Birthday honors

Former Westbrook resident Maxine Rawding was honored March 14 on her 80th birthday with a party at the Westbrook Memorial Post 197.

Rawding, now a Portland resident, was born March 14, 1929, in Limington. She has five children, 20 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren. A large turnout helped her celebrate at the party, which featured live music by a daughter and her band, Gloria Jean and the E Z Riders. Her son, Bobby Lee, is also a member of the band.

When Rawding was born, there was no TV, computers or cell phones. As a youngster growing up in Cornish, she recalled when her family didn’t have telephone service but did have electricity.

Rawding was born the same year as the famous stock market crash of 1929 and she grew up during the Depression years of the 1930s. Her father was a teamster, who drove a pair of workhorses hauling lumber from the forest. “He was out of work a lot,” Rawding said.

She credits President Franklin D. Roosevelt with pulling the nation through those difficult times. “If it wasn’t for Roosevelt, I don’t know what the people would have done,” she said.

Rawding married Howard Rawding in 1945 and has been a widow for 34 years.

She recalled that her first car ride was in a Hupmobile and remembered Cornish as a small town. “Close your eyes and you’re by it,” Rawding said.

Her memories include the World War II blackout on the home front when light couldn’t escape outside houses. She said a warden enforced the blackout.

In 1947, she was living in Westbrook, but forest fire scenes in the countryside remain vivid in her memory. “People had to leave in a hurry,” she said, as she recalled seeing goats left tied.

Rawding shares the same birthday as two famous people – astronaut Frank Borman, who was born in 1928, and Albert Einstein, 1879, the famed physicist.

Bell excels at Tufts

Lucille Bernier of Westbrook said her granddaughter, Amanda Bell, is on the dean’s list at Tufts University. A freshman, Bell is the daughter of Celeste and David Bell of Buxton.

Bell, a graduate of Westbrook High School in 2008, was the valedictorian.

Nadeau to speak

Artist and muralist Tom Nadeau will speak at the Westbrook Historical Society meeting at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 1, at its headquarters on Dunn Street.

Nadeau will describe the events and artistic process for his portrayals of the historic Cumberland and Oxford Canal. The public is invited and admission is free.

Shriners band performs

The Shriners’ Kora Highlanders Band of Lewiston performed at Westbrook Eagles on March 14 on Saco Street in observance of St. Patrick’s Day.

The band played numerous selections and Paul McDonald, head trustee of the Eagles, presented the band with a check for $2,500 for the Shriners’ Hospital for children of Maine.

The Eagles were served a corned beef dinner prepared by Mike Verostick. Cathy Plummer, Pat Levesque, and Joe and Cathy Michaud served along with McDonald.

For more information about Westbrook Eagles, call 854-9991.

Cutline (Maxine Rawding)