ASHLAND NEWS
by Susan Feeney-Hopkins
The Portage Lake Historical Society will celebrate its fourth annual meeting Saturday, June 21 at 5 p.m. with an old-fashioned community bean-hole bean and baked ham dinner to be held at the Portage Lake Town Hall.
Donations will be accepted, and membership forms will be available to anyone wishing to become a member of this wonderful organization.
The theme will be “Buried Jewels.” Refer to the poem in the “Portage Lake Hearsay and History” book. World Acadian Congress sister communities of Packington, Quebec, Baker Lake, New Brunswick and Saint-Jean-de-la-Lande, Quebec will be the dinner guests completing the goal of all World Acadian Congress participating communities having visited one another.
A project, a hooked rug relating the story of “The Magic Rug of Grand-Pre” will be unveiled to those in attendance, and Portage Lake will complete a special part of it. The rug will then be finished at midnight mass in Packington Aug. 16-17.
Contact Corrine Routhier for more information at 435-6854 or via email at arouthier@roadrunner.com.
Parish picnic
The Parish of the Precious Blood’s annual picnic will take place Sunday, June 22 at St. Mark’s Church on 13 Allen Farm Road in Ashland.
The annual picnic is held to invite parishioners from all 10 churches of The Parish of the Precious Blood so they can eat together as one family and enjoy an afternoon talking and sharing one another’s hope and faith.
Attendees are invited to bring non-perishable food for our local pantries. Besides great food, music will be provided and various information from the different churches will be shared. The picnic is open to everyone, not just the parishioners.
A piece of history for sale
A complete set of stairs from the old Ashland Community High School is for sale! The beautiful hardwood staircase is made in two separate pieces (making for easy moving), has six risers and measures 33-inches wide by 43-inches high.
The best offer will be accepted.
Send bids in writing to: Town of Portage Lake, P.O. Box 255, Portage Lake, Maine 04768 or email townofportage.manager@gmail.com.
Ashland Class of 1994 to hold benefit walk, reunion events
The Ashland Community High School Class of 1994 will be celebrating their 20th class reunion July 5. They have several events planned throughout the day to gather classmates together for fun and celebration.
One of the special events taking place is a benefit walk in honor of their classmates, Deanne Rafford and Nikki Beaulieu. Proceeds from the walk will be split between the American Cancer Society and the T.A.Y.L.O.R. Foundation, which promotes safe teen driving. Registration is $5 per person and begins at 7 a.m. The walk will start at 7:30 a.m. Try to raise more money to bring with you! Event coordinators would like to have as many members as possible from the Class of ‘94 to participate. The more the merrier! The walk starts at the school and will go around the block at least once. Help is also needed with registration.
Following the benefit walk at 10 a.m., the class will participate in the Summerfest Parade. Line-up will begin at 9:15 a.m. at the new school. Please wear black and orange for school spirit! The class will be selling blow-pops in memory of Deanne and Nikki.
Later that afternoon, from 1-4 p.m. will be “party time!” The reunion will be held at the Portage Lake Municipal Building at 20 School St. in Portage Lake. The event will be a casual barbecue complete with burgers and Maine red hot dogs. BYOB. There is a playground and recreation area for those who wish to bring their family along. RSVP to Corrine Routhier at 227-0819 or arouthier@roadrunner.com or Jen Curran at 227-0045. Both can also be contacted on Facebook on the Ashland Community High School Class of 1994 page.
Ashland Summerfest Model Car Race
The Masonic Association of Ashland is once again sponsoring its annual Model Car Race during the 2014 Ashland Summerfest celebration. It is open to participants of all ages and will take place Thursday, July 3 at the Ashland Recreation Center.
The race features the BSA Pinewood Derby car kits racing down a 32-foot wooden track. Registration is $15 per entry, which includes the car kit to be made into your car. Cub Scouts may register for $10 using their 2014 Pinewood Derby car.
Cash prizes of $50, $25 and $15 will be awarded to winners of this double-elimination race. A gift certificate for a 2-item pizza will be awarded the Best in Show car as judged by the public.
Car kits, race rules and registration forms are now available — with a payment of $15 — from Chris Bessey (435-2023) and Dave Basley (435-3601). This has been a fun and exciting event to kick off the Ashland Summerfest celebration for racers and spectators alike.
Susan Feeney-Hopkins is the correspondent for Ashland, Portage Lake, Oxbow, Masardis, Garfield, Nashville Plantation and the surrounding areas. She can be reached at 227-7760 or Feenhop@aol.com.
