Bethel(Nancy)

Sylvia Harrington called the Citizen last week to report that someone had placed dozens of potted mums outside the apartments at the Bethel House and Sudbury Village. The brilliant yellow, purple, and bronze flowers were the gift of Sally Sawyer and Leslie Kavanagh, the owners of Mountain Greenery. Thank you for brightening the town’s landscape.

A sure sign of late fall is the familiar sight of milkweed fluff floating through the air. Did you know that during World War II people in this area collected milkweed fluff (also called floss) and sent it to the military for use in life vests? The fluff was also used to line the jackets and outerwear of aircraft pilots and crew members. It is six times more buoyant than cork. The common milkweed has been used as food, medicine, and fiber for hundreds of years. Common uses included using milkweed to make rope and as a filling for pillows and mattresses. Today milkweed is used in gardens and meadows to attract butterflies. Milkweed is the sole host plant for Monarch butterflies: their eggs are laid on it, larvae feed on it, and they mature in their chrysalis on the plant.

On Thursday, Nov. 7, the Bethel Historical Society will host Don Perkins, author of the recently-published book, “The Barns of Maine: Our History, Our Stories.” Perkins will discuss the history of Maine's barns. Copies of his book will be available for purchase and signing following the program. The event will be at the Moses Mason House exhibit hall at 1 p.m. The program is free and open to the public.

Gas prices have fallen slightly over the past few weeks. On Sunday, when I got gas, it was $3.699 for a gallon of regular unleaded at the CITGO station on Railroad Street in Bethel. Did you know that Maine’s average price, which was $3.685 on Sunday, is consistently higher than the national average, which was $3.57 the same day?

If you have news you’d like to share, call me at 824-2483 or e-mail nancybrown1150@yahoo.com.