Upton

The tour of Forest Lodge and the Winter House was a success. I believe everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves in spite of the overly warm temperatures. It was the first visit for many of the participants, but some of them knew the area very well, and at least one of them knew Louise Dickinson Rich. We did have a slight glitch.

The person driving the pickup that had the food in it missed a turn or two and wandered around on some wrong roads until he backtracked a bit to get back to Route 16 and then came in via Fish Pond Road. He was familiar with that route, but not the Middle Dam Road route which is shorter. I think that the glitch was due to a combination of poor directions and a poor sense of direction. The truth is, I did give him somewhat incomplete directions and he did well to find the gate.

The lunch provided by the Ladies Aid lived up to their great standards and the desserts were too good. The Winter House, scrubbed and painted probably has never looked better. Thank you to everyone involved. With a special thanks to Aldro, Marie, J.P. and the Ladies of the Ladies Aid Association.

On July 4 William D. Stratton, Col. U.S. Army, and Mira Lasovic both of Sidney,Ohio, were married in the Upton Union Church. Pastor Jane Rich of the Andover Congregational Church officiated. There were readings by the groom's children, Charlie and Carolyn Stratton and Cristine Valenti. The witnesses were the groom's parents, Clyde and Barbara Stratton. After the wedding, a champagne reception was hosted by the groom's parents in the Upton Ladies Aid building. The newlyweds plan to reside in Sidney Ohio. Col. Stratton has recently returned from his third tour of duty in the Afghanistan region.

Bob and Laurie Brown had an uninvited, unwelcome visitor for a day and a night last week. A young bear discovered their trash box and made a huge mess. Laurie told the bear that Penny and I had much better trash,and apparently he heard and listened. Saturday night, he found our trash box and used the contents to redecorate our lawn. The box is about 30 feet from our door. Penny, Willie, the wonder-watchdog, and I slept through it all.

Call 533-2010 or e-mail backstjoe@gmail.com with your news.