“Above the Fold”
(An introduction to each week’s newsletter from the editor of WMNN)
Hi, Neighbors! For this week only, all of the columns in Western Maine Neighborhood News are free to all subscribers! Beginning with next week’s issue, we’ll be rearranging the schedule for alternating weeks as follows. “Week A” will include free columns from Bethel, Gilead, Newry, and Woodstock. “Week B” will include free columns from Andover, East Bethel, and Locke’s Mills. The Age-Friendly Community Initiative (AFCI) column will continue to be free to all subscribers. And you can always upgrade from a free to a paid subscription ($5/month or $50/year) to read all the town columns every week.
With the passing last week of Museums of the Bethel Historical Society Executive Director Emeritus Randall H. Bennett, our community has lost not only a walking repository of local history, but an engaging storyteller and a kind and generous neighbor and friend. His association with MBHS extended to more than a half-century, and he was an invaluable resource to the current staff. Largely self-taught, he was an expert in New England architecture, White Mountain art and history, genealogical research, and much more.
I learned so much from Randy over the years. I will sorely miss his quick wit, his encyclopedic knowledge of local history and genealogy, and his kindness.
Details regarding services and memorial arrangements will be announced when they are finalized.
Andover News
Diana Nadeau
The concert held at the Andover Congregational Church last Friday evening featuring Denny Breau was very well attended. My friend Amy, my husband, Bob, my dad, Ken, and I started our evening off at Mills for their famous Friday night seafood menu (I did not as I don’t care for seafood of any kind). They all raved how good everything was...I loved my non-seafood choice as well! If you haven’t made the trip up to visit Mills Market, what are you waiting for? The food is always delicious and the staff is wonderfully friendly and accommodating.
Our group then headed to the church looking forward to a few hours of entertainment by Mr. Breau and he certainly didn’t disappoint. We were treated with some of his original songs that he had written. Amy and I had tears in our eyes after hearing “Holding my Daughter’s Daughter” written after holding his first granddaughter. And thankfully he played the “Nine Pound Hammer” as I had asked for by special request for my dear sweet dad. I think he had the biggest grin in the crowd while Denny played it.
The last show in the Andover Summer Concert Series will be the Acoustipalians on September 4th on the Andover Common. I hope that the weather will be perfect for the wrap-up to the season. The concert starts at 6 pm and is free, as always with donations gladly accepted. All the generous donations will make sure that this tradition continues. Thanks to Pete Coolidge and those behind the scenes for the hard work all these years to bring these amazing performers to Andover.
This past week saw a handful of folks putting in a few days of work on the town tennis court. Thanks to Dirk, Bruce, KJ, Bill, and Mary, the court has been sealed and new lines for pickleball have been painted. The court is closed through tonight to let everything cure and dry thoroughly. Great job one and all! It does indeed take a village. A good source of information about things like this is the Andover Recreation Committee Facebook page.
On Saturday morning I attended the celebration of life for Mike Mills, who had recently passed, at the Andover Town Hall. The Hall was packed with people gathering to share memories and tributes to Mike. Continued prayers and thoughts go out to the Mills family.
It is back to school time, please be on the lookout for students getting to and from school. MSAD #44 and the Andover Elementary School started yesterday, the 26th. I’m sure that students and staff alike are asking where the summer went. I want to wish all of my dear school friends a great school year. It does seem a bit unusual still after my 23-year school career that I am not gearing up to go back. I am sure that Linda Stowell understands this as well. I always looked forward to “music day” so I could see Linda...those were certainly the days!
On Saturday I spent the day with my Ya Ya friends. It ended up not being a very good “float” day but we did have Captain Toby give us all a nice leisurely pontoon boat ride around the pond.
As always we laughed and ate very well, we certainly didn’t go home hungry! Thanks to all my dear friends, Tracy, Stacy, Steph, Amy, and Tammy for a fantastic day.
Here are a couple notices from the Andover Town Office:
The Town of Andover is conducting its yearly assessing of new and existing properties over the next few weeks. Please be advised that the following employees of John E. O’Donnell & Associates have permission from the Town of Andover to assess properties in town as needed. Please call the Andover Town Office at 207-392-3302 if you have any questions or concerns. You may also call O’Donnell & Associates at 207-926-4044. Thank you for your cooperation. The table below lists each field agent, their vehicle registration, and a description of their vehicle.
Also, the Selectboard is seeking the names of Andover residents interested in filling an unanticipated Andover School Board vacancy as of August 5. The appointment is for the remainder of the term for Michelle York, who recently resigned. Those interested in the position should call the Andover School for more details such as length of term, when and where the board meets, rate of pay, and requirements of the position. Interested person(s) will submit their name and contact to the Town Office or email it to secretary@andovermaine.gov on or before September 1, 2026 at noon. The Selectboard will consider all candidates at their September 1 meeting and, if there are applicants, vote to fill the vacancy, with the appointment effective immediately following the appointment.
Please send any news or events my way, and as always, faithful readers, have a great week. diananadeau@ymail.com
RIP Dolly
East Bethel News
Wally Ritz
Here we are and it’s the end of August already and soon fall will take over. School started this week so be extra careful for the buses and the kids.
Angie and Chuck Haines celebrated their anniversary on August 25th. Belated Happy Anniversary from the whole neighborhood, Angie and Chuck.
We have a special jubilee in the neighborhood. Happy 90th to Babe Bartlett on August 29th. All the best wishes for many more years from the whole neighborhood, Babe. We are all cheering for you.
The 46th Annual Bethel Outing Club Ski and Snowboard Sale is only 2 months away! It will be held Friday, October 23rd, from 6-9pm, and Saturday, October 24th, from 9 till noon this year, which is a week earlier than usual - so mark your calendars. And get that unused gear ready to sell! As well as the opportunity to buy from multiple shops in the same place (the Gould Academy Field House, 74 Church Street, Bethel), you have the opportunity to sell winter/outdoor gear and clothing you no longer use or have outgrown (gear should be in safe and good condition). The club takes a 20% commission on sales. More information can be found at bethelouting.org
The American Legion Post #68 on 593 Gore Road in Locke Mills invites everyone to listen to music and dance with The Fossils on August 29th from 6-8 pm. Light refreshments will be served and donations are appreciated.
Nina Mollicone reported that her mother, Marilyn R. Noyes Mollicone, who grew up in East Bethel, is one of the folks depicted in the Cart Mural, a permanent art installation created by Maine artists Chris Cart and Jen Greta Cart, which was unveiled at the Bailey Public Library in Winthrop Monday evening.
Nina grew up in Winthrop. Her mother was selected as a person who contributed substantially to Winthrop and surrounding communities. Marilyn was a botanist and an educator. She introduced many Winthrop children to nature appreciation through the years as she raised her family. She was the director of the Augusta Nature Camp for children for 19 years and was a founding member of what is now Viles Arboretum in Augusta. She returned to graduate school at the age of 58, making significant research contributions in the field of microscopic fungi. Nina feels very honored that her mother was chosen to be included in the mural.
Call me at 207-595-0691 or email heinrichcracker@gmail.com
Have a great week!
Gilead News
Lin Chapman
Signs of the end of summer are all around us. School has started up and back to school shopping hopefully has been completed. The traffic on Route 2 seems to be just as heavy as it has been all summer.
This column comes out on August 27th, which would have been my mother, Millie McLain’s birthday. She was almost 95 years old when she passed in June 2004 on the day of Gilead’s Bicentennial Celebration. She would be deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Randy Bennett, a cousin from the Heath and Bennett families. My mother and cousin Emeline Heath got together many times with Randy to sort out the family histories that connected them. Randy will be missed by the many people he connected with throughout his life.
On Monday morning, a couple of bucket trucks arrived to work on the weather station that was recently installed at the intersection of Route 2 and Bridge Street.
Gilead Historical Society
I already mentioned Randy on a personal note, but as a Life Member of the GHS, I have to add that he will be missed. His knowledge of the area and the genealogy of many families was unreal. All one had to say was “Randy, who was [such a person] related to that connects him to the [family of ]?” There was no hesitation with the answer to the question. If there was a question about it, he had notebooks full of family information.
We have lost a very good friend and all the knowledge he possessed.
This past weekend, there was a “shady” crew working at the schoolhouse. Pete Risbara, Hugh Chapman and Jimmy Lumbard installed the new room darkening shades that Claudia Risbara had ordered. These shades will eliminate having to cover up some of the items in the room when we close up on Saturday. They are opaque but will keep out the sun.
Aunt May’s Letters Continued
Letter #5
Deutsches Heim
Piazza San Marco Venice
July 11, 1905
My dear Family,
My last letter was sent from Florence in the hottest weather I have ever known. “They said” it was the most intense heat they have had for seventy years. I certainly know that it has required all my strength to keep up sightseeing and at the same time take care of myself. The shops in Florence are fascinating. We spent two afternoons wandering around and buying some things. Instead of the $10. Aunt Hattie sent me I have a very pretty gold chain for my watch. Did I tell you that I used Aunt Emma’s $2. toward some coral beads which I bought in Capri? Our last day in Florence was the sort personally conducted parties have all or at least much
of the time. First a carriage to the Church of the Carmines to see some very fine pictures by Masaccio. There are frescoes, many of them, one in each little cell, and in the large refectory a large painting (The Last Supper). To finish up our morning we spent an hour at the Bargello, a grand old palace, now a museum.
Thursday we were in Pisa for some hours. You all know the picture of the Cathedral and Baptistry with the Leaning Tower close by. That tower leans even more than it shows in most of the photographs. Of course we were sorry to leave Florence in spite of the pleasant experiences ahead of us. It really does seem as though we had been particularly fortunate in our trip so far. The voyage was
delightful; we have been able to carry out all the plans we had made and have seen even more than we expected; the weather has been good (not a single rainy day yet) hardly a shower; all the hotels and pensions have been excellent (good beds and good food); and we have all kept well.
Have I written since receiving Ada’s letter, also Mamma’s from Belmont and number 3 from Lily? It did seem so good to hear from you all. I am anxious to hear again from Akron and think it is about time for another letter from Lily. By this time Ada, Arthur and Mamma must be in Gilead. I wonder how you found the house. The supper bell has rung (7.30 p.m.) and as we are going out in a gondola at 8.30, I must close.
Much love to you all.
May
Got any news? Email chapmal@hotmail.com
Locke’s Mills News
Amy Wight Chapman
It’s hard for me to believe that school started in MSAD #44 this week! I don’t know how the summer flew by so quickly. It still seems wrong to me for the kids to be back in school before Labor Day.
I remember my own childhood summers, when Labor Day weekend was always the time when we closed up camp for the year. We waited until the last possible day to drag ourselves away from North Pond and head back to Connecticut for the long school year, reluctantly hitting the road in the family station wagon on the morning of Labor Day so that my mom, a school librarian, could start school on Tuesday.
We kids had one more day of freedom—not nearly long enough to adjust to the culture shock of being back in suburbia, far from our beloved camp—before we had to actually put on shoes (often, in my case, for the first time in weeks) and become prisoners of the classroom for nine long months.
We may have a bit more than three more weeks left of astronomical summer, but meteorological summer begins next Tuesday, September 1, and I’ve already started to see hints of red and orange among the hardwood trees.
Here’s a crash course in the difference between astronomical and meteorological summer from the website of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) website:
You may have noticed that meteorologists and climatologists define seasons differently from “regular” or astronomical spring, summer, fall, and winter. So, why do meteorological and astronomical seasons begin and end on different dates? In short, it’s because the astronomical seasons are based on the position of Earth in relation to the sun, whereas the meteorological seasons are based on the annual temperature cycle.
The Astronomical Seasons
People have used observable periodic natural phenomena to mark time for thousands of years. The natural rotation of Earth around the sun forms the basis for the astronomical calendar, in which we define seasons with two solstices and two equinoxes. Earth’s tilt and the sun’s alignment over the equator determine both the solstices and equinoxes.
The equinoxes mark the times when the sun passes directly above the equator. In the Northern Hemisphere, the summer solstice falls on or around June 21, the winter solstice on or around December 22, the vernal or spring equinox on or around March 21, and the autumnal equinox on or around September 22. These seasons are reversed but begin on the same dates in the Southern Hemisphere.
Because Earth actually travels around the sun in 365.24 days, an extra day is needed every fourth year, creating what we know as Leap Year. This also causes the exact date of the solstices and equinoxes to vary. Additionally, the elliptical shape of Earth’s orbit around the sun causes the lengths of the astronomical seasons to vary between 89 and 93 days. These variations in season length and start date would make it very difficult to consistently compare climatological statistics for a particular season from one year to the next. Thus, the meteorological seasons were born.
The Meteorological Seasons
Meteorologists and climatologists break the seasons down into groupings of three months based on the annual temperature cycle as well as our calendar. We generally think of winter as the coldest time of the year and summer as the warmest time of the year, with spring and fall being the transition seasons, and that is what the meteorological seasons are based on. Meteorological spring in the Northern Hemisphere includes March, April, and May; meteorological summer includes June, July, and August; meteorological fall includes September, October, and November; and meteorological winter includes December, January, and February.
Meteorological observing and forecasting led to the creation of these seasons, and they are more closely tied to our monthly civil calendar than the astronomical seasons are. The length of the meteorological seasons is also more consistent, ranging from 90 days for winter of a non-leap year to 92 days for spring and summer. By following the civil calendar and having less variation in season length and start, it becomes much easier to calculate seasonal statistics from the monthly statistics, both of which are very useful for agriculture, commerce, and a variety of other purposes.
No matter which calendar you prefer, there are plenty of upcoming events in our area to take you from summer to fall:
Thursday, August 27, at 1:00 p.m. at the Museums of the Bethel Historical Society’s Twitchell Education Building: Charcoal Drawing with Sara Hemeon, the final program in this year’s Mill Brook Craft Series. Discover the expressive beauty of charcoal drawing in this beginner-friendly class. Sara will provide a brief history of charcoal as an artistic medium, as well as instruction in fundamental techniques. No drawing experience needed, and the program is free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 29, from 6-7 p.m. at the Telstar High School Auditorium and Sunday, August 30, from 12-4 p.m. at Valentine Farm, 162 North Road, Bethel: The Mahoosuc Land Trust’s 2026 Monarch Festival. See detailed information and full schedule below. The festival is free, but registration is encouraged: www.mahoosuc.org/monarch-festival
Saturday, August 29, from 6-8 p.m. at the Locke’s Mills Legion Hall on the Gore Road: Listen and dance to The Fossils. From the band: “We’ll have pizza, hotdogs, chips, popcorn, soda, and water for sale. Come shake a leg or sit and listen - we love watching all of you have a great time!”
Sunday, August 30, at 2:00 p.m. at the West Paris Public Library, 226 Main Street, West Paris: Concert by the Tourmaline Brass Quintet. TBQ is a new group composed of seasoned musicians from five area communities: trumpet players Marc Eckels of Paris Hill and Julie Schubert-Cowan of Bethel, trombonist Jim Bennett of West Paris, French horn player Kelly Bickford of Greenwood, and tuba player Tom DeLuca of Hanover. If the weather cooperates, the concert will be held on the lawn behind the library; in case of rain, it will be held inside the library. Admission for the one-hour concert is free, and children and families are welcome!
Wednesday, September 2, at 7:00 p.m. at the Locke’s Mills Legion Hall on the Gore Road: Greenwood Historical Society program featuring the history of the Howe Hill neighborhood. The newest in the series of the “Greenwood neighborhood” books by the late Blaine Mills features the Howe Hill neighborhood and will be available to purchase.
Thursday, September 3, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Museums of the Bethel Historical Society’s Mason House, 10 Broad Street, Bethel: Annual potluck supper and meeting, featuring “Meet John Adams: A Lively and Revolutionary Conversation with America’s Second President,” with George Baker. Potluck supper at 5:30, followed by the program. All are welcome!
Saturday, September 12, at 1:00 p.m. at the former UU Church on Grove Street in Bryant Pond: Jane Chandler will share the recent history of Buck’s Ledge for the Woodstock Historical Society. The slide show will depict the people who helped to make Buck’s Ledge Community Forest a reality, forever preserved for the public.
Saturday, September 12, at 2:00 p.m. at the Waterford Public Library: Book discussion of The Radicalism of the American Revolution. Prize-winning historian Gordon S. Wood offers a grand and immensely readable synthesis of historical, political, cultural, and economic analysis to describe the events that made the American Revolution. Wood depicts a revolution that was about much more than a break from England–rather it transformed an almost feudal society into a democratic one, whose emerging realities sometimes baffled and disappointed its founding fathers. This is the fourth in a series of book discussions sponsored by the Museums of the Bethel Historical Society and the Independence 250 committee to commemorate America’s 250th birthday. The book is available at the MBHS Museum Shop.
Lena has recovered quickly from what vets think was probably a bacterial infection that had caused dozens of itchy bumps, which she scratched into hot spots, on one side of her face. Tony and I first thought they were insect bites, but we learned that her playmate Maybelle, with whom she had romped in the pond a couple of days before, had come down with the same symptoms. Maybelle’s vet’s first question was whether she had been swimming in a lake or pond, and he was certain it was caused by some kind of bacteria.
In any case, Lena is fully healed and her fur grew back quickly, so she’s once again stunningly beautiful, if not perfectly behaved.
I don’t like to think that there was some strange kind of bacteria floating around in my beloved North Pond, but if there was, it seems to have been temporary. Lena’s been back in the pond this week, our neighbors’ dogs swam after her “episode,” I’ve been swimming almost every day, and (thankfully) none of us have suffered any ill effects.
We’ve been going for lots of short hikes, and Lena now gets excited when she hears the word “hike,” although not quite as excited as she gets when she hears me say we’re going to see her friend Puck. The most exciting thing of all is when she gets to go for a hike WITH Puck, and if the hike includes places to play in the water, that makes it even better.
This week’s hikes included two to Buck’s Ledge, one on the Sanborn River Trail, and one to an “undisclosed location” with Puck and Betsey.
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.
“August used to be a sad month for me. As the days went on, the thought of school starting weighed heavily upon my young frame.” ― Henry Rollins
Newry News
Amy Henley
Well, my vacation week quickly came to an end and I’m back to work. I made a list at the beginning of my break and am happy to say that I crossed everything off. It included finishing washing windows as I had to get a ladder out, pressure washing the side of the house and washing the car along with some interior chores. Several trips were made to pick blackberries in a secret spot and lot of goodies were baked with many bags frozen for winter. I feel accomplished and will start a new list.
Goal making was something I truly despised when I was in high school but now I find it something I live by. Whether a professional goal or personal goal. I find it nice to have something to work towards. Goals don’t have to be big. Setting some small attainable ones that you can easily do is a great way to start and even can be encouraging to make bigger ones. So make that list and check off things as you go and start a new list when you complete that one. Or maybe you do short term goals and long term goals as some take longer than others.
The Bethel Outing Club Ski and Snowboard Sale is a place where local vendors and vendors from farther afield come to sell winter gear every October. Winter gear includes alpine and nordic skis, boots and poles, snowboards and snowboard boots, helmets, ice skates, hockey sticks, snowshoes, ski and boot bags, packs, winter clothing such as hats, mittens, jacket/coats, snow/ski pants, socks, and miscellaneous other items. There was even a fat-tired unicycle one year!
As well as new gear, folks can bring in used gear to sell. There is a special area to check this gear in. It needs to be inventoried and tagged by the seller and this may be done ahead of time or when it is brought in for the sale. Tagging ahead of time will save you money on tags (4 free and then 25 cents per tag up to 20, $1/tag after 20). Tags purchased the day of the sale at the sale are $1 each. Tags and inventory sheets will be available at the Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce and True North Adventureware starting October 1st and until 2pm on Friday, October 23rd. More information about selling your used gear is at bethelouting.org. Used gear not sold Friday night is marked down 50% in the hopes of selling it Saturday. If you don’t want your item marked down 50%, you must pick it up by 9pm Friday when the sale closes for the night. The BOC takes a 20% commission which is used to purchase ski gear used by our local youth, aid in the ski programs for them, as well as helping send them to the Bill Koch Festival at the end of the ski season. The Bethel Outing Club Ski and Snowboard Sale will take place Friday, October 23rd from 6-9pm and Saturday, October 24th from 9 till noon at the Gould Academy Field House, 74 Church Street, Bethel.
Just a reminder that the Household Hazardous Waste Event is Saturday, August 29th from 9am-12pm at Bethel Public Works at 39 Davis Road in Bethel. Information about what can be brought can be found on the town’s website.
Tax bills are expected to go out in the mail today to owners as of April 1, 2026. If you sold your property after April 1, 2026, the taxes were committed to you and you will receive a bill. Courtesy bills are sent to new owners. If you do not receive your bill, you can find a copy on the town’s website or call the office to confirm your address and we can email you a copy. Payments can be made on the town’s website as well.
The Town Office will be closed on Monday, September 7th in observance of Labor Day and on Wednesday, September 9th to attend training. Please plan accordingly.
Good luck to all the students and parents that started school yesterday. I know it is a big adjustment getting back into a schedule again. I know we aren’t ready to let the summer break go just yet. Usually, I’m ready for school to begin but not this year. It went too quick and still so much to do.
Have a great week and send me your news to be included in next week’s column to newrynews24@gmail.com.
Woodstock News
Linda Stowell
It’s back to school time! Not being in that loop anymore, I hadn’t given it a lot of thought. This summer went by quickly. My tiny garden is still producing cucumbers and squash, and the tomatoes are ripening. The sunflowers are all in their glory. Morning glories continue to climb up the trellis, and I have lots of flowers for bouquets. Golden rod, Queen Anne’s lace, and tansy are blooming all along the roadsides. I have some pearly everlasting, and that is also flowering. There are lots of asters as well. It’s quiet on the bog right now. There will be the occasional ducks that stop on their way south, but that’s about it.
Last weekend Dave and I headed to Fayette, where we did our best to keep up with the two grand-dogs, Indy and Stanley. They’re really just big doofuses. Taking them outside was an adventure. We were instructed that Stanley might need a little extra “keeping an eye on,” but he was a very good boy! Thankfully, neither dog went for a swim in the pond. The two of them are large dogs, and when one steps on my foot, I notice. Like many other dogs I know, they simply want to be with their people. The two can get rather rowdy inside with their playing, but eventually they tucker themselves out. The most entertaining thing was watching the dogs around the pear tree. Stanley, the yellow lab, would walk under the tree, scoping out which pear to aim for. He then jumped up, grabbing one with his mouth. He brought it back to where we were, and then proceeded to eat the pear. Indy, the golden, didn’t hurry about, but could still get it done. They sat very nicely when I gave them each a cookie after coming inside. I left Sunday morning to play at church, and then went back after church. Zack, Josh, and Molly returned mid-afternoon, so we were released from our duties. The Adams family was in Rockwood last weekend to attend the wedding of Nathan Clark, son of Mike and Jennifer (Adams) Clark.
I read the following on Facebook today, and I’m sure there are many who have been wondering about the new ownership of the Mollyockett Motel.
We’re bringing back The Mollyockett Motel!! Travis Stearns and Kinsey Durgin are the proud new owners of the western Maine landmark.
There will be tons of news, pictures and updates coming as we rebrand, update and renovate so please follow along. For starters, we have dropped the “motel” from the name and will be renaming it “The Mollyockett”. Signage and logos will reflect the change and updated look.
We plan to bring The Mollyockett into the 21st Century, with updates coming to all common areas and guest rooms. The pool house is also very high on the priority list and will be upgraded and reopened as soon as possible. We will also be exploring options for reopening the restaurant, but nothing has been set in stone yet. There is a lot to sort out, and we’ll be working through the entire property and keeping followers posted along the way.
The Mollyockett will be owned by locals, renovated by locals, and we will be hiring local when the time comes. We hope to create a great place for travelers and tourists to stay, while remaining a social hub for the community.
We’ve had the keys for less than a week and the support has already been overwhelming; we couldn’t be more appreciative of the locals backing this project! It’s clear to us that this place means a lot to the community; everyone has a story of working here, swimming here or eating at the restaurant and we’re going to bring it all back the right way.
Stay tuned for pictures and updates!
I think that is the best possible scenario, and I congratulate these young men on bringing the motel back! It will be amazing to have a restaurant close by—and a swimming pool.
Their Facebook page is called The Mollyockett.
Save the date for the baked bean supper!! I think I’ll bake beans for the supper, but I’m not sure about entering a contest. I would recommend the KFC copycat cole slaw recipe to go along with the beans.
My friend Jane, of Fryeburg, has come to visit. She arrived on Tuesday afternoon with Amato’s Italians! We have enjoyed the patio, while visiting with the neighbors. The Franks, along with their dog, Bella, showed up. We were very entertained watching Bella, who was watching a red squirrel.
That squirrel was teasing Bella, and would chatter away, as it ran up and down the pine tree. Then it would grab a pine cone, run up the tree to a small branch, and sit there eating it, like an ear of corn!
There’s nothing much better than watching nature live.
Have a great week, everyone, and please send me your news/events: lalalindastowell@gmail.com
AFCI News
Melinda Remington
Hello, Folks—
Well, you may have recently noticed the yellow school buses and kids out playing on sports fields.
I just love the sound of children playing on playgrounds or fans cheering for their favorite sports teams. Just the sound of referees blowing their whistles makes me happy. This means kids and adult are cooperating, students are engaging in healthy activities.
Some will remember sports as their most memorable experiences. Life lessons about sportsmanship, teamwork and mentorship. Lifelong friendships forged.
Learning is a lifelong process so be sure to check out what SAD 44 Adult Ed and Western Mountains Senior College are offering this Fall. Last year I took the two enrichment classes I truly enjoyed, Botanical Jewelry and Paint Your Pet. Tell me, what are some of your favorites?
A FREE new offering through the Adult Ed office is designed just with you and me in mind. “Tech Talk; Iphone/Ipad Playdate” will take place in the Adult Ed room at Telstar on Monday, 9/21/26, 12:30-2:30 and Friday, 10/2/26, 12:30-2:30. Reserve for one or both time slots. Limit is 10 individuals so make sure to call soon. Tel# 207-824-2136
Adult Ed’s gracious invitation sure caught my eye! I just know I will be there! (I need to be there!)
“Thinking you want to throw your phone in the lake? Feeling overwhelmed by all the things you don’t understand that you know your phone can do? Join us and others who feel frustrated by their Iphones and just want to practice in a safe and supported classroom ‘playing’ with your phone. Practice makes perfect! Learning to use the features in your phone and practicing the steps will have you feeling a little less stressed, and more confident each time you come.”
This is NOT a course for iphone or ipad repair. If your device is not working properly, we can give you information on where to go or whom to call for help for issues like that.
Make sure to bring your device, a charger, and any passwords/pin numbers you must have to get into your phone, your email, or Google accounts.
We will learn:
* Key terminology so you can feel up to speed on all of the modern lingo!
* Some of the call features your phone has to offer—uploading, sending, downloading photos, webpages, and more
* How to find your email
* How to use system preference settings such as background images, sound, notifications
* How to use the Notes app for uploading documents (sending paper documents as a scan from your phone) and so much more
* How to use the calendar and family sharing
* How to use the tips app
* How to manage backup and storage
All of these will not be covered in one or two sessions and if people like we can extend the play date sessions further into the coming months. Please let the Adult Ed office know which of these tasks/subjects are most important to you right now.
I hope you all have a wonderful end of August. Perhaps I will see you at the Monarch Festival on this Sunday afternoon, 12:00-4:00 PM
