Katrina Emergency Relief Project: The Edgecomb Congregational Church is asking for money donations to enable them to make up "Clean Up Buckets" and "Health Kits" for the refugees of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. Dollar donations are preferred for the sake of speed, since the need is NOW. However, blankets would also be welcome. They hope to have all contributions in by this coming Saturday, Sept. 17, the day of the EFD benefit supper (see below). Please send your contributions to Edgecomb Congregational Church, POB 113, Edgecomb ME 04556, and earmark your checks "Emergency Hurricane Relief." Call Bob Hardina at 563-5236 for more information.
Meanwhile, on Route 1 on Labor Day, taking advantage of the chronic backup along the Davey Bridge approach, Fire Chief Barry Johnston led his crew in a boot drive which raised over $4,200 toward Katrina relief. Let me inform the tourists from Connecticut that the Edgecomb Fire Department was not the cause of halted traffic on Route 1, but an effect, a response to an ever-present opportunity!
These gallant volunteers of the Edgecomb Fire Department will be honored and benefitted themselves by the last of the Edgecomb Congregational Church Summer Suppers! On Saturday, September 17, from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m., cheer on the EFD with traditional Maine fare: baked beans, rolls, home-made casseroles of all sorts, pies (dietetic alternative available) and beverages. Adults $6.00, children under 12, $3.00. For anyone who wishes to help out with preparation or clean-up, call Gail Boudin, 882-7972, or the Church office, 882-4060.
The last of the lectures at Bigelow Laboratory's Café Scientifique, Dr. Rick Wahle, "Lobster Shell Disease in New England: Will it come to the Gulf of Maine?" will be Monday, Sept. 19 from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Boothbay Harbor Opera House. Open to everyone! No admission, cash bar. This talk should be of interest to all our area fishermen.
Welcome to the Neighborhood! Little Margaret Elizabeth Kastelein was born August 17 to Mike and Kate Kastelein on the Middle Road.
My respect and admiration grows and grows for Tammy Richards on the River Road! She has persevered in her efforts to become an interpreter and teacher for the deaf, and has been learning to swim, to overcome her fears of the water. Great lady, let us all wish her well! Also, good luck to son Tyler, who is a senior this year at Lincoln Academy.
I never know if the Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts is in Edgecomb or Newcastle, but I guess it straddles the line. They have just received a grant from the Maine Arts Commission to fulfill ADA requirements at their facility. Another project they have embarked upon is a kiln shed to house all of their several types of firing apparatus. These will include a community gas kiln for use by area artists who lack this critical equipment. For information about Watershed, call 882-6075 or e-mail Ingrid@watershedceramics.org.
This coming Saturday marks the day the U.S. Constitution was signed in 1787. Let's all stand at attention in honor of our defining and securing document.
And in more late-breaking news from the History Front: Rosemary Ballard Boak wishes to express her gratitude to Donaldson Boord on the Cross Point Road for pulling her car out of a ditch! This occurred as Ms. Ballard Boak, an architectural historian, was surveying historic houses on Cross Point and elsewhere in the Town, an activity sponsored by the Edgecomb Historical Society with funds provided from the Maro Hammond Memorial Fund. Her thanks go also to Wilhemina Thomas, who let her use her telephone. Thanks, too, to a sheriff's deputy whose name she failed to get.
For more on this survey of historic buildings as well as for details pertaining to the coming Bicentennial of Fort Edgecomb, gather at the Edgecomb Eddy School conference room on Thursday, September 23, at 2:00 p.m. for the Annual Meeting of the Edgecomb Historical Society. We are all excited about materials Zibette has given to us from the collections of the late Nick Dean, as well as materials from other sources.
Singing "Yankee Doodle" at the top of my lungs from 234 River Road, 633-2978, bonesukl@midcoast.com. This column appears in several local papers, and at www.Edgecomb.org.