Issue for November 30, 2023
Parade of Lights kicks off holiday season in Central Maine
Winslow and Waterville partnered together for the annual Parade of Lights, opening of Kringleville, lighting of the Winslow Gazebo, and the lighting of the Castonguay Square… by Mark Huard
Town News
Rescue director addresses complaint of response time
WINDSOR – At the October 24 meeting of the Windsor Select Board, Raymond Chavarie, Director of Windsor Rescue, addressed the board about an article noting a resident unhappy with rescue response time for a certain call in Windsor. He noted response times recorded from dispatch services and logged of a certain call…
New logo approved for town
CHINA – At their Nov. 20 meeting, the majority of China’s select board members enthusiastically and unanimously approved a new town logo, designed by board member Jeanne Marquis…
Submit a name to The Remembrance Tree
CENTRAL ME – Help The Town Line decorate the tree and at the same time remember loved ones. For only $10 a ball, you can commemorate loved ones who have passed. Deadline is Friday, December 16, 2023. The completed tree will be published in the December 21 issue…
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: “Then dynamite, not faith, will move that mountain into this pass.” Email us at townline@townline.org with subject “Name that film!” Deadline for submission is December 7, 2023…
PHOTOS: First snowmen of the year
CENTRAL ME – Asher, Gideon and Joseph Alix with their Thanksgiving snowman from the first snowfall of the year. Emma, 2, and Parker, 9, Robbins, of Skowhegan, show off their snowman. Photos by Central Maine Photography…
Local author seeks funds to help heal grieving Lewiston community
CENTRAL ME – Waterville-based author and poet Jeanine Deas is seeking donations to print copies of her not-for-profit grief book When Someone We Love Dies, which she then will donate free of charge to community members in Lewiston grieving the mass-shooting there. Any additional copies will be distributed free of charge to Maine’s families, schools, libraries, churches, hospitals, and hospices…
Local scouts hold Lego derby
BELGRADE – Seventy-five youths, mostly Cub Scouts, from Hartland to Buxton rolled into Camp Bomazeen, on November 4, for the annual Lego Pinewood Derby…
Sidney resident inducted into National Biological Honor Society
SIDNEY – Student Christopher King, of Sidney, a Natural Sciences major in the class of 2024 has been accepted into the Chi Zeta Chapter of Beta Beta Beta (TriBeta), a national biological honor society for the 2022-2023 academic year, at St. Anselm College, in Manchester, New Hampshire…
Lights of Life holiday tradition supports care at Inland Hospital
WATERVILLE – Northern Light Inland Hospital is kicking off its 2023 Lights of Life program. It’s a wonderful opportunity for the community to honor and remember friends, family members, and caregivers by purchasing a light for the hospital’s holiday tree, which will come to life on December 7. Every dollar raised through Lights of Life will stay local to support care in the greater Waterville region…
The town of China has a new author!
CHINA – Lance Gilman, who was born in Waterville, raised in Bangor (graduated from Bangor High School) and currently a resident of China, is now an author who has just released his first book – Conquering Retirement! Lance is a 20-year veteran combat engineer, army officer and an independent Investment Adviser Representative (IAR)…
Tell us about your family Christmas tradition. Send your memories to townline@townline.org
Local happenings
EVENTS: Mary Matteson to lead sing-a-long
So.CHINA – On Tuesday, December 5, the South China Community Church will offer a hymn sing-a-long at 1 p.m. Please come and join in singing many of your favorite hymns…
CALENDAR OF EVENTS: Festive Celebration at Erskine
SOUTH CHINA – Erskine Academy presents Deck the Halls, a Festive Celebration, Friday, December 1, from 4 – 7 p.m., at the school, 309 Windsor Rd., China. This will include the Red Barn Road Show food truck, tractor rides, tree lighting, caroling, cookie decorating, gingerbread house competition, a toy drive, and more…. and many other local events!
Obituaries
PALERMO – Neal Richard Pottle, 78, of Palermo, passed away on Saturday, November 18, 2023, in Palermo. Neal was born in Freedom, December 11, 1944, to Robert G. and Esther (Reed) Pottle… and remembering 16 others.
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Vassalboro dams (new)
VASSALBORO HISTORY — As last week’s article on the Masse family suggested, from the late 1700s through the 1800s central Kennebec Valley entrepreneurs dammed streams and rivers to provide water power for industry… by Mary Grow
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Louis Masse
VASSALBORO HISTORY — When Louis Masse’s name appeared in last week’s article on the Starrett family of China, knowledgeable Vassalboro residents might have been surprised. They thought he was theirs, founder of the family that owned and ran the Masse mill on the Masse dam, in East Vassalboro… by Mary Grow
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Starrett family of China
CHINA HISTORY — Two weeks ago, this series featured China-born inventor Laroy Sunderland Starrett. As suggested in that story, he was a member of a large family with generations of China connections. This article will provide information about Laroy Starrett’s family… by Mary Grow
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Inventors – Part 3
ME HISTORY — Here is Earl H. Smith’s introduction to Martin Keyes in Smith’s Downeast Genius, beginning with a comparison to the inventor profiled in this series two weeks ago. “Like Alvin Lombard, Martin Keyes (1850–1914) was blessed with an inquisitive and clever mind, but unlike his burly tractor-making neighbor, Keyes was a diminutive and fastidious man…” by Mary Grow
Common Ground: Win a $10 gift certificate!
DEADLINE: Wednesday, December 14, 2023
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: Shirley Kinney, Augusta
Town Line Original Columnists
SCORES & OUTDOORS
by Roland D. Hallee | I don’t usually do a column on domestic house pets, but I think this one is worth the exception. I have this Maine coon cat that hangs around my house. It belongs to the next door neighbors, but it seems to have claimed my yard as part of its territory…
CRITTER CHATTER
by Jayne Winters | I knew immediately what I wanted to write about this month after seeing a young red squirrel recently admitted to Duck Pond Wildlife Rehab – he was the sole survivor of his litter mates who had come in contact with a glue trap…
THE BEST VIEW
by Norma Best Boucher | I am writing a cookbook. No, really, I am. Everyone else has written a cookbook – a pioneer woman, a Barefoot Contessa, Frankie Avalon. Yes, even teen idol Frankie Avalon has written a cookbook. What to write about? That is the question….
REVIEW POTPOURRI
by Peter Cates | Reader’s Digest released a number of record sets devoted to Christmas music, one being a 1985, two LP set Joy to the World. It contains two sides of 15 famous carols performed with decent professionalism by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Peter Knight (1917-1985)…
FOR YOUR HEALTH
(NAPSI) — While the joy and busyness of the holiday season can take a toll on some people’s mental health, that doesn’t have to be. There are ways to avoid holiday-related challenges…