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TENANTS HARBOR — Despite a spring-full of waterline digging and this summer’s construction work on the town office and fire department building, the annual St. George Days are a definite go this weekend.
The days will begin Saturday with the traditional book sale from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the front lawn of Jackson Memorial Library, Main Street. In addition to tomes galore, there will be a “jumbles” table and raffle. Tickets are $1 or six for $5 for the raffle, which includes original watercolors by Charles DuBack and Nat Lewis and a signed, framed Greg Mort poster; T-shirts and totebags; gift baskets and many other items. Winners will be drawn the end of the day.
Across the street from the library, the St. George School PTA will hold a big lawn sale. A flea market will run from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Odd Fellows Hall. Preview for the annual auction will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the hall as well, after which William Hickey will begin wielding the gavel. Lobster dinners will be served from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the town office/firehouse parking lot on School Street. For $11, diners may enjoy one lobster, mussels, corn, chips, coleslaw, a roll and butter and a beverage. Hamburgers, hot dogs and homemade pies also will be served. Food sales and raffles will benefit St. George Fire Department and Ambulance Association.
The finale of St. George Days is the annual Oldtimers Baseball Game, 1 p.m. Sunday at the Alfred Leppanen ballfield, Route 131. Then all eyes turn to next year’s celebration, which promises to be a big one as it coincides with the town’s bicentennial.
Union Founder’s Day adds the Moxie
UNION — The annual Union Founder’s Day weekend will get an earlier-than-usual start this year. Activities will run Thursday through Sunday.
Union High School alumni and friends are invited to gather Thursday evening at Thompson Community Center, Route 131 South. The Yellow School Museum will open 4 p.m., followed by a social hour at 5 p.m. and a buffet supper, 6 p.m. Anyone who has lived or gone to school in Union or is interested in spending time with interesting local folks is invited to attend; call 785-4127 for reservations.
Hal Rohn’s Swing Combo will provide the tunes for an evening of ballroom dancing, listening and conviviality Friday. The “makes you wanna dance” combo will play from 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. at Thompson Community Center.
Rohn has played in the country clubs of Long Island and the hotels of New York City. He worked steadily through the final years of the big band era and got his experience first hand by the way of playing with Buddy Morrow, Ray McKinley and Sammy Kaye. Rohn’s dance combo will be playing music to remember from the ‘30s through the ‘50s. The center’s snack bar will be open; see the Calendar on C2 for more details.
Founder’s Day will officially begin with a hearty start Saturday with a pancake breakfast served from 7 to 9 a.m. at the Old Town House, Route 235. Most of the day’s activities will take place on the Common and at Thompson Community Center, and there will be a shuttle between the two locations.
At 9 a.m., Roland Watier will tell stories until the start of the parade in the Robbins House/Vose Library on the Common. The library will have baked goods for sale and Come Spring School will accept donations for its food bank.
At 9:30 a.m., the community will gather for the traditional dedication ceremony at the bandstand. Approximately 10:30 a.m., the Steppin’ Out Cloggers will perform.
At 11 a.m., the old-fashioned community parade will march from the fire station to the Common. People’s United Methodist Church will open its ice cream stand until 3 p.m.
Shortly after the parade concludes, Midcoast Community Band will strike up patriotic tunes. Also, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. will be the Union Masonic Lodge’s chicken barbecue on the Common; and crafter, quilter and Davistown Museum displays on the Common and at Thompson Community Center.
Speaking of Thompson, the parade will feature artifacts relating to Moxie, the “nerve tonic” developed in 1876 by Union native Augustin Thompson. Originally conceived as a digestive aid, the distinctive tasting beverage was a soda fountain hit in the first half of the 20th century, thanks in part to innovative advertising.
Two of the Moxie Era’s most imaginative gimmicks will be part of Saturday’s parade. The first, a replica Moxie Horsemobile mounted on a 1932 Rolls-Royce, is the creation of Will Markey of Dallastown, Pa. The vehicle is operated by a rider who sits on a model horse and steers by means of a wheel protruding from the horse’s back. These bizarre Horse-mobiles were mounted on every vehicle imaginable, including a motorcycle and sidecar.
The second parade feature will be a 15-foot replica of a Moxie bottle stand, built by Merrill Lewis of Manchester, N.H. The replica is a miniature of the famous Moxie Bottel House, currently being stored in Bristol while awaiting restoration and a suitable site at the Mathews Museum of Maine Heritage on the Union fairgrounds. There also will be Moxie memorabilia on display all day at the community center.
At noon, the Union Historical Society will begin serving its popular strawberry shortcake on the Common. The society’s Robbins House will be open all day and copies of a paperback edition of Chester Nash’s “200 Years in Union” and Ben Ames Williams historical novel “Come Spring” will be sold. On the ballfield behind the town office, visitors may inspect a Medivac helicopter.
A recent annual feature of Union Founder’s Day is the hot dog-eating contest, set for 1:30 p.m. on the Common. At 2 p.m., Bev Reilly will host a pet show, with registration at the camper. Also at 2 p.m., the historical society’s annual “Come Spring” Heritage Trail bus tour, narrate by A. Carman Clark, will depart. The popular tour often sells out; leave a message at 785-5444 for reservations.
Saturday’s events will conclude at Thompson Community Center. There will be a bean supper from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., followed by a 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. contra dance.
The dance is sponsored by the Land Association of Washington, a nonprofit association dedicated to the preservation of the Town of Washington’s farms and forests. Local band Mouse in the Cupboard will provide the tunes and caller Kathryn Larson will guide beginners and contra vets alike through the evening. There will be refreshments, auction of an American Flag afghan, a 50/50 drawing and bake sale.
Union Founder’s Day weekend will conclude Sunday with an open air service led by UMC minister Michelle Grube, 10:30 a.m. on the Common.