Gateway to Raymond wreaths help holidays shine locally

Members of Raymond's Beautification Committee
and volunteers gather to pick up evergreen holiday
wreaths to be hung along Route 302 and Raymond's
Business Corridor last year. A total of 74 wreaths 
will bring the holiday spirit to the town this year.
PHOTO BY JESS FAY 

By Briana Bizier

Just like carols on the radio and candles in the windows, beautiful evergreen wreaths are a festive way to welcome the winter holiday season and a cheerful addition to December’s short, cold days. If you’ve driven through Raymond’s Business Corridor along Route 302 in previous Decembers, you’ve probably noticed the large evergreen wreaths hanging beneath each of the corridor’s decorative light poles. While you might be forgiven for thinking these holiday wreaths, like Santa’s sleigh, appear through a bit of holiday magic, the truth is that the wreaths are a labor of love from the Raymond Beautification Committee, the Raymond Vitalization Committee, and the entire community of Raymond.

Each fall, those two committees collect funds in order to purchase the 74 large wreaths necessary to deck the halls of Raymond’s Route 302. Maine Lakes Wedding and Event Florist purchases the wreaths in bulk, at cost, and florist Jessica Fay ties the cheerful red bows herself.

“I got involved because the Beautification Committee approached me to purchase wreaths back when my business was called Raymond Village Florist,” Fay said. “It felt like something I could do to contribute by getting wreaths for the group at cost and the same with the bows. As a retail business on
the 302 Corridor, it was really nice to see the area decorated for the winter holidays.”

Fay is still working with the Beautification and Vitalization Committees to provide holiday cheer along Route 302. "I've kept doing it because I really like the community spirit the project exemplifies,” Fay continued, “even though making 74 red velvet bows makes my fingers a little cramped! It is a good way for me to get into the holiday spirit.”

Typically, the town’s Beautification and Vitalization Committees seek the donations to fund their wreaths through door-to-door solicitations. However, like so many other aspects of normal life, COVID-19 has upended the tradition of collecting donations by going door-to-door. So, this year, community donations to the annual wreath campaign are more important than ever.

There’s no denying that 2020 has been a strange and upsetting year. The darkness of this coming December could feel especially oppressive after the individual sacrifices we have all made during this horrible pandemic, not to mention the political turmoil of this last election. These are trying times when it is especially important for us to come together as a community.

Traditionally, a Christmas wreath is made with evergreen branches to symbolize eternal life, and those branches are shaped into a circle that symbolizes unending love. This year, hanging over 70 wreaths of life and love beneath the lampposts along Route 302 is a beautifully fitting way to commemorate what brings us together as a community, and what will help us get through the dark times and into better days ahead.

The Raymond Beautification Committee and the Raymond Vitalization Committee urge you to please consider making a tax-deductible individual donation to purchase holiday wreaths for Raymond’s Business Corridor.

Checks can be made out to the Town of Raymond; please note your donation is “for the Beautification Committee” and can be hand-delivered to the Raymond Town Hall or mailed to 401 Webb’s Mills Road, Raymond ME, 04071. <

Picking the perfect pumpkin for carving and more byy Matt Pascarella

It’s that time of year! Halloween is less than three weeks away and a signature item of this holiday is the jack-o-lantern.
 

Whether you carve or paint your jack-o-lantern face, you need a pumpkin. Windy Hill Farm & Market on River Road in Windham have plenty to choose from. Owners Ron and Linda Winship, who have been running Windy Hill Farm & Market since 2000, have a variety of pumpkins and gourds. They also have a pick your own pumpkin patch.

“I grew up on the farm next door,” explained Ron Winship. “Then when my wife and I got married in ‘70, we took this lot [where the market is] off the farm and turned it into our business. We started with pumpkins - I love pumpkins. Years ago, when my daughter was a little girl, we’d raise a few pumpkins and she’d put them out on the lawn, maybe a few wheelbarrow loads and we’d sell them that way. After she was grown up we’d continue to sell them, but we’ve just grown. Pumpkins are a big time for us.” 

So, how do you pick the perfect pumpkin? Well, there really is no right answer. It also depends on what you want to do with your pumpkin; do you want to carve it up for trick-or-treaters, or use it for baking? 

“It’s different for everybody; some people like big pumpkins, some people like little pumpkins and there are lots of varieties like peanut pumpkins, white pumpkins,” began Ron Winship. “This year we had a lot of white pumpkins; people like white pumpkins . . . seems like every year [there are] different varieties [of pumpkins]. Some people like pumpkins that you leave part of the vine on when you cut it off the vine. Some people like different shapes, some like skinny and tall, some like short and fat . . . [there is] the Maine Sugar Pie pumpkin, which people use for pies.”

He continues to describe an important feature of the pumpkin, “Thumpkin pumpkins are short and big, but they have a huge stem, the stems are a really important thing for people; if they don’t have a stem they don’t want it,” Ron Winship explained. “And there’s a saying a friend of mine told me once, ‘a pumpkin without a stem is a pumpkin without a home.’ Stem is a very important part of the pumpkin.”

Winship didn’t know how serious people were about choosing a pumpkin. “Some people, decorating for the Fall, will spend as much time picking pumpkins out as they do Christmas trees. And I’ve seen people - they’ll pick some of the pumpkins they want and arrange them in different ways to see if that’s what they want; they mix up the different varieties. Some people like to go out in the patch, and pick their own.”

While pumpkins may now be symbolic of Halloween, Early Native Americans relied on pumpkins as a source of food that helped them survive long winters. Pumpkins could be roasted, baked, boiled, and dried, and they were eaten and used as medicine. Pumpkin blossoms were added to stews. The shells of the pumpkins could be dried and used as eating and storage vessels.

The following are a handful of additional ways this versatile fruit can be put to use:

Beauty regimen - Pumpkins contain a number of essential vitamins and minerals that can help replenish the skin. Pumpkin purée can be mixed with honey, aloe vera gel, olive oil, and a bit of cornmeal to create an exfoliating mask for the face or body. Pumpkin also can be used to rejuvenate dry or tired skin from cold weather. Additionally, honey, pumpkin and yogurt can be mixed together and used to condition hair. Let the mixture sit for 15 to 20 minutes, and then wash it out and shampoo.

Foods and beverages - Pumpkin purée is the basis for many tasty, pumpkin-infused treats. Purée can be used in pies, cakes, muffins, breads, and many additional foods. Pumpkin purée also may be found in certain beverages, such as smoothies and shakes. A bit of spiced purée may appear as flavoring in
teas and coffees.

Roasted pumpkin seeds make a healthy treat. Foodies suggest using the seeds from "sugar pumpkins" or the ones best for making pies. Boil the seeds for a few minutes before draining. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray and put the seeds in a single layer. Bake at 400 F for 20 minutes. Allow to cool and serve.

Pumpkin wines and beers are popular as well. There are many recipes for developing sweet, fermented beverages, which tend to be especially popular in the fall.

The "guts" of the pumpkin can be simmered along with aromatics and other vegetables to create a vegetable stock perfect for soups and broths.

Decorations - Pumpkins can also add to one's home décor during the fall. Aside from being carved, larger pumpkins may be used as natural flower pots for mums or other seasonal floral displays. As the Native Americans once did, pumpkins can be hollowed-out and used as bowls to serve favorite soups and dips.

Use a hollowed, small pumpkin as a natural aromatic candle holder. Cut holes in the sides to vent the exhaust. Rub aromatic spices, such as cloves, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, and vanilla bean, on the inside of the pumpkin. Insert a beeswax candle in the bottom of the pumpkin and let it send inviting aromas into the air.

Add to compost bins - Pumpkins are rich in zinc, vitamin A and vitamin C, among other nutrients. You can add the discarded pumpkins to your backyard compost bins to further replenish the soil.

“I just love pumpkins, there’s nothing more exciting than to go out in the pumpkin patch and pick pumpkins. And sometimes you plant and you forget what you plant in a certain area and you find something you forgot you planted and [it’s] kind of neat,” Ron said.

Christmas tree lighting celebration in Raymond - Walter Lunt

Raymond kicked off the 2016 Christmas season Sunday with its 18^th annual tree lighting ceremony at Raymond Public Library. The event was sponsored by the Raymond Lions Club. Spokesman Robert Fey was quick to point out they had a lot of help.

“It’s a small hometown affair, but a very significant one that happens in this community every year.” He said help and participation came from many segments of the community. The tree is donated each year by Bob Paine, who runs a Christmas tree farm on Raymond Hill Road; a volunteer drove a Central Maine Power bucket truck to deliver, install and string lights on the tree; the Raymond Elementary School Chorus under the direction of Patti Gordan performed songs of the season; the Raymond Public Library trustees and staff hosted the event, including the reading of favorite children’s stories prior to the lighting ceremony; and Santa arrived aboard a Raymond fire truck.

“Ho, Ho, Ho! Oh my, we have quite a turnout here tonight, don’t we,” bellowed Santa as the first of many young revelers climbed onto his knee. Ayla Harris, 6, of Naples told the merry, plump man she was hoping for “a stuffed animal unicorn” for Christmas.

The early evening event was topped off with hot chocolate and cookies for all.