St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church,  36 Dublin Hill, Machias. Services, 9 a.m. April through November; 9:30 a.m. December through March. Rev. Lynn Rutledge FMI: 207-214-7548 or staidansmachias.org.

• • • • • • 

Beals Wesleyan Church, Elm Street, Beals. 10 a.m. Sunday school; 11 a.m. worship; 6 p.m. evangelistic hour. Wednesday 6 p.m. prayer time. Pastor Nick Wilson, 207-497-2262 or 207-530-0567.

• • • • • • 

Lula A. Faulkingham, 95, passed away on April 27, 2018, at the Downeast Community Hospital in Machias. She was born on January 12, 1923, in Beals, the daughter of Herman and Phena (Alley) Beal. Lula enjoyed her family and her grandchildren, friends, and especially telling little jokes.

Lula attended the Beals Wesleyan Church for many years.

She had worked at the Middle Factory where she was a sardine packer. She had also worked at Carver’s Shop and she also cleaned homes for local people. Lula enjoyed knitting, crocheting and drawing.

by Phil Stuart

The Barren View Golf Course in Jonesboro held its first Wednesday Senior Scramble on April 26.

Stevie Cates got off to a good start picking up a big paycheck along with Bobby Cates and Mike Clark as the trio took top honors with a minus three.

They had to hold off a late surge by Harry Beal, Jim Golike, Kennie Smith, and Frankie Gatcomb who finished a stroke back at -2.

Third place went to Shrine photographer Dickie Kilton, Chuck Nevala, Gordie Faulkingham and Ron Carpenter.

Grade 12: High Honors: Shalynne Barbee Bamford, Taylor Colbeth, Josiah Couture, Emma Denbow, Sophia DeSchiffart, River Fenton, Mary Hammond. Honors: Tiah Bickford, Elizabeth Chartrand, Brittney Church, Sasha Crowley, Madison Leighton, Agustin Lizcano Echavarria, Shannon Rood, Emily Williams

Rae Ann Oakes, 64, cherished wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend was called to Heaven as she was surrounded by her family on Monday, May 7th, 2018.

She was born June 2, 1953, the daughter of Raymond and Ethel Ramsey. Rae Ann attended schools in Orono.

Rae Ann was married to Peter Oakes for 45 years and had two children, Travis and Tina.

Rae Ann was a mom, nannie and auntie to many of those who met and loved her. She has touched many lives and will forever be loved and missed.

Rashel Genevieve Ellsmore, 85, passed away on March 30, 2018 in Tallahassee, Florida. She was surrounded by her loving family. Rashel was born Feb 6, 1933 to Abe and Pearl Waisman in New York. She graduated from Hunter College, New York and went on to teach K-12 in Maine where she lived for many years before moving to Tallahassee. She later received her Master’s Degree in Special Education. Rashel was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Paul; her son, Stefan; and brother, Warner. 

by Phil Stuart

The Lubec junior high and elementary basketball teams have continued their run of remarkable success with the Junior High School Pine Tree League win over Perry in the title contest. The Lubec school has won three championships since last fall.

The Lubec junior high girls won the Downeast Junior High School league title in February. The elementary girls extended their winning streak to eighty games by winning the Downeast Basketball Association title on April 9 and the junior high school girls won the Pine Tree League title on April 11.

by V. Paul Reynolds

In the twilight of my life, the Boys Scouts of America – its teachings, its values, and the fun of it all – still evoke a warm glow in my overflowing storehouse of special memories. 

Everything about the scouting experience left me the better for it. We wore the uniform proudly, as we did the merit badges and the patches that symbolized our achievements and advancement in the scout hierarchy. Under it all, there was a sense or organization and self-discipline that was not unpleasant.

DMR is actively monitoring biotoxins throughout the coast.  The annual, routine regional closures primarily for mussels, European oysters and carnivorous snails have gone into effect as a precautionary measure. 

Dear Savvy Senior,

A good friend of mine got a bad case of shingles last year and has been urging me to get vaccinated. Should I? 

Suspicious Susan

Dear Susan,

Yes! If you’re 50 or older, there’s a new shingles vaccine on the market that’s far superior to the older vaccine, so now is a great time to get inoculated. Here’s what you should know. 

by Phil Stuart

Local baseball certainly isn’t what it used to be.

At one time it was a very popular sport at the high school level.

Jonesboro has had a proud tradition of home grown baseball talent and some of that still exists today. After players graduated from high school, many stayed close to home and continued to play on the local town team.

The 1948 Jonesboro Jets town team proved to be a very talented group and were led by left-handed pitcher Cony Feeney who once had a tryout with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Editor’s note: This is the second in our series introducing voters to the four candidates running for two seats on the Machias Selectboard. The town will vote on Tuesday, June 12. See our issue dated May 2 for the first article in the series.

Early Saturday morning I happened to look out my back window and see a heavy frost on my strawberry plants, early enough to hose them down. Being a spring plant, strawberries likely have what it takes to survive a frost. But being an overeager gardener, I wasn’t willing to take that chance. Hosing the plants down before the sun rises and bursts their frozen cells is one way to save them from frost. Checking the forecast and covering them the night before is one step better.

Editor’s note: This letter originally ran in our March 28 edition, but we reprint it here this week  to freshen readers’ memories when they read  the response from the PRSWDD Board of Directors below. 

Attention landowners and foresters!  Do you have a stream crossing in your forest or woodlot? Here is a great opportunity.  There will be a free workshop on Tuesday, May 22, from 10 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. to get more information and the opportunity  for financial and technical assistance to enhance fish habitat and improve access to your land.  This workshop will be at the Hillgrove Community Hall at 42 South Main Street in the village of Whitneyville.

Twelve members of a Museum Management Class at the University of Maine at Machias, led by Professor Bernie Vinzani, have created an exact scale diorama of Machias’ historic train station. The 120-year-old station was built in 1898 and the diorama illustrates the time period of 1950.

by Ruth Leubecker

Prospects diminish daily for rejuvenating Washington County’s Downeast Correctional Facility.

Already saved by the bell more times than reasonable, the facility now awaits a closure date of June 30 when its funding runs out. Maine’s legislature, having walked off the job at the end of the session, left hundreds of bills and innumerable issues unsettled, the DCF being but one of them.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

“I started doing it in the 70s.” said Bucket Davis. “Used to be alewife stands all up and down the river, there was all kinds of smoke shacks. I think I’m about the only one left in the state that still smokes.” 

The town of East Machias owns the smokehouse along the banks of its namesake river, and it’s there that Davis leads local students in the Downeast springtime tradition of smoking alewives. Davis also serves as an East Machias Selectman.

by Nancy Beal

Lucas St. Clair, one of three Democrats vying in next month’s primary election for a chance to go up against Bruce Poliquin for Maine’s second congressional seat in Washington, addressed Washington County Democrats in East Machias May 6. During his hour-long presentation and while answering questions that followed, he talked about climate change, infrastructure and the economy, farming, health care (including opioids) and his mother.

Terry E. Sanborn, 60, passed away peacefully on Monday, April 23, 2018 at Eastern Maine Medical Center with family by her side. She was born on March 31, 1958 in Castine to the parents of Herbert and Nancy Sanborn. Terry was a graduate of Machias Memorial High School and attended Husson University from which she graduated in 1978. She worked at Washington County Children’s Program for 8 years and Child Development Services for 31 years as an Office Administrator. She was the chairperson of the Machias School Committee for 13 years and the AOS 96 Joint Board for 6 years.

A memorial service for Dale S. Coffin who died on December 8, 2017 will be held at Hillside Cemetery in Bucks Harbor on Saturday, May 26 at 11:30 a.m. The Rev. William Holmes will be officiating. Lunch may be purchased during a 1 p.m. gathering of family and friends at the Bluebird Restaurant following the graveside service.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

A variety and burlesque show designed to capture the mood of the 1940s will take place in Machias on Sunday, May 20 at the Lee Pellon Center.

“Pin Ups on Tour” recreates the energy of a USO show with the music, singing and dancing of WWII. In keeping with their theme, the group always offers free admission to veterans and active-duty military personnel. Those tickets must be picked up in advance online, at the Legion in Machias, or at Skywalker’s Bar and Grille.

The first event of the season at Obadiah’s Cafe will take place on Tuesday, May 22, from 5-8 p.m.  The festivities will feature musical performance art by international touring artist Id M Theft Able, as well as Aldrich & Norton and local presenter Duane Ingalls. There will be refreshments and dinner items, including comp-curry popcorn, trenchers, sweets, and an array of beverages.

This is the onset of Theftable‘s northern seasonal tour into Canada and beyond.

His unique act involves voice and a set-up of amazing audio/visual devices. Aldrich 

Monday, May 21, will mark the start of the Pembroke Historical Society’s 2018 monthly program series. Combined with the Pembroke Library’s monthly “Chantey Sing,” the event will feature Jim Sherman’s presentation “Where River Meets the Rail: Lumbering, River Driving and Railroading on the Machias River.” Jim, who is active with the Machiasport Historical Society and UMM’s Sunrise Senior College, will tell the history of logging and river log driving on the Machias River, and the operation of the Whitneyville & Machiasport Railroad.

On Tuesday, April 10, the VFW Auxiliary met for its monthly meeting.  After the meeting we held elections of officers.  Officers for 2018-2019 are:

President - Barbara Tibbetts

Senior Vice - Ann Merchant

Junior Vice - Addie Alley

Treasurer - Sonya Grant

Secretary - Ann Merchant

Chaplain - Peggy Warden

Conductress - Sharon Tibbetts

Patriotic Instructor - Laura Merrill

Grand - Jeannette Perry

The Downeast Table of Plenty, located in Cherryfield, is a place where families and friends can come together and have a free meal on Sundays.

The Maine Maritime Security Team, including the Maine Marine Patrol, Maine State Police Tactical Team and the US Coast Guard, took part in a training exercise Thursday, May 10 in Bar Harbor to prepare for potential security threats-at-sea.

Different scenarios, including a hostage situation, an active shooter and an improvised explosive device carried by a passenger were the basis of the day’s training exercise.

by Nancy Beal

Jonesport has long chafed under its share of costs at Pleasant River Solid Waste Disposal District, the Route 1 transfer station in Columbia Falls to which it and five other neighboring towns take their household waste, recyclables and demolition debris. (In addition to Jonesport, PRSWDD is made up of Addison, Beals Columbia, Columbia Falls and Jonesboro.) Several years ago, a move to withdraw from that trash cooperative was defeated at Jonesport’s town meeting. Another choice to stay or leave could be in the near future.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

The juniors and seniors of Washington Academy’s Holocaust and Genocide Studies class organized the school’s annual Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony held Tuesday, May 15. Older students from the Elm Street School in East Machias attended the event along with all of Washington Academy’s students and some members of the public.

In the darkened gymnasium, students lit candles for those who survived and those who were murdered in the Holocaust. 

Nancy Rose Tancredi, beloved mother, cherished grandmother, loyal sister-in-law and dear friend, died unexpectedly following surgery in White Plains, New York, on May 12, 2018 surrounded by her loving family. She was 71 years old. 

She leaves behind by her three children, Robert Sapiro and his wife Eleanor Mitten of Eliot, Emily Tancredi-Brice Agbenyega and her husband Tsiri of Pelham Manor, New York, and Constance Girvan and her husband Andrew of Edinburgh, Scotland. She also leaves behind an adopted daughter, Brittney Sampson of Boston, Massachusetts.

Students of Machias Memorial High School’s JMG class awarded a $1,000 JOY grant to Porter Memorial Library (PML) in Machias during their closing ceremonies held Thursday, May 17. JOY stands for “Jumpstart our Youth,” a statewide philanthropic initiative that teaches the next generation how to solve local problems through well-researched philanthropy.

The MMHS JMG (Jobs for Maine Graduates) class chose to consider nonprofits that serve Machias-area children, in many cases venturing out to see the nonprofits for themselves.

Susan Amelia (Foss) Hawkins, 84, passed unexpectedly on May 13, 2018 at her home. She was born in Machias June 12, 1933 the daughter of Benjamin and Mary Foss.

She enjoyed reading and doing puzzles, listening to country and western music, and in her earlier years going fishing. She especially enjoyed being a mother and grandmother and time spent with her family.

More trash talk

The real difference between Mark Wright’s garbage business and the Pleasant River Solid Waste Disposal District (PRSWDD, a transfer station) is that Wright’s is private for his personal profit, while PRSWDD is public, owned by the six towns, and run openly for the benefit of those towns.

Mark Wright wants to own the entire garbage business in the region, but when there’s a monopoly, guess what would happen to the cost of garbage disposal?

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Leslie Haynes has served on the Machias Selectboard for six years. “I just enjoy the people,” he said. Haynes was raised in East Machias and couldn’t wait to get back home after serving in the Army for a tour in Vietnam. “I had never ever seen anything like that in my life. In 1968 I was right in the middle of that big Tet Offensive over there,” he said.

“When I came home I looked at my commanding officer and said, ‘You’ve got 12 hours to get my discharge papers ready. I’m going to Maine where it’s nice and peaceful.’”

by Nancy Beal

by Lura Jackson

The importance of recognizing the past and present relationship between colonizing Christian powers and the Wabanaki people – and particularly the Passamaquoddy tribe – will be the focus of a special presentation at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church in Calais on Sunday, June 3. The talk will be delivered by John Dieffenbacher-Krall, Chair of the Episcopal Diocese of Maine Committee on Indian Relations. 

Daryl Eugene McCurdy (Tim) passed away peacefully at his home on Wednesday, May 23, 2018 surrounded by his family, after a long battle with cancer.  He was born in Lubec on October 12, 1941, son of the late Bernard and Muriel McCurdy. Daryl graduated from Lubec High School in 1961. Throughout the years he worked at Carlton Corey’s garage, Milliken Textile Mill, was owner and operator of “The Spruce” fishing vessel, and most recently worked and retired from the United States Department of Agriculture.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Kehben Grier of Machias’ Beehive Design Collective announced last week that the Blackfly Ball will move from its traditional Blueberry Festival August time frame to October 6. The Blackfly Ball has become a fixture of summer in Machias, historically taking place on the Saturday night of the Machias Wild Blueberry Festival and drawing large crowds to Bad Little Falls park to hear multiple bands for free.

This June, Wayfinder Schools’ Passages Program will graduate more than twenty teen parents who have worked hard to earn their high school diplomas while raising their young children. Founded in 1994, Passages is a home-based high school diploma program for young parents living in Knox, Lincoln, Waldo, York, Cumberland, Androscoggin, Sagadahoc and Washington Counties. 

This year’s Washington County graduates are Isaac J. Collins, Jr. of Robbinston, Daneishalys Fontanez of Machias, Cheyenne Maheu of Lubec, Jessica Milliken of Jonesport and Monica Moffett of Eastport.