Pet Talk

    Thank you so much to all of you who participated in the annual St Patrick’s Day Box Lunch. We were trying to figure out how long we’ve been doing this and the closest we can figure is 18 to 19 years. This is based on my recollection of the year we were making our own Jell-O and we were short at the end of the night so I went home to make more Jell-O and I had this huge Pyrex bowl full of hot liquid Jell-O and the bottom of the bowl cracked, then separated, pouring gallons upon gallons of sticky Jell-O all over my floor.  I was living on Military Street at the time and I moved in there around 1991 and only lived there a couple of years so this is how we are fixing our time frame.
    Over the years we have learned a lot.  Like we learned that most people didn’t eat the Jell-O or gave it away so we finally discontinued the Jell-O. And we learned some techniques for setting up work stations and filling the rolls and changed from boxes to bags which costs a little more but is so much easier for the delivery crew to handle. What used to be a full two day project is now down to two half days. We have pretty much the same crew show up every year to help and it goes like clockwork.
    If you purchased a lunch this year, there was a raffle ticket in your bag – either a regular looking ticket or a piece of white paper with a number written on it.  I hope you saved that ticket.
    The winning numbers are 4827612, 4827666, 4827133, 4827943, 15, 87 and 195. If you have one of these tickets, please stop by the Varney Agency, 9 Katahdin Lane (across from Tim Horton’s) and pick up your prize. There is an assortment of gifts available on a first come, first served basis.   Bring your ticket with you please.
    Many thanks to the following for their assistance, and apologies to those too numerous to name – to Ellis IGA, County Yankee and Scott Allen, our deepest appreciation for the donated meat, chips and rolls.
    To Chet and Molly Bailey, thank you and your crew so much for cooking and cracking and preparing the 47 dozen eggs! Wow, what a job! Chet says he’ll never be able to look a chicken in the eye again!
    To the JMG kids in Hodgdon, thank you all for coming out to help deliver, you are a joy to work with. To all those who cooked and baked cookies and squares and fudge and brownies, thank you for your hard work, we had just enough and everything looked delicious!  Feedback from those who participated tells us everything was very good indeed.
    There are dozens who take time off from work to participate in this project, and I know I’m going to miss some names, so please forgive me in advance, but a special thank you to Patty Burpee, Diane Flewelling, Carol McLaughlin, Dorene Humphrey, Cyndi Folsom, Brenda Wright, Joan Logan, Linda Severson, Betty Hutchinson, the Allen family, Nancy Welton, Tim Humphrey, Heather Miller,  and I know there are others who were there helping make sandwiches, fill bags, and all those who baked.  
    If you ordered a lunch and did not receive one, please call me at 532-2345, and we will refund your money. We hope this doesn’t happen but when you are trying to put out 800 lunches in a short period of time it gets a bit chaotic and sometimes someone is missed. If you were unhappy with your lunch for any reason, call me and we’ll refund. And if you have a winning ticket, please come pick up your item.
    Thank you again for your participation.  This fundraiser is a blast, we all have such a good time doing it, and we hope you enjoyed your lunch. Our next big fund raiser is May 1, our annual Morgan Renee Cowett Memorial walk-a-thon. Please consider joining us that day.  It’s never too soon to start soliciting pledges for your walk.