FREEPORT

Historical society awarded grant to help fund survey

The Freeport Historical Society was awarded a $3,816 grant by the National Trust for Historic Preservation from The Johanna Favrot Fund.

The grant funds will be used to hire an archaeologist to survey the Harrington House property at 45 Main St. and to seek information about the site before proceeding with construction and improvements to the house and surrounding grounds.

OLD ORCHARD BEACH

Discounted tickets offered for Aquaboggan waterpark

The Old Orchard Beach Historical Society has received funding through the Hurst family to provide discounted “Full Day” tickets to Aquaboggan Water Park, 980 Portland Road, Route 1 in Saco.

Proceeds from these discounted tickets are used for research, acquisition of materials, preservation and the exhibition of local artifacts, and programs at Harmon Museum, 4 Portland Ave. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.

Admission is free but donations are appreciated.

For more details, call 934-9319 or go to www.harmonmuseum.org.

KENNEBUNK

Brick Store Museum seeks volunteers for auction

The Brick Store Museum, founded in 1936, is seeking community volunteers to help with an auction benefiting programs that focus on local history, art culture and education.

The museum staff and trustees seek help for the online auction, to be held from Sept. 30 to Oct. 20. Donations of services and gifts are sought, and volunteers will receive a tax receipt stating the full value of the contribution.

For more details, contact Cynthia Walker at 985-4802 or cwalker@brickstoremuseum.org with questions or donation ideas.

WINDHAM

Riding center raises $7,700 for people with disabilities

Riding to the Top Therapeutic Riding Center recently received a matching gift of $2,000 from Modern Woodmen of America members Zack Conley and Tim Graham.

The organization’s local members participated in the center’s third annual Dances with Horses event, which raised a total of $7,700 for riders and horses.

Sarah Bronson, RTT executive director: “This generous matching gift will support our riders (and the horses that make it all possible!) in the coming months. Hundreds of local people with disabilities will be able to experience the healing power of horses at RTT thanks to Modern Woodmen’s gift.”

ROCKLAND

Gift of $3,749.50 benefits cemetery restoration

The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution will donate $3,749.50 to the Lady Knox Chapter, NSDAR, at Rockland, benefiting their Tolman Cemetery Project.

Lady Knox Chapter, NSDAR, first got involved with the project at Tolman Cemetery after local resident F. Carl Mahoney brought declining cemetery conditions to the chapter’s attention. Members initially did a major cleanup of the cemetery, purchased new flag holders for veterans’ graves, and did a preliminary assessment of cemetery headstones and a monument placed by the Maine State Organization in 1947.

The 1947 monument holds a bronze plaque commemorating 21 Revolutionary War patriots, who are interred at Tolman. Over the past 70 years, the monument has gradually slid downhill toward Lake Avenue. Many of the cemetery’s headstones are broken, leaning or moss-covered. The chapter has undertaken a multiphase restoration project, to be completed by September.

It previously received grant funding from the city of Rockland and the Viles Foundation and raised money from private and corporate donations.

The NSDAR Special Project Grant will allow the chapter to place a new monument, at the entrance to the cemetery, to clean and install the 1947 plaque on the new monument, and add additional bronze plaques on the monument. One plaque will honor three additional Revolutionary War patriots not included on the 1947 plaque.

CAMDEN

Students praised for essays on global refugee crisis

The Camden Conference announced that Bill Taylor Awards were presented to three high school and three college students for essays related to this year’s conference topic, “Refugees and Global Migration: Humanity’s Crisis.”

Education programs of the Camden Conference are designed to promote knowledge, perspective and dialogue on world affairs with high school and college educators and their students.

The contest challenged students to examine the causes and impact of the global refugee crisis.

First prize in the high school contest went to Zoe Bean of Gould Academy for her essay, “Afghan Refugee Crisis.”

Lena Downes of Piscataquis Community Secondary School won the second prize for her essay, “The U.S. should help Turkey expand its refugee programs.” Third prize went to Sam McMillan of Gould Academy for his essay, “A Case for U.S. Responsibility and Iraqi Partition.”

College students had to submit an evidence-based paper on a challenge that confronts international refugees today.

First prize for the college contest went to Jonas Eichenlaub of the University of Maine at Rockland, enrolled as a high school aspirations student, for his essay titled “Refugees Can Be Part of the Solution: The Challenges of Lebanon.”

Second prize went to Zoe FitzGerald-Beckett of the University of Maine at Augusta for her essay titled “Climate Change Refugees: What’s in a Name?” Third prize was awarded to Brad O’Brien of the University of Maine at Augusta for his essay titled “Oh, Child Left Behind: The Next ‘Lost Generation.’ ”

All of the winning essays are posted online at www.camdenconference.org.

Copy the Story Link