Hometown. In my mind, it is the place you experience those moments and encounters that are formative. Moments like the first day of school or rites of passage such as getting your driver’s license or going on a first date. My hometown was Basking Ridge, New Jersey. Settled in 1717 by Scotch-Irish Presbyterian farmers, the […]
2021
Posted inBiddeford-Saco-OOB Courier, Southern Maine Weeklies
Ruralist Lament: Dots com
My grandfather died when I was just starting high school. I had cut his hair shortly before his sudden passing and my grotesque lack of tonsorial skill was on display as he lay inert in his casket. It was all-too real for my youthful self and I had to bolt. Gramp had been frail and […]
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Posted inMeetinghouse, Opinion
Karin Olsen Gamache, Georgetown: The ordinary magic of growing up in Stonington
Ah … “Hometown” … such a powerful topic! Now I say that knowing that some people have very little connection to the town they grew up in. Yes, they have moved on and may not have had that great an experience growing up anyway. Not the case for me! I loved Stonington! But here’s the […]
Posted inHealth, Maine, News
Maine author says father died after COVID-19 exposure in Bangor hospital
Christina Baker Kline says the virus was not the ultimate cause of her father’s death, but ‘he died in quarantine with COVID with multiple infections that he got in the hospital as the result of COVID-related delays.’
Posted inMeetinghouse, Opinion
Shirley Penrod, Portland: Happy to be back in my hometown
The daily whistle blew at noon, 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. Noon – lunchtime. 5 – drop everything and head home for suppah. 9 – time to call it a day. Grocery stores were on almost every corner in my neighborhood. There was Jimmy’s, Charles’, Oscar’s, Mike’s and so it went. My church was a […]
Posted inBiddeford-Saco-OOB Courier, Scarborough Leader, Southern Maine Weeklies
Jubilarian Mass honors Maine priests on Sept. 24
Over 50 Maine priests joined parishioners at St. Maximilian Kolbe Church in Scarborough on Sept. 24, to celebrate the gift of priesthood as well as the ordination anniversaries of many of their priests. The annual Jubilarian Mass honors priests celebrating special anniversaries since their ordination to the priesthood, particularly those commemorating 25 or 50 years […]
Posted inMaine, News
Celebrated Chinese American mom to be honored posthumously in Portland
A plaque will mark the site on Forest Avenue where Toy Len Goon, ‘an extraordinary woman,’ ran a laundry and raised eight children as a single widow in the mid-20th century.
Posted inMeetinghouse, Opinion
Jamie Cypher, Otisfield: Making the most of our days of freedom
I grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut. Back in the ’50s and ’60s of my childhood, it was a mix of affluent and working-class families. Our neighborhood was comprised of young families and retirees, a small grocery store, a bar and grill with the best pizza, a gas station and a few other small businesses. Half […]
Posted inBiddeford-Saco-OOB Courier, Southern Maine Weeklies
$10k forgivable loans available to start or grow small business
SACO — Southern Maine micro-businesses are invited to apply for a $10k forgivable loan to start or grow their business, announced Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission (SMPDC), in partnership with the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD). This micro-enterprise program targets towns in SMPDC’s region: York County; Cumberland County (Baldwin); and select […]
Posted inLetters
Letter to the editor: Three-school lottery wrong solution to Portland’s enrollment gap
Apparently, the enrollment gap between Portland and Deering high schools, which started in 2019, continues. The Portland school board’s suggested solution is the holding a three-school lottery for students. This is not a good solution for several reasons. First, clearly there is a problem. Holding a lottery won’t fix it – it will perpetuate it. […]