KENNEBUNK

Library suspends storytime through mid-September

Additional Images

Wells Junior High School sixth-graders meet world traveler and alumna Katie McDonough (rear, right) and Katie’s mother, Kim McDonough (rear left), following Katie’s eight-month adventure. The group is posing by a large map in the school hallway, where students marked Katie’s travels around the world. Photo courtesy of Reg Bennett

Kennebunk Free Library is taking a break from its story timeline through Sept. 15.

The sessions that are affected include Peek-a-Book Babies, Family Storytime and Time for 2’s & 3’s.

Families are invited to continue to visit the library, borrow items, and play with the puppets and other toys during the break.

The library is located at 112 Main St.

For more details, call 985-2173 Ext. 5 or go to www.KennebunkLibrary.org.

WELLS

Students share in world adventure with graduate

“Where in the World is Katie?” was the frequent question on the minds of many sixth-graders at Wells Junior High School just prior to summer break.

The Katie in question is Katie McDonough, a 2009 Wells High School graduate who left Maine in the fall of 2013 to fulfill a goal of seeing as much of the world as her limited income would afford. McDonough’s journey began in Cape Town, South Africa, and ended in Reykjavik, Iceland, before she returned to America.

From start to finish she traveled 38,000 miles in eight and a half months.

McDonough’s journey also became an adventure for the Wells Junior High School family, as mom Kim McDonough, an education tech at the school, and sixth-graders documented the journey using an enormous map in a basement hallway of the school.

Each major stop on Katie’s trip through 10 countries and Hong Kong was flagged on the map to mark her progress. Those stops were strung together by black yarn and featured accompanying photographs and comments. This monitoring, plus classroom discussion and an accompanying geography contest, was initiated by Kim McDonough with support from fellow educators Bonnie Dill and Marilyn Zotos.

Along the journey, Katie experienced some lean times when money ran low and she had to take on odd jobs to continue financing the trip. The jobs included working at a surf shop in Muzienburg, South Africa, and as a housekeeper and waitress at a resort in New Zealand.

Katie’s world adventure eventually took her to Asia, where she met up with a friend in Hong Kong who accompanied her to Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia.

The project concluded with Katie dropping by the junior high school to meet and share lunch with student representatives. While there, she handed out ice cream and souvenirs including small American flags and coins from the various countries that she visited around the world.

Previously, Katie journeyed to Jamaica on a mission trip and also has done benevolence work by volunteering for Habitat for Humanity in New Orleans and on various service trips involving construction projects in Peru and Ghana.

She saved up for the trip by working up to 80 hours a week at a summer job after college.

DAMARISCOTTA

AniMeals program gets grant for pet food

Spectrum Generations Coastal Community Center and the Cohen Center in Hallowell were recently awarded a $2,000 pet food grant from the Banfield Charitable Trust to fund their Meals on Wheels AniMeals programs in Lincoln and southern Kennebec counties.

The AniMeals on Wheels program was founded to provide meals for the pets of home-bound seniors and disabled individuals in central Maine who receive Meals on Wheels deliveries.

The program strategically aims to provide pet food for those who are on a fixed income, so that they do not have to sacrifice their own meals to feed beloved pets.

Sealed packages containing a week’s worth of pet food are delivered to Meals on Wheels recipients once a week, along with the MOW recipients’ food.

Donations to the program can be directed to: Spectrum Generations, PO Box 2589, Augusta, ME 04338-2589.

For more details, call Marianne Pinkham at 563-1363 or email mpinkham@spectrumgenerations.org.

ALFRED

Crafters and artisans wanted for Shaker Hill Apple Festival

York County Shelter Programs invites crafters and artisans to participate in its juried Artisan and Craft Fair on Sept. 13 and 14, which is part of the Fifth Annual Shaker Hill Apple Festival weekend.

The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the grounds of the former Alfred Shaker Village, at Shaker Hill Road.

The crafter participation fee for the two-day festival is $60 for a 10-foot by 10-foot space and $70 for a corner booth, while spaces last.

Proceeds from the festival will benefit the York County Shelter Programs.

To reserve a spot, email Michelle Wilson at mmcc@creativemw.com or call Joan Sylvester at 324-1137 ex 105 or email joans@ycspi.org.

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