discussion among board members, Town Manager Aaron Miller, Vassalboro Sanitary District trustees and Megan McDonough and other VSD customers, with frequent references to information supplied by or to be sought from attorneys…
Honoring the new mother
by Gillian Lalime – A simple yet profound fact of life is that we each owe our lives to mothers. Perhaps this goes without saying but it also extends past the obvious recognition. If you have cream in your morning coffee, it is a mother cow who gave that cream. If you eat eggs it is mother hens who lay those eggs. In languages worldwide the Earth itself is a feminine term, recognizing implicitly that all beings come from Mother Earth. It is said there is nothing so powerful as a mother’s love for her children…
Two area students named to Maine Academic team
CENTRAL ME – Two area community college students have been named to the All-Maine Academic Team in recognition of their outstanding academic achievement, leadership, and service. The students receiving the award are: Kiera Clark, Skowhegan, Kennebec Valley Community College, in Fairfield/Hinckley. Luz Maria Seda Libby, Palermo, Kennebec Valley Community College…
Local happenings
EVENTS: Churchill Elangwe-Preston speaker at KVCC commencement
AUGUSTA – Kennebec Valley Community College (KVCC) will celebrate the conferral of associate degrees and academic certificates for a total of 427 graduates in the class of 2024. Over 250 graduates will take part in commencement exercises on Saturday, May 11, at 10 a.m., at the Augusta Civic Center. Churchill Elangwe-Preston, of Waterville, will deliver the keynote address…
EVENTS: Waterville Farmers Market open for the season
WATERVILLE – The Waterville Farmers Market will open Thursday, May 2, 2 – 6 p.m., at Head of Falls, in Waterville. It is open every Thursday, 2 – 6 p.m., rain or shine, until November 21. This year they have 23 vendors offering seasonal fresh fruits and vegetables, cheese, eggs, meat, fresh baked items, local crafts, maple syrup, honey, and plants/seedlings…
EVENTS: MCCS, JMG launch new summer academy program
CENTRAL ME – Young Mainers looking for help navigating their next step have a new opportunity to take free four- to six-week classes at Maine’s community colleges this summer under a new “Summer Academy” program offered by the colleges and nonprofit education partner JMG…
EVENTS: Open Mic at Vassalboro coffee house
CENTRAL ME – Vassalboro Open Mic and Coffeehouse at the East Vassalboro Grange Hall Saturday, May 11, 7 – 9 p.m. Everyone is welcome to perform or to enjoy. Might you be a musician who might enjoy a place to share your talent? This could be the perfect place to try out the neighborhood stage. Bring your friends and family. $3 – $5 suggested donation. Coffee, tea, and goodies for sale. FMI: grange322@gmail.com…
EVENTS: Waterville Memorial Day ceremony planned
WATERVILLE – American Legion Post #5 invites community members and families to the St Francis de Sales Cemetery wreath laying ceremony to honor deceased members of Canadian Legion Post #67, Forest J. Pare VFW Post 1285, Waterville Fire Department, Knights of Columbus #13486, Waterville Elks Lodge #905, McCrillis-Rousseau VFW Post 8835, and Law Enforcement Officers. The ceremony will be held at St Francis Cemetery on Grove St on May 27, 2024 and begin at 9:00 a.m…
EVENTS: Benton alewife festival set for May 18
BENTON – The 2024 edition of the Benton Alewife Festival will take place on Saturday, May 18, from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., at t he park near the Benton Town Office, on Rte. 100. The event will take place rain or shine…
CALENDAR OF EVENTS: Yogurt making class
VASSALBORO – Learn to make your own yogurt – It’s easier than you think! The grange will provide a variety of milk from farms here in Central Maine, on Sunday, May 12, from 2 – 4 p.m…. and many other local events!
Local town meetings schedule for 2024
Schedule for town meetings in 2024 for Albion, China, Palermo & Vassalboro..
Webber’s Pond
Webber’s Pond is a comic drawn by an anonymous central Maine resident…
Obituaries
CHINA – Ronald Abbott Emery, 78, of China, died on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, at the Alfond Center for Health, in Augusta… and remembering 12 others.
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Eli & Sybil Jones, Mary Hoxie Jones (new)
CHINA HISTORY — From Rufus Matthew Jones, your writer goes backward and then forward in the Jones family. Rufus Jones was the nephew of Eli Jones and his wife Sybil (Jones) Jones, well-known Quaker missionaries. Rufus and Elizabeth (Cadbury) Jones’ daughter, Mary Hoxie Jones, born almost a century later than Eli Jones, was a historian and poet… by Mary Grow
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Rufus Matthew Jones — Part 2
CHINA HISTORY — Part of Rufus Matthew Jones’ story of his early life, in his 1921 book titled A Small-Town Boy, was summarized last week. This week’s article continues his story, starting with his primary schooling in one-room schoolhouses in South China and Weeks Mills… by Mary Grow
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Rufus Matthew Jones, of China
CHINA HISTORY — China native Rufus Matthew Jones was another writer with a religious background, like Sylvester Judd, though both his religion and his writing style were quite different. Various sources describe him as a philosopher, religious leader, theologian and mystic; he was also a writer, magazine editor, historian and educator… by Mary Grow
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Sylvester Judd of Augusta
AUGUSTA HISTORY — Another local writer mentioned in Thomas Addison’s chapter on literary people in Henry Kingsbury’s Kennebec County history was Rev. Sylvester Judd, who was born in Westhampton, Massachusetts, and grew up in adjoining Northampton… by Mary Grow
Common Ground: Win a $10 gift certificate!
DEADLINE: Wednesday, May 16, 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: William F. Vining, Norridgewock
Town Line Original Columnists
SCORES & OUTDOORS
by Roland D. Hallee | Porcupines. Nuisance, or ecological necessity? It all depends with whom you speak. I know some people who are overrun by the animals to the point where they are raiding the gardens, and having to deal with their dogs being injured by porcupine quills due mostly to their own curiosity. While others find a use for them…
PLATTER PERSPECTIVE
by Peter Cates | As I am writing this on May 5, I wish to pay tribute to conductor Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt who was born on this day 124 years ago and passed away on May 28, 1973, at the age of 73…
FOR YOUR HEALTH
HEALTH | Lately is seems as though you can’t pass a park or court without spotting people engaged in a lively game of pickleball. The fast-moving sport seems to have come out of nowhere and captured the interest of young and old alike, who can’t get enough of it. With all that play there is inevitably the possibly of strain and injuries, caution chiropractors…