Sunday was a very nice day. The thermometer hit 62 degrees around 1:00pm and by 5:00pm, it said 55 degrees.
There are a few Happy Birthday wishes to go out this week. My husband, Hugh Chapman and our daughter-in-law, Kym Chapman (Chris’ wife) share a birthday on April 22nd, and Jason Steigerwald, our granddaughter Mariyah’s husband, has one on April 20th. Also, anniversary wishes to our son and wife, Tim and Michele Chapman. on April 18th.
Judy Bishop, from Yarmouth, ME, stopped by last Saturday for a visit. She was in West Bethel to attend the funeral service for Maureen Swain and decided to stop by here to say hello. She had a chance to visit after the service with a few relatives that were in attendance.
Hugh stopped by Pete and Claudia Risbara’s the other day. He was gifted some of Pete’s maple syrup that he has been making. Claudia also sent home some delicious cookies that she had just baked.
Again, not too much to report on the bird feeder. The hawk is still visiting and bothering the other birds. There were several Red-winged Blackbirds and Grackles out there over the weekend.
I found this newspaper clipping that my mother, Millie McLain, had saved along with a few others. This is just a little excerpt from it-
“When the first three months of a year have plodded through their days, and a man tears the third sheet from the big Feed Store calendar on the kitchen wall, he knows that true spring is still some distance away. April is a heady filly, not broken to the harness. There are periods when the Weather Man cannot make up his mind, and blue skies and dark clouds take turns as the hours pass. But each day means one day nearer to the time when true spring will come. You can feel, smell and hear the voice of change, and the heart responds when eyes and ears see and hear the SIGNS. The banks of the creeks begin to show green and the red maples’ blossoms are bright pennants in the woods.
Then comes the morning when a man is certain. On the way to the barn to do the chores, he stops in the yard and savors the day. The sun is a golden platter in a blue sky; mountains are blue-green against the horizon; the bluebirds and robins are giving their morning concert. The air is soft against one’s face and the smell of warming earth is heady in the nostrils. A man breathes deeply and inhales the fragrance of a new season. Suddenly, he knows. This is the day he has waited for. Spring has arrived.”
Gilead Historical Society
Historical Note: Excerpt from GHS publication, {Hastings, The History of a Maine Lumbering Town that Emerged, Flourished and Vanished within 25 Years - - - (1892-1917) by Howard Reiche and Hugh Chapman, 2006}-
The winter was challenging for the people in Hastings, but the spring brought a whole new set of problems. The maintenance of the railroad and bridges was a constant challenge. The water coming from the melting snow and spring storms rushed down the mountain side and washed out the railroad and bridges causing a lot of damage. Bridges over the river had to be rebuilt after each storm or replaced completely.
Got any news? Email chapmal@hotmail.com