Friends and neighbors were all in a festive mood when they arrived at Dean’s on Saturday, Dec. 12 for their annual town Christmas Party.
A potluck style dinner was served with a great variety of homemade meals and desserts brought by the guests.
Santa made a special trip to Portage Lake just for our party thanks, in part, to Darey Gagnon who arranged for his trip! Santa took the time to visit with the children at the party, who by the way, were all on his “nice” list. Great job kids!
There was a fun twist to the usual Yankee swap. Rachel Stevens and Corrine Routhier recited a tale written by Ms. Stevens for the Yankee swap, which was a fun game for the participants to play. Gifts were passed right to left and back again until finally the story ended, and everyone had a gift. I ended up with some nice mixing bowls, so thanks to whoever brought them!
DJ Julie Rae spun Christmas music and had the children singing karaoke carols. I am sure the kids slept soundly that night as most danced and spun to every song.
Rudy Boutot was the winner of the hand carved centennial ornament with over $162 being raised for the Centennial Committee through this raffle. Special thanks to Roy Clark who made and donated this special ornament. The Portage Lakers Snowmobile Club announced their “Club 100” raffle winners during the party. The following people were the lucky winners: $100 winners – Jaclyn Dobryznski, Peggy Morris, Nancy Flint, Kenny Fones and Eldon Jandreau. The $500 winner was Peggy Morris!
Once the town party wound down, some of the guests remained for the dance following, with DJ Julie Rae staying on board to provide some good dance music, which was also a lot of fun! (My duties as correspondent are sometimes so hard …). It was nice seeing everyone and a nice way to wrap up our centennial year.
Grants available to non-profits in Ashland area
The “Ashland Area Fund,” established by the Maine Community Foundation in 1999, makes grants to non-profits, schools, government agencies and municipalities. Eligible communities include Portage Lake, Oxbow Plantation, Masardis, Garfield, Nashville and Ashland.
Grant amounts are in the $200-$2,500 range and focus on healthcare, economic development, or educational enrichment. The deadline for letter of interest is Friday, Jan. 15, 2010. Interested applicants should write a 1-2 page letter that includes a short description of the organization, the proposed project and a budget showing the total cost of the project and how the funds from the Ashland Area Fund will be used.
Letters should be sent to: Maine Community Foundation, 245 Main St., Ellsworth, Maine 04605. Questions can be directed to Maine Community Fund Vice President for Program Development, Peter Taylor at 1-877-700-6800.
Past grants have been awarded to the Ashland Community Library for an oral history project, Ashland Care Givers Association to support an activities program, the Town of Portage Lake for the acquisition of archival photography, the Ashland Community High School for a performing arts series, the Good Shepard Thrift Shop for roof repairs, SAD 32 for teacher professional development and the Aroostook Valley Health Center for blood pressure machines without mercury.
A statewide organization with offices in Ellsworth and Portland, the Maine Community Foundation partners with donors and community groups to strengthen Maine communities. For more information about the foundation, call toll-free 1-877-700-6800 or visit www.mainecf.org.
Cub Scouts thank community
Cub Scout Pack 179 had a very successful fund-raiser recently, thanks to the generosity of Orion Timberlands. On Saturday, Dec. 5, Scouts and parents gathered at the corner lot on south Main Street and sold 15 beautiful Christmas trees that the land company donated. Special thanks go out to Frank Moro for cutting and hauling the trees out of the woods and also to Norm Pelletier, of Orion Timberlands, for all of his efforts with this event. Pack 179 Scouts and leaders would also like to thank those that purchased trees and those that gave donations for your support. The Scouts did a great job displaying and helping customers select their trees, and everyone had an enjoyable day!
Ashland Cub Scout news
Ashland Cub Scout Pack 179 has been very busy since starting the Scouting year in September. The Pack is 15 Scouts strong with five of the boys joining new this year.
In October, three Scouts and two adult leaders traveled to Camp Roosevelt in Eddington. While there, the boys learned about making an outdoor fire and tried their hand at archery and BB gun shooting. To spread some holiday spirit to the community, Wolf Scouts decorated a window at the Orion Timberlands office on Main Street for Halloween. It looked great and was a lot of fun to do. Also in October, Scouts and families were treated to a Spooky Trail Walk in Oxbow. Hosted by Joel and Shannon Deabay, the event included pumpkin carving, apple pressing to make cider and a barbeque. Several local Boy Scouts helped out with the Spooky Trail, as well, by dressing up and “spooking” the Cub Scouts and adults as they passed through.
As an activities fund-raiser, Scouts took to the streets selling popcorn. When all the numbers were in, it was discovered that the Cub Scouts (boys in grades 1-5) beat out the Boy Scouts (boys in grades 6-12) by quite a bit! Scouts and leaders would like to thank everyone who supported our popcorn sales program this year.
For the remainder of 2009, the Scouts will be doing requirement work in their individual dens. By completing the requirements, the Scouts are working toward achieving their rank badges and other awards of merit. The Scouts are recognized for all their hard work at monthly Pack meetings. On Dec. 20, the Cub Scouts will be in the community caroling and will have their holiday Pack meeting also. As is customary, the boys will receive their Pinewood Derby car kits that day. The Scouts and their dads then have the job of creating their racers for the Derby in February. 2010 is shaping up to be an energetic year for Ashland Scouting. We look forward to its promise and hope you do, too! Merry Christmas!
– Submitted by Julie Graham-Berry
Ashland Alumni Committee news
The Ashland Alumni Association Committee has held several meetings to discuss the Alumni Reunion that was scheduled for July 2010. The decision has been made to postpone the reunion until the summer of 2011 due to the issues involving the school construction.
Neither the “old” or “new” schools will be available to host the reunion for July 2010. While it is disappointing, the alumni won’t be able to hold their reunion one last time in their old school. Everyone is very excited about the construction of the new school and is looking forward to holding their next reunion there.
The committee will continue to meet to plan for the 2011 Alumni Reunion. If you are interested in being part of the planning committee, please feel free to contact Randy Caron at 435-6015.
Notice to friends and family of Helen Beaulieu
Helen Beaulieu will be living in Poland, Maine for the winter with her daughter. Her new address will be 3 Fiddle Head Lane, Poland, Maine 04274, and the phone number is 207-433-0850. All cards and calls would be welcome.
Susan Feeney-Hopkins is the correspondent for Ashland, Portage Lake, Oxbow, Masardis, Garfield, Nashville Plantation and surrounding townships. She can be reached at 435-8232 or feenhop@aol.com.
