01/01/08: This is a butfull day. Warm and springlike. There is no snow on the ground. Vesta and I went on a long walk down into the Big Woods this afternoon. And tonight went to a New Year dance at the Center.

01/02/08
Butfull weather. Today has been sharp and cold. Tonight the glass is down at the zero mark. Everybody at the Beach is out tonight skating. Ice perfect.

01/03/08
Another butfull day. Clear and cold. And that is what I have in my head is full of it. Took Quinine tonight.

01/04/08
Overcast. Snow and rain tonight. I went and got Sammy Kinney. Walter Richards came up for two weeks. Got a half pint minnows. Livebait. Going pickerel fishing tomorrow. Born to Lena Gray Jr. a girl.

01/05/08
Fair but bitter cold. Blowing a gail of wind. We did not go fishing. Did some nice Burned work today. A forest scean on a big fungus.

01/06/08
Fair and quite cold. Herb Thomas took Lindy to Prokes? And had him shod. Awfull icy in the woods.

And so, with these first entries in his new five-year diary, Ralph Richards, a 30-year-old Spanish American War veteran, bachelor, and rural mailman began what would be a life-long habit of recording his daily life. Ralph’s diary was introduced to Pilot readers last summer; a chance phone call on Saturday brought to mind Ralph’s diary and his opening entries.

“The skating’s perfect on Levensellar!” said my friend, who’d been out on the ice that morning. With a messy snow, sleet, and rainstorm predicted for Sunday, he was spreading the word that these perfect glassy conditions weren’t going to last, and people should get out and enjoy it.

Sadly, I think my skating days are over; I grew up skating the winters away and dearly love the feeling of cutting across the ice on those sharp blades. Today though, I’m not sure how well I’d survive the inevitable falls. By the way, I wondered where at the Beach “everybody is out … skating” that cold January night so long ago. Most likely it was the small pond at the end of Lively Lane, just north of the Beach.

But Ralph’s first few entries, detailing the wild swings in weather could be written in 2015, not 1908, from “warm, springlike” to “bitter cold”, “no snow”, “awfully icy”, etc. Not that I’m backing away from climate change, mind you, but it’s a good reminder that in Maine, especially near the coast, there’s no counting on the weather.

And like all Mainers, Ralph complained about the weather, caught cold and complained about that (man colds are apparently not a new phenomenon), and then got him some live bait and went out on the ice, fishing for pickerel. Read more of Ralph Richards’ diary here. 

At a recent family celebration, one of my daughter-in-laws, watching me carefully smooth out the discarded wrapping paper and wind up the ribbons, said calmly as if speaking to a guy with a bomb: “Diane, put that in the trash. There. Now step away from the wastebasket. No, don’t take it out…”

Of course, as soon as she turned her back, I’d snatched it out, later to add to my wrapping paper drawer. That girl’s got my number. More to the point, she’s figured out who’s going to have to shovel out this house after we’re gone.

Am I a hoarder? Evidently, hoarding is now a recognized psychological disorder.  I’m pretty sure I don’t qualify, but having just spent the better part of a month sorting and reorganizing rooms of stuff (and throwing out precious little), I think I’d better watch it. 

Among the things I unearthed the other day was a yellowed copy of The Courier Gazette, January 4, 1975. Not that I’d forgotten that I’d saved it, for the 1975 New Year’s Baby for Knox County was our second son, Ed. And so now that baby (cute little guy, wasn’t he?) has turned 40. We celebrated with his favorite: tacos, amid the relative chaos of his three little ones running around.

And that includes 5 year-old Andy, whose Mama, Tracee, recently posted on Facebook: Almost 2 years after Andy's medulloblastoma diagnosis, he is back to his "normal" self … and I think the family as a whole is as back to "normal" as it gets. … I decided today was the day to go through all the cards/mail that was sent to us while Andy was going through chemo, which I haven't been able to face because of fear that it would only make me tear up and remember him having cancer. .. I have a big tote that now holds all the things that people mailed to us, so that Andy and family will always know just how much support we received. Although I did tear up and was overwhelmed with emotions reading all that was sent to us, I was reminded of just how important all the support was …. Honestly, I do not think my family would still be intact if it wasn't for people being so supportive and always being willing to lend a listening ear. HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

Back in the day; i.e. 1975, the first baby born in Knox County got a big pile of gifts from “participating businesses” in the Midcoast. I remember gift certificates to get my hair done (from the photo, I needed it!), a couple of  dinners out for two (boy, were they welcome, though I can’t remember where), a brand new savings account for little Ed at a bank no longer in business, a gift certificate at the Children’s Specialty Shop which we redeemed for a new winter jacket for boy #1. Ed eventually grew into it, but is still bitter that his brother got first shot at it, and a birthday cake to be delivered on the New Year’s baby’s first birthday. Wally was home with the kids the day the cake came along with a Courier photographer; it was the end of Christmas break and let’s just say he was a bit scruffy.

A good friend, who also spends hours “digging out,” tells me she’s happy when she reaches the wood on her desk; I’ll settle for that.

The LCS School Committee meets Monday, January 5 at 6 p.m. in Room C-1 at the school. See the agenda here.

School Union 69 Joint School Committee meets Thursday, January 8 at 6 p.m. at the Hope Town Office. See the agenda here.

Sylvia Hise writes that the Lincolnville Girl Scouts are now selling cookies. Let her know if you are interested in buying some, and she’ll have a Girl Scout contact you.

Susan and Jack Silverio will show slides and tell stories about their recent walk along the ancient pilgrim Way of St. James of the Field of Stars, or Camino de Santiago de Compostela, from Portugal to Spain, on Wednesday, Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. at the Lincolnville Community Library. The Silverios, who live in Lincolnville, carried all the supplies they needed for 24 days, walking 150 miles and staying overnight in pilgrim hostels along the way. This is a free program of the Library.

Coming up on Jan. 21 is the next in the series of Winter Presentations and Concerts at the library. This month the speaker will be Tom Sadowski, whose weekly “Just Saying” column of humor and philosophy appears in The Free Press and the musician will be Richard Kinney, a talented 14 year-old ragtime piano player from Waldoboro.

These programs, pairing a speaker and a musician, have become one of the best things about winter in Lincolnville. Rosey Gerry is the man behind the scenes — let’s call him the producer. He manages to find both elements, the artist or writer to speak and then the musicians, some pretty unlikely pairs, for example, for Halloween a year ago, a writer of vampire fiction and an a cappella men’s Renaissance chorus. Admission is $10, with proceeds going to the Library; with limited seating, reserve tickets are required; contact Rosey, 975-5432.

Interlibrary Loan and Free E-Book and Audio Book Downloads

The library has a couple of very useful programs for cardholders (and everyone in Lincolnville is entitled to a free card; just stop in and ask for yours. If you got one of the earlier library cards it won’t have a barcode; just take it in to the library and Sheila will add it.) One is Interlibrary Loan. Have you ever read a book review or seen reference to a book that you’d like to read but don’t want to buy it? Librarian Sheila Polson can order any book from a Maine library for you, which is then sent to our library. Your only obligation is to pay $2 for return postage when you bring it back. I just got A Confederacy of Dunces, an older book that my son’s been urging me to read, in under a week.

Also, anyone with a Lincolnville Community Library card can download e-books and audio books free of charge from the Maine InfoNet Download Library, a service the Lincolnville Library subscribes to. Audio books from the Download Library can be transferred to an audio device such as an MP3 Player or an iPod. e-books may be transferred to an iPad, iPhone, Kindle or other device that supports the ePub format. People may borrow up to three titles at a time and lending periods vary from title to title. To access the e-books, click on this link and sign in using the barcode on the back of your card or go through the Library’s website. For more information on these services, call 763-4343 or email.