Community Tree Lighting this Friday
MARS HILL NEWS
by Tomi Henderson
There will be a Community Tree Lighting on Friday, Nov. 30, in the park by the fire station. Santa will arrive by horse and wagon at 5:30 p.m., followed by a Stick Drama by the Full Gospel Assembly at 5:45 p.m.
The tree lighting will take place at 6 p.m., with community caroling led by Fireman Fred to follow. The Mars Hill queens will join Fred for a song. Please bring your camera, Santa will be available for pictures with your child.
Children will then travel by limo with Santa to the Community Center where the All-Stars will be dancing, cheering, tumbling and singing beginning at 6:30 p.m. This will be followed at 7 p.m. by Family Movie Night at the Rec. The movie “Polar Express” will be played and cookies and cocoa will be served.
All events are free. For more information, call Jamie at 227-7194.
There will be a pinata raffle to benefit the Mars Hill/Blaine Scholarship Fund and the Northern Lighthouse Christmas Drive.
Photos courtesy of Tomi Henderson
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| Jude Nelson worked hard making ornaments on Ornament Day at the Mars Hill and Blaine Community Center. There were hundreds of ornaments made — some will be sent to soldiers overseas to enhance their holiday away from home, some will be used on the Christmas Tree that will be decorated in the park by the fire station and some were taken home by the kids to use on their own family trees. |
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| Telling fortunes at the Trick or Treat activities on Halloween in Mars Hill are Vicki Durost and Vicki Jackson from the AHC Activities Department. |
Special concert Saturday
There will be a special concert at the United Baptist Church in Mars Hill on Saturday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m. All music will be led and provided by the singing groups from New Brunswick Bible Institute in Hartland, N.B. A love offering will be taken in gratitude for the ministry of the NBBI students at the service.
This will be a great evening of music, so make plans now to attend. All are welcome.
Rotary Club
The Mars Hill Rotary Club met Tuesday morning, Nov. 20, at 6:30 a.m. at the Aroostook Health Center. The special speaker was Emily Smith of Smith Farms, Inc. Established in 1859, Smith Farms is currently owned and operated by fifth generation cousins Greg and Lance Smith and sixth generation cousins Emily and Zack Smith.
They currently plant 7,000 acres in northern Maine: 4,000 in broccoli and 3,000 in various rotation crops. Broccoli harvesting in Maine takes place from July through November, with 25 full-time employees and around 250 seasonal workers. They bring in migrant workers from California for the bulk of the harvesting season, with many of the same workers coming year after year.
They also plant between 850-900 acres of broccoli in northern Florida in the winter, with some of the migrant workers going to Florida to work for Smith Group LLC there.
Planting is done by mechanical means and, with GPS units, that almost means that the tractor driver is just along for the ride! However, when it comes to harvesting the crop, it is all done by hand.
Smith Farms ships its broccoli to almost every major chain store in the country and is very conscious of food safety, following the guidelines set out by the Global Food Safety Initiative.
Raffle tickets available
The Bridgewater Historical Association still has raffle tickets for their “Dance for the Dogs” project. Glenni, a canine Maine state trooper, will be this year’s beneficiary of the project. Though his down time is spent with his partner, Chad Fuller and his family, there are times when Glenni needs his own space. Therefore BHA members are raising money to purchase a covered pen so he will have that space. Should Glenni no longer need the pen in the future, the pen will be passed to another canine state trooper.
The first prize in the raffle is a handmade quilt made by Shirley Drew, second prize is a woodcarving by Dee and Phyllis Cote, and the third prize is a food basket. Tickets are $1 each or six for $5. Please contact the BHA to purchase tickets.
The winning tickets will be drawn on Dec. 8 at the BHA’s Christmas Party at Bonanza. We thank everyone for their support on this project. To purchase tickets, contact Bridgewater Historical Association, PO Box 341, Bridgewater, ME 04735 or call Jann Votaw, BHA president, at 425-7901.
Aroostook Health Center
Upcoming events for the week of Nov. 28 through Dec. 4 include: Wednesday will have the Beauty Parlor at 8:30 a.m., Shopping at the Mall at 9 a.m. and Karaoke with Fireman Fred at 1:30 p.m. Thursday will feature the Beauty Parlor at 8:30 a.m., Bingo at 9:30 a.m., Horse Racing at 1:30 p.m. and United Methodist at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 30, will feature Moving To Music at 9:30 a.m. and Lunch at Gram Russo’s at 11 a.m. Saturday will feature Christmas Tree Reminiscing and Decorating at 1:30 p.m. Sunday will feature Sunday Services with Jonathan at 1:30 p.m. Monday will include Coffee Chat and Christmas Reminiscing at 9:30 a.m., Catholic Mass at 1:30 p.m., Piano Music with Judie at 2:15 p.m. and Gospel Group at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 4, will have the Beauty Parlor at 8:30 a.m., Bingo at 9:30 a.m. and Card Games at 1:30 p.m. All of these activities are subject to change. If you would like to volunteer to help with any of these activities, call Connie or Vicki at 768-4915.
Food pantry special hours
Please note that there will be a change during December. The dates will be Dec. 11 from 1-3 p.m. and Dec. 18 from 6-8 p.m.
In January, the cupboard will resume its regular dates of being open the second Tuesday of each month from 1-3 p.m. and the fourth Tuesday of each month from 6-8 p.m. at the Mars Hill and Blaine Community. The food pantry serves the communities of Westfield, Mars Hill, Blaine, Robinson, E-Plantation and Bridgewater. If you have questions, call Rena Kearney at 429-9041.
Tomi Henderson is the correspondent for Mars Hill, Blaine, Bridgewater and Westfield. She can be reached at 429-9126 or e-mail tomihen@yahoo.com.
