Fun, nostalgia planned for Sherman’s Old Home Days

SHERMAN, Maine — Treasured Memories is the theme this year for Sherman’s annual Old Home Days celebration taking place over the Labor Day weekend. The four-day event starts Friday, Sept. 3 at 6 p.m. with a dance in the Sherman gym. It wraps up Monday evening at 6 p.m. with a bean supper in the center of town at the park.        Jarice Kelley, a planning committee member, said the celebration dates back to 1932 when the Washburn Memorial Church organized a picnic in the park “to have an event for fun, food and fellowship.” It was, and continues to be, so successful, said Kelley, because “it brings people together.”  She explained that “it’s an opportunity to visit with people you haven’t seen in a while, since some have moved away.” Kelley said former residents come back for the festivities which include an alumni dinner.
A major highlight of the festivities is the Labor Day parade. This year the surviving members of the 1967 state basketball championship team will be in the parade as a complement to the Treasured Memories theme. The former state champs partly inspired the idea said Allison Roy, also a planning committee member.
Roy said the parade “is the only twice-around-town parade” because it starts at the Sherman gym, goes through the town square and, then, goes around again.
The nostalgia associated with the 1967 basketball championship team combined with the popularity of the alumni dinner and the success of the Sherman Library’s pirate theme for the summer reading program combined to make Treasured Memories an obvious choice for 2010, according to Roy.
A hugely popular affair over the Old Home Days weekend is the annual Tea at the Red House. Ladies and girls don stylish hats and lovely dresses for an elegant garden party that started nearly 10 years ago. “It’s a time for ladies of all ages to meet on a Saturday afternoon for tea. We also have entertainment. It’s at “Cap” Perrins’ — my parents’ home,” said Kelley. “The little girls are so cute,” added Roy explaining that the event is for children as well as adults and all are welcome.
In a manner reminiscent of a more graceful era, Kelley described how those stylish ladies and girls will gather for their garden party and sip tea poured from silver teapots into porcelain cups.
All guests are eligible for a special doorprize — an Island Hat. It’s a donation from Kelley’s sister, Dorinda Putnam, who owns Queen of Hats in Portland.
However, no little girl will leave Tea at the Red House empty-handed. Kelley said every child will get a small charm fashioned from pewter. “This year it’s going to be a garden gate. It looks like a little picket fence,” said Kelley, who wore a charm from a prior year around her neck.
Before the parade begins on Monday, at 10 a.m., some early-risers will be enjoying pumpkin donuts. “And, they’re delicious. You stand there and get fresh a pumpkin donut at 7:30 in the morning,” said Roy. Like the tea party it is also held at “Cap” Perrins’.
Kelley added that she makes the donuts for about “20 people who show up to mingle and have coffee before the big parade. It’s social but it’s also a Perrins’ family tradition.”
Not to be outdone, the children have any number of events designed just for them over the Old Home Days weekend. Free games for children and a bike raffle, all sponsored by Washburn Memorial on Sunday at 1 p.m. is a perennial favorite. The Little Miss Old Home Days Pageant follows at 3:30 p.m.
Various local musicians performing gospel, country and blue grass will entertain in the park starting at noon on Sunday and Monday.