A group of 11 Old Town Rotarians assisted at the Juniper Ridge Landfill Open House on Saturday, Oct. 7. Rotarian Wayne Boyd is general manager of Casella Waste Systems, which operates the landfill.
The Rotarians had two primary tasks--assisting the caterer, Steve's Stagecoach Express, by cooking french fries, and greet incoming visitors, including directing traffic, telling people where to park, and handing out raffle tickets for drawings that were held during the open house.
In addition, we set up a Purple Pinkie table, where people attending the open house could donate $1 to support Rotary International's Polio Plus program, which seeks to eradicate polio worldwide. A total of $115 was raised for Polio Plus by people who had their pinkies painted purple.
Buggsy serves french fries as Linda and Stan cook more to feed happy customers.
Above: Stan loads a basket with french fries so Linda can cook them.
Right photo: Rachael Peterson displays the cupcakes, which were provided by Stan's sister.
The french fry team included Linda Bryant, who cooked the french fries; Buggsy Bryant, who served them; Stan Peterson, who prepared baskets of fries for Linda to put in the deep fryer; Joe Cyr and Dave Wollstadt, who put the raw potatoes through a machine that sliced them into fries; and Peter Bosse, who helped direct traffic around the serving area.
The greeters included Doug Marchio, Pat Cummings, Steve Johnston, and (later in the day) Peter Bosse.
The Purple Pinkie crew included Ben Smith, Steve Russell, and Tamara Saarinen, along with Mike Timpson, a member of the Bangor Rotary Club (noontime).
In addition, Rachael Peterson and some of her OTHS art students did face painting for children (and adults, too) who attended the open house.
Tamara and Ben with Purple Pinkie donors.
Steve, Tamara, Mike Timpson, and Ben display their purple pinkies.
It was a beautiful day. Above, the open house area as seen from the top of the landfill, which was also a good place to view the fall foliage.
Tim Hudson, superintendent of the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, speaks to the Old Town Rotary Club at the River Drivers Restaurant in Millinocket.
Instead of meeting at the Elks Lodge, Old Town Rotarians and guests boarded a Cyr bus for a road trip to the River Drivers Restaurant in Millinocket, near the entrance to Baxter State Park, on Thursday, Oct. 5.
Our speaker was Tim Hudson, superintendent of the new Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, which was created by order of President Obama to encompass 87,000 acres that were purchased by Roxanne Quinby in the area east of Baxter State Park and donated to the federal government. Before dinner, while we still had daylight, club members gathered by the fireplace outside the restaurant to induct our first corporate member, Tim Magoon, general manager of the Old Town Canoe facility in Old Town. Tim is a full-fledged member of Rotary International, but several other Old Town Canoe employees will assist him in fulfilling his attendance and participation responsibilities. We are anxious to meet Tim's associates at Old Town Canoe and welcome them into the fellowship of our club.
Club President Doug Marchio (left) inducts Tim Magoon (center) as a member of the Old Town Rotary Club. Looking on are David Mahan (second from left), membership chair for corporate/organizational members; Clair Shirley, former member Amos Orcutt, and official greeter Becca Wollstadt.
Tim Hudson with a map showing the lands of the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. The monument includes both the light green parcels (on the map) west of the East Branch of the Penobscot River and the dark green parcels east of the river. Hunting and snowmobiling are generally prohibited on the light green parcels. On the dark green parcels, hunting will be allowed, except for bear hunting using bait or dogs.
Pat Cummings took photos and created a Smilebox photo album, which can be linked to below. NOTE: you have to click on the link below the image. Clicking on the arrow in the Smilebox image won't get you anywhere. Thanks, Pat, and happy viewing.
Lisa Frazell, manager of community events for The Maine Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, spoke to us Thursday night (Sept. 28) about various aspects of Alzheimer's, a brain disease that causes a slow decline in memory, thinking, and reasoning skills. She urged Rotarians to participate in the Walk to End Alzheimer's Disease, which will be held in Bangor on Saturday, October 21. Funds raised through the walk will be used to support Alzheimer's research.
Lisa also emphasized the importance of knowing the 10 early signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's. (To see the 10 early signs, click on "Read more" after the item about Keri's mom.)
Happy Birthday, Becca! and Happy Anniversary, Linda and Buggsy
Becca, who has been telling us for the past six (eight? nine? eleven?) months that she will be 39 on September 29, was honored a day early with a pre-birthday celebration, including a stirring rendition of the HappyBirthday song and a chocolate cake with pink and white frosting--her favorite!
The club also wished Happy Anniversary (No. 44) to Linda and Buggsy Bryant, also on September 29.
Rotarians help move Keri's mom into her new home
A number of Rotary Club members responded to DJ Whitmore's email request to help Keri move her mom into new quarters. Keri's response was emailed to all club members via ClubRunner, but in case you missed it, here's what she said:
I wanted to take a moment and say thank you! I was going to give a big "thank you" dollar this week at the meeting to all of you, but am unable to attend. It really meant a lot to myself and my family that so many showed up to help! Originally, it was us and four ladies and one husband from Mom's work (which many more of them showed up too). It was quite a surprise too...I heard rumor of some email that went around that I did not see! Packing, driving, and unpacking in two hours has to be some kind of moving record! That night, my mother looked at me and said, "Wow, that was the longest and most tiresome day I have experienced so far since I have been sick, but it was by far one of the best". She was overwhelmed that so many others took time out of their lives to help. She told me that I belong to a great organization full of wonderful people. Again, I can't thank you all enough! If I have forgotten anyone on this email (it was a hectic day!), please forward this to them.
The Old Town Rotary Club participated in Old Town's annual Riverfest celebration by entering a float in the parade, cooking BBQ chicken during the day, and serving free ice cream on Friday night. Unfortunately, we don't have any photos from Friday night.
Rotarians in the parade
Above: DJ, Mischelle and their children marched (or rode) in the parade and handed out candy.
Chicken BBQ
Tamara, Linda, and Doug
Bruce, Buggsy, and Steve Russell
Steve Johnston and Frank Greenleaf do what they do best.
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