First annual Strike Out Hunger event was a hit by Matt Pascarella

Windham Little League held their first annual Strike Out Hunger event on Saturday, May 19^th. The

Slugger helps with fundraiser

event took place at the Windham Assembly of God, Manchester School, and Cicerone baseball fields. The response from the community was tremendous as big crowds showed up to watch the athletes play and donate to the cause. The donation bins were overflowing with non-perishable food items.

Shaun Morrison, Vice President of the Major league and Coach for MPM Sealcoating has been a board member for Windham Little League for four years. He came up with the idea for this fundraiser because he wanted to do something that would have an impact locally. Morrison spoke with Collette Gagnon from the Windham Food Pantry and from that conversation came up with the Strike Out Hunger fundraiser.

“We do a fundraiser for little league every year to help out our league for equipment, field maintenance, uniforms, hats, etc., but this was something I thought we really could tackle league wide and give back to our community,” explained Morrison.

Gagnon provided a list of items that are crucial this time of year; with school ending and especially for children who need snacks during the summer months. They reached out to the Sea Dogs to see if Slugger could be a part of the festivities and he arrived ready to show support. The athletes were very excited to have Slugger in attendance cheering them on.

Morrison goes on to say, “Windham Little League’s first annual Strike Out Hunger event was a complete success. The Windham Food Pantry was pleasantly surprised by just how much food Windham Little League collected and delivered. I am so proud of our program for giving back to the community in such a big way, especially in a time it's needed most. A big thank you goes out to the families that donated, and the other board members that helped me make my vision a reality. We hope this will continue for years to come.”

“Blood Brothers” stimulates deep reflection by Elizabeth Richards

Windham Center Stage’s current production, “Blood Brothers,” isn’t what you might expect from musical theater. Far beyond light entertainment, this show inspires deep reflection on important issues: poverty and inequality, the impact of desperation, jealousy and the consequences of excruciating choices.

From the beginning it’s clear that the story is a tragedy, but the cast handles the intense themes well, scattering just enough comedic touches throughout to lighten the mood. It’s a story of twins and a mother’s desperate decision to separate them for their survival. One is raised in poverty, but with deep loving bonds; the other is raised with extreme wealth, but less emotional connections. The boys’ paths cross, then veer away, then cross again and then the two become unlikely friends, without ever knowing of their blood relationship. But circumstances and the choices they make take them in vastly different directions, culminating in a tragic end.

"Blood Brothers" is playing again this weekend.

Because the story unfolded over a time span of many years, cast members were tasked with creating convincing characters throughout several different phases in their lives – which the whole cast did convincingly.

With many central characters, it would have been easy for one to overshadow others, but this cast blended seamlessly. The stories were all intertwined, making each character an integral part of the plot – even the supporting roles. The subtle prominence of these supporting characters made the story richer and more complex than if they’d been ignored.

There were plenty of light moments interspersed throughout the show, especially in the first act when the children were young. Jon Bolduc (Mickey) and Bernie Tajonera (Edward) played the young twins with high energy and zeal, evoking the wondrous innocence of youth and making the dark turn later feel even more tragic.

With the passage of so much time, the narrator was essential to keeping the plot moving and the audience informed. Rob Hatch played this role with somber intensity, moving the story forward then fading into the background, exactly as a narrator should.

All the performers created memorable characters that came alive. Musical numbers were strong and powerful, highlighting the themes clearly. Many of the songs were haunting and thought-provoking.

In her director’s notes, Laurie Shepard wrote, “Blood Brothers illuminates the decisions we make to survive and the secrets we take to the grave. The struggles of the Johnstone twins mirror many in the communities that we make up and [are] held secret by people we encounter every day.”  This statement powerfully describes the feeling I was left with at the end of the show – a lingering desire to better understand, without judgement, the stories of those around me.

This show is intended for mature audiences, due to a lot of adult content. The show runs at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 25^th, and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 26^th.  Tickets are $15 for adults/$10 for students and seniors. Tickets can be purchased at windhamtheater.org/.  “Blood Brothers” is well worth the time and ticket price.

Riding to the Top celebrates 25 years by Jennifer Davis

Painting the horse, Good Friday, was one of the activities of the day

This past Sunday, May 20, Riding to the Top Therapeutic Riding (RTT) Center celebrated their 25th Anniversary. The celebration lasted from 12:30 p.m. until 4 p.m., doubling as a fundraiser and brought many people to the facility. The weather cooperated better than the staff and volunteers expected and it led to a day full of great events for a great cause.

RTT is a non-profit organization that focuses on health and wellness via equine activities and therapies to help people with disabilities reach their fullest potential. “We receive no municipal, state or federal funding,” said Sarah Bronson, Executive Director at RTT. “We have wonderful support from our community with individuals, businesses and foundations providing nearly 75 percent of our funding.”

RTT was founded in 1993 and moved four different times in its first four years of existence before settling on its current 50-acre property. The property has seen much growth over the years moving from a strictly volunteer program to a program that employs 6 core staff member and 10 instructors, most of which work primarily part time. There are over 150 volunteers that help make Riding to the Top what it is today. “This is a great place to be,” said Barb, a RTT Volunteer.  “It is a place where all you think about is being here because the people you are working with are facing tough situations but do so with smiles on their faces.” 

RTT offers many different programs to reach all of the people it serves. “Our clients are very diverse in their ages and abilities,” said Bronson.  “Everyone’s journey is different.”

RTT serves approximately 85-95 clients on a weekly basis and over the course of a year; the organization provides services to over 250 clients. One client, Elena, has been visiting the property and participating in the programs for 16 years. As she boarded a carriage to drive Champ the horse, during the celebration, she was delighted and her face lit up with joy.

RTT has helped many people over the years. Bronson reflected on a positive experience of a little boy with autism. After visiting RTT for a period of time, he went from being very timid around the horses to confident. He also has changed his approached in other areas of life. In school, he went from a supported classroom to a typical classroom and is now thriving.  “I believe that the positive experiences he had at the farm and his ability to learn about transitions, exploring new things and having success doing this, helped to set him up for success in the classroom,” said Bronson.

Other events of the day included many demonstrations from therapeutic riding, independent riding, and hippotherapy.  There were also barn tours featuring a scavenger hunt, self-guided trail walks, grooming demonstration and horse painting.  The event welcomed approximately 200 visitors to the property.

If you are interested in becoming a part of Riding to the Top or making a donation you can visit their website at www.ridingtothetop.org/support.php.

Faculty Spotlight on Patricia Valley by Matt Pascarella

Patricia Valley is an eighth-grade teacher at Jordan-Small Middle School in Raymond. She knew she wanted to be a teacher since she was six years old and it was a passion that steadily grew through her school years.

Valley has taught every grade from second to eighth throughout her career. A Californian by birth,

she graduated from UCLA in 1981 and taught for one year in Long Beach. After her first year of teaching, she applied to the Department of Defense (DOD). “When I was in high school, I had a friend whose father was an American diplomat in Brazil,” Valley explained. “He told me about his elementary years attending international schools. The idea appealed to me to teach overseas and learn about other cultures, so I applied to the DOD after my first year of teaching. I told the interviewer that I was available for worldwide placement. I was offered a job in Goeppingen, Germany, which was my home for six years and a base for many travels throughout Europe. 

While there, she taught on an Army base and worked with the children of the American soldiers. She also taught an after-school dance program for elementary and middle school students.

After her educational adventure in Germany, Valley returned to the United States, landing in South Portland and accepting a position as a sixth-grade teacher at Jordan-Small Middle School and is now in her 29^th year. Since she had grown up and lived in the suburbs not far from Los Angeles, “commuting on Route 302 from South Portland felt like the road less traveled,” Valley jokes.

For years she bounced between teaching fifth and sixth grade at Jordan Small School, but after a teacher, and dear friend of hers, retired in approximately 2011, it allowed her to the opportunity to work with eighth graders.

Although challenging, Valley is very grateful that she gets to teach and spend time with future NASA engineers, business owners, emergency medical technicians, carpenters, pediatricians, artists and experts in technologies that are yet to be invented.

She shares her passion for learning with the students and her passion for teaching with her colleagues. Valley feels like she has hit the jackpot when she sees a student realize they can do something very difficult.

Valley, who is an only child, finds family in her four Maine cousins and their spouses as well as her mother, aunt and last but not least - her husband. Valley enjoys dancing and spending time with friends and family during her downtime.

Lake Region Knights of Columbus chili and chowder cook-off results

The Lake Region Knights of Columbus held their third annual Chili/Chowder Cook-Off in Windham on May 5th. The cook-off attracted 15 local home chefs and over 100 attendees from the Lake Region. The winner in the Chowder Cook-Off is Brian Hannon of Windham and the winner in the Chili Cook-Off is Mary Champi of Windham. Over $500 was raised for a Seminarian studying to serve in the Diocese of Portland Maine. The Lake Region Knights serve people and groups in need in Bridgton, Fryeburg, Naples, Casco, Raymond, Windham and Standish.

 

George Lariviere and Brian Hannon

George Lariviere and Mary Champi

Raymond-Casco Historical Society seeks museum visitors and new members by Elizabeth Richards

After the devastating loss of their one-room schoolhouse to arson last month, the Raymond-Casco Historical Society (RCHS) has formed a committee to explore what their next steps will be. President Frank McDermott said the committee was going to begin meeting immediately, with the hope of having recommendations for the full society (which may include rebuilding the schoolhouse) by their regular meeting on the second Monday in June.

The RCHS had been talking about moving the schoolhouse to the museum to be able to have it open more often, but they never got the chance. Losing the schoolhouse and its contents was a big disappointment, but McDermott said it may also energize the declining membership to make a commitment to do something.

If they do decide to rebuild, he said, he’d like to do it in a way that allows for community involvement, like a “barn-raising” event. Though the building isn’t a sophisticated design, because of the time period in which it was built, in 1849, it would have taken a fair amount of time to complete, McDermott said.

He said that he’d like to offer people a chance to take part in the construction using some of those older methods – taking down a tree, stripping it of bark, and creating boards – to give people a feeling of what it was actually like doing that sort of work in the 1800s.

Membership in the RCHS has been declining – and they aren’t alone, McDermott said. Historical societies across the country are facing similar challenges, impacted by the busy lives people lead and the changing times we live in. One factor, he said, is that towns don’t have as many “old” families – those that have lived in the town for multiple generations. There are a couple in Raymond, and a few more in Casco, McDermott said, but they’re falling by the wayside. “So, what happens is you get a community that has no connections to its past,” McDermott said.

The schoolhouse allowed people to better understand what a one-room schoolhouse was like. It also was an opportunity to give children a historical perspective, allowing them to experience what being in a one-room schoolhouse was like, as opposed to the modern schools of today, McDermott said.

“Preserving whatever we have is vitally important,” said McDermott. And that includes the society itself. RCHS was started by Ernest Knight, who put out a monthly newsletter and wrote many books on the history of Raymond and the surrounding area. The newsletter told the story of Raymond and Casco, with interesting tidbits on the town and the people who lived there. “It kept people enthused and we had a lot of members back then, but like everything else, it died off over time and no one seems to be willing to take their place,” said McDermott.

As it stands now, the RCHS has difficulty finding enough volunteers to keep the museum open two days per week in the summer. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends, the museum is open Saturday and Sunday, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. They used to also open on Wednesdays but are currently unable to find volunteers for those hours.

Even when the museum is open, it’s tricky to find business, McDermott said. “If we can get people to come in, they’re amazed at the things that we have there. It’s getting them to come through the door.”

One way they attract business is by exposing children to the museum as part of a class trip. They love the experience, McDermott said, and often return with siblings and parents.

           

The RCHS has not only the main museum building, but a barn full of exhibits as well. And landlord Skip Watkins also has an antique car barn on site that visitors can tour. There is no entrance fee.

The RCHS meets at 7 p.m. on the second Monday of each month, except August and December. In the summer, meetings are held at the museum on Route 302 just before the Naples line. Winter meetings are held at the Raymond Public Safety Building. New members are always welcome. Membership dues are $15 individual/$20 family per year.

A matter of historical record: Babb’s Covered Bridge is now graffiti-free by Walter Lunt

The irksome images resulting from graffiti along the inside walls of Babb’s Bridge may be a thing of the past. The span connects the towns of Windham and Gorham over the Presumpscot River. Drivers and pedestrians passing through the wooden structure have long rued the crude inscriptions created by thoughtless and, some say, self-centered vandals.

The “art,” anonymous first names and colorful language have been met with reluctant acceptance for

generations. But following the 2016 Maine Department of Transportation restoration of the bridge, some residents banded together to discuss ways to discourage the return of graffiti on the new, clean walls.

“If you leave (the graffiti), that says it’s okay to do it,” said bridge preservation activist Gary Plummer of Windham. He and others from Gorham and the state D.O.T. brainstormed ways to keep the historic span graffiti-free. Ideas included surveillance cameras, routine volunteer patrols and the application of a special solvent that resists paint. In the end, it was decided that a combination of willful surveillance and an immediate re-paint (over the graffiti) might discourage the return of the stealthy “artists.” Apparently, it has worked well for nearly a year.

Plummer says the walls received a coat of beige colored stain last spring. Now, as soon as the phantom literature re-appears, volunteers paint over it. The result, especially to those accustomed to the graffiti, is stunning. Even third graders from Windham Primary School commented on the clean, fresh look of the bridge’s interior as they toured the structure on a history field trip recently.

Plummer credits many in the determined effort to eliminate the unsightly images, including Gorham residents Guy and Janice Lebrecque, the Windham legislative delegation, the state D.O.T. and other interested citizens.

With summer just around the corner, round two of the “Keeping It Clean” campaign begins. 

Plummer, who visits the bridge site regularly, says the wooden span receives a steady stream of visitors all summer, some swimming, some just enjoying the serenity of the water and the woodsy environment and out-of-staters posing and taking pictures. He encourages the activity.

“The more eyes on the bridge, the better;” And he adds that police from both towns have stepped up patrols of the area.

In the past 45 years, Babb’s Bridge has experienced two potential end-of-life calamities. Arsonists destroyed the ancient span in 1973. Saddened and concerned citizens from the two towns joined with the Maine D.O.T. to build an exact replica. Then, more recently, swimmers cut holes in a wall and in the roof of the structure to accommodate their high jumps into the water. Rot quickly set in. And, on further inspection, it was discovered that support stones on the bridge’s abutment had separated. Re-setting and cement were needed. An extensive overhaul ensued in 2016.

Historians disagree on the age of the bridge. Some place the time of construction in the 1700s. However, Joseph Conwill, author of “Maine’s Covered Bridges” (Images of America – 2003), notes “The historical record is never complete . . . (bridge) history is spottily recorded.” He places the construction of Babb’s Bridge (as a covered bridge) as 1864.

Maine once had more than 100 covered bridges. Only nine remain. 

Faculty spotlight on Deborah McAfee by Matt Pascarella

Deborah McAfee has been working at Windham High for 21 years. Her first position was as the principal, holding that position for 14 years until she stepped down to heal from cancer. She returned as assistant principal and has held that position since 2011.

McAfee will soon be retiring – not because she is a quitter but because she is a fighter in the toughest

Thank you for your service in education, Deborah McAfee

sense of the word. Her cancer has returned and despite the fact that she loves her career in education, she says it’s time to take care of herself.

McAfee became interested in education because she admired her home economics teacher in middle school. As a result, she majored in home economics at the University of Maine at Farmington. Her first teaching job was at the Maine Youth Center, now the Long Creek Youth Development Center.

To further her career in education, she became fascinated with the idea of becoming a principal after working with several principals at the Maine Youth Center. She wanted to have more of a voice within her school, having more impact as an educator. McAfee took graduate courses at the University of Southern Maine and got a degree in educational leadership.

Her first job as an assistant principal was at Mount Valley in the late 1980s. In the early 1990s she accepted the position as assistant principal at Waterville High School. In the late 1990s, she got her first job as a principal at Medomak Valley High School. McAfee wanted to work in the Greater Portland Area and applied to be principal in Windham, where she was accepted. She came to Windham High for the 1996-1997 school year and has been here ever since.

McAfee enjoys being in the district because it’s a collective community where connections with staff and faculty are made with students. That connection makes a difference and often leads to service to the community. Kids go off to college and are part of service organizations, or they’ll come back to the high school coaching when their kids come through. “It’s a community thing here in Windham; I think it’s something kids take…with them,” she states.

McAfee is the oldest of four children. She has two brothers and one sister. McAfee has a lot of nieces and nephews and spends time with them during the summers.

During retirement, McAfee plans to get back to gardening, sewing; visiting museums and seeing plays – you’ll probably see her at the occasional varsity game, too.

For McAfee working at the high school has been wonderful. She thinks of it as home.

We, here at The Windham Eagle Newspaper, wish her the best in her retirement years and that they are long, happy and healthy.

Local playwright presents newly published “Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep”

Jerry Walker

Jerry Walker grew up in Standish where there was little encouragement to become a published

playwright and theater director. But that did not deter Walker from achieving those goals. Today, his is a well-known face among local theater circles and he has become a highly respected playwright and director throughout Maine. On Friday, June 1 through Sunday, June 3, Walker will present “Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep,” one of his favorite and recently published creations at the Schoolhouse Arts Center.

“Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep” is a one act play exploring rural American high school life, as seen through the eyes of Julie, a young student. The play lives through its memorable and realistic teenage characters. Julie’s struggle to get through life day-to-day, with a detached alcoholic mom and absent dad, is brightened by her exuberant, hopeful best friend, Lexie.

Scene by scene with gentle humor, the characters remind the audience of the feelings of having that first boyfriend, not getting picked for the team, being fat, being the smart student, being the boy who is good at ballet, getting suspended from school, being too short to attract girls and not fitting in with any of the cliques. The play reminds us that high school is often referred to as “the best four years of our lives.” It often is; but that four-year trek is also dangerous and confusing.

The acting crew taking a moment from rehearsal

It brings to the stage all of the things that young people need to know, want to ask, get stressed-out and complain about. Those seeing the play, will be reminded of the familiar feelings of teen angst and adolescence, many moments of pleasant memory, deep identity issues, shocking surprise and utter devastation as their onstage ‘child’ reaches out for comfort, help, direction and approval; wanting to belong to something or someone.

The scenes and monologues in this on-target theatrical performance will have you laughing one second and crying the next. The play is about teens and how each action or word spoken by anyone has either a positive or negative effect on someone else, even oneself. We come to find that no word or deed is harmless or without consequence. Adults and youth alike will see themselves in the halls of this imaginary school, in the lives of its students, and in their hopes and shattered dreams. “Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep” is a memorable and timeless play which is more relevant than ever in our current age of bullying, school gun violence and increasing teen depression. 

Walker went to school in the very building where he will be presenting his play. He originally wrote “Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep” in 1997. It was presented for the first time at the Northern Maine One Act Play Festival in 199 and went on to compete at the Maine State One Act Festival. It repeated this fete at state-wide competition again in 2007.

The play has been performed numerous times throughout Maine, including Biddeford City Theater, UNE Theater Ensemble, Western Maine One Act Festival, Eastern Maine One Act Festival and many high schools throughout the state. This June’s performance of “Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep” will be debuting as a newly published play in 2018, through special arrangement with Leicester Bay Theatricals of Newport Maine (leicesterbaytheatricals.com).

Schoolhouse Arts Center is a non-profit, community-driven organization dedicated to arts education and the presentation of the arts.

How to get involved in 2018 Memorial Day celebrations by Dave Tanguay

It's hard to believe that Memorial Day will be here in the next few weeks. The American Legion Field-Allen Post 148 invites the community to the Windham Memorial Day Parade on Monday, May 28. The day will include events and ceremonies that will involve the Post’s 80^th Anniversary Celebration of serving veterans in Windham.

This year, the Post hopes that the parade and the turnout will be the largest in several generations. 

There are a few things that can help in supporting this effort.  

First, if you would like to march or host a float in the parade to support veterans, please contact the Post at 892-1306.  Second, there are a number of veterans who no longer can march in the parade. Anyone who has a convertible vehicle and is willing to volunteer to carry a passenger or two in the parade would be most welcome contact the Post.

The Post Memorial Day Ceremony includes a Tolling of the Bell to honor the town's veterans who have passed away over the last year (from May 2017 to May 2018). If anyone is aware of a Windham Veteran that has passed away during this period please contact us. The following is a list of departed Veterans currently on file with the Post:

Thomas Levign, Roland Libby, Bernard Gardner, Kenneth Atherton, Edward Ahearn, Duane Heffron, Fred Collins, John S. Rollins, Gerald Bell, Gary Lombard, Robert Tofannell, Thomas Joyce Jr., Merle “Bo” Bowman Jr., Peter Dugas, Michael DeSimon, Raymond Kelso, Charles Spencer, Frank L. Lailer, John Williams, Jeffery Smith, Scott Briggs.

Please contact the Post Adjutant, Dave Tanguay (892-1306) if you can provide an entry in the parade, a vehicle to support a veteran or have additional names to be included for the Bell Tolling.

Transitioning to college and career schools by Suzanne Hatfield

As newly admitted college or career school students anticipate changes in their lives, they may experience a variety of feelings ranging from pleasure at acquiring independence to sadness at leaving family and friends. They may also experience fear of the unknown and fear of failure.

Parents may also be worried about a son or daughter leaving home, the high cost of postsecondary education and training and its impact on family finances. These factors can put a great deal of stress on individuals and families. To relieve some of the worry and stress, students and parents are encouraged to take part in a college’s or school’s first-year student orientation.

Information about an institution’s academic calendar, as well as its numerous resources and contacts is shared in orientation sessions that allow families to get answers to any questions they may have and become more knowledgeable about what to expect in one of life’s important transitions. Students and their parents will become familiar with various school offices and officials, as well as the various roles they play in helping students become acclimated to new academic settings.

In addition to learning about an institution’s policies and procedures, families taking part in orientation events will become familiar with any and all of the following: the school book store, library, computer resources, academic and career advising, health/housing/dining services, tutoring and counseling, future financial aid, campus security, and student activities and related services.

Setting both short-term and long-term goals, adhering to priorities and developing time management strategies are the keys to success for first year students. These life skills will help students balance both the responsibility and freedom that comes with adult status. Professors and instructors will treat students as adults and expect them to attend classes, do all assigned reading, meet guidelines and deadlines for required work, and take tests and exams as scheduled. 

Student services professionals are trained to help new students learn and apply the organizational, communication, research and study skills they need for academic success. 

Leaving family, friends, and familiar surroundings is challenging for everyone. Attending the college’s or school’s orientation program can give students and parents pertinent information, as well as networking opportunities so that plans for ride sharing, campus visits and group support can be made.

Reminders: Graduating seniors should check that final transcripts and admission test scores will be officially sent from the high school, as well as college transcripts, if early college credit is earned, to the college/career school the student plans to attend.

Final transcripts should also be sent to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) if the student plans to participate in intercollegiate athletics. Also, be sure the college or career school of choice receives a record of any successful scores earned through the College Board’s Advanced Placement Program (AP) or College-Level Examination Program (CLEP). For more information on these programs, go to ap.collegeboard.org or clep.collegeboard.org.

Suzanne Hatfield is a certified school counselor who worked in Maine high schools for twenty years before retiring.

American Legion, recognizing the past - looking to the future by Dave Tanguay

Over the past few weeks The Windham Eagle has run a series of article in honor of the Field-Allen Post’s 80th Anniversary (April 6th, 1938) and the beginning of the National Legion’s 100th Anniversary year (March 15th, 1919). The articles covered the background on our namesakes, Lt Charlies W.W. Field and Sgt. James Allen as well as the early years of the Post from 1938 until 1999; and the revitalization of the Post since 1999. This last chapter in the series is a reflection and a look to the future. 

As Legion members, most veterans join a Post for personal reasons. Most don’t think about the good the Legion does on a national level to support Veterans Affairs in Congress or the GI Bill; however, the American Legion is the largest advocate and contributor of laws relating to Veterans in the Nation.

Tolling of the bell

Most may not be aware of or even think about the organization and how it contributes to veterans support issues, youth programs or the training of our fellow veterans to support each other.  Most have joined for the comradeship or out of a sense of patriotism or the desire to give back to the community.

Some join for the like-minded sense of belonging or maybe the benefits. As an American Legion member, you are more than just a number. You become an example of service for the entire community.

The community sees you when you place flags around town or on the graves of the fallen and they see you placing wreaths on the graves of veterans. They see you marching proudly in the Memorial Day Parade. People see you as helping veterans, or youth and the community. They see you as role models for our youth as we support Boys State or the Youth Air Rifle Program or Legion Baseball.

The Legion Post is more than programs, it has membership that supports other veterans and its membership is vital to make the Post work and live its mission.

On a personal note; I joined the Field-Allen Post after a 23-year career in the Navy and was in my 50s. The WWII veterans in the Post at the time were in their 70s. Today I’m in my 70s and the WWII vets that remain are in their 90s. I am looking back to see who is stepping up to fill the void.

As noted above, and in previous articles, the community sees Legion members as leaders and that has been the case since the Field-Allen Post was first charted in 1938.

At the national level the most pressing issue is future membership for the Legion. The demographics have changed. Gone are the days when the legion and other veteran organizations had millions of veterans to draw from. The national military commitment is now much smaller and so is the pool of potential membership.

What will the American Legion look like in the next 100 years? That is difficult to say. What the national leadership is proposing is a more diversified organization, (more women), more legion family oriented, and still able to support the motto “Veterans Serving Veterans.”

With this 100^th Anniversary of the American Legion before us, there is an opportunity to reflect on our past and to look to the future.  Will you be part of that future? On the occasion of the 100^th Anniversary, I’d like nothing better than to see the next revitalization of the Legion and the Field-Allen Post with the vitality of a new era of veterans.

Good news for top recreational spots on the Presumpscot River

The good news is that the majority of the top recreational spots along the Presumpscot River, from Sebago Lake through Standish, Windham, Gorham, Westbrook, Falmouth and Portland, were below the state threshold for E. coli bacteria levels during the 2017 water quality sampling season. The concerning news is that many of the tributaries to the Presumpscot River exceeded state standards for bacteria levels multiple times last summer.

The Presumpscot River Watershed covers much of Greater Portland and is the largest freshwater www.prlt.org/water to see water access points). 

input into Casco Bay. As the region has quickly grown, so has recreational use of the river; there are now over 20 water access points for paddling the river, several swimming holes, and numerous great fishing spots (go to

Clean water is critical to safe recreation and for healthy wildlife habitat in the watershed. The community-based nonprofit, the Presumpscot Regional Land Trust, works to conserve and steward land and clean water, while also providing access for recreation throughout the watershed and beyond.  

Last year the Land Trust merged with Presumpscot River Watch and continued to monitor the watershed through the 10-year-old Water Stewards Program. The Land Trust uses the findings from the Water Stewards Program to help identify important places to conserve land and work in collaboration with partners on restoration projects. 

Thanks to the Land Trust’s 35 volunteer citizen scientists, water samples were collected at 36 sites www.prlt.org/water.   
throughout the Presumpscot River Watershed in 2017. The Land Trust tested for two important indicators of clean water:  E. coli bacteria (an indicator of potential fecal contamination) and dissolved oxygen (needed for most wildlife to survive in the water). The results from the 2017 water quality sampling season can be viewed in an interactive map with a four-tier rating system for water quality throughout the watershed at 

The Water Stewards Program works in collaboration with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s Volunteer River Monitoring Program to train citizen science volunteers to collect water quality samples throughout the Presumpscot River Watershed every other Saturday during the summer months, collecting a total of ten samples at each site per year. 

The State of Maine uses this data to identify rivers and streams that do not attain state standards and works with partners to develop restoration plans that address potential water quality problems in the watershed. As noted by Mary Ellen Dennis with the Department of Environmental Protection, “volunteer groups like the Presumpscot Regional Land Trust often collect water quality samples from locations not regularly monitored by our staff. This allows us to have better idea of water quality conditions for a broader geographic area.”

Thank you to: Casco Bay Estuary Partnership, the Town of Windham Watershed Protection Fund, USM’s Environmental Science and Policy Department, IDEXX Laboratories, and to the Land Trust Business Partners and Individual Members for supporting the Water Stewards Program. 

Making a clean water determination includes assessing water quality over long periods of time (to and E-coli bacteria.
observe trends) and collecting several different types of data. The Land Trust merged with Presumpscot River Watch in 2016 and now is analyzing 10 years of water quality data collected by Presumpscot River Watch volunteers.  The ongoing monitoring program includes data on water temperature, dissolved oxygen