It was a long wait, but the weather this week has been much more to my liking than most of April was. The ice went out of North Pond on April 15, and I believe it departed from Round and South Ponds a couple of days later. The grass is getting green and spring is definitely in the air!
I headed out on Monday, April 14, to give book talks in Mount Vernon and Old Town, and as I drove past the end of North Pond on Route 26, I noticed that there was a lot of open water, although there was still plenty of ice at the south end of the pond.
I came home the next day via Route 2, so I didn’t pass the pond, but that evening, Jane Chandler posted a photo taken from Buck’s Ledge that showed that it was ice-free. Longtime Mann Road summer resident Carol (Hertneck) Lyman had guessed April 15 in the North Pond Neighbors Facebook group contest, so she is the lucky winner of bragging rights. My guess was April 21, but I was not sorry to see it go out six days sooner.
Speaking of Jane, she alerted us to a big maple tree that had fallen while she and Jim were away and was blocking the walking path that connects Camp Road and Mann Road on the east shore of North Pond. Tony went down to cut it up and then enlisted the help of Scott Hynek and his vertical woodsplitter so they wouldn’t have to hoist the huge, heavy pieces up onto our splitter to process them. Jane made sure to document the project with photos as it went along.
Jane has already been for her first dip of the year, on Saturday, when the air temperature soared to about 75 degrees, but the water was probably close to 40 degrees colder. Will was two days behind her, jumping in at camp on Monday, after he and Rosemary launched their new-to-them canoe from the boat launch in Locke’s Mills and paddled over to camp, with a stop at Rock Island.
It was Will’s first swim of the year in North Pond, but he had already made two icy brook plunges in his quest to explore every named pond and stream in the Androscoggin River basin, and has since logged another one. He bagged his first of the year, Connor Brook in Shelburne, N.H., way back on March 15. If you’re interested in reading about his crazy adventures, you can follow his blog at Ammoscongon.substack.com and learn some fascinating local history and geology along the way.
There are lots of things happening over the next few weeks! Here’s what I know about:
Saturday, April 26, 9 a.m. to noon, West Parish Congregational Church, Bethel: Smile Fund Sale. Proceeds from this annual community yard sale pay for dentures for adults in the SAD44 area.
Saturday, April 26, 2 p.m., First Universalist Church of West Paris: A Retrospective of a Musical Life with singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist Davy Sturtevant. This concert will include some of his own favorite songs as well as fan favorites. Refreshments and a raffle drawing will be held following the concert. There is a suggested donation of $20.
Wednesday, April 30: Opening day for the Swap Shop at the Greenwood/Woodstock Transfer Station. The shop will be open during regular transfer station hours. If you’d like to help, please contact Greenwood Town Manager Kim Sparks at greenwood.me.04255@gmail.com.
Thursday, May 1, 4:30-6 p.m., West Parish Congregational Church, Bethel: To Your Health will present its popular annual heart-health educational program. Dr. Daniel van Buren, Director of Cardiovascular Medicine at the New England Heart Institute at Androscoggin Valley Hospital in Berlin, N.H. will discuss recent advances in cardiovascular medicine. This is a free event, and all ages are welcome.
Saturday, May 3: Annual spring roadside cleanup day in Greenwood, Woodstock, Bethel, and Newry. Volunteers should meet at 9 a.m. at the following locations. Greenwood—Greenwood Town Office; Woodstock—Bryant Pond Ballfield; Bethel—Bethel Common; Newry—Newry Town Office. The Bethel Conservation Commission has invited volunteers from all the towns to share a light lunch on the Bethel Common at noon. Some additional details from the Greenwood Conservation Commission: “As usual, we will provide trash bags and non-latex gloves. You will be assigned a section of road in Greenwood. Trash bags can be left along roadside for pick-up. Work as long or as short a time as you want. Every bit helps our town. Meet old friends, make new ones, check out wildflowers along the roadsides, eat food afterwards, and do something good for our area. Please come join us to help make Greenwood green again.”
Saturday, May 3, 2 p.m.: “A Walk Through West Bethel History, With a Bit of Poetic License.” Meet at the West Bethel Post Office and join the Museums of the Bethel Historical Society for a free walking tour of West Bethel village. This walk will offer glimpses into some fascinating aspects of West Bethel’s history, interspersed with poems penned by West Bethel citizens of the past. This event is part of Jane’s Walk, a global festival of free, volunteer-led walking conversations inspired by community activist Jane Jacobs. Visit janeswalkme.org to find out more about Jane’s Walk events across Maine.
Sunday, May 4, 2 p.m., West Paris Public Library: Concert by Low Commotion, an ensemble of euphoniums (tenor tubas) and full-sized tubas directed by Jim Bennett of West Paris. This is a free event, and light refreshments will be served following the 45-minute concert.
Monday, May 12, 6-7:30 p.m., Telstar Cafeteria: Bethel Community Meeting. Join the Maine People’s Alliance and concerned citizens in Bethel and surrounding towns as they work to take action in the community and move MPA’s work forward. This is an opportunity to connect with neighbors and build relationships with those passionate about social action. Dinner will be provided. Please click here to RSVP or email esther@mainepeoplesalliance.org for more information.
Saturday, May 17, at 9 a.m. at the Locke’s Mills Legion Hall: Annual Greenwood Town Meeting. This is always a wonderful opportunity to socialize with neighbors and friends as well as participate in this quintessentially New England form of governance.
If you have news or events you’d like included here, email me at amy.w.chapman@gmail.com or call 207-890-4812. Remember that the next print edition of the Bethel Citizen will be published next week, on Friday, May 2, and every other Friday after that, but you can find this column here every Friday morning.
“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome." – Anne Bradstreet