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those of us working in animal welfare, it really is about those animals who don't have any other option or don't have anyone else to be their voice.”

Enter Mikey, a five-yearold brindle/pit bull mix.

Mikey came to the BHS through its partnership with the ASPCA’s New York shelter. (“A lot of people don't know that they focus on the worst of the worst animal cases,” said Coventry. “They're partnering with organizations like the NYPD and they are really getting animals out of some dire situations.”)

Mikey had been hit by a car and the majority of his leg was shattered. The ASPCA rebuilt and rehabilitated Mikey physically.

After months of successful rehab, he went up for adoption in their New York shelter. Unfortunately, after the car accident, Mikey was terrified of traffic. In New York, that can be a big issue. And after several months, he didn’t have one person interested in adopting him.

“Mikey is a wonderfully tempered dog,” said Coventry. “He was super social and super sweet. But it was really hard for them to find placement for Mikey.

He's a big dog. He has a lot of energy. So he's really not a fit for apartment living, which is common in the Manhattan area.”

The shelter watched Mikey go from a happy, social dog to a depressed one. So the New York shelter reached out to the BHS. “We have a lot of options in a pretty rural region,” said Coventry. “We abso-

lutely were excited with his records and his behavioral temperament. So he came up here and he was only up for adoption for four days before he got adopted.”

A couple from rural Maine adopted him.

Recently, they sent the BHS a video update of Mikey.

“The very first video we got after a few days of him being in his new home was of Mikey outside in their big yard, running free— you know, chasing sticks like the happiest of dogs.”

FOOTLOOSE LIFESAVER

The black and white cat Footloose arrived at the BHS earlier in the summer and was, according to Coventry, “a quirky cat.”

“We get a variety of special needs animals here, and she was actually born with a deformed limb,” said Coventry. “She had adapted to it to become a lovable, happy cat.”

But sometimes, she said, some people are concerned about caring for animals with special needs—that maybe there's ongoing medical care or it's just not a fit for what they're looking for.

Luckily, a woman visited the BHS looking for a companion. She happened to be disabled herself, suffering from a hearing impairment and confined to a wheelchair. She happened to be an amputee herself. She was looking for a cat that could be a companion for her.

2 Saturday/Sunday, December 22, 2018, Bangor Daily News

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Saturday/Sunday, December 22-23, 2018

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The Bangor Humane Society’s stories of success from 2018

By Matt Chabe

T

he Bangor Humane Society (BHS) has said they’re in the “matchmaking business,” and to look at the numbers, you’d believe it. Of the nearly 2,800 animals that the BHS took in last fiscal year, they placed nearly 2,500 of them through adoptions or by reuniting lost pets with owners.

Stacey Coventry, the director of development and public relations at the BHS, said there are three major reasons why animals come to their care. The first is through lost or stray situations. Every town in the state is required to contract with either a shelter or department to bring lost and stray animals to, and Coventry said the BHS contracts with about 30 towns in the region. “We can get strays through animal control officers that bring them

in,” she said, “or just good citizens who find a lost, stray, or abandoned animal and bring it to us to see if we can find its owner.”

Another reason animals find themselves is self-surrender. Sometimes, owners are just not able to take care of the animal, or it's no longer a match. “We do have an open admission shelter,” said Coventry, “which means if we have the space we will take the animals from anywhere (preferably with advance notice from the owner).”

The third way is via relationships with the State Animal Welfare Department and their animal welfare agency.

“They're the ones who actually go out and investigate cases of abuse or neglect,” said Coventry.

“Should they have a need to seize animals from homes that they feel ani-

mals are not safe or being cared for, we are a partner shelter. We will work with them and take animals that belong to the state. Often they're here until there's a custody resolution.”

She said the most common animal the BHS sees is cats, though that number has fallen in recent years due to rigorous spay/neuter programs at the state and local levels. Dogs are popular, as well. However, the BHS is no stranger to “small animals” as well.

“Our largest small animal population is rabbits,” she said. “We've actually seen that number double over the last three or four years. We took in a total of 92 small animals last year, and 55 were rabbits. So it's not a huge number.”

“Birds are a small portion of what we do,” she added, “but they do come here.”

Which leads us to...

MIKEY

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PERCY’S NEW PERCH

Percy, an Amazon parrot, came into the BHS’s care in June 2018. Percy was part of a hoarding situation in which the owners had a lot of birds, fish, and other miscellaneous small animals, said Coventry.

“We don't take fish and other animals like that,” she said, “so other placements were found for them. But the birds all came to us.”

Those other birds—small, domestic ones that are more easily cared for—were easily adopted. Amazon parrots, however, are exotic birds and are challenging to take care of. The BHS wanted to make sure it found an experienced home that could afford his care, not only in terms of healthcare but the enrichment, food, and long term care he required, as well.

To complicate matters, Percy had upper respiratory issues (akin to a human cold) when he arrived at the BHS. He needed to get healthy before he was adopted out. And he needed some TLC in the form of socialization.

“I think people forget that small animals need socialization just as much as cats and dogs and people do,” said Coventry. “In the hoarding situation, he did not receive a lot of that. So when he came to us he was sort of withdrawn and sad and definitely under-socialized. He was slow to build trust with our staff.”

Once Percy was healthy, the word was put out about him. A few months later, the BHS adoption counsellors came in contact with a woman who is familiar with birds and had exotic birds in the past. She visited Percy multiple times and would sit with him and build a relationship of trust.

Eventually, the woman adopted Percy.

“Everything that we've heard since is that he's settling in well and they have a great bond. He seems to be happy and thriving in her household so we're grateful for that,” said Coventry. “I think a lot of people expect to walk in the shelter and walk out with an animal.

We really appreciate the people who understand that some of the animals just need time and they're slow to trust. They've come with some history and some baggage, like people do.”

CITY DOG, COUNTRY DOG

The BHS has been working hard over the last year couple of years on its transport program to determine if it would be a fit for this region, according to Coventry. To do it, the BHS began piloting smaller programs focused on puppies.

“Puppies are wonderful,” said Coventry. “Some transport dogs are coming from high kill areas and there are lots of people looking for highly-adoptable puppies and dogs. Their adoption fees help us take care of the dogs with bigger needs.”

However, she said, “for

PERCY

FOOTLOOSE, AKA NYNY those of us working in animal welfare, it really is about those animals who don't have any other option or don't have anyone else to be their voice.”

Enter Mikey, a five-yearold brindle/pit bull mix.

Mikey came to the BHS through its partnership with the ASPCA’s New York shelter. (“A lot of people don't know that they focus on the worst of the worst animal cases,” said Coventry. “They're partnering with organizations like the NYPD and they are really getting animals out of some dire situations.”)

Mikey had been hit by a car and the majority of his leg was shattered. The ASPCA rebuilt and rehabilitated Mikey physically.

After months of successful rehab, he went up for adoption in their New York shelter. Unfortunately, after the car accident, Mikey was terrified of traffic. In New York, that can be a big issue. And after several months, he didn’t have one person interested in adopting him.

“Mikey is a wonderfully tempered dog,” said Coventry. “He was super social and super sweet. But it was really hard for them to find placement for Mikey.

He's a big dog. He has a lot of energy. So he's really not a fit for apartment living, which is common in the Manhattan area.”

The shelter watched Mikey go from a happy, social dog to a depressed one. So the New York shelter reached out to the BHS. “We have a lot of options in a pretty rural region,” said Coventry. “We abso-

lutely were excited with his records and his behavioral temperament. So he came up here and he was only up for adoption for four days before he got adopted.”

A couple from rural Maine adopted him.

Recently, they sent the BHS a video update of Mikey.

“The very first video we got after a few days of him being in his new home was of Mikey outside in their big yard, running free— you know, chasing sticks like the happiest of dogs.”

FOOTLOOSE LIFESAVER

The black and white cat Footloose arrived at the BHS earlier in the summer and was, according to Coventry, “a quirky cat.”

“We get a variety of special needs animals here, and she was actually born with a deformed limb,” said Coventry. “She had adapted to it to become a lovable, happy cat.”

But sometimes, she said, some people are concerned about caring for animals with special needs—that maybe there's ongoing medical care or it's just not a fit for what they're looking for.

Luckily, a woman visited the BHS looking for a companion. She happened to be disabled herself, suffering from a hearing impairment and confined to a wheelchair. She happened to be an amputee herself. She was looking for a cat that could be a companion for her.

Footloose clearly chose her, said Coventry. And out

Please see Page 4, HUMANE SOCIETY

Bangor Daily News, Saturday/Sunday, December 22, 2018 3

Humane Society

4 Saturday/Sunday, December 22, 2018, Bangor Daily News

Continued from Page 1

JODI HERSEY

BANGOR MURAL — Liam Reading creating a history driven mural on the exterior of the Together Place.

Young painter leaves ‘historic’ impression on Bangor

By Jodi Hersey

I

f you’ve driven through Bangor on Union Street near downtown recently, you may have noticed an impressive mural gracing one of the buildings there.

Who painted it, and why?

Wonder no more.

Liam Reading of Bangor was born into a family of artists. His father is an architect, and his sister turns trash into treasure as an eco-artist. Reading decided to follow in their footsteps and enrolled in the studio art program at the University of Maine in Orono. Although he still has another year of studies to go before graduation, his talent is already being enjoyed by thousands in the downtown area.

Reading spent the beginning of this past summer painting the exterior of the Together Place on Bangor’s Union Street with the faces of some of the state’s most influential Mainers. It’s the biggest canvas he’s ever worked on and a project he’s proud to have a hand in making.

“It feels really good to

be a part of something that’s way bigger than myself,” Reading said.

“The Bangor City Council had a meeting and came up with a list of influential Mainers and they gave that to me. I narrowed it down by half and came up with a design.”

The Together Place is a peer-run recovery center that helps individuals with mental health and substance use issues.

On one of the building’s walls, Reading chose to depict singer/songwriter Patty Griffin, writer Stephen King, health advocate Dorthea Dix, and civil war hero and former Maine Governor Joshua Chamberlain.

“Since [the Together Place] helps people with mental health issues, I chose Dorthea Dix. She went into an insane asylum, basically faked insanity, to report on what was happening in the early 1900s,” Reading said. “My last project was at the Dorthea Dix Psychiatric Center, where I was asked to paint interior landscapes. Then I came down here and they

wanted me to paint Dorthea Dix [herself]. It’s a really cool connection.”

On the side of the building that faces the Bangor YMCA, Reading chose to paint Olympic swimmer Ian Crocker, Olympic runner Joan Benoit Samuelson, and the first Native American major league baseball player, Louis Sockalexis.

“Joan Benoit Samuelson was the first women’s marathon Olympic gold medalist in 1984. My mom actually ran in the 1984 Olympic trials, in the same race as her. So that was another cool connection,” Reading said. “I was a swimmer my whole youth and when I was 12, I actually broke Ian Crocker’s state record in the 100 IM [individual medley]. He went on to be an Olympic gold medalist.

He was right up there with Michael Phelps. So it felt personal to honor him.”

While Reading was focused on mixing colors and adding layers to his mural, motorists and pedestrians alike couldn’t stop themselves from commenting on his work.

“It looks good,” said one pedestrian. “It really does.”

“Thank you,” Reading replied.

“Good work,” a passing motorist shouted.

Reading said hearing and seeing people’s reactions to his painting has been the most rewarding part of the experience.

“Everyone has been really supportive of it,” Reading said. “I’ve had some great conversations because of it. You would usually pass people on the street and not have any interaction, and yet my art is causing that interaction. It’s exciting.”

Reading put the finishing touches on the mural at the end of June. He said knowing when to put down your brush and walk away is a challenge for any artist.

“That’s one of the trickiest things,” Reading said. “Painting these individuals from Maine, who have made a lasting impact on the world, has been an honor.”

To see more of Liam Reading’s work, visit liamreading.com.

of all the cats at the BHS that day, the woman fixated on Footloose, as well. She ended up taking Footloose home, where Footloose received a new name: NyNy. But the story doesn’t end there. Recently, the woman sent the BHS adoption counselor an update. She said that NyNy has developed into a superb “service cat.”

NyNy helps her owner by alerting her to important sounds around the house.

And she’s even saved her owner’s life: once, during a drastic medical situation in the home, NyNy kept her owner awake long enough to text for help. “If it wasn't for my baby girl, I wouldn't be here and alive right now,” said the owner.

“Unfortunately, this isn't the place you're going to find a service animal,” said Coventry. “We adopt out our animals to be loving, emotional support companions. So when we find these stories where people and animals have come together like this, it’s incredible. It's something that we didn't even know this cat was capable of.”

STEWIE’S HAPPY ENDING

Stewie is another brindle/ pit bull mix that came to the BHS recently. He first arrived after an unfortunate incident: he lived with a single female, and she passed away in her home.

Stewie was there with her until she was found.

STEWIE

“When the first responders entered her house, it took some time for them to get in because he was very protective of his person,” said Coventry. “He lived with just her.”

Stewie wasn’t fully socialized around new people. Unfortunately, the only person he knew was no longer there. According to Coventry, it took some time to build Stewie’s trust at the BHS. “Fortunately, he was very food-motivated,” she said, “so that allowed us to build a bond and a relationship with Stewie a little faster.”

He was very protective in his kennel. He was already depressed when he arrived at the BHS. “He came here confused, grieving for his owner, not really understanding,” said Coventry.

A married couple visited the BHS who had past experience with Stewie’s breed.

They fell in love with Stewie and came in several times to visit him for trust and socialization through the BHS’s "Dogs Day Out" program.

Importantly, said Coventry, Stewie and the couple learned about each other.

“We continue to get updates that he is settled well and he's really come out of his shell,” she said.

“He's becoming more social, more outgoing, and very happy in this new neighborhood that he has.”

Bangor Daily News, Saturday/Sunday, December 22, 2018 5

Hampden Library puts basement to good use

By Molly Mayo

D

eep in the basement of the Edythe Dyer Library in Hampden lies a world of hidden treasures.

I felt like the thief Aladdin as I made my way into this “cave of wonders.”

I fingered through whimsical covers and titles with the glee of a little girl on Christmas. After securing a couple of new books, I made my way over to the classics section, where the crisp smell of older books greeted me. Titles such as “Sherlock Holmes,” “Moby Dick,” and “Pride and Prejudice” showed their familiar faces amidst timeless others. The smell of fresh paint mingled with old books displayed an interesting contrast. It proved a powerful metaphor for library’s purpose.

Not too long ago, the library’s basement was filled with boxes holding donations, library discards, and various items.

As time passed, patrons of the library asked “Wouldn’t it be nice if the basement could be cleared up from all of this junk?”

So The Friends of the Library, a small group of volunteers dedicated to enhancing the library through fundraising and advocacy efforts, worked to turn those words into fact. Eventually, with the simple step of labeling a box free and placing all the “junk” into the biannual library sale upstairs, the clutter was cleared.

The basement was free to use in a matter of months.

Encouraged by their success at the biannual sale, the Friends of the Library decided that the perfect utilization of the basement space would be a bookstore.

They decided that the shop would be open the same hours as the library and help fund various projects around the library. With a goal in sight, and a basement available, the Friends

CONTRIBUTED

SECRET HAMPDEN BOOKSTORE — Kaylee Lovestrand browses books on gardening in the “secret bookstore” at the Edythe Dyer Library in Hampden. lost no time in transforming the cluttered basement into a business.

Once the news spread of the library’s basement renovation and the plan for a basement bookstore, a steady flow of donations began to make their way in. One particular gentleman, after hearing that the Friends of the Library were accepting donations, gave a staggering two- to three-thousand books to the shop. Due to such generous givers, the bookshop has been able to offer genres ranging from cookbooks to comic books. The amount and variety of books had Friends’ member Jane Jarvi joking, “There must be an awful lot of coffee tables in Hampden.” However, just because a book is donated does not mean it will be an immediate seller.

Friends of the Library volunteers examine each book to make sure that mildew, mold, and mutilated copies don’t find a home on

their shelves. Donations are filed on the shelves according to their topic.

These books serve as one of the main ways that Friends of the Library brings in funds for projects around the Edythe Dyer Library. While Janice Trefethen, Friends of the Library volunteer, led me on a tour throughout the library above the shop, I was amazed by the new features that the bookshop helped support.

New couches in the children’s department, hanging displays for local artists to showcase their work, and an AED defibrillator are just a few of the upgrades that the bookshop made possible.

This was the poetic contrast between old books and fresh paint.

“We have met a lot of nice people, and have made lifetime friends,” said Trefethen. “Where else can you go for a $2 novel or hardcover?”

6 Saturday/Sunday, December 22, 2018, Bangor Daily News

The incredible history of H

oliday celebrants employ holiday lights in various ways. Certain individuals may be content to hang lights on their Christmas trees and call their decorating complete.

Others may get their “holiday jollies” by making sure each square inch of their home is covered in twinkling lights. Still other people prefer the more subdued effect of lights framing one picture window of the house.

The tradition of Christmas lights stretches back to early modern Germany when people used candles to decorate Christmas trees in Christian homes. Those candles were harbingers of what would come when electric lights replaced gas and other open-flame illuminating devices that were commonplace prior to the 20th century.

Thomas Edison, the inventor of the first successful practical light bulb, also created the first

strand of electric lights that would be used in holiday decorating. By 1880, Edison had standard incandescent light bulbs well sorted out and desired a way to better advertise his invention, so he decided to make the most of the holiday season and put his light bulbs on display. According to a 2003 article in American Heritage magazine titled “The Wizard of Your Christmas Tree,” Edison strung incandescent bulbs all around the compound of his Menlo Park, NJ,

holiday lights

laboratory. Edison constructed an eight-mile underground wiring system in order to power this grand light display.

Because the laboratory was situated along the railroad that passed between Manhattan and Philadelphia, thousands of people were able to see the display.

The concept of electric holiday lights took a bit of time to catch on. Edison’s friend and associate Edward Johnson was tasked with stringing together colored lights in 1882 and placing them on an evergreen tree. Johnson

hand-wired 80 red, white, and blue light bulbs. In 1895, President Grover Cleveland requested the White House family Christmas tree be illuminated by multi-colored electric light bulbs.

In 1903, when General Electric began to offer preassembled kits of holiday lights, stringed lights were reserved for the wealthy and electrically savvy. For example, in 1903 a single string of electric lights cost $12—around $300 today!

It would take several more years before holiday lights became a national tradition. On Christmas

Eve 1923, President Calvin Coolidge began the country’s celebration of Christmas by lighting the National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse located south of the White House with 3,000 electric lights.

Today, illuminated strands of lights have become a large part of holiday celebrations and have even been adopted for use during various year-round events. Such lights can be a beautiful and festive addition to many celebrations.

The origins of some favorite Christmas songs S

cores of artists have released Christmas albums or holiday-infused singles during their careers. Christmas music can generally be broken down into two categories: traditional hymns and carols and popular secular songs.

Some believe that the religious standards have been passed down since the earliest days of Christianity. However, that is not so. Before the 12th century, music wasn’t typically included in religious services, and even then music was included only sporadically. In present day, religious tunes identified as Christmas music typically are not sung until Christmas Eve and thereafter until the Epiphany.

Many of the oldest Christmas songs are not old at all. Many popular carols sung today are less than 200 years old. The

world’s most popular Christmas carol, “Silent Night,” was originally a poem penned in 1816 by Austrian Catholic priest Josef Mohr. Two years later, Mohr asked Franz Xaver Gruber, an organist and local schoolteacher, to put his words to music.

The resulting song was not translated into English for 40 years.

“Hark the Herald Angels Sing” also originated from a poem and had the original opening line “Hark how all the welkin rings.”

The subsequent version was more catchy, and the faster-paced accompaniment was courtesy of Felix Mendelssohn, added 100 years after the poem was written.

“Rudolph, the RedNosed Reindeer” was written in 1939 by songwriter Johnny Marks. The song is based on a booklet published earlier that year by the department

store Montgomery Ward (which, incidentally, was written by Marks's brother-in-law, Robert L. May).

The song was first sung by Harry Brannon on the radio in early November 1949, though it is Gene Autry's hit version that popularized the song shortly after. Autry originally rejected the song, but his wife convinced him to use it. The rest, as they say, is history.

“Jingle Bells,” a nonreligious tune that has become synonymous with Christmas, was not originally written as a Christmas tune. In fact, the song was intended to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Christmas music is diverse, with lively tunes, modern interpretations, and religious classics enjoyed through the years. Many of the songs also have interesting— and sometimes surprising—origins.

Bangor Daily News, Saturday/Sunday, December 22, 2018 7

Fundraising Brewer youth embarks on

new passion project

By Janelle Jundt

R

eaders of past editions of the “Bangor Daily (Good) News” may recognize the name Noah Tibbetts. He’s the enterprising young philanthropist responsible for local fundraisers including the aptlynamed “Nickels for Noah.”

You’d be hard pressed to find anyone more motivated and driven than Noah, an 8th grade student at Brewer Community School. Noah is an athlete, a hardworking student, and an avid fundraiser for the Children’s Miracle Network through the EMHS foundation. He jug-

passion: fundraising for a cause he believes in.

He gave me some background on his previous fundraising ventures.

The first one was a haunted forest at his house.

That was such a success he wanted to do more. For his next project, he organized a school-wide fundraiser in Brewer called “Nickels for Noah.” Each class got a jar for spare change, and the class that brought in the most money won a pizza party.

The total amount raised by the school was then matched by the Bangor Federal Credit Union.

Over the past three years,

for kids in the hospital who have extended stays.

He is hoping the money earned this year could go towards a new teen room for the Eastern Maine Medical Center. He said he’d like to design the room with a Fenway Park theme (he’s a die-hard Red Sox fan).

Noah knows from experience how difficult it can be for a kid to spend lots of time in the hospital and away from friends. He hopes, if this is something a child has to go through, the money he raises can make things a little easier on them.

In the past several years, [Noah] led a number of fundraising efforts, raised tens of thousands of dollars for charity, and gained a little local fame in the process. Now, he’s embarking on a new fundraising effort involving a new interest: fly tying. gles all this while living with an immune deficiency that frequently takes his time and energy.

He’s also a fundraiser extraordinaire. In the past several years, he’s led a number of fundraising efforts, raised tens of thousands of dollars for charity, and gained a little local fame in the process.

Now, he’s embarking on a new fundraising effort involving a new interest: fly tying.

Noah met with me to discuss his new project, and walked in at 7 a.m. toting three bags with sports equipment and textbooks.

He was respectful and spoke eloquently about his

“Nickels for Noah” has raised over $33,000 dollars for the CMN. His new fundraising project involves fly tying.

Noah somehow found time in his busy schedule to complete courses for fly tying through the Penobscot Fly Fishers, an educational non-profit organization based in Brewer. He found he really enjoyed making these fishing lures and saw an opportunity to sell them to support the CMN. He has been busy making a lot of different flies to sell.

In the past, money raised by Noah’s fundraisers has gone towards toys

I asked Noah how others could get involved. He had a few suggestions. He said that people can donate directly to the CMN. He also suggested looking up other fundraisers they are putting on.

To purchase fly ties from Noah, visit his Facebook page (“Noah's CreationsCustom Tied Fishing Flies”), email his mother at jctibbetts@roadrunner. com, or call 207-699-9653.

The Facebook page will have pictures and prices of all available flies for sale.

You can also visit the website for the Children’s Miracle Network, EMHS CONTRIBUTED Foundation at emhs NEW FUNDRAISING PROJECT — Noah with his flies he has tied as a fundraiser to support foundation.org/cmnh. the Children’s Miracle Network.

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8 Saturday/Sunday, December 22, 2018, Bangor Daily News

Veterans and supporters mark 100th anniversary of end of WWI

AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL — Veterans join community members in singing “America the Beautiful,” at a Veterans Day ceremony at UMFK on Sunday, Nov. 11.

By Jessica Potila

A

large crowd gathered at the University of Maine at Fort Kent Old Model School Building on Sunday, Nov. 11, to mark Veterans Day and the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. Members of American Legion Post 133 and the UMFK Student Veterans Association organized the event at which legionnaire Duane Belanger helped

members of Boy Scout Troop 189 raise a United States Flag. UMFK President John N. Short and Vietnam Veteran Melford Pelletier laid a ceremonial wreath at the base of the flagpole.

High school exchange students from Cholet, France, along with their host students from Fort Kent Community High School gathered to read a poem in French titled "Poeme," which French WWI soldier Eugene Dabit

wrote during the war.

Translated to English, Dabit's poem reads in part: "I was a soldier at 18 What misery To fight a war While still a child To live in a hole In the ground Pursued like a madman By war" France and the United States were allied forces in World War I.

CHS French educator Robert Daigle read a poem that World War I veteran Ralph Moan of East Machias wrote regarding a battle that took place on Sept. 26, 1918. The poem in part reads: "Our trenches ahead, Almost there!

Back came Hell's windshield wiper Vomiting death and I dug in — Dug in with all I had."

Daigle told the crowd that during WWI, roughly 10 percent of the male population of Fort Kent, or 120 men, went off to fight the war. Five of them never returned.

Chaperones for the French exchange students as well as educators in Cholet, Tanguy Vilboux and Juliette Heron, accompanied the students to the UMFK Acadian Archives earlier in the week where they

JESSICA POTILA

learned about these local heros before reading Dabit’s poem at Sunday's ceremony.

Veterans from Forest Hill Nursing and Skilled Rehab in Fort Kent also attended the ceremony but due to cold weather and strong winds watched from inside a van parked on the lawn. The Forest Hill veterans waved at the crowd who cheered in appreciation for their service to our country.

Bangor Daily News, Saturday/Sunday, December 22, 2018 9

8 creative tips to reuse

Christmas cards

R

oughly 1.6 billion Christmas cards, including boxed cards, are purchased in a given year.

That’s quite a lot of cards to address and mail, and many festive greetings for recipients to read and display.

With so much money and effort put into sharing Christmas greetings, some people may wonder how they can prolong the merriment offered by these cards. Here are some creative ways to put Christmas cards to new use once this holiday season has come and gone.

3. MAKE CHRISTMAS CARD ORNAMENTS.

Use the cards to create uniquely shaped ornaments for the tree. Cards can be turned into block shapes and hung with ribbon. Another idea is to punch out circles or ovals from 1. MAKE YOUR OWN GIFT TAGS. Christmas the cards and tile them on a foam egg to look like a multicard stock is the perfect medium to turn into gift tags for colored pine cone. Explore your creative side and decopresents. Cut the cards into squares or rectangles or use a rate your tree at the same time. stencil to create whatever shape you desire. Then use a hole punch to create a space for ribbon or another tie. Use 4. CREATE GREETING CARD GARLANDS. the tag to dress up gifts with something more unique than Display cards by stringing them together and hanging them from the mantle or another prominent area. If cards self-stick tags. are too large, punch out large circles from the cards and 2. GET MAGNETIZED. All it takes is a scissor, some then attach those disks to heavy thread. glue, and sheets of magnet for a decorative and fun craft project. Turn favorite Christmas cards into mementos 5. DECORATE YOUR PACKAGES. Instead of that can be saved year after year, which also will dress up overspending on pre-printed gift bags, make your own. refrigerators or other magnetic surfaces. This idea works Buy plain bags in a solid color and then embellish them well for photo greeting cards as well. with cutout patterns or pictures from Christmas cards.

6. FRAME FAVORITE CARDS.

Make greeting cards a permanent part of holiday decor by framing the most decorative ones you receive. Use these frames year after year and put them on display with other holiday decorations.

7. MAKE A WINE BOTTLE GIFT TAG. Use a 1

1/4-inch hole punch to create an opening for the neck of a wine bottle on a piece of folded card stock. Glue a greeting card to the portion of the card stock that will lay flush with the wine bottle and you have a decorative wine tag.

8. SHRED OLDER CARDS FOR CONFETTI.

Fill gift boxes or bags with homemade confetti made from recycled Christmas cards.

Make the upcoming year clutter-free

M

any people feel the dawn of a new year provides an opportunity to clean the slate and begin anew. That notion can be applied in various ways, including around the house.

Cleaning the slate at home may involve reducing clutter around the house. Clutter can gradually overtake a home’s interior, turning a once-pristine home into one overwhelmed with nonessential items. Clearing a home of clutter can seem like a monumental task, but the

following tips can help homeowners and apartment dwellers make the year ahead clutter-free.

SCAN IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS AND SAVE THEM ON A COMPUTER. Some documents cannot be discarded, but that does not mean they have to be stored in bulky file cabinets or desk drawers. Scan important documents such as medical receipts or tax returns and save them on your computer where they won’t take up any physical

space. Purchase an external hard drive as a safety net where you can store backups of important documents in case a computer crashes and cannot be rebooted.

THIN OUT DVD AND CD LIBRARIES. Thanks to streaming services and digital music players, DVDs and compact discs have become somewhat obsolete. Discard or donate DVDs that you can just as easily stream through your television, and convert compact discs to digi-

tal files that you can play on your computer and MP3 players, ultimately donating the discs and clearing space.

PURCHASE FURNITURE THAT DOUBLES AS STORAGE. Storage ottomans and benches can help clear common areas and bedrooms of clutter such as blankets and bed linens that can make rooms feel more claustrophobic. Storage furniture might not get excess items out of the house, but such furnishings can create a

more comfortable, welcoming environment.

SWITCH TO E-STATEMENTS FOR BANK DOCUMENTS AND UTILITY BILLS. Paper is a big contributor to household clutter. When given the chance to choose between paper or e-statements, opt for the latter so bills and bank statements don’t pile up on your desk.

If you still want to keep important bills and bank statements, download them to your computer and keep them in a designated folder.

ADOPT AN “OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW” MANTRA. Resolve to discard old items after purchasing new ones or receiving birthday or holiday gifts.

Hanging on to old items because they can still function and serve some utility is a recipe for a cluttered home.

Anytime you or a family member brings a new item into your home, make sure the item it’s replacing finds its way out the door.

10 Saturday/Sunday, December 22, 2018, Bangor Daily News

Washburn man medals

at world wrestling championships

By Kevin Sjoberg

A

trip that began with plenty of negatives ended in triumph for a local wrestler.

Sixty-four year-old James "Chico" Hernandez of Washburn, who is the varsity wrestling coach at Caribou High School, traveled to the African city of Casablanca in Morocco to compete in the World Masters Sambo Championships Oct. 20 and 21. He competed in the 60-64 age division in the 100 kilograms-and-over weight division and came away with a bronze medal, but it did not come easily.

"The trip did not go off smoothly at first," said Hernandez. "The registration was tough for me because it was conducted entirely in Russian and Arabic. They almost did not let me weigh in because of the language barriers."

Hernandez explained that as the only representative from the United States, he did not have a coach or liaison to help him find out where he appeared on the bracket and who his first-round opponent was.

John Clarke, the British Sambo Federation president who is a friend of Hernandez, stepped in and had his

national team coach, Colin Carrot, serve as his coach.

Volodymyr Ivanenko of Ukraine handed Hernandez an 8-0 loss in the opening match. Ivanenko is a fourtime World Masters Sambo silver medalist and was a member of the 1990 USSR Powerlifting Team.

"He could bench press over 600 pounds and tilted the scales at 325, while I weighed in at 245," Hernandez said, "so it was a tough draw."

Hernandez had other factors working against him, such as not having the correct color uniform or proper Sambo shoes that were required for his next match

CONTRIBUTED BY CHICO HERNANDEZ

WRESTLING CHAMP — Chico Hernandez, back to, competes in October against Ukrainian fighter and silver medalist Volodymyr Ivanenko at the World Masters Sambo Championships in Casablanca, Morroco. due to having lost luggage on the trip over. He had to scurry and ended up borrowing boots from Lee Carrot, a member of the British team and the coach's son, and was loaned a red jacket by German team

left in the match and still trailing 3-0, Hernandez used a combination move to put his opponent, Sakhtan Bekpeiisuly of Kazakhstan, on his back for a 20-second hold down pin that allowed Hernandez

wrestlers I coach that you don't know until you try and do your best and this was a time I needed to practice what I preach," he added. "I was flying high knowing I was walking out of Africa with a world

Sixty-four year-old James “Chico” Hernandez of Washburn, who is the varsity wrestling coach at Caribou High School, traveled to the African city of Casablanca in Morocco to compete in the World Masters Sambo Championships. member Peter Rebscher.

Still, Hernandez did not make it on time for the match check-in and was penalized three points.

"You do not spot fighters a three-point lead at the world championship level," Hernandez said.

"My thoughts were now sinking even deeper as I thought of all the time, training money and efforts of this mission, but I was still not going to quit and I gave my best."

What happened next was improbable. With a minute

to take a two-point lead.

Despite Bekpeiisuly's attempts to take down Hernandez in the final seconds, the match ended at 5-3 as the horn sounded.

"Everybody in the arena was cheering for me, all countries in different languages," Hernandez said.

"It was truly a Rocky-like comeback and even the refs were clapping for me as they raised my hand in victory for the bronze medal.

"I always tell the young

medal that I could bring back to the USA." Hernandez has been part of 12 national teams and is a member of the AAU National Wrestling Hall of Fame. He has accumulated 53 international titles in freestyle wrestling, folkstyle wrestling, submission grappling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Sambo.

Three hundred wrestlers representing 30 countries competed in the tourney in Morocco.

Bangor Daily News, Saturday/Sunday, December 22, 2018 11

Sewing high-fashion clothing from repurposed fabric

By Abigail Curtis

W

hen you think of Maine style, visions of plaid flannel shirts, Carhartt overalls, long underwear and iconic L.L. Bean boots may come to mind.

We are, after all, a people who must contend with several months of winter and who often dress for warmth and comfort rather than what is trending on Madison Avenue. But one Mainer who is taking a different approach to the clothes she wears is Jolene Bryant of the Waldo County town of Knox.

Bryant, who works as the produce manager and a cook at Chase's Daily in Belfast, is known locally for the high-fashion outfits she sews herself. She rings up customer's baskets of potatoes and cabbages and unloads the produce truck while wearing anything from bolero tops to leather corsets, from a silvery, sequined tank top to slip dresses made with leather panel insets.

Bryant is finding that making her own clothes is a way to express her creativity, and a way to make choices that are more ethical and sustainable than just buying clothes at the store would be.

"It's indescribable," she said of the feeling she gets from sewing. "For me, it's like a meditation. It's something that I do early in the morning that just starts my day off right.

And when it's done, I get to wear it. It's something that's useful. And fashion is the ultimate art. It's architecture, and you wear it. It expresses who you are in a way that fine art and paintings don't. I find it an extension of myself."

Bryant is, of course, not the only Mainer who is working to sew at least some of his or her own clothes. Home economics classes, where students once were taught to use a sewing machine among other skills, may be disappearing from Maine classrooms.

Fast fashion, fashionable clothes that are manufactured quickly and sold to consumers at prices so low they are considered to be almost disposable, is not going out of style any time soon. But those facts are not the whole story, according to experts such as Denise Slazas, who helps people learn to sew and quilt at Fiddlehead Artisan Supply in Belfast.

"There's something about creating that's not like anything else," Slazas, who got her first sewing machine when she was 10 and made all her own clothes during high school, said. "Sewing can't be everyone's favorite thing, but I can't imagine living in a world without sewing."

Bryant's interest in sewing has not been a lifelong passion. She said she used to have a love-hate relationship with her sewing machine after making some "horrible" clothes.

For years, she focused some of her creative energies on weaving, knitting and quilt-making. But not long ago, she was at a friend's house and saw a book on her kitchen table about a new type of sewing on her kitchen table. The book, by Natalie Chanin of southern lifestyle company Alabama Chanin, focused on slow design -hand-sewn clothes made of cotton jersey fabric that were built to last.

BY ABIGAIL CURTIS

HIGH FASHION — Jolene Bryant poses outside of Chase’s Daily in Belfast in late October wearing one of the highfashion outfits she makes herself.

"I pored over that book," Bryant said. "I said, 'I've got to try it.' The first thing I made, I thought, 'this looks really nice, I can do this!'"

As quickly as that, she was hooked. She found that after knitting so long, handsewing came naturally to her, and that the jersey fabric was forgiving. It wasn't long before Bryant was stepping up her sewing game, working on her own patterns and incorporating different materials she likes. She started a fashion blog to share photos and stories from the line she is calling "2 a.m. by jg bryant."

"I really like creating pieces to then write about and describe the process and the inspiration behind it," she said, adding that she has no plans to go into business as a custom seamstress. "Where this is going to take me, I don't know. I'm going to do whatever I feel like doing and go from there. I don't want to get caught up in manufacturing clothes for other people."

But she's really appreciating the opportunity to sidestep some of the problems she sees with industrial fashion, which includes bad conditions

for garment industry workers and a major sustainability issue. In fact, she watched a documentary about fashion called "The True Cost," which asks who really pays the price for clothing, and was affected by what she learned about a garment factory fire in Bangladesh that killed more than 100 people.

"That really struck a chord with me," she said.

"I'm kind of weaning myself away from storebought fabric."

Instead of buying new clothes or fabric, she has largely been making

things out of what she finds at yard sales and thrift sales. One of her favorite garments, a bolero, is made from a beige flannel bedsheet she found at a yard sale and then dyed black, And she loves it when customers at Chase's Daily and elsewhere ask her where she bought her clothes.

"That's the ultimate compliment, when someone asks me where did I buy it," Bryant said.

"And the open, slackjawed shock when I tell them I made it. It's a great feeling."

12 Saturday/Sunday, December 22, 2018, Bangor Daily News