Maple Sunday

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Maple Sunday. After all, she is friends with one of Joe McKinney’s grand-daughters.

On Sunday afternoon, the two women were standing together watching children on the swing set. DePeter has a 4-year-old son named Gavin.

“Each year, I spend between 45 minutes and hour and a half here,” she estimated.

“Previously, when I didn’t have a child, I would spend my time talking with everyone in the community. But, now that I have Gavin, he plays with the kids and we’ll eat. He likes to dance to the music,” she said.

She observed that the crowd is a bit bigger than usual.

“I would say it is much busier here than I’ve seen it in past years,” she said.

What is her favorite maple-flavored food?

“I haven’t gotten it yet. But I am a maple whoopie pie fanatic,” DePeter said.

Another mom with two children comes to this particular sugarhouse for the tradition and for the nuts.

“We always come here for the maple nuts. This is the only place I’ve found those,” according to Sara Brown, of New Hampshire.

Her children are Penny, 7, and Howie, 4.

“We have been coming to Maine Maple Sunday since Penny was a baby. My sister and brother-in-law live here. We come every year to just enjoy being in Maine and to spend time with family,” she said.

The delicious food is a draw, too.

Her children “really like the maple cotton candy and the maple lollipops and all the other little treats like popcorn and French fries,” Brown said.

Sunday is certainly the more popular day for crowds to come out. Still, a smaller crowd gravitated to some of the area sugar house early Saturday before snowflakes started to appear in the air in the late afternoon.

On Saturday, Steve Hayes, of Falmouth, and his wife Carol spent some time at Sweet William’s in Casco. The couple was new to Maine Maple weekend.

“Why did we come here? Our son is named William so Sweet William sounded

Bridgton

(Continued from Page 1A) time population, 280 tons of unwanted textiles could be pulled from the waste stream and save the town an estimated $22,000.

Johnson said AI would service the bin(s) each week, thus preventing unsightly spillage due to full containers. The company is also willing to put more than one bin at the location. AI has a clear list of items they will take.

“It’s a small way to improve our recycling and cutting costs,” Johnson said.

What

Health like a good place to go. That was lure number one. Then, Carol looked at the website and it looked good: A nice assortment of things to do,” he said.

“It was interesting to try the different things: the beans, the maple butter, the doughnuts,” he said.

“I learned a lot about processing maples syrup,” he said, referring to his tour of the sugarhouse, where the sap is boiled into syrup.

“I will savor the maple syrup on my pancakes even more,” he said, “now that I have the knowledge of how much work goes into it, and I understand more about the processing.”

“We bought syrup. We are going to do a taste test. We got medium and dark. So, we will see which one we like better. Then, we’ll come back and get more,” he said.

Johnson added that the AI bin is not in competition with the Salvation Army clothing donation container. Salvation Army is looking for clothing that is up for resale, while the AI bin targets items that can be repurposed.

Select Board member Carrye Castleman-Ross saw AI’s presentation to the Recycling Committee and found it “very compelling, very interesting.”

“I feel it would be a really nice addition,” she said.

Board Chair Carmen Lone asked Johnson to contact AI officials to set up a date for a presentation, as well as get a copy of a proposed contract.

Sad news. Stephen P. Fay, Bridgton’s first appointed full-time Fire Chief from December 2016 to May 2019, passed away Monday. Town officials wished their “sincerest condolences to his family and his wife, Diane,” who served as Bridgton’s Health Officer from June 2018 to

BRIDGTON, Page 3A

Senior College at Bridgton

Reservations being accepted for Spring 2023 classes Seven classes will be offered in person at the Webb’s Tavern at the Magic Lantern, 9 Depot Street, on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. from April 24 through May 16. Proof of COVID 19 vaccination is required. Masks are optional.

Classes are:

Thoreau’s Walden, Tips and Techniques for Joyful Gardening, History of Bridgton Area, Basics of Interior Design, History of the B&SR Railroad and the B&H Railway, Staying Active and Safe as You Age, Discovery Through Aviation.

Information on course offerings and reservation forms are available at the Senior College web site http://www.seniorcollegeatbridgton.org. FMI Kappy Sprenger at seniorcollegebridgton@gmail.com or at 207-647-5593.