With the referendum over (and passed!), The Shopper is once again back to normal--that is, filling us with news of what is going on in our small communities. We are very busy now that spring is here and the snow is gone (hopefully, for good).
Regarding the referendum: There is a full page ad, thanking everyone for helping to pass it. The name of the committee was "United Communities of ME." The last comment in the ad: "And lastly, it is our hope, as it was when we formed the name of our committee, that we will all now stand UNITED as communities for the future" of the school district. The WT's second that!
The local Floral and Gift shop has a front page ad for blooming plants, cards, corsages, and gift certificates. They have Easter lilies and plush bunnies for the upcoming holiday. One gift that is greatly appreciated in our towns is a gift certificate at this greenhouse--makes a great Easter or Mother's Day gift. That is a not-too-subtle hint for any of our families that might be reading this! Some of the churches make arrangements for us to purchase spring flowering plants for the Easter service in memory or in honor of family members. It certainly brightens up the churches on Easter Sunday.
There are several ads for Easter Sunday Brunches. The prices are pretty good, too. They range from $10.95-15.95. Many of us already have made our reservations. After all, who wants to cook that day??!! There is even a lodging special at the local resort.
It seems as if there is a HUGE number of Birthday ads this week. Gee--I wonder what happened in October all those years before! That would put it just before the beginning of deer hunting season!
There is a Community Easter Egg Hunt on April 15 in one of our towns. Although it is spring, they suggest that we should "Dress for the weather" and it will be held rain or shine. Glad they did not mention the "S-" word!
We can't forget the Salad Luncheon at the American Legion on Thursday, April 13th, for a fund-raiser for the Fourth of July Fireworks and the kids' rides. There will be many such fund-raisers between now and the Fourth. We love these meals and everyone supports them--as much for the meal as the fund-raising.
The Fourth of July Committee is meeting on Tuesday, April 11. For the number of festivities that we have, they really have to get going early.
One of the local paper carriers had to resign because of foot problems. She says farewell to her customers and thanks them all and we wish her well.
The optical shop has reopened at the local hospital. That is a nice convenience for those of us who do not like to drive any distance to have to buy new specs. The hospital is also looking for volunteers to answer the phones in the evenings from 4:00-8:00. Might be something for some of us to do.
Jim must be going on vacation because the local sport shop is closed until April 16th! We hope that he is enjoying himself!
The "Silver Foxes" (single, divorced, or widowed folks from age 60 and up) are getting together for lunch on the 11th. Sounds interesting. We'll have to check to see if any of the WT's are going to attend this. We are all certainly "foxy" and most are over 60!
The local bank is celebrating "A Century of Service." They have been in business for 100 years! Hard to believe! We're sure they'll do something exciting this summer to commemorate this milestone.
We are asked to "Stop and pause . . .before it thaws." That is the Public Works Department warning us to check our sump pumps of the drainage holes in our basements now that the ground is thawing. We certainly do not want any flooded basements.
Our own Naomi was wondering why her kids were so curious as to whether or not she would be home on April 15. Now we know! They have an ad inviting us all to celebrate her 80th BD in the Community Center that day from 1:00-4:00--no gifts, please. All the WT's will be there for sure!
Lots of folks must be cleaning out basements and getting ready after winter as there are so many ads for household items for sale! There are several ads for home and property maintenance from plumbers, painters, roofers, cleaners. And, of course, the Rummage Sales!
The School Library is having a "BOGO" Bookfair--Buy one and get one free--on Wednesday. That is also the day of the 4th grade Science Fair. We're all invited to that. They didn't say anything about refreshments, however. Hmmmm! I wonder. . .
There's a big two-page ad congratulating all the fall and winter school sports teams. That includes hockey, football, basketball, both kinds of skiing, cross country runnin, volleyball and swimming. We might be small but we have had some mighty teams this year!
Holy Week is a big deal in the churches here. There are several Easter ads indicating the times of the services in the various churches for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday plus many of the specials--one of the churches does a Living Last Supper, several are combining on a series on "Witnesses to Christ's Passion," one has an Easter Sunrise Ecumenical Service at 6:00 a.m. on a local lake followed by breakfast. We do some awesome things in our little towns!
Ice Age 2 is still playing at the theatre and Failure to Launch starts on Friday. We have a wonderful movie theatre. They took out the back rows a few years ago and added bistro tables so we can order pizza or subs to eat during the movie. Silver Screen, Dolby Sound and pizza--it doesn't get much better than that!
WHEW! Time to quit. Lots happening in our towns. Until next week . . .
