March 26 will mark ten years since I took over the writing of this weekly column from Betsey Foster. My very first column began: “No one else has expressed an interest in writing the Locke’s Mills column since Betsey gave it up a couple of weeks ago, so I’ve decided to step in, on at least an interim basis, since I hate to see our town go without a local correspondent.”
Coincidentally, I reported in that column that summer resident Ruth Blakney had written to tell me that her recent knee replacement surgery had been a success. Now, as I write this column a decade later, I’ll be heading to Scarborough tomorrow morning for my own knee replacement.
I also wrote about an unseasonably cold spell; “As I write this, we have had temperatures in the single numbers and low teens all day, and wind chills around zero—not what the state’s maple producers were hoping for on Maine Maple Sunday, I’m sure.”
Spring officially begins at 5:01 a.m. on Thursday, March 20, and it looks like this year’s temperatures for Maine Maple Weekend, March 22 and 23, will be much more springlike than they were in 2015.
At Velvet Hollow Sugarworks on the Dunham Farm, 29 Dunham Road in Greenwood, the sugarhouse will be open from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. From 8 a.m. until noon, they will be serving a full breakfast with gluten-free Maine blueberry pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs, and beverages. From noon until 4 p.m., you can enjoy their special BBQ maple turkey chili, served with gluten-free cornbread and beverages. They will have maple syrup, as well as gluten-free maple baked goods, mixes, and granola for sale.
Just around the corner, The Farm at Rowe Hill, at 231 Rowe Hill Road, will be offering a free serving of vanilla ice cream topped with their own maple syrup, and will also have syrup for sale.
The Museums of the Bethel Historical Society will be holding their second annual Celebration of Maine Maple History on Saturday, March 22, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. There will be demonstrations of tree-tapping and sap-boiling, historical exhibits, a bake sale, maple candy-making, and a craft for kids. Monica Mann and Pam Chodosh will provide live fiddle music from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m., and at 1 p.m., Will Chapman will give a presentation on the local history of maple sugaring.
“Music and Movement for Seniors” is the subject of the next To Your Health free wellness program, which will take place on Thursday, April 3, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the West Parish Congregational Church in Bethel. Yoga instructor Lisa Davidson will demonstrate gentle yoga postures to improve strength, mobility, and balance, and guitarist/singer/songwriter Jim Gallant will perform original songs and familiar old-time classics, plus lead the audience in some sing-along selections. Western Mountains Senior College, the Bethel Family Health Center, and SAD44 Continuing Education collaborate to provide the To Your Health series of free health education programs. For more information, please contact MSAD#44 at 207-824-2136 X1340 or email WMSC@sad44.org.
Here are some seasonal events to add to your calendar:
Lenten Lunches will be held on three consecutive Thursdays from noon to 1 p.m. at the West Parish Congregational Church in Bethel, starting March 20. This ecumenical gathering provides a free soup and bread meal and a chance to share a thoughtful message during Lent. Contact Rev. Tim LeConey for more details at tleconey68@gmail.com.
The Swap Shop at the Greenwood/Woodstock Transfer Station will open for the season on Wednesday, April 30, and will be open during regular transfer station hours. If you’d like to help out, please contact Greenwood Town Manager Kim Sparks at greenwood.me.04255@gmail.com.
Here’s another annual sign of spring: Greenwood’s annual roadside cleanup will be held on Saturday, May 3, with May 10 as a rain/snow date. More information will be available as the date approaches.
Remember that next week’s Bethel Citizen will be published on Friday, March 28, instead of Thursday, and that, going forward, the paper will be published every other week on Friday, beginning with the April 11 issue. You can still read my column every week, however, on my website, amywchapman.com, where you can also read my blog, Reflections. Since I’m marking the tenth anniversary of writing this column, this week I’m going to republish the blog post I wrote on March 23, 2015, when I was just starting out.
I got three short hikes in this week, my last ones before knee surgery. On Monday, Tony and I hiked the Sanborn River Loop and enjoyed seeing the ice beginning to break up in the river. On Tuesday morning, I did a short loop of Lapham Ledge in the fog, and on Thursday I hiked up Peaked Mountain in Maggie’s Nature Park. By the time you read this, I’ll be shuffling around with a walker and hoping to graduate to a cane, but I have every intention of being back out on at least some easy trails by mid-June.
If you have news or events you’d like included here, email me at amy.w.chapman@gmail.com or call 207-890-4812.
“Our life is March weather, savage and serene in one hour.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson