Gilead

By Lin Chapman

The month of May ended with great weather for Memorial Day. Soon school will be over and the children will begin their summer vacation.

Last Friday, Hugh and I picked up Sidney at school and headed for the Gorham Common to have lunch. We also went to the cemetery in Gorham to put out flowers. Sidney was very helpful and made sure that the American flag was placed securely in the marker. We finished visiting cemeteries on Sunday. We went to Lary South in Gilead, and then it was off to Riverside in Bethel.

Since last Saturday was my birthday, we celebrated by going out of town and after a day of yard sales, we met up with Tim, Michele, Sidney and Michele’s parents, Leo and Ann Croteau. We had a delicious dinner at Northland’s in Berlin. I had Happy Birthday wishes by phone from our son, Chris, and our grandson, Benjamin. My brother, Steve McLain, called to wish me a Happy Birthday, also.

While we were in Bethel last Sunday, we saw Bob and Margaret Record and family. Margaret had a couple of stories to share about attending the Gilead Village School.

Lee and Jennifer Norris hosted a Memorial Day BBQ last Sunday. Those who attended were Steve and Lise McLain, Mike Dupont, Gerard Dupont, Jarrod and Paige Crockett, Ryan Stowell and his girlfriend, Katarina, Aline Dupont (Jen, Ryan and Jarrod’s mom). Everyone had a wonderful time.

Fernand and Beverley Corriveau, Sr. attended the college graduation of their granddaughter, Marissa Corriveau, from the University of New England. She is the daughter of Fernand and Holly Corriveau, Jr. After graduation, they all went out to dinner to celebrate.

Town Office

The Selectmen’s meeting scheduled for June 9 has been rescheduled to June 16.

Yard Sales

The yard sale at the Town Hall last Saturday went well. Alice and Len Strait, Gray Bujnowski, Linda Taylor and Alicia McLean had tables set up. They seemed quite busy. After going to their yard sale, Hugh and I headed for New Hampshire. There were quite a few on the Village Road in Shelburne that goes right through town. The first one that we stopped at was my cousin, Richard McLain’s house. I hadn’t seen Richard for quite some time, so we had a chance to catch up. We stopped at several more yard sales on our way to Berlin.

Next weekend the Wild River Riders will be holding their yard sale at the Town Hall.

Gilead Historical Society

Last Saturday, Hugh and I went to Berlin to attend an event sponsored by the Berlin and Coos County Historical Society. They were unveiling the state historical marker at the site of the first permanent residence in Berlin, N.H. The log house was built by William Sessions with the help of his nephew, Cyrus Wheeler. Cyrus was born in Gilead, Maine, so the GHS got involved with some research on the family. There were several descendants of both the Sessions and Wheelers that attended.

Andre and Eileen Dupont, who are also members of the GHS, were already there when we arrived.

Friends and Family Day is coming right up on Saturday, June 19. Come and visit with your friends and family under the tent. The Gilead Fire Department will be selling lunch at the Fire Station, and the GHS will have desserts available in the Town Hall. There will be historic displays at the Hall and the school will be open. There has not been much work done on the building. It is still in the cleaning-out stage. The GHS will be selling squares for a memory quilt. At 1 p.m., Dean Bennett will talk about his recently published book, “Nature and Renewal, Wild River Valley & Beyond.”

Got any news? Call 836-2987 or e-mail chapmal@hotmail.com.