Feb, 26, 2012

February 25, 2012
I had a busy week during this school vacation. Dottie Caldwell and I headed for Boston to visit our children Diadem and Jesse. They took us around the area showing us where different things were; we took a walk in the local park, went to the theater and saw Looney Toons, visited the TeaLuxe store to by some loose leaf tea. At night we played some board games, Settlers of Catan, Parcheesi, and played Squirrels, a card game of absolute nuts. What fun we had in such a short period of time. I just wished I had the chance to stay a little bit longer but alas had to return to the normal routine on the Ridge.
Carroll and I have had our grandson two days this week, one day Konner and I visited the goats and hens that live next door to us. Konner loves to be out doors when he can. Konner loves to explore the area.
The EDGE program had two days available for the students to do something over vacation. One day they went to Schoodic for a program that the rangers offered to them. Hiking and learning about tracks and what you can see in the woods during the winter. A fun day was had by all even in the rain.
On Friday we drove to Ellsworth for my eye appointment, all is well so far.
Get well to Jack Barquinha, Robert Look, Doris Joy, Will Whiles and Parris Hammond. There are a lot of illnesses in the area; I hope that everyone will soon be out and about again.
Condolences go out to B. Conley Worcester’s family of Southwest Harbor. Last year Conley was the oldest at the Worcester Reunion and we will surely miss him.
Carroll and I took a ride on Saturday and visited the new cattle on Cape Split and their owners Tim & Mary Thompson that happened to be at their barn tending to the cattle.
Two more weeks and our clocks will jump forward on March 11th . I will love to get that extra day light in the afternoon. Spring is coming soon.

Out and About

January 1, 2012

Our daughter Diadem and husband Jesse returned on Thursday to their home in Roslindale, Ma. after spending the week visiting with both families and friends. The holidays are now over and we can now get back to our normal activities. I had a couple of bus runs over vacations to take teams to their ball games to keep me busy. I also have been working on genealogy a couple of days since I had several folks ask for information, and I was able to help them out in finding their information.
My son Matthew St. Pierre and his two daughters visited us on December 26 and joined us for a meal before they had to return home. My granddaughter Brittany is on the cheering team for Hermon Hawks and had practice later in the day to get to.
On Wednesday the 28, I visited with Huddy Peterson in Harrington and we looked over family photos and did some reminiscing of by gone years. I brought a few items home to scan and put on the computer for her. It is really interesting to find old post cards and correspondence from the early 1900’s of her relatives. I am going to try and organize the letters by dates for her. One other day this past week I called on Bunnie Plummer of Harrington for a visit. I guess it was one of those days I needed to get out and about and clear my head. I also stopped by and checked on Roger and Barbara Libby of Columbia on Saturday, I had not visited with them for a month or so. Roger has been recuperating from an operation he had at the end of November.
During this week off from school I got to read three books on my new Kindle Fire my husband got me for Christmas and my four year old grandson Konner showed me how to play a game on it.
We still have two of our bus drivers Fred Prince and Tracey Peterson still out on sick leave. Hopefully before the month is over, they both will be back on their buses.
This past week I finished putting up thirty pints of carrots that needed to be canned. I still need to do some more canning when I get the time to.
The Bohemian Mama’s Bakery is closed for the month of January. I guess if you really want some bread she will be baking some on special orders during the week.
On Sunday New Year’s Day we were guest of Gerry & Maureen Healy of Columbia Falls. We enjoyed the meal and as usual we all went away with extras to enjoy another meal. Maureen makes an excellent ginger soup that we brought home.
Condolences go out to Danny Reynolds of Jonesboro, a cousin on the Reynolds side of my mother’s family.

January 8, 2012

Fly-Tying Classes with Dave Klausmeyer will begin at the Pleasant River Fish & Game clubhouse at Columbia February 15th (Wednesday) at 7:00 PM. The class will meet every following Wednesday at that same time weather permitting for six weeks. The fly-tying materials will be provided but you should purchase your own vice and bobbin. There will be no charge and is open to the public. If you need more information contact Charlie Robbins at 483-4111.
The Narraguagus Snowmobile Club in Cherryfield had another one of their suppers Saturday night at their clubhouse. A wonderful meal of marafax beans, casseroles, rolls and all the other fixings; everything was delicious.
The Snowmobile club is planning to have a poker run on January 28th with $300 for the winning hand, and ride on the DEST that day, along with a dance at the Harrington VFW the same evening. Let’s hope there will be plenty of snow for this poker run and that a lot of folks will turn out for it.
I have again been working on genealogy a bit this week, and I finally got the copies of photos of Carroll’s moose hunt into an album for him.
My granddaughter Brittany St. Pierre was in Caribou on Saturday with her cheering team the Hermon Hawks and they came in first in their competition.
Sixteen folks showed up for the hand gun safety course given on Saturday January 7 at the Pleasant River Fish & Game Club in Columbia. The Pleasant River Fish & Game Club has the next three Saturday’s booked with the girl scouts and cub scouts activities, on the last two Saturdays of the month the PRF&G staff will do a survival demonstration.
Condolences go out to the families of Eleanor Mathews and Ruth Burgess.
Get well wishes goes out to Glendon Crowley and Dennis Worcester of Columbia and Charlie Robbins of Columbia Falls. Hopefully things will be better for them.
Belated wishes go out to Caleb Paul on January 4, Sarah Hurlbert on the 5, and Zachary Strout on the 6. Some more birthdays wishes are coming up this month for the following: Thomas Worcester and Laury Worcester on the 12, John Worcester, Mary Rose Pray and Lynn Lyford the 14, Janice Allen the 15, Sherry Paul and Judy Randall the 16, Tiffany Strout, Ed Gosnell and Lorna Greene on the 18, Carole Hart on the 19, Chris Gosnell the 22, Arleta Grant, Matthew Hurlbert and Mark Hurlbert the 23, Emily Grant the 24, Shawn Hartford and Lisa Cirone the 26th. and Barbara Libby on the 29.
January 15, 2012
On Monday January 9, I had an appointment with my doctor in Bangor, so I had to lose a whole day of work to go to it. We enjoyed lunch at the Olive Garden afterwards, and then headed for Ellsworth to get some more errands taken care of. I also had an appointment on Friday but that got canceled due to the weather. Just as well as the roads were slippery after the storm we got the night before.
I received a call that there is a benefit supper for Edna Curtis of Harrington at the Community of Christ Church in Jonesport on Friday, January 27, 2012. The menu will consist of bake beans, casseroles, salads etc. The supper will start at 5 pm with donations taken at the door.
The next snowmobile supper at the Cherryfield club will be Feb 4 instead of January 27th. At 5:30 pm.
Saturday January 14, Tiffany and Konner Strout, Michelle McLaughlin and I traveled to Ellsworth to see my granddaughter Brittany St. Pierre in her PVC competition, her team the Hermon Hawks came in first place with Ellsworth Eagles cheerleader’s runner up. All of the teams did an excellent job.
School will not be in session on Monday due to the holiday and Tuesday due to a workshop for the teachers.
A number of students are sick with the flu; hopefully they will be on the mend with the four days off from school.
This week I have been sorting information on my mother’s side of the family and found a paper with her hand writing on it. One of her relatives Albion Hutchings who married Evelyn Cousins went to Africa and was never heard again. I know a few years ago I connected with the grandson Dean Francis Jewett via genealogy sites. Dean has never found out what happened to his grandfather. His grandmother Evelyn never heard from him after he left his family. Albion Theodore Hutchins had two sisters Lillian Chester Hutchins (my great grandmother) who married Charles Levert Reynolds and Sylvestria “Vesta” Hutchins who married a Schoppee of Jonesboro. I have some information on these families and wish I could get more. Albion’s daughter Dora married Frank Jewett and they had three children Frank Jr., Dean, and Jeanne. I have not been able to get information on their families. I just recently came across on the internet an obit on Frank Harold Jewett 2nd who passed away Feb 2011 that gives me a little more information on this mystery. If anyone has any genealogy on this family I would love to hear from you.


The rest of the news:
The Temp was minus 9 this morning and has not got up over 10 degrees. It has been cold here all day. We did not do much today, just kept the coal stove filled and the wood stove filled. We cooked one of the moose roasts today for supper and that made a good meal.
We have enough left over to have for another meal. Yum, yum. The other day I made a moose meat loaf and that was excellent; we got two meals out of that.
I have been putting more info on the family tree so I have been busy somewhat. Of course I always get off onto something else when I do this. I also have been hunting for some info that I know I have but where is it I can’t seem to put my hands on it. In doing this searching I have been able to file items, and throw out more papers that need to be rid of which is another ending chore that is always at your beck and call. We did make some calls to older family members to catch up on their news.






January 22, 2012
We attended two benefit suppers Kendall Driscoll and James Scovil this week. Many folks turned out to support this fund raiser for them. There is another one on this coming Friday in Jonesport for Edna Curtis and then one in Milbridge on Sunday for the Jordan family. There is a lot of illness in the area. Another local, Merton Allen is in Boston for an operation, that we are praying will turn out okay. Keep them all in your prayers.
The Narraguagus Cheerleaders will be going to Bangor next weekend to compete. The cheerleaders were up against eight teams on Saturday, I thought they did well at the competition in Sumner.
My granddaughter Brittany St. Pierre said her team the Hermon Hawks came in first place again in three weeks. They also will be competing next Saturday in Bangor.
A young girl from Addison Ridge was air lifted to Eastern Maine Sunday afternoon after a sledding accident on the Ridge.
I had a lovely call from Elizabeth Emerson the other day, we talked genealogy, it is always nice to talk with the elderly, they can tell us a lot about our families and how things have changed over their life time.
On Sunday I heard that some fishermen were going ice fishing and when they got to their destination they found the temperature to be minus 16. They decided it was just too cold and returned home where it was a bit warmer.
The next public supper for the Narraguagus Snowmobile club will be February 4 at their club house in Cherryfield.
I finally succumbed to the flu bug over the weekend. I have not bounced back as quickly as the students have. Hopefully I will be back driving bus on Tuesday.

January 29, 2012

It does not seem possible that January has come and gone so quickly. I had so much that I wanted to do during this month, oh well February has an extra day so maybe I can get some more on my list done.
We enjoyed having Robert & Chuck Hammond in for a meal with us on Friday evening. We enjoy visiting with them and catching up on family news.
On Saturday we traveled to Ellsworth to get some shopping and errands done. I was able to get to Mardens & Walmart to see what they had to offer this week.
The Regional Cheerleading Competition is over; my granddaughter’s team came in second place on Saturday at the Civic Center in Bangor.
On Sunday I made two batches of mincemeat, which is a lot, but it does lower my freezer of food. I could probably make another batch or two with all of the ingredients that I still have. I used a deer neck that I had in the freezer to make mine. On a cold day it smells so good with it cooking in the oven and will surely taste good when I make it into mincemeat squares or a pie.
We did not get over to the benefit dinner in Milbridge on Sunday but I was told they had an excellent turnout to it.
Jill Kennedy of Addison has passed along some exciting news that her daughter Jillian will be getting married in July.
Get well wishes go out to a very strong person, Leslie Guptill of Addison, who has been affected by skin cancer on her face. She is now recuperating at home from this operation that was caused by using the tanning bed. She has posted photos on her face book page that shows what she had done, and it is not a pretty sight. Hopefully after some reconstructive surgery she will be looking great. Also get well wishes to Merton Allen of Columbia Falls and Glendon Crowley of Columbia, they are both home from the hospital. Clara Donovan is recuperating at The Courtland Living Ctr. In Ellsworth and is doing well.
Happy birthday wishes go out to: to Jack Gray, Jacob McLaughlin, and Bruce Worcester on the1st, Charles Lovejoy on the 2nd, Susan Norton, Carla Davis LaVallee Vasseur, on the 3rd, Dawn Coffin & Ramona West on the 4th, Leslie Guptill, Nona Cirone, Calista Morrill on the 5th, Jean Richardson and Richard Paul on the 6th, Doris Joy, Ronie Strout, Virginia Tibbetts, and my pen pal Janice Goetz on the 8th.
A Republican caucus will be held at Richard Paul’s home on the Ridge Road on February 3 at 6 p.m. All are welcome to attend.
Don’t forget the Public supper at the Narraguagus Snowmobile Clubhouse in Cherryfield on February 4 at 5:30 p.m.
Feb 5, 2012
Twenty four Republicans met on Friday February 3, 2012 at the home of Richard & Cheryl Paul for a Republican Caucus. Folks met Republican candidates currently declared for the upcoming elections. We heard from Kathleen Caso of Calais, Rep. David Burns of Whiting and Alfred (Butch) Moore of Milbridge. Questions were directed to Rep. David Burns of Whiting and Rep. Diane Tilton of Harrington concerning critical state issues. We also heard from Peter Doak of Columbia Falls via a telephone call who was away on vacation stating his position. Everyone discussed challenges facing state and national legislators as well as the upcoming Presidential election and candidates. All area registered Republicans are invited to the Super Caucus and Presidential straw poll Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 1:30pm at Washington Academy to meet area and state candidates as well as representatives of national candidates.
For further information contact 483-4760 or 483-4777
Those that attended the Addison Republican Caucus were: Addison: -Richard & Cheryl Paul, Cathy Fonda, Mary & Tim Thompson, Laurel Moore, Ronald Carpenter, Ronald Gray, Carroll & Ronie Strout
Columbia: Joseph Tibbetts; Calais: Richard Clark and Kathleen Caso; Harrington: Diane Tilton; Jonesport: Andrew Hutnik, Barbara & Bill Plaskon, Donald Woodward, Charlene Nelson, Brian Carlton and Gregory Campbell; Milbridge: Alfred (Butch) Moore; Robbinston: Martin Ingham; Whiting: David Burns.
I have been busy making blueberry jam this week to use up some blueberries I had in the freezer. I would rather do it in the winter than during the summer where I am quite busy with putting by my garden surplus. I also made some moose meat jerky for the first time and plan on making more.
The Narraguagus Snowmobile Club public supper was well attended on Saturday evening. We enjoyed visiting with everyone that was there.
Not put in paper yet:
Photo of bus
We have been waiting almost a year to hear about what was going to take place with the bus accident that happened in March of 2011. Last March our district had a bus accident on Route 1 in Harrington. A pick up truck rammed the back end of one of the Harrington buses. Thank goodness no one was injured, the truck was demolished and the bus had to have extensive work done on it before we were able to use it again. You sometimes wonder why it takes so long to have this taking care of by the courts. The papers did not pick up on it and it looks like to me that it was hushed up because something should have been written up especially where the man took off from the accident. It is a wonder he did not kill himself and hurt the students on the bus. Our director says she has not heard anything either.

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Feb 12, 2012

Photo: Gary McLaughlin with children Lisa Elichaa, Diane Tilton and David McLaughlin
News just in that Gary McLaughlin of Harrington will be celebrating his 80th birthday on February 20, let’s help him celebrate by sending him a card to P.O Box 344, Harrington, Me. 04643.
On Saturday Tiffany and Konner Strout of Harrington traveled to Whitefield to help celebrate Konner’s cousin Mackenzie Rae Ripley who turned one on Thursday February 9th.
On Friday Jacob McLaughlin spent the night with his grandparents David and Michelle McLaughlin. I am not sure who had the best of time Jacob or the grandparents.
Get well wishes go out to Larry Looke, Cory Worcester, Andrew Slicer, Michelle Porter, and Leslie Guptill.
This past week we got news that a special Uncle to all of the Strout family had passed away. Homer Brewer of Londonderry, N. H. passed away peacefully at his home on February 6, 2012 with his family at his side. He was the husband of Susie (Tucker) (Leighton) Brewer. Homer would have been 87 years old on February 23rd. We will all miss him.
The Hermon High School cheerleaders competed in the State Class B cheer-leading championship in Augusta on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012. Hermon won the Class B title out of a field of 12 teams. We are some proud to have a granddaughter Brittany St. Pierre on the team.
The Hannah Weston Chapter, DAR has been rescheduled because of the recent snow storm members of the Hannah Weston Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution will gather for a Dutch treat luncheon and meeting at 12 noon on Saturday, February 18th at the Bluebird Restaurant in Machias. Speaker for the afternoon will be Barbara Anthony of Roque Bluffs who will speak on Women’s Issues – Domestic Violence.
On Sunday we had a gathering of friends and family at our home to celebrate my birthday and St. Valentine’s Day. It does not take much to have a get together to break up the long winter. Good food and great conversation was had by all.

Feb 19, 2012
Can anyone identify this unknown man possible from the Columbia Falls area?

Congratulations to the Lady Knights of Harrington, they will be going to the tournaments in Bangor during school vacation.
The junior basketball season is about over for this season. It won’t be long before it will be pee wee season.
The EDGE program will be having a program for the children in the district on Wednesday and Thursday during school vacation. I will be taking them to Winter Harbor on Thursday for a field trip.
Condolences go out to the families of Richard Strout of Harrington and Leslie Parritt of Stueben on their passing.
Get well wishes go out to Doris Joy, Larry Looke, Cory Worcester, Andrew Slicer, Michelle Porter, Mary Thompson and Leslie Guptill.
While I was out and about this week with the bus, we have seen a herd of deer on the West Side every day. One student mentioned that she has seen the ‘white deer’ that is in the area. Also on my route I have seen the loggers cutting and hauling wood out of the woods on the West Side, Old Addison Rd and the Cape Split Rd. It has been a good winter for the wood cutters in the woods.
Had a nice call from Doris Joy thanking me for her birthday card she received from me. She mentioned that she would love to have some dandelion greens. I need to mark my calendar in May to dig her some. Here’s hoping that spring will be soon and that I will be able to find some for her. She is 97 years old and have seen many springs where she has dug greens with her sister. She told me she enjoys having her granddaughter Karmen Young visit her every Sunday.
I have had more genealogy request to help find information on the Strout, Tucker, and Worcester family. On Facebook there are several groups relating to genealogy in the area. This is a good resource in finding information and sharing photos of your ancestors and helping to identify the unknowns. I have actually been able to get several photos identified this way.