Club pleased with busy weekend
MAPLETON NEWS
by Jennifer Buzza
The final weekend in June was a terrific one in Mapleton and Chapman for everyone, especially the Mapleton Lions Club.
Lions Club members were pleased to sponsor or support many activities over the weekend.
Starting on Wednesday, June 24, the club cooked and served more than 120 Chapman residents during their town’s centennial picnic dinner. On Thursday evening, June 25, the Mapleton Lions Club hall was open for the annual start of the Mapleton Daze festival with the Woodie Waddell Memorial Cribbage Tournament and Beano games.
On Friday, June 26, a difficult decision had to be made because of the pending weather forecast — should the club continue the plan to hold the chicken barbecue at the Mapleton Elementary School or relocate to Mapleton Lions Hall?
“Staying at the school parking lot gave everyone plenty of space to park, eat and move around to talk with friends,” said King Lion Frank Richards. “Moving to hall would present the challenges of poor parking, crowded and hot space in the hall. There is almost no way to win.”
The decision to relocate proved to be the right one as a large soaking cloudburst occurred in the middle of the barbecue. Most everyone was inside having dinner and talking with friends and neighbors. That night the club served more than 400 individuals its delicious chicken barbecue prepared under the direction of the club’s expert chefs, Richards and fellow Lion Bob McBay. The club sold all its chicken dinners and all the hamburgers and hot dogs it had on hand.
The Mapleton United Methodist Women and Mapleton United Baptist Youth Group had excellent sales as well. The Lions Club wishes to thank everyone who came and supported all their causes.
On Saturday, June 27, club members were involved in the Mapleton Daze parade and activities after the parade. At the same time, club members were at the Maple Meadow Farm Festival cooking their world famous sausage sandwiches and fried dough. More than 200 people bought sandwiches, french fries and fried dough at the Mapleton Lions Club’s food stand.
The following morning, Mapleton Lions participated in the Jerry Dow-Merlyn Buck Memorial Scholarship Walk. After the walk, the club members were back at Maple Meadow Farm cooking and serving sandwiches to festival-goers. Unfortunately, the cool and rain threatening weather kept many people away from the festival on Sunday, but those attending had lots of fun and good eats.
Overall the weekend was a long one for the Mapleton Lions Club members, who were pleased to see the happiness and joy friends and neighbors had at all the weekend’s events.
The club members look forward to the final two events of the summer. The Mapleton Lions Club will cook and serve at the Mapleton Recreation Department’s annual summer awards picnic and then summer will end with club hosting the Crown of Maine Balloon Fest in Presque Isle Aug. 27-30.
Birthdays and anniversaries
Happy birthday wishes this week go out to Olivia Edgecomb, Edward Christie, Angela Rider, Shae Michaud, Wendy Copeland, Renee Guerrette, Alan Wilcox, Robert Greenier, Morgan McGary, Able Madore, Parker Sawyer, Reno Boucher, Jr. and Charles Copeland.
Happy anniversary wishes go to Brent and Duska Boyles on July 18 and Neil and Michelle Ewing, Shawn and Christi Doyen and Zack and Julie Powers on July 19.
Jennifer Buzza is the correspondent for Mapleton, Chapman and Castle Hill and can be reached at 760-9115 or at jbuzza@ainop.com.
