Roosevelt Trail History Tour hits road for second year

By Erin Rose

Members of the public are welcome to journey through history during the Second Annual Roosevelt Trail Historical Tour from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12.

The public can tour the Raymond-Casco Historical Museum 
in Casco and other historical sites including some in
Windham during the Second Annual Roosevelt Trail 
Historical Tour running from Westbrook to Harrison
from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12.
COURTESY PHOTO  

A dozen different historical sites, from Westbrook to Harrison, will be open for visitors to tour at no charge. Refreshments will also be available at some locations.

“There are some new sites for this year,” said Bill Brennan from the Raymond-Casco Historical Society. “We had eight last year, and we have 12 now.”

One of the new additions had hoped to join last year but was unable to welcome visitors for last year’s tour after moving into a new location at 214 Main St. in Bridgton and is excited to join the trail historical tour this year.

“The Bridgton Historical Society had just taken over the Methodist Church on Main St.,” Brennan said. “They had to back out two or three weeks before because they weren’t going to be ready.”

Another new site for visitors is the Bridgton and Saco River Railroad Museum, located on the first floor of the Bridgton Historical Society. The group is working to preserve the two-foot narrow gauge railroad that once ran throughout the Lakes Region.

“That’s also an exciting addition,” Brennan said. “They want to do new things, like being able to show how they lay railroad track.”

The event provides a chance for locals who may frequently drive past the historic sites in their day-to-day lives, but who may not have taken a chance to stop in.

“I’ve heard it a dozen times this summer; ‘I’ve never been to the Raymond Casco Historical Society. I’ve seen it on the road and I’ve never dropped in.’,” Brennan said. “People just don’t stop.”

Brennan said that he’s guilty of the same, despite frequent visits to Bridgton.

“I’ve driven through Bridgton and have stopped at the Cool Moose but never stopped at the Rufus Porter Museum,” he said. “I stopped last year and will be doing some of the other sites out west before coming east on that Saturday, just so I can see the Harrison Historical Society.”

The Harrison site, located at 121 Haskell Hill Road, is a new addition to the trail and has new displays this year, including details on notable local businesses, farming equipment, and a replica of a canal boat.

All of the organizations that had previously participated in the tour returned for the second annual event, after seeing a great increase in attendance on the day last year.

“After the event last year, everybody has come back because they had some of their best turnouts,” Brennan said. “Sometimes you’ll get five or ten people showing up on a weekend. Some people had 40, 50, 60 that day.”

A returning site is the Scribners Mill and Homestead at 244 Scribners Hill Road in Harrison. They have recently opened the homestead to visitors who can see how the Scribner family lived when the mill was in operation, in addition to the sawmill.

Brennan said that a recent visit to a more modern milling facility helped show how technology has changed aspects of woodworking.

“My family and I went to Hancock Lumber last summer, and we got a two- or three-hour tour,” he explained. “When you compare what they do there to what Scribners Mill does, it’s exactly the same thing, just in a different era and different technology. Where a guy is looking at a computer screen now, at Scribners, you had a guy there shaping it, doing whatever he could as best as he could with what he had.”

The Raymond-Casco Historical Society Museum will also be participating in the day for the second year and will have a blacksmith operating the museum’s 19th century Watkins Blacksmith Shop. The property, which includes a one-room schoolhouse and 19th century barn in addition to the museum, is located at 1 Shadow Lane in Casco.

The Naples Historical Society and Museum, at 19 Village Green in Naples, will be highlighting their restored jail located on the site, while a guide will be on site at the Quaker Ridge Meeting House from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., located at 141 Quaker Ridge Rd. in Casco. The meeting house, built in 1814, is the oldest such Quaker building in Maine that is still in use today.

The idea for the day was developed from a desire to find a unique way to draw new visitors to the different historical sites that dot the area.

“The Hawthorn Community Association, met with the Raymond-Casco Historical Society a day in March” last year, Brennan said. “We were all talking about how we could reinvigorate our museums and historical sites.”

“This idea popped up amongst us, as something we might try,” he added, noting that the group worked to find a date in the fall that would allow more residents to attend.

The different organizations all meet to develop ideas for each year’s event, and they all are hoping that this becomes a tradition in the vein of other community events.

“It’s a collective effort from all of us,” Brennan said. “We brainstorm together ideas and we’re all invested in this.”

“It’s the second annual and we’re proud of that,” he continued. “We want it to be like the Maple Syrup weekend or the Sebago Fishing Derby, where it gives our community the chance to come out and see us and experience the local history.”

One local organization praised Brennan and the Raymond-Casco Historical Society for their drive to make the event a reality.

“Their society was an integral part in getting this idea off the ground,” said Susan Simonson, President of Windham Historical Society. “Windham Historical Society is pleased to be a part of this unique idea.” For more information on the day and the different sites open for visitors, visit www.raymondcascohistoricalsociety.org <

Black Balloon Day honors those who lost to substance overdoses

Lakes Region Recovery Center in Bridgton took part in the 
National Black Balloon Day on Sunday, March 6, an annual
event dedicated to recognizing those who have lost their lives
to substance overdose. These are some of the balloons hanging
from the ceiling at LRRC last week.
PHOTO BY LORRAINE GLOWCZAK    

By Lorraine Glowczak

“Last week, eight people died from an overdose in Maine – and unfortunately, that was considered a ‘good’ week,” the State Director of Opioid Response, Gordon Smith said in a recent virtual meeting with other health professionals across the state who work to curtail the opioid crisis. In 2021, 636 individuals lost their lives to accidental overdoses, increasing from 504 deaths in 2020.

Lakes Region Recovery Center (LRRC), at 25 Hospital Drive in Bridgton, is among the over 40 professional entities participating in this state-wide meeting hosted every three months by Jonathan Sarhbeck, Cumberland County District Attorney.  

LRRC, along with other recovery centers and individuals, took part in the National Black Balloon Day on Sunday March 6, an annual event dedicated to recognizing and celebrating those who have lost their lives to substance overdoses. By participating in the event, LRRC not only honors lives lost but helps raise awareness about the stark realities of substance misuse in Maine, putting human names and faces behind the statistics of those who have died.

 

“Here at the recovery center, we focus on peer-to-peer support, recognizing there are many pathways to healing for people with substance use disorder and mental health challenges,” LRRC Communication Specialist Candy Greenberg said. “This year, we wanted to acknowledge those individuals who lost their lives due to overdose by taking part in the National Black Balloon Day.”  

To do so, Greenberg set out to contact the families of the 636 individuals asking if they would like to send pictures in the memory of their son, daughter, mother, father, etc. Greenberg collected 25 photographs from around the state and made a black balloon banner out of construction paper, and it currently suspends from the ceiling in the LRRC’s hallway. For the individuals without photographs - their memories were honored with painted teardrops.

“This will be a moving memorial of sorts,” Greenberg said. “The balloons will hang here until the end of March, and then we will give them to Crooked River Counseling for it to be displayed there. After that, the balloon banner will hang along the Naples causeway – all in remembrance of lives lost to a terrible disease.”

 

On Friday, March 4, U.S. Senator Susan Collins’ staff member, Mark J. Winter, visited LRRC. Greenberg and LRRC Executive Director Tracey Martin gave him a tour of the 950 square foot facility, talking about the many programs they offer. 

 

“We are a little center, but we do big work,” Martin told Winter, explaining they are hoping to expand into a larger space to serve the community better. “We have a telephone recovery support center and hold many groups and meetings. Our services are free of charge to members, and membership is free. With the rise in mental health needs, we have added programs to support challenges such as PTSD, grief support, and other similar issues.”

Winter said that Senator Collins is very concerned about the current opioid crisis and the growing substance overdoses. He encouraged Martin and Greenberg to consider congressionally directed spending as the LRRC would meet the eligibility requirements, and the monies could help expand their facility. Winter stated that there is a stigma surrounding substance use disorder and the work LRRC does in recovery support is very much needed.

 

Substance use disorder (SUD) is a mental disorder that affects a person’s brain and behavior. It affects many people, and the illness does not discriminate as to who survives and who does not. SUD and mental health are common, recurrent, and often serious, but they are treatable, and many people do recover. 

 

Kathy Black, who has lived in Windham for 10 years but recently moved to Gorham has been in recovery since 2008. She expresses her gratitude to LRRC.

 

“Being in recovery is a very difficult road because you always have the urge to go back to your drug of choice – the need for it never goes away,” Black said. “Heroin was my drug and I have had a few relapses. If it wasn’t for LRRC, I may not be in recovery today. 

 

Black was one of the first volunteers at LRRC when it opened in 2017 and has been actively urging legislators for more recovery centers. She said the LRRC is a place where you can always be yourself.

 

“Everyone there knows what you are going through, and you don’t feel alone,” Black said. “You never feel judged, and you are always supported.”

 

Black volunteers at LRRC in the call center to support others in recovery. 

 

“Having someone check in on you every day to offer support – especially when times are difficult is monumental in remaining sober,” Black said, whose left side is now paralyzed due to a recent operation to remove a cyst on her spine. “I know this for a fact. These phone calls have saved my life many times – especially after my operation. Talking is food for the soul.”

 

Greenberg said that the more we talk about substance use disorder, the more we all can help remove the stigma around seeking out help and maybe save someone’s life.

 

“National Black Balloon Day is one of the many ways to bring about this awareness,” Greenberg said.

 

For more information about Lakes Region Recovery Center or to inquire about services, peruse their website at www.lrrcbridgton.org, or call at 207-803-8707. <

Late-evening runs of Lakes Region Explorer temporarily halted

By Ed Pierce

The Regional Transportation Program has announced a temporary suspension of late evening runs of the Lakes Region Explorer bus service because of low ridership.

The Lakes Region Explorer bus that typically leaves Bridgton at 7:10 p.m. and the bus that leaves Portland at 8:40 p.m. were temporarily halted in December. The Lakes Region Explorer provides service along Route 302 from Bridgton to Portland, with stops along the way in Naples, Casco, Raymond, Windham, and Westbrook and is operated by the Regional Transportation Program

Low ridership has forced the Regional
Transportation Program to temporarily suspend 
late-evening runs of the Lakes Region Explorer
bus service between Bridgton and Portland. All
other regularly scheduled runs of the Lakes
Region Explorer will continue as usual.
COURTESY OF RTP   

Regular routes and service for the Lakes Region Explorer was curtailed last March because of the pandemic but was reinstated in May.

According to Jack De Beradinis, the executive director of the Regional Transportation Program, prior to the pandemic, the Lakes Region Explorer was providing about 10,500 trips annually.

“The first run leaving Bridgton at 6 a.m. and the return trip leaving Portland at 5:30 p.m. have been the runs most used,” he said.   

The overall bus capacity for the Lakes Region Explorer is 24 ambulatory seats and placements for two wheelchairs, but because of preventative social distancing as a result of the pandemic, the number of passengers has been limited.

“We are restricting ridership between six to 10 riders at one time in order to maintain the minimum 6-foot distance,” De Beradinis said. “In the summer we usually transport more than 15 riders at one time on these two runs.”

A posting on the RTP website indicated that the late evening suspension of Lakes Region Explorer runs will be resumed once COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted and ridership returns to its usual demand levels.

“We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause,” the posting reads. “As always, we wish you all to stay safe and healthy!”

ADA transportation for those with disabilities offered by RTP in the Lakes Region has continued since travel restrictions were imposed by the state in March.

“The demand has been very limited, and we use taxis to transport these riders unless an RTP van is required,” De Beradinis said.

The fare for the Lakes Region Explorer for a one-way trip is $3 with discounts for monthly passes, seniors and students. Those who cannot afford the fare can ride free of charge.

Established in 1976, RTP was formed by combining the transportation services provided by the Portland Chapter of the American Red Cross, York-Cumberland Senior Services and the Social Services of the Greater Portland Transit District.

RTP is a United Way agency providing low-cost transportation to the elderly, social service agency clients, economically disadvantaged individuals and persons with disabilities throughout Cumberland County and serves a total of 27 communities. <