Blind date leads to 65 years of marriage for local couple

By Ed Pierce

A blind date isn’t always terrible and for one local couple, it turned out to be the adventure of a lifetime, as they recently celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary.

Ronald and Alice Walker married on Dec. 6, 1958 in South
Portland and to celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary,
they were treated to a special lunch and party by the staff
at Ledgewood Manor in Windham, where they now reside.
PHOTO BY ED PIERCE 

Ronald and Alice Walker were married on Dec. 6, 1958 in South Portland, and they were treated to a special lunch on their anniversary by the staff at Ledgewood Manor in Windham where they now reside.

Alice is originally from Rumford and moved to Portland as a girl. She was working for a bank when friends set her up on a blind date in 1958.

“I had heard about this place called the Log Cabin Restaurant on Ocean Street in South Portland near the old Dyer &McLaughlin Grocery and we agreed to meet there for dinner,” she said. “Little did I know what would come of it.”

Growing up in Westbrook, Ronald was always mechanically inclined and had started a job working in piping and welding when he first was approached to meet Alice for a blind date at the restaurant in South Portland.

“I first thought that she was stuck up,” he said. “But then as I got to know her, she kind of grew on me.”

The couple started dating and eventually fell in love, got engaged and after their marriage then settled into life at their own home in South Portland. Soon two children came along, including a daughter, Lori, who now lives in Gray, and a son, Craig, who lives in Gorham.

Both Ronald and Alice continued to work and raise their family and by the time Alice’s career was finished, she had accumulated more than 46 years of service while working in the banking industry.

Like many other young parenting couples in Maine at the time, the Walkers devoted their free time to their children and their life together as a family.

“Ronald liked bowling and so did I, so we bowled a lot and we bowled together or on the same team,” Alice said.

The entire family were avid bowlers and Ronald’s twin brother, Roland, once served as president of the Greater Portland Bowling Association.

“We spent a lot of time at the bowling alley when the kids were little and as a family, we attended many ball games all over the place too,” Alice said.

The Walker family also spent many carefree summers swimming, camping, boating, and fishing on Crescent Lake at Kokatosi Campground in Raymond.

“Those sure were good times and truly unforgettable,” Ronald said. “It’s a beautiful spot for families.”

After a lifetime of eating Alice’s cooking, Ronald says one of her meals that she cooked for the family stands out above all the rest.

“Her meatloaf was really something to look forward to after a hard day at work,” he said. “It was very good and very tasty. It became my favorite of everything that she cooked for us.”

According to Alice, her husband has always been a typical man and although he’s rather rough around the edges, she learned to adapt to his cantankerous ways through the years.

“I’ve learned just to ignore him and to agree with everything he says and then do exactly the opposite,” she said. “It’s something that’s helped me over the years. He does have a heart of gold though.”

As time passed, the Walker family has grown to now include four grandchildren, including triplets.

Now in their 80s, Ronald and Alice Walker look back fondly at their life together and say that as their health declined, they are grateful to be able to be together at Ledgewood Manor in Windham.

They say they are blessed to have found each other back in 1958 and that their marriage has lasted so long.

For their anniversary lunch, the couple dined on macaroni and cheese, fruit salad, and sparkling juice at a table adorned with flower petals. Alice was presented with a beautiful assortment of roses to commemorate the special occasion and everyone attending the celebration was treated to a piece of chocolate cake.

Both Ronald and Alice say they are grateful that others have remembered their wedding anniversary and made such a fuss about it.

Their advice for couples contemplating getting married is simple.

“Save your money for retirement,” Ronald said. “You’ll really need it.” <

Windham’s ‘Trunk or Treat’ promises to be an event full of spooky fun

By Masha Yurkevich

For those who love Halloween, it’s the most wonderful time of the year for fear and if you haven’t already selected a costume, time is growing short as Windham’s annual Halloween extravaganza known as “Trunk or Treat” is approaching.

Windham Parks and Recreation will be hosting its annual
'Trunk or Treat' event for kids from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Saturday,
Oct. 28 behind the Windham Mall in North Windham.
Registration is required for participants at 
North Windham. Registration is required for participants at 
https://windhamme.myrec.com/
SUBMITTED PHOTO

Windham’s Parks and Recreation Department will once again be hosting the spooky and social event behind the Windham Mall from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28 and it promises to be an evening filled with fun, treats, and spooky beats.

Trunk or Treat has become a popular event nationwide, either as an alternative to or in addition to conventional trick-or-treating to neighborhood homes. For those who choose to host a trunk, they decorate and serve candy out of the trunk of their vehicles.

For the businesses and community organizations that participate, it is a way to spotlight their mission and give back to their communities. For individual families, it is often their way to give candy to trunk-or-treaters who might not otherwise visit them if their homes are in a rural setting, or they just want to have fun.

In Windham, trunk participants are judged for creativity, originality, and effort, and it is amazing to see what some of the trunks end up looking like.

“The department had been hosting Windham’s Halloween Adventure for a number of years at Manchester School for children in third grade and below,” says Linda Brooks, Director of Windham Parks and Recreation. “In 2016, in an effort to expand upon this event, we moved it to the Windham Middle School, opened it to grades 8 and under and in addition to the Trunk or Treat, added a haunted house, games, refreshments and a Costume Contest.”

In 2016 there were 10 trunks and by 2019 the number had grown to 24 trunks with an estimated 700 children in attendance, so the Parks and Recreation staff knew that they had outgrown the Middle School and the format for the event. With the arrival of COVID-19 in 2020, Parks and Recreation was forced to modify the event to be a Drive-Thru Trunk or Treat at the Windham Mall. By 2022’s Trunk or Treat, the number of trunk hosts had grown to 32.

“Our event is always held the Saturday evening before Halloween so that it doesn’t interfere with anyone wishing to go Trick-or-Treating in their neighborhoods,” says Brooks.

While the event is free, people do need to register in advance, both to host a trunk or to attend as a participant. Registration can be done by visiting https://windhamme.myrec.com/ or in person at the Parks and Recreation Department at Windham Town Hall. Registration for Trunk Hosts ends Wednesday, Oct. 25 and children and families must pre-register for a specific time frame to visit the Trunk or Treat event through Thursday, Oct. 26.

Brooks said the event will be held in Windham but is open to residents outside of Windham, as long as they register in advance.

“This year we will return to a walk-thru event which allows more direct contact by both the participants and the trunk hosts,” says Brooks. “If the weather is poor, the event will move indoors at the Windham Mall. This is a wonderful community event that brings so many different groups together to celebrate Halloween in a safe way. The event is co-sponsored by the Sebago Lakes Chamber of Commerce and Smitty’s Cinema, and we will have entertainment provided by the Maine Dance Center.”

According to Brooks, among the comments received from one of the 2022 trunk hosts when asked what they like about the event, they replied, “The kids and how happy they were plus the comradery amongst the trunk hosts. Music's playing, everyone singing along. So much fun!”

Although attendance is free, participants are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item to Trunk or Treat or to make a monetary donation to the Windham Food Pantry.

For event registration to host a trunk or to attend the event as a participant, go to https://windhamme.myrec.com/ <

Mrs. Maine USA 2021 winner exemplifies true determination

Misty Coolidge of New Gloucester has
been named as Mrs. Maine USA 2021
and will represent the state in the national
Mrs. USA Pageant in Omaha, Nebraska
in July. SUBMITTED PHOTO

MISTY COOLIDGE TO COMPETE FOR NATIONAL TITLE IN JULY

By Ed Pierce

This year's Mrs. Maine USA winner is a familiar face for many couples in the Lakes Region as someone who helped make their wedding day so special. Misty Coolidge of New Gloucester was awarded the 2021 crown on Jan. 25 and will now compete for the national Mrs. USA 2021 title in Omaha, Nebraska in July.

  

Coolidge, 45, operates two highly successful wedding businesses and venues, Coolidge Family Farm in New Gloucester and Coolidge Chapel in Gray, and a mobile bar company, Maine Mixologists, that travels throughout the state to serve cocktails for weddings and other special events. Through her work, Coolidge has assisted many couples in celebrating the wedding of their dreams through careful planning in a spectacular setting.

She and her husband of seven years, Peter DeBear, are the parents of three children, and believe in giving back to their community through a variety of community activities. Coolidge is a member of her local school board, sits on the GNG Development Corp., started a local Empowering Women's group, and is a volunteer for Good Shepherd Food Bank. 

Her path to winning the title shows determination and willingness to adapt to challenges. Coolidge was born in Waterville, grew up in Norridgewock, and graduated from Skowhegan Area High School. Following graduation from high school, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Pre-Law from what was then Husson College, now Husson University, in Bangor.

“I was planning to attend law school after college and studied for my LSATs on the beach after graduation but life took me into the legal field as a paralegal instead,” Coolidge said. “I worked as an Intellectual Property Paralegal at Preti Flaherty for seven years and then as a Real Estate Paralegal for Dead River Company for 15 years before being laid off. That was the kick start I needed to start my own businesses, be my own boss, raise a family, and put my passion for love into a full-time career.”

Building her businesses wasn’t easy.

“My husband and I purchased the New Gloucester Coolidge Family Farm property about seven years ago,” she said. “It is an 11-acre retired farm venue with a colonial farmhouse that sleeps 10 and an attached barn, both built in 1860. “We restored the house and barn to the beauty it is today. I host approximately 30 intimate and magical wedding experiences there each year and am the partial planner/coordinator for all my couples to help them alleviate any stress they may be carrying. My couples are an extension of my family and every year I'm humbled and honored that they chose me to share in their wedding journey.”

The venue also consists of an adjacent house which Coolidge calls the "Groom's house" that was added four years ago. She and her husband also purchased the land behind the farm two years ago where she designed and had three cottages placed. One is a Honeymoon Cottage that Coolidge runs year-round for not only wedding weekends, but also for other couples wanting a place to escape for a romantic getaway. The other two cottages accommodate parents or overflow bridal party guests.

Three years ago, Coolidge also purchased and painstakingly restored a one-room wedding chapel in Gray that she renamed Coolidge Chapel, that couples use for marriage ceremonies. It also hosts bridal showers, baby showers, networking events, and smaller receptions for under 50 people.

“I'm also a Notary Public and marry a handful of my couples each year and do spontaneous ceremonies on other days of the week elsewhere around the state,” she said. “It's so fun getting a call on a Sunday from a couple visiting Maine that wants to get married as soon as possible. I love love, but spontaneous love is truly special.”

If that wasn’t enough to keep her busy, Coolidge also operates Maine Mixologists, a mobile bar service that travels throughout Maine serving cocktails for weddings and other events.

“I've got about 30 bartenders and other serve staff, three company vans, lots of bar rentals, and just purchased and converted a 1994 Chevy Grumman food truck into a mobile bar that I've dubbed my little ‘Whiskey Girl’ since whiskey is by far the most popular spirit these days and my personal fav too,” Coolidge said.

In 2016, Coolidge entered a pageant for the time and placed Second Runner-Up in Mrs. Maine America competition. She won the Spirit Award and the Gown Award and gave her motivation to continue competing.

“I was so inspired by the experience and enjoyed it so much, that I just knew it was going to be the start of my pageantry journey,” she said.

After a year off to have another baby, Coolidge won the 2018 Mrs. Maine International title and advanced to compete in the national pageant that year in West Virginia. In 2019, she competed in New York City for the International Ms. National Pageant title and vied for the 2020 Mrs. Maine America crown once again, and although she didn’t win, she won the pageant’s Community Service Award and Spirit Award for a second time.

Finishing second in a bid for state representative last fall, Coolidge took some time off to refocus her energy and had a hunch 2021 was going to be a big year for her.

“I once again found myself back to researching the USA pageant system and started following their queens, messaging with the director, and learning more and more about their mission,” Coolidge said. “On Jan. 25, I was honored to be crowned your Mrs. Maine USA 2021. I've got so many big dreams and aspirations and am so excited for a year of representing a state that I love so much here and in Omaha in July. Then I plan to ramp up my service countrywide when I bring home the title of Mrs. USA 2021.”

Between now and the national competition in July, Coolidge said that she’ll be working with a pageant coach (the reigning Mrs. Galaxy) to prepare her to compete and acquire the tools she needs to win.

“We'll be Zooming once a month to discuss wardrobe, my platform, perfecting interview techniques and skills, and I'll be focusing on my health and getting fit for the stage,” she said. “I'll also be focusing on my platform which is fighting hunger and food insecurity throughout our state. I'll be spending time volunteering at the Good Shepherd Food Bank, hosting a Quilt Auction in May at my venue for the Margaret Murphy School to credit their account at the Good Shepherd, will be hosting my annual 5K for Hunger in June, and making other appearances for other great causes.”

According to Coolidge, she’s grateful for the support of her husband, her 5-year-old twins, Eva and Caden, and 3-year-old daughter, Grace. She credits her grandmother and her mother for serving as excellent role models in her life.

“My mom is a very talented seamstress and has altered many of my gowns and came to my rescue at my state International pageant when an entire row of sequins came off my gown before going out on stage,” Coolidge said. “She painstakingly hand-sewed them all back on for me. Both women raised me to be a strong, independent woman who has a big heart and a powerhouse personality. My mom has always been an entrepreneur and owned a bridal shop growing up which is most likely where I got my passion for working with brides. I'm honored to have been raised by these amazing women.”

As the reigning Mrs. Maine USA 2021, Coolidge will spend some time making appearances around the state and can be reached by email at misty.coolidge@gmail.com and she can be followed on Facebook at Mrs. Maine USA 2021.

For Coolidge, she said that the best part of being involved in a pageant is traveling and meeting other amazing women who inspire her to be better than she was yesterday.

“Afterall, there is only one winner, so the majority of those who compete leave without a crown, but if you enter the pageant with the goal of having fun, presenting your best self, and making lifelong friends, then what you leave with is so rewarding,” she said. “Each pageant experience has been different, but I've grown with each one.” <

Windham Library’s ‘Calm as a Critter’ Program promotes relaxation, self-awareness in children

Windham Library Children's Room Coordinator
Diana Currier leads a session of 'Calm as a
Critter' for a You Tube segment on July 25.
The program promotes relaxation and self-awareness
for children. COURTESY PHOTO,
WINDHAM PUBLIC LIBRARY

By Elizabeth Richards

The Windham Public Library’s Saturday morning Calm as a Critter Program may seem perfect for helping children deal with life during a global pandemic, but it began long before the days of COVID-19.

Children’s Room Coordinator Diana Currier said the program has been offered in the summer every year since 2017. 

The program was designed to give children things to do with their body, hands, mind and breathing to relax and feel good about themselves, she said.

Over time, the audience began to get younger, Currier said, so she modified activities appropriately.  Adults who came with their children were invited to participate, and did so, even asking if there was a similar program for adults.

The program was going to be phased out this summer, Currier said, but had a tie-in that reflected the need people had to be able to handle themselves. 

“Calm is the key word here, of course,” she said.

Though Children’s Librarian Samantha Cote “stepped right up to the plate to do virtual story time,” Currier said she wasn’t entirely comfortable with the platform.

But before summer began, she offered “Good Old-Fashioned Fun with Miss Diana” online on Saturdays at 9 a.m., and they carried that time slot over to Calm as a Critter. Although that’s when videos are posted, since they are pre-recorded, people aren’t limited to watching on Saturday mornings.

Currier puts a lot of effort into the information she presents, using books and other resources to design the program each week.  Each episode offers a craft so children can do something with their hands, a breathing activity, and a challenge or “homework.”

In the Fresh Air episode, for instance, she challenged children to try going for an extended period of time without talking, and to watch either a sunrise or a sunset.

She tries to keep episodes to about 15 minutes to hold the attention span of her young audience.  She also plans the order intentionally, such as putting the craft first to keep their hands busy so they can focus better when she is talking. Feedback is appreciated, she said, so she can please the audience.

There was a demand for this type of activity even before the pandemic, Currier said.

Parents often come to the library asking for books to help their children deal with nervousness and anxiety. And the suggestions she offers are things she enjoys, Currier said, adding that she tries the suggestions first to see what works for her before suggesting them to others. 

“I really want to make the world a better place,” Currier said. “I’m trying to do it through these videos somehow, and if people can walk away with a good thing or two, hopefully it’ll pay it forward somehow, someday.”

The Calm as a Critter program will run on Saturday mornings through Aug. 22. 

Past episodes are available and are posted in the Calm as a Critter Playlist on the Windham Library’s Facebook page. <

Windham Public Library’s Summer Reading Challenge goes virtual

By Elizabeth Richards

The Windham Public Library is presenting a full slate of summer reading activities for children, teens and adults this summer.  This year, all programs will be held online. The summer reading program, with the theme “Imagine Your Story,” runs from June 22 to Aug. 22, 2020.

The reading program will use an online platform called Beanstack, as well as the library’s Facebook page, You Tube channel and, for teens, Discord.

In Beanstack, participants can find activity lists and track their progress to receive virtual badges that qualify them to be entered into prize drawings at the end of the summer. Paper copies of the activity ideas and reading trackers are also available.

For children, there is a program for kids who are not yet school aged and another for kindergarteners through sixth graders. Participants need to complete a set number of tasks to receive a prize at the end of the summer. 

Younger children will need 15 badges, while the older children need 25 to receive the prize bag, which will include a book and some other small items, said Children’s Librarian Samantha Cote.

Children’s programming will also include the typical preschool Storytime on Monday and Thursday mornings, as well as Books and Babies on Tuesday Mornings. 

Other special activities for children are also offered in the summer.  On Tuesdays, Lab Coat Adventures will feature science programs.  Wednesdays will alternate between a craft program and building challenges.  Finally, on Saturdays, the library offers the Calm as a Critter program, which features calming activities like breathing exercises, simple crafts, relaxing activities and a personal challenge.

For the interactive programs, Cote said there are some make and take bags available at the library. 

“We tried to plan them all to use materials that people would commonly have at their house,” she said, but if families need them, the bags contain all the supplies needed for the entire summer. Those bags are available for all the programs except the building challenges. 

For building, Cote said, “I’ll probably be using Legos, but people can use whatever they have at home.”

The make and take bags can be picked up at the library, either inside or as part of their curbside service, which can be requested by calling the Children’s Room.

Two stand-alone Zoom programs for kids will also be offered this summer.  On Monday, July 6, Sharks4Kids will present a program on the world of sharks, and on Thursday, July 30, Marine Mammals of Maine will present one about seals. To participate in these programs, contact the Children’s Room for the Zoom link.

A Beanstack account can be created at windham.Beanstack.org.  Families can create one account with multiple readers in the account. There is also a smartphone app available. 

Designing an entire summer program online had challenges, Cote said. In the summer, they’ve historically offered a lot of interactive programming.

“Trying to figure out how to still make an active and engaging program without the personal contact was hard,” Cote said.

It was important to keep up the summer reading challenge tradition, she added, to provide some sense of normalcy and give families new ideas.

“If you’ve been quarantining for a while, you might have gotten into a routine and maybe you’re starting to get a little bit bored,” Cote said. “Now, through our different programs you can get ideas of new things to do and try.”

One popular summer activity in the month of July has been to hunt for the rubber chicken hidden throughout the library.

“This year we partnered with Parks and Rec and the Presumpscot Regional Land Trust and our chicken is being hidden at some trails around Windham so people can still get the joy of hunting for the chicken while also enjoying some of the trails we have,” said Cote.

This is just one of the activities that can earn a badge in Beanstack.

The teen program includes tracking reading, writing book reviews, and Blackout Bingo.  Summer Reading program events for teens will be held on Discord. Teens must sign up for the Discord server by filling out a form at http://www.windham.lib.me.us/teens.  Discord events will include Make it Monday, Teen Movie Tuesdays, Wellness Wednesdays, Teen Anime Thursdays, and Escape for the Weekend Fridays.  Details can be found on the library website.

“I tried to balance out social screen time and active time with activities teens could learn and do quickly at any time,” said Teen and Emerging Technology Librarian Cassandra Lull.

She also created a teens’ only closed Discord server to provide a safe place to chat, discuss interests and host online programs, as well as creating a teen specific Instagram account so they see information that only pertains to them.

“I hope to start cultivating the idea that the library isn’t just for kids and adults, but teens have a place here, too,” she said.

For the adult reading challenge, Reference/Technology Librarian Ray Marcotte has designed five tasks that incorporate the theme and Maine’s Bicentennial.  There will also be three online events and attending one of these is one of the five tasks.

On Tuesday, June 30 at 6 p.m., New England Author and Humorist Tim Caverly will present “So You Think You Know Maine” via Zoom.  This presentation will also be aired on the library’s Facebook page.

On Wednesday, July 29, a Maine Bicentennial Concert featuring Bilodeau Family Music will air at 6 p.m. via their YouTube channel. A link will be posted on the library website on the day of the event.

Finally, on Wednesday, Aug. 5, USM History Professor Libby Bischof will offer a visual history of Maine via Facebook Live on the library’s Facebook page.

Marcotte said it was a challenge to figure out how to present the events, but it’s working out.  “It’s definitely not the same, but we’re making it work,” he said. 

Marcotte has been doing virtual book group and Socrates Café for months now, he said, with decent participation.

For more information about any of the summer reading challenges and events, visit http://www.windham.lib.me.us. <