Historians among us! Where is Weir Point? Tom Boudin on the Cross Point Road says, "... a 1791 road description describes the Cross Point Road as beginning at a large red oak tree at Weir Point on the Cross River and gives distances and headings inland toward Newcastle. We know where the Cross Point Road is and where the Cross River is but need to locate Weir Point!" Hardly a man remains alive who remembers that red oak tree...
Festive times for the Edgecomb Fire Department! Their Annual Christmas Dinner last Sunday was visited by Santa Claus! Seven-year-old Head Elf Isabelle Carlson drew out the winning raffle ticket for the delightful Friendship Chain quilt donated to the EFD by the Friendship Chain Quilters Society, and the Winnah was (blare of trumpets, ruffle of drums): Kim Williams of Woolwich! The Department sends its heartiest thanks to everyone who participated to make this the best Holiday Dinner ever!
Climb aboard your snail and join the Morris Farm's Slow Food "Proto-Convivium" at 6:00 tonight at Treats on Wiscasset's Main Street! Bring a potluck contribution and enjoy a relaxed setting, discussing ideas about this long-awaited response to the modern world's addiction to speed! If Time is Money, then More Time is .... You do the math
Don't forget to pre-register for any of these Morris Farm 2006 workshops that grab your attention: Ceramic Dish Making (that's a flat plate as opposed to a bowl or vase), Fresh Bread Making and Intro. Bee Keeping. Call Anne Pfeiffer, Garden and Outreach Coordinator at the Morris Farm, 882-4080, or anne_pfeiffer@morrisfarm.org to register or for more information.
News has come of the death of Martha Vaughan, mother of River Road resident Zibette Dean, as well as of Nancy Holmes in Newcastle and Chuck Vaughan in Richmond. Our condolences go to the whole extended family. Martha and George Vaughan and their children have been great good friends of the Colby family for many many years. It is always a deep sorrow to lose such a friend, but we will always remember her wit, enthusiasm, and many kindnesses. And hey, she had a bang-up 100th birthday party!
This in from Becky Benton: Two Edgecomb Eddy gymnasts participated in the "Beach Party Meet" at Leaps & Bounds in Fairfield on December 4th. Each girl placed in her category. Marina Poole (third grade) won second place for Level 3, eight- and nine-year olds. Anna Sirois (first grade) brought home a fourth place ribbon for Level 2, six- and seven-year olds. The girls performed beautifully and had fun at their first meet of the season.
This Saturday, Dec. 17th, at 2:00 p.m., the Maine Coastal Botanical Gardens is holding a craft workshop, "Holiday Ornaments from Nature for Kids," at Anderson Farms on Route 1, $8 for members, $10 for non-members. Call 633.4333 to sign up and get more information.
Which takes me back to my youth, and a favorite book, "The Critter Bit Book." Well in advance of recycling (which of course we all did, for the war effort), it showed how to make horses out of old toothbrushes, trains out of empty wooden thread spools, and a gazillion things to do with pine cones and sprills, acorn dolls, walnut finger puppets and much, much more! Wonder if it has ever been reprinted? (Couldn't find it by title on the internet.)
Along that line, detergent bottles (which are #1 plastic) make good treetop figures. Cut the bottoms out, then either cover or line with colorful paper or cloth, add wings and/or crowns. The difficult part is finding good materials for heads. The polystyrene balls dissolve in most glues. I recommend crumpling up newpaper into the right size ball (and you can shape it if you are artistic), then cover with tissue paper; give it a neck long enough to poke into the neck of the bottle, and then secure with odds and ends of notions (rickrack, hemming tape, etc.) Voila, angels, shepherds, magi, the whole creche or secular scenery, whatever you've a mind to!
"Never Throw Anything Away" is the motto at 234 River Road, 633-2978, bonesukl@midcoast.com. This column appears in several local papers, and at www.Edgecomb.org.