The Little Village of Woodland

This is where I live. Let's go north into "town."

Here it is - Woodland, Washington County, now called Baileyville.

Some familiar scenes for those of us who live here- or used to live here. This is the headquarters for whichever company operates the pulp facility.

This is where many get or keep their money- the local credit union.

Many a baseball/softball game has occurred at the Spednic Club Field.

And many an occasion has been held here- like my parent's 45th anniversary celebration. It's the only game in town for big events if you want to include alcohol. It's a private club, but not too elite!

The top street of the Woodland Heights. When I was a kid these home were built. All are of a similar pattern like my parents' home - ranch. Must have made an impression on me. I have a ranch too.

The Woodland Baptist Church is across the street.

My own class moved into this building when I was in fifth grade. Thousands of kids have passed through this elementary school. Too bad this area has no jobs and they have all moved away.

Soccer season has just ended and the only players on the Spednic Club field are the Canadian Geese.

Round the curve on Washington Street - familiar territory to Woodlandites.

Split level in Woodland used to be a gathering place for family visits.

Just down a street and around the corner, across the street. A family with little kids lives in this home on the left. There are not too many kids in the heighborhood.

The end of Summit Street.

The Episcopal Church in town, which hasn't been used in years. My daughter was baptised here.

A gate to the pulp facility near what was Jason's Pizza, which closed last May.

The town office and the health facility on Broadway.

Main Street looking north.

Main Street looking south. My grandmother used to own "the Block", which was an apartment/boarding house.

The Dragon Dome, home of endless basketball games.

Maine entrance of Woodland Jr/Sr High School. Last year the girls' basketball team won the state title . Last year the boys' basketball team won the state title. Last year the girls won the state softball title. They made us proud and we do have an academic program, by the way!

Across the street .......

are the soccer and baseball fields.

Just pass the Y on the right, here's Main Street.

Make a choice- right, Main Street or left, toward Princeton.

Here we have all former: restaurant, child care business, laundromat, etc...... For Sale

Our shopping mall - with two spaces available for business.

He's Getting Better! Will he Cook Again?

Lately, I have been doing a little more cooking. Chicken pot pie, blueberry/raspberry pie, bruschetta and some more things. Dick has been battling a gall bladder and he won the war, but it's been painful. So, we ate out a bit too. This is the first time I tried making my own bruschetta and it was nice. It was more flavorful the second day as the jalapeno had time with the cilantro (both from my garden) to make their presence known. With a little mozzarella on bagel chips, it was a great snack.

Keely's Friend was Married

Keely's all-time best friend was married on August 28, so Keely and Dale were home that weekend. They were very busy with all the wedding business. I was very happy that her friend Tiffany asked her to be part of it, even though the girls have been doing different things for four years. They were best buds in junior and senior high school, but always visited when they could. Tiffany and her family made the arrangements for the wedding and reception in a short time and they did a great job getting it all done. They missed none of the little details for a nice ceremony and did all the traditional stuff at the reception. She had really wanted to have it outside and as it happened, the day could not have been nicer.Tiffany was beautiful, Warren (the groom) was handsome and it was special with all of their families there. Her flowers, cake and decorations were perfect and it was a fun time. A very nice day to remember.







This is Keely's last year at Orono. She has an internship this semester managing the horse barn, which is a big senior project. Imagine- my baby graduating from UMO.

Six Week Shutdown and Drain Troubles

This town is supported by a pulp mill. On May 5 it closed, and the general public did not know how long it would be idle. The governor came and the news covered the event. When a mill shuts down, it affects wood cutters, truckers, filling stations and restaurants. This was a major source of revenue for the whole of the county. One of our restaurants closed and the owners moved their operation to a town near Bangor. Some workers left and went to work elsewhere, if they could find a job. Most collected unemployment and hoped for the best. When I took this picture, I thought it would be fall before smoke came out of the stack again. Some people in town had hard feelings towards those who remained employed and that made others uncomfortable in some situations I am sure. Water bills had to double because the fixed costs of the water utility have to be paid by users that are left. Workers didn't know what they would do about insurance if it closed for good. This situation lasted six weeks. It reopened last week, to everyone's surprise. Turns out that the pulp customers were not happy with South American Eucalyptus pulp. It affected the quality of their finished product. That's good news for the United States, Maine and this mill in particular. Workers were happy to go back to work and having it running is very good news for the town.
Last month our house had sewer troubles. The original drain from the house to the road was clogged with dirt from a section that broke at a T-connection. We hired a backhoe and a plumber, but Dick was the one in the hole. I didn't have to watch the worst of it because I was at school, but when I came home the hole was so deep I had to get close to the edge to see him. The water line was broken by the backhoe while digging for the sewer line, so water had to be pumped out, both lines fixed and the job was supposed to be done. It wasn't pretty. The line was covered with some new gravel on top, but Dick didn't want to cover it completely until it settled. It was pretty soupy from all the water, so we waited. Then it rained. A few days later Dick decided he wanted to re-dig the line, put lots of gravel around it for security and not worry about it. Good thing he decided this, because it had sunk and twisted. He repaired it again and carefully put the gravel in the way it should be done. Was our problem over? NO. The next week it plugged again on the other side of the driveway, where the line connects to another and runs to the main sewer drain. It was blocked by rocks that had washed in when the pipe broke before. So I left for work and Dick handled it again. Three weeks of that sh_ _ is too much for anybody.

Gardening and Traveling

Yes, I have been busy. I finished the school year, took a small trip, finished a Master Gardener class and took a longer trip to Minnesota. The class and longer trip are worth some attention. The gardening class I have wanted to do for years. It is offered through the University of Maine Cooperative Extension service. It is six days of classes spread out through six weeks and 40 hours of community service gardening. The class was offered in a time slot that my school graciously allowed me some flexible time to complete, so it was the right year for me to get it done. I enjoyed every minute of it. The text is a huge book, but we did not have to do all of it, since the class focused this session on vegetables and fruits, which I need to have more knowledge of anyway. All of the text is valuable information about gardening in this area and the part the class didn't cover is about lawns and flowers. I have years of gardening behind me, but much of it has to do with ornamentals, so I can skim through the parts of the book the class didn't cover. From this class, now I have a network of people to work with and resources to answer questions.Here we are planting a small garden in front the office. Another thing most of the members of the class signed on to do is Plant a Row for the Hungry. This program for gardeners provides for their extra produce to be donated to the local food pantries. That might be a lost cause this year with all the rain, many gardens are flooded. The block of wood on the post is drilled with several holes for bees. That was something new for me. This garden is being tended by other members of the class. My project for the volunteer part is in Calais and Woodland. I'll work at the park and at the public library.
We have had so much rain the ditch in front of our house overflowed. It came down so fast the rain flowed over the sidewalk. This happened in two spots, since we have more than two driveway openings. Dick will talk to the employees at the state garage next week since they will be the ones who have to unclog the ditch. A couple weeks ago I went to visit a niece who is a new mom. She has a sweet little boy! My sister and I went to visit her in Minnesota. We had the most beautiful weather for the visit, so we took lots of walks, usually with her Boston Terrier. She likes to play ball, but we forgot it, so had to improvise. We attended an outdoor concert and two outdoor picnics, with no bugs! That light in the background is the sun, for all who have forgotten what it looks like. I was privileged to hold the precious bundle! It's amazing to think our own were once that small. Another terrific part of the trip was meeting this great kid dribbling the soccer ball. He is smart, fun and very special. He is pretty good at soccer too. I hope I see him again at family gatherings.

More Shade Stuff and Happy Birthday Dad

Dick helped me expand a shade garden in the front yard last weekend. I planted more hosta, astilbe, and lily-of-the-valley. I don't know if everything will come up because I bought cheap stuff at Wallyworld. When we went to spread the mulch Dick brought over a huge chunk of it still frozen in the tractor. I just had to wait for the chunk (below) to melt on the weed cover. Shows that stuff really holds the water and temperature. Now I wait to see what happens.


It was my Dad's 83rd birthday last Friday and he wanted to go out to dinner, so Mom, Dad, Dick and I all celebrated his birthday. It was a nice evening and a very good meal. Dick reminded him that his and Mom's birthday present came early this year. He and Mom attended a Wayne Newton concert in March, near Mom's birthday. Dad talked about that for two weeks and it broke the end-of-winter boredom. Most of his kids called within a day or so of his birthday, so he was happy.In the last couple of weeks, he has been recognized for his many years on the Baileyville School Committee, and was given a plaque. Then last week he was a guest at the St. Croix Regional Technical Center recognition dinner. The directors there also gave him a plaque, a hat and a huge cake in appreciation of his support of vocational-technical education as a member of the regional committee, which was through his membership on the school board. The automotive, truck driving, welding and building trades at that school never had a better friend, and all the programs (including the others like CNA, day care, food service and more) all have certification tests at the end of the year, so these kids go right to jobs after school. Keely has a friend working her way through college on the money she earns as a CNA. It's a good program for this area.

Long Awaited Day of Graduation

Saturday was Dale's graduation day from University of Maine. His dad arrived the day before, so Keely and Dale showed him around the campus and went to the bookstore, so he could buy some UMO items for his family near Detroit. Dale's Mom, his sister and grandparents, and my Mom and Dad all had seats near Dale at commencement. The Browns, Greenes and Gaytons were mostly to the left of the back of the stage and it was a pretty good spot to watch him come up to get the BIG DIPLOMA!

We were all ready to go celebrate after and Dale picked the buffet at the Hollywood Slots Casino. The staff gave us a separate room, so we felt free to take our time and have fun.



Everyone made several trips to the buffet, then we watched Dale open his cards. I enjoyed it and I hope Dale's family did too.
Dale has worked long and hard to get to this point. Now he's beginning a whole new challenge in Portsmouth Navel Shipyard. He had to be at work at seven this morning and his first week will be mostly training, so he hasn't met the people he will be working with yet. Good Luck Dale!