Locke's Mills
We will all get to vote on the use of fireworks in Greenwood. The
Selectmen have set the date for a special town meeting for this
purpose. They propose to ban fireworks (and their sale) except on
certain specified holidays. October 30, 6 p.m., at the Greenwood Town
Office on Bird Hill Rd. is it. Mark your calendars to cast your vote
on that date.
Voting on Johnny's Bridge repairs and the purchase of a fire truck
have been moved to the annual town meeting agenda.
The Greenwood Highway Department is adding a second winter sand shed
in front of the town garage along the Greenwood Rd. This is in
addition to the one in town and behind the post office. Town Manager
Kim Sparks said this new shed will make it more convenient for
Greenwood City residents to get their sand.
Suzanne and Brian Dunham have opened Velvet Hollow Sugar Works at
their farm off Rowe Hill Road. A few weeks ago they received a state
license for a commercial kitchen. They will use the kitchen for
bottling their maple syrup, for their honey extraction and bottling as
well as other future products.
They are bringing Dunham Farm back to being a working farm. In
addition to producing maple, honey, and gluten-free products, they've
planted the vegetable gardens and raspberry bushes once again.
It has been about 30 years since Brian did any maple sugaring at the
farm. One day he went for a long walk and started really seeing the
number of maple trees they have. As a result they built the sugar
house two years ago. Included in the building is the kitchen that is
completely closed off from the maple side. The kitchen produces
gluten-free products.
Suzanne already has a line of gluten-free packaged mixes and a menu
of baked goods sold through area stores and restaurants. Her mixes can
be found at Fare Share in Norway and PieTree Orchard in Sweden.
She will be giving a presentation on Living Gluten Free October 19 at
Fare Share Commons, Norway, 5:30 to 7:30. This will focus on cross
contamination and hidden sources. All are welcome.
A number of folks, myself included, have been raving about the new
book by Monica Wood, When We Were the Kennedys. Despite the title, it
is not about the Kennedys. It is a non-fiction book about growing up
in Mexico, Maine in the 1950s-'60s and focuses on the culture of a
mill town and what was then known as Oxford Paper Company in Rumford.
Excellent read with a lot of familiar names and places. It is
available at the Bethel Library as well as online for Kindle readers.
It appears opossum are headed to Greenwood. I recently saw the
carcass of one on the Greenwood Rd. just as I crossed the Norway town
line. The Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginianas) has been moving
into southern Maine for several years, but this was the first time
I've seen or heard of these creatures being this far north. They have
a naked nose and tail, and these are subject to freezing in the cold
temperatures of January. That puts somewhat of a limit on the
northern edge of their range.
The opossum is a pouched mammal like the kangaroo. It is North
America's only representative of the order Marsupialia so called
because of the external abdominal pouch called the marsupium within
which the young develop. They are ancient animals with fossil remains
known from 70 million years ago. If they spend many winters in
Greenwood and farther north, they may have their tails frozen right
off!
Butch Fuller and his merry band of musicians will be performing
October 21 at 2 p.m. at the Greenwood Town Hall on Main St. This will
benefit the Greenwood Historical Society so bring some bucks to throw
in the donation basket. You might also want to bring a cushion to
make those wood chairs a bit more comfy.
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