Saint Joseph’s professor wins faculty fellowship

Saint Joseph’s College has awarded its first-ever faculty fellowship to Edward Rielly of Westbrook, a professor of English at the Standish campus.

The faculty fellowship supports a senior professor who has demonstrated substantial accomplishments in scholarship and who actively continues scholarly endeavors. The grant provides the professor with $4,000 annually for three years to apply toward conferences, engaging in research at other locations, employing a student research assistant, acquiring research materials, or related expenses.

Rielly, who has taught at Saint Joseph’s since 1978, has published 14 books, including 10 volumes of poetry. His biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald is scheduled to appear in October from Greenwood Press, and he recently signed a contract with the University of Nebraska Press to write “Football: An Encyclopedia of Popular Culture,” a companion to his earlier book about baseball and American culture now reissued in paperback. The football book will explore ways in which one of America’s major sports both reflects and affects our broader society.

Rielly is also editing a collection of essays on how college professors use baseball to teach courses in a wide range of disciplines including law, literature, film and psychology. Rielly will also write another biography for Greenwood about the great Lakota chief, Sitting Bull. “The biography of Sitting Bull meshes nicely with my interest in Western history and Native American culture, both of which form elements of the course I teach on the Western film genre,” he said.

In addition, Rielly has agreed to prepare a book about the Vietnam War for ABC-CLIO. For many years he has taught a course titled “Literature of the Vietnam War,” so the book about the war also relates directly to his teaching. “One of the exciting aspects of my career is that I am able to bring together two activities that I love – teaching and writing,” Rielly said.

A fund-raiser from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 24, at Shaw’s Supermarkets, 47 Main St., Westbrook, will benefit the Maine Children’s Cancer Program.

Shaw’s associates and volunteers will be holding a barbecue and serving cotton candy and popcorn along with face painting for the kids. The activities include games, prizes, pie pumkins and much more with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the Maine Children’s Cancer Program.

Organizers John Tibbetts and Kimberly Dutton of Shaw’s extended a special thanks to Sportsmans True Value of Westbrook for donating the rentals.

For more information on the services provided by the Maine Children’s Cancer Program, call 885-7565.

Giro, Howe attend Army reunion

Eva Giro and Arnold Howe of Mechanic Street recently drove to Florence, Ky., to attend his reunion of the 411th AAA Gun Battalion from World War II.

They said reunion attendance is getting smaller every year because of deaths and disabilities.

From the reunion, they went to Shelbyville, Ky., for an overnight stay with Sandy Butts and her family, who were originally from Buxton.

Giro and Howe also stopped for an overnight visit with his brother-in-law and wife in Orchard Park, N.Y.

They enjoyed seeing Kentucky’s “beautiful” mountains and big horse farms and plan to go back next year. But, they said that for a permanent residence they prefer the “good old state of Maine.”

Tanguay family reunion

Robert Ledoux of Chestnut Street said the families of the sons and daughters of the late Albert and Anne Tanguay enjoyed a “beautiful” reunion on Aug. 21.

“There was a wide variety of delicious food and plenty of it,” he said. “Everyone had a great time.”

The day was full of laughter, singing, music and dancing. In addition, there was horseshoe games among several activities all day long.

Some of those who attended just sat back and reminisced of the “good ‘ol days” and shared their thoughts and ideas of the good, new days ahead.

Everywhere people looked, the children were playing. Kids and chickens were chasing each other, he said. Some of the children had fun being unexpectedly sprayed with water from a garden hose.

Rev. Reginalt Brissette, a close friend of Joe Tanguay, also attended, surprising family members. “He enjoyed the family reunion as much as everyone else did,” Ledoux said.

Brissette is the new pastor of Westbrook’s St. Anthony’s Catholic Church. A lot of the relatives at the reunion are parishioners of the newly named church.

“The Tanguay family reunion was blessed with great weather and great people,” Ledoux said.

Maj. Gen. Ronald L. Johnson, director of the U.S. Army Installation Management Agency, left, and Tracy Bouchard, pin insignia for the rank of colonel on Michael Bouchard. Bouchard was promoted during a recent ceremony in Arlington, Va. Bouchard is National Guard Bureau liaison officer to the Installation Management Agency. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Gilman Bouchard of Westbrook.

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