Staff Writer
FORT FAIRFIELD – Fort Fairfield is in a partying mood … and for good reason. This year the town is celebrating its sesquicentennial. According to Sarah Ulman, co-chair of the sesquicentennial committee, she and other co-chair Rayle Ainsworth, were each approached by municipal officials to see if they would be willing to plan the community’s 150th celebration.
“We were approached by Dan Foster, our town manager, and Shawn Murchison, who was then the executive director of the Chamber of Commerce, this summer to see if we would be interested in co-chairing the event,” said Ulman. “We both had the time and the interest in doing it, and it just seemed like a fun activity and something that we could involve a lot of people in.”
Ulman said the sesquicentennial’s theme is, “It’s time …”
“With that theme, you can tack on whatever you want to,” she said. “The theme for the first event is, ‘It’s time to celebrate community.”
The first event that will kick off the year-long celebration will be an open house at the Fort Fairfield Community Center to show off the new offices of the Police Department, Town Office, Chamber of Commerce, and Council Chambers.
The open house will be held Saturday, Feb. 2 from 5-6 p.m.
“The open house will be followed by a community potluck supper that’s open to all community members, but we need people to RSVP because our space is limited,” Ulman said. “The supper will be at the Community Center.
“We’re going to furnish baked beans, bread and beverages, and we’re asking people to bring their favorite potluck dish to fill in,” she said. “We’re also asking people to bring in stories and pictures that they might have of past events in Fort Fairfield. The entertainment will be directed by David Case, who will help facilitate the storytelling.”
In March, there will be a re-enactment by the Town Council and perhaps descendants of the original settlers of Fort Fairfield reading a proclamation of the founding of the town. Other March events include the annual Hiram Towle Ski Race (March 16) at the Nordic Heritage Center, and the Maine Agri-Business Trade Fair at The Forum in Presque Isle.
A Victorian tea party for children will be held in April at the Fort Fairfield Public Library.
“In May and October,” said Ulman, “we’re getting the schoolhouse that’s at the Frontier Heritage Park so local students will be able to experience a day in school as it was in 1858. There are several organizations that are working on that project making slates, benches and pinafores for the girls to wear.
“We’ll be having events throughout the year like a golf scramble and a tractor trek,” said Ulman, “but most of the activities will be held during the Maine Potato Blossom Festival because that’s when most people come back to visit our community.”
Among the activities being planned for the Maine Potato Blossom Festival include Cowboy Heritage Days at the Rocking S Ranch, a beard growing contest, vintage fashion show, potato picking contest, horseback rides, a presentation by the 20th Regiment Maine Volunteer Infantry, fiber arts show, queen’s tea, food tasting and display of local foods, fat tire bike biathlon, progressive harvest supper and hymn sing, and the placement of a time capsule.
“One of the big things that we’re trying to do is publish a book in 2009,” said Ulman. “It will be very much like Dr. Richard Graves’ book. It will include anecdotal stories and the history of Fort Fairfield to the present. It will also include pictures of all of the sesquicentennial celebrations from this year. We’re working with Professor Kimberly Seabold at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. Her students are taking a community history course, and they are helping us catalog what we have at the Historical Society, and to scan pictures and collect anecdotal stories for the book.
“We’re also planning a cookbook,” she said, “so we’ve got a lot of things going on. The wonderful thing about it is the community. The people who live in Fort Fairfield are always so giving of their time, and we’ve had so many people come forth and say, ‘Oh, I’d love to do that for you.’ That’s been good. We’re always looking for more workers.”
Ulman said the committee has several goals in planning the sesquicentennial.
“We want to involve as many people as possible,” she said, “and to include all age groups. We also want to plan activities through the whole year, not just at festival time, and we wanted to build upon the many things we already have in place and bring back some old ones, as well as introduce some new events.”
Any profits made from the sesquicentennial celebration will be donated to the Frontier Heritage Society.
For more information or to help plan the town’s 150th, call Ulman at 227-0585 or Ainsworth at 846-3191 or 472-2691.
