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If digital highways were real highways 73% of Mainers would be living on dirt roads where the speed limit is 10 miles per hour. It would take 2 hours and 40 minutes to get to Norway, Maine and back. People would demand our state and federal government help us be competitive with countries like Japan that have publicly funded broadband everywhere. Finally, we are addressing the problem of rural internet service with a 160 million dollar federal grant earmarked to get every Mainer the service they deserve. Another big problem is the economic digital divide. See video below for more information about grant money you may qualify for to buy computers, take courses and get access to better internet. Thank you, Tom Clay for your selfless service to get us ALL connected. Email Tom with questions or if you want to help in this important cause. thomas.clay8484@gmail.com.

This masterpiece photo taken recently in Lubec , Maine by my friend Ralph Fletcher seems to sum up the feeling well. A starry summer night in Maine is a glance at eternity.

Prints of Ralph’s amazing photos available at fletcher17@earthlink.net

Better late than never? Last Saturday was the Celebrate Life Music Festival at the Waterford World’s Fair Grounds. Charlene Flynn took this great video of one of the performances by Cosmic Creation Dancers.

At least 70 people got out of their jammies, got dressed and trotted over to the Lions Club to support the Lewis Dana Hill Library. They devoured their breakfasts and a good time was had by all. How grateful we are to these kind souls who work to bring us the latest books to read, DVDS to watch and help preserve our regions history— and they don’t cook a bad breakfast either. Kurt Vonnegut once said that when we read we meditate with other minds. Reading is a superpower and the people who work at Lewis Dana Library are indeed, super people. Can you see it in their smiles?

Stoneham Rescue hosted a wonderful morning raffle and bouncy room party complete with popcorn and good cheer. There were many winners , but Stoneham residents are the real winner, to have these dedicated neighbors show up at our doorsteps when we need them most. Thank you. We are grateful.🌈🌈🌈🚐

Ciaran O’Conboirne drew a picture of the Celtic Tree of Life and it ended up on the shoulders of his wife and 2 children. A family tattoo that tells us where we came from. For more about Ciaran’s amazing art scroll down the page or visit. www.celticclays.com

Arch Owen poses by the new speed limit sign for Ban Grover Road. There is a new Sherrif in town.

This month Andrea uncovers the mystery of the Hiawatha Building with town historian Danny Barker.

Below find out more information about where Hiawatha and Minnehaha came from. Read the Longfellow poem, the Song of Hiawatha if you have some time on your hands. If not just read the last verse where the name Keewaydin is mentioned for the first time.

83 year old David Fifield goes tubing for the first time with his grandson Landen Levesque. Daughter Cathy says he always wanted to do it but didn’t think he could do it. Cathy drove the boat and enjoyed every minute of it!

Announcing the KC virtual pet talent show. Upload a 30 to 60 second clip of your pet to the link below and I will add music to it and publish in the Chronicle.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-0JXH2cMf1QYsuntwGTIZG5mRWO2upq0

Write a short description from your pet’s point of view. See silent film star Reishi’s description below.

Hi my name is Reishi and I am an escape artist. The more the big dogs chase me the more I dazzle them with my speed and agility. They will never catch me but will have fun trying. Here my best friend Pemi gives it a try with help from his brother Baxter.

It’s not often that you see two sailboats on the lake at the same time. Here we see white sailboat named the Scottie 2 , cruising with full sail skippered by Tim Miller, then the Mayflower skippered by Deborah C. Owen and her husband Archie acting as ballast. Music: The Flower Duet by Leo Delibes.

MAINE CONNECTIVITY AUTHORITY POISED TO SPEND $150 MILLION ON BROADBAND EXPANSION

The Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA) announced recently that it had received approval from the U.S. Department of the Treasury for its application for American Rescue Plan Act funds. Under the plan, the Authority would spend $150 million in federal funds to expand high-speed internet across the State. This funding represents a tenfold increase over any past investment in Maine’s broadband infrastructure. The Connectivity Authority will now undertake an extensive public engagement process and will launch the first phase of funding opportunities in the fall of this year. MCA’s goals for the funding include reaching the last mile in Maine’s most rural locations, connecting communities ready to scale their broadband infrastructure, providing technical assistance to prepare communities for broadband expansion, ensuring affordable broadband options for everyone, and investing in partnerships to build a modern broadband infrastructure for Maine. Governor Mills has pledged to connect all Maine households to high-speed internet by the end of 2024.

Education Professor Emeritus Dr. Betsy Hiteshew describes the true meaning of education.

Tough Mountain Challenge has been the most popular and most fun adventure obstacle race in New England since 2010. Set in the mountains of Maine, Tough Mountain delivers mud, sweat, and beer to 3,600 competitors every year. The event was held on Saturday, July 23, 2022.

Sick of burgers and hotdogs over the grill? How about having a Pita—za party? Katie Curtis shows how all you need is a fire, a frypan, Foil or lid, and plenty of cheese and toppings. It tastes just like pizza with a nice smokey flavor.

photo by Cathy Fifield

Last month we talked about how the town of Stoneham changed its name to Usher in 1851 and changed it back to Stoneham in 1853. Why?

We asked town historian, Danny Barker and he told us about a mill owner named Ellis B. Usher petitioned the town to change it from Stoneham to Usher. Oddly enough, the names on the petition were all in the same handwriting from the same pen. Something is fishy in the town of Usher. In 1853 the town’s people created a new petition to change the name back to Stoneham. Democracy triumphed over the will of one rich guy. Read more about Ellis B. Usher in the link below.

Dear Barry:

This a beautiful photo of Faraway Farm, which was built by Elmer MacAllister for Joel and Hazel Hayden (Sam Guarnaccia ‘s grandparents) in 1929. Prior to that they lived in what came to be known as the Old Camp, now the home of Jim and Lucia Owen. After the Haydens built and moved up to Faraway Farm, my parents Kenneth and Ethel Miller
rented the Old Camp from the Haydens until 1936, when they purchased lakefront property at 75 Ban Grover Road from Joel and built Sunnycroft. (Sam knows the history of how Joel, Sr. acquired the lakefront property extending from Sunnycroft to beyond Striped Rock from Oliver and Clara Farrington.. The Old Camp was purchased from the Haydens by Matthew and Zdenka Spinka, dear friends of my parents of Czech heritage. Matthew was a prominent theologian,. He and Zdenka fell in love with the area after visiting my parents there in the 40’s or thereabouts. When the Spinkas retired to California, they sold the Old Camp to Jim’s father.

I’m trying to write a little history of the lane for posterity and the fun of it. I think Pastors Lane is a sweet name. There were three pastors, Joel Hayden, Kenneth Miller, and Jim’s father, that I know of. This will be part of it.

Hope to see you in September.

Betsy

Coming to Lake Keewaydin for 45 summers.

With the recent gypsy moth invasion we are reminded how fast an ecosystem can be altered for the worse. We need to be vigilant and proactive. Are you interested in preserving our beautiful lake and its creatures for generations to come? You may want to join FOLK :Friends of Lake Keewaydin. Contact Adam at adamfhelm@gmail.com for more information.

Waterford Farmers market

Mondays 2-5 in Waterford on the green.

The best lobsters in the area are found on the way to Bridgeton at Kimball’s Hardware. But you have to be there on Saturday or Sunday 12–5.

Ciaran, is staying at the Shea’s cabin. Unlike the British Harry, he is a real potter and makes traditional Celtic goods. See links below. He even speaks Celtic so if you see him say. Dia dhuit!

photo by Kim Desanctis

The word often forms

in spring rain,

it drenches, infuses

fertile soils of being.

It awakens seeds,

germinates possibility,

directs tendril roots of mind

toward endless connection;

it fertilizes capacity.

Its etymology

fixes in countless metaphor

where cult and culture erupt

from earths ruptured crust,

where human hearts till,

fold their entropic existence

into one common ground;

birth, death, renewal

rise in harvest moons of soul.

The word penetrates

substrates of vocabulary,

it forms inside mycelium

colonies of pre-existing letters,

its root fuses into words

that vibrate the earth,

reaching for light

spoken words become

protagonists for growth.

It’s the climatic fugitive,

running from drought to fire,

rain to flood, storm to storm,

it seeks the new Eden

in displaced fallowed fields

where greed has no root…

lands of balanced scales

where equilibrium exists

between imagination and reality.

The word is bound only

by social notions of time,

barriers, past and future

starve it from presence…

Cultivators know this,

they formulate remedies,

enter the soil of life

with flesh and bone,

fertilize each moment,

release bonded roots

from containers of time,

irrigate dreams sleeping

in the earth,

sow seeds trembling in

excitement for the new day,

as in every day,

each following the other

toward the light of the sun.

Paul Klippel

Ari’s son Chris has a best friend named Alex who bought and redid the Pizza place. Very good thin crust pizza at the same prices. Craft beers and a new market to come.