All of the weather sites I follow seemed to agree that western Maine was in for some extreme weather on Tuesday night. Most warned of the possibility of severe thunderstorms, wind gusts up to 75 mph, golf ball-sized hail, and maybe even tornadoes. By early evening, however, the threat seemed to have abated and, oddly enough, it seems that we have the presence of Canadian wildfire smoke to thank for that. Apparently the combination of more clouds than expected and a thick layer of smoke from more than 800 wildfires currently burning across Canada prevented the development of instability in the atmosphere that leads to thunderstorms.
The maps I’ve seen show the smoke that has made its way to Maine as “light,” but it’s been enough to turn the sun red in the late afternoon and evening (when I could actually see the sun through the smoke and clouds). However, the color-coded maps show the smoke in Connecticut, where I grew up and where my brother Andy still lives, as “very heavy,” with unhealthy air quality.
Harry Orcutt and Susan Vacca of Greenwood celebrated their 50th anniversary on the Fourth of July, America’s 250th birthday, which means that they were married on the day of the nation’s Bicentennial. They celebrated in grand style, by riding up Main Street in Bethel in an open Jeep in the Fourth of July parade, dressed in their Revolutionary War costumes.
Tony and I attended the Greenwood Historical Society program, “Greenwood 101,” last week and very much enjoyed Andrew Wheeler’s informative presentation. We also appreciated the air conditioning in the Legion Hall!
With the passing of Beth Brough on July 11, our town has lost the holder of its Boston Post cane, and I have lost a dear friend. All of the words I can think of to describe Beth fall far short of conveying what an absolutely magnificent, loving, generous, and joyous person she was. I can only say that I will miss her so much, and I will always count myself blessed to have known her. Perhaps more than anyone I have ever known, Beth embodied the advice that if you love someone, you should let them know. There will be a service to celebrate her wonderful life at the West Parish Congregational Church in Bethel on Saturday, July 25, at 11 a.m. I love you, Beth.
Here are some upcoming events you may want to attend:
Saturday, July 18, and every Saturday through August 29, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Open House at the Greenwood Historical Society museums on Main Street in Locke’s Mills. Stop by to visit and see the exhibits!
Monday, July 20, at 6:00 p.m. at the West Paris Historical Society, 221 Main Street in West Paris: “The Poland Spring Resort; Its Stories, Guests, and Facilities.” Guest speaker Laura Brown from the Poland Spring Museums will tell stories about the facilities and its guests. Poland Spring Resort has a legendary place in the history of Maine dating back to 1794. A 5,000-acre resort attracted vacationers who were the economic and social elite of the country. The Ricker family purchased the Maine State Building of the 1893 Columbian Exposition, dismantled it, and rebuilt it at Poland Spring. Other features are the golf course, the Chapel, and of course the bottling plant. Light refreshments will be served. Parking available behind the West Paris Library.
Wednesday, August 5, at 7 p.m. at the Locke’s Mills Legion Hall, Greenwood Historical Society program, “How it used to be,” will feature a panel of some of Greenwood’s oldest residents telling stories about “how life used to be in Greenwood.” It will be a great chance for newer residents to learn how life used to be here in our community.
Friday and Saturday, August 7 and 8, on the lawn of the Bethel Library: Annual Used Book Sale. The sale begins at noon on Friday and continues all day on Saturday. This much-anticipated event will take place rain or shine. For more information, call 207-824-2520.
Saturday, August 8, is Molly Ockett Day in Bethel, beginning with the parade at 10:30 a.m., continuing all day with kids’ activities, food, vendors, and entertainment on the Common, and culminating in fireworks at 9 p.m. You can find the full schedule of events on the Bethel Area Business Association Facebook page, as well as the first two weekly clues for the Molly Ockett Day Medallion Hunt.
Here’s a memory from Molly Ockett Day in 2016, when the Greenwood Historical Society booth offered delicious baked goods made with recipes from some of Greenwood’s best cooks—Diddy Johnson’s blueberry cake, Phyllis Coolidge’s raisin cookies, Elsie Bennett’s molasses crinkles, and Gram Nellie Martin’s toffee squares.
Saturday, August 15, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the West Paris Historical Society, 221 Main Street in West Paris: Indoor Yard Sale. Items include books, home decor, dishes, tools, games, and other treasures! Proceeds benefit the West Paris Historical Society. Parking available behind the West Paris Library.
Saturday, August 15, at 6:30 p.m. at the West Paris Library: Amy Wight Chapman (hey, that’s me!) will read from and discuss her family memoir. Published by the Museums of the Bethel Historical Society, Just Like Glass is the story of an indomitable family and how a strong matriarch, the stillness of a small pond in western Maine, and one unexpected addition set them on a path to healing from tragedy and redefining themselves as a family unit.
Pupdate: Lena has had a busy week! On Saturday, Tony and I took her for a short hike on the Chapman Brook Trail, where she got to play in the brook a bit as well as hike. She behaved very well on the “out” part of our out-and-back hike, but as soon as we turned around, she was up to her old tricks, jumping on us, grabbing our clothing in her teeth, and refusing to make any forward progress whatsoever.
This has been a persistent problem since she was less than three months old, although, thankfully, it’s happening much less often now and usually only lasts for a couple of minutes. I used to be able to just pick her up and carry her for a short distance, until she got over it, but now that she’s over five months and weighs close to 40 pounds, that’s no longer an option.
Since the behavior only seems to occur when we turn around to retrace our steps, we decided that maybe the solution was to find loop trails to walk with her. On Sunday, we went back to the same trailhead on the North Road, but instead of the Chapman Brook Trail, we walked the Esker Loop, across the road…and it worked! She was pretty much a model puppy for the whole hike; I was so busy marveling that my clothes weren’t being shredded that I forgot to take a single photo.
Monday was playdate with Puck day, and both dogs wore themselves out with an hour of chase games, in and out of the lake. Puck seems to have decided that Lena is big enough now to handle somewhat rougher play, so there was a lot of wrestling involved. Five minutes after Puck left, Lena was sound asleep on the couch.
On Tuesday morning, Lena and I met my sister-in-law Louise and niece Alison at the Buck’s Ledge Community Forest and joined a group who regularly walk the Trail for All on Tuesday mornings, part of the Western Maine Hikes for All Ages program started by Sue Radway. There were eight humans on the walk, and Lena, who needs a lot more socialization than we’ve exposed her to so far (mainly because we’re pretty sure other people won’t take kindly to having their clothes shredded) behaved much better than I would have predicted. Once she had greeted everyone (somewhat boisterously) she was more interested in chasing bugs and sniffing her way along the trail than in jumping on them. Life with Lena is finally beginning to get a little easier!
I picked the first of this year’s wild highbush blueberries at camp on Monday morning, and made a batch of blueberry muffins. My family has been picking berries from those bushes, which grow close to the pond, since 1955!
This online newsletter is intended to keep our communities informed, so if you have news, events, or photos you’d like to have included here, I hope you’ll share them with me! You can reach me by email at amy.w.chapman@gmail.com or by phone or text at 207-890-4812.
“You’ll never regret eating blueberries or working up a sweat.” — Jacquelyn Mitchard