Wow! Lots of festivities coming up! Patriot's Day the 18th (observed the 21st, Town Hall will be closed), Easter Sunday, April 20, and Earth Day, Tuesday, April 22!

Last call for Easter food baskets from the Boothbay Harbor Congregational Church's Food Pantry. Pick them up between 10 am and 2 pm, please. If you need transportation, call Louise Hardina, 563-5236, to make arrangements.

Parents Alert! First Grade screening for the Edgecomb Eddy School will be April 29, beginning at 12:30 p.m. Call the School, 882-5525, to sign up for screening for either First Grade or Kindergarten (child must turn 5 by Oct. 15). Kindergarten screening will be May 2. Tuesday morning, April 22, 9 am-12:30 pm, Chat-N-Check will be back in its usual location in the Edgecomb Congregational Church vestry, after spending the winter at the Town Hall. After checking your blood pressure, enjoy a nice light meal and a special program.

I had an enjoyable time at the Twin Village Women's Club meeting at the Lincoln Home. I held forth on the twists and travails of the Edgecomb school system from the opening of our grand new school and the closing of the Old Eddy School, which has been District 1 ever since June 28, 1774, when residents met to plot out the several education districts. Always wanted to study history backwards. A neat way to make sense out of any present situation: by tracking the chain of cause and effect as far back as I can gives me an idea of why such and such a thing is true today. I am grateful to Alice Boardway, who recalls the demolition of the Dodge School in the 1940s; she and Walker got bricks for their lobster concession from the site. I asked if there might be any left, thinking of potential exhibits, but she is doubtful. To cook the lobsters, of course, took lots of water, which probably eroded the bricks beyond salvaging. But hey, we can discuss it Thursday, April 24, at 2 pm, when the Edgecomb Historical Society meets at the Town Hall, to examine our collections in the loft.

Bureaucratic Reminder: Real estate tax lien procedures will start in May. Unpaid property taxes must be paid before May 15, to avoid additional charges other than interest. Also, remember, everyone: The Edgecomb Town Meeting will be held Saturday, May 17 at the Edgecomb Eddy School auditorium, followed by Dedication ceremonies for the new school. However, what I keep forgetting to tell you, Elections will be as usual, in the Town Hall, on Friday, May 16. I will be repeating this item ad nauseam for the next several weeks, because it is vitally important. Even then, there are bound to be some who will thump futilely on the Town House door, wondering where the meeting is! We will post an unmistakable sign!

Enjoying the little blue chionodoxa carpeting the lawn at 234 River Road, 633-2978, bonesukl@midcoast.com. This column appears in The Boothbay Register, The Lincoln County News, The Wiscasset Newspaper, and at www.Edgecomb.org.