By now, members of the Brownville-Brownville Junction Historical Society are reading the first of three newsletters this year that will focus on Brownville’s (and surrounding areas) veterans.

Brownville sent men to serve our country as far back as the Revolutionary War. There were 134 men who served from our area in the Civil War! If you have received the newsletter, you’ll probably see names you recognize in that list of names!

There are two reports written by volunteer Dan Peters. One is about Samuel Stickney who served in the Revolutionary War; the other is about Walter Morrill (of Williamsburg) who served in the Civil War. Both are great stories about these men. If we had room, we could have added stories about many, many more!

Other items mentioned….

The opening of the Parish House Museum this year! We hope to see a lot more visitors than we did last year! If you’ve never been in, we hope to have the museum open, as usual, on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10am to 2pm. You can also call Susan at 965-8070 for an appointment. Either she or another of the volunteers will be happy to open the museum for you.

We’ve answered a number of email or phone requests over the winter months. If we don’t know it, we might have already catalogued a notebook or two with information YOU are looking for!

We’d still like to have YOUR story of life in our area. It can be a comprehensive report of your life or that of your family members or it can be a short mention of some specific event that brings you happy memories! If you have a story but don’t feel you can write it, contact Susan Worcester. She’ll be happy to organize and write it for you.

We’ve been contacted by the Memories of Maine magazine to ask if we had anything we’d like to contribute this year. They printed a story Susan wrote about the history of the Canadian Pacific Railroad a couple years ago. Thanks to Ken Hatchette’s book, The Canadian Pacific Railroad in Brownville Junction, Maine 1886 to 1963 she was able to produce a condensed essay about that portion of Brownville’s history. This year Dan Peters has written an article about Brownville Junction’s Championship basketball team – the team of 1966-67! It includes mentions of people connected with that team. We don’t know which version of the magazine the article will appear in yet.

Can’t close this recap without mentioning that for only $5 per year (or $100 for a lifetime membership) you could support the Historical Society. The museum and the Society exists solely on donations. There is no admission fee to come and browse around.

And, lastly, we are always looking for a few good volunteers. Remember we are only open on Tuesdays and Thursdays and “open season” runs from late June to the end of September. It’s not a lifetime commitment! We would be happy to talk with you about how you can help!

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Northern Light C.A Dean and Mayo Hospitals have adapted care and service to meet the needs of our communities. As COVID-19 vaccines became available we moved quickly to offer vaccinations at central locations, designed to deliver vaccines to as many people as  possible as quickly as possible. With over half of Maine’s eligible population vaccinated, it is time we shift our approach to ensure that those who have not had the opportunity to be vaccinated can now do so.

While we have offered pop-up clinics in underserved communities and have been  providing personal vaccinations to our homebound community members, we’re looking to expand vaccination opportunities for those who were unable to travel to our larger vaccination sites.

Our large-scale vaccination clinic located at the Piscataquis County Ice Arena in Dover-Foxcroft will have its final day of operation on Friday May 7, community members will have completed all second doses on this day. Tentatively, we are looking at bringing the vaccine clinic back to the  Resource Center at Northern Light Mayo Hospital. We are also preparing to be able to vaccinate patients in our primary care locations.

We want to thank Foxcroft Academy, the Libra Foundation, all our volunteers and our  community for making COVID-19 vaccinations a success, this has been a team effort for  the health of our communities. We were able to administer over 10,000 vaccines in Piscataquis County between our Greenville and Dover-Foxcroft clinics and at the ice  arena.To learn more about Northern Light Health and its locations  across Maine, visit www.northernlighthealth.org.

DOVER-FOXCROFT — The Piscataquis County Retired Educators met April 27 at the home of President Rheba Michaud with 12 members attending. Michaud opened the meeting, greeting and welcoming all. She read a thought for the day. followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Attendance was taken with each member responding with a favorite thing they enjoyed during the pandemic.

Michaud reviewed the minutes of the last meeting, noting Priscilla Higgins being elected treasurer. The silent auction netted $80. Higgins gave the treasurer’s report noting the bank account totals $2,966.73 in the treasury. Monies received that day, $80 in dues and $80 in the scholarship account. The remainder of $65 from Judy Leighton’s Memorial will be added to the scholarship.

Michaud announced the dedication of Leighton’s memorial stone and bench will be Flag Day, Monday, June 14, at 4 o’clock at the Morton Avenue flagpole. A service at the cemetery will be June 19.

A $500 scholarship will be awarded to a high school senior who plans to pursue teaching.

Two thank you notes were read for the monies given to area schools for snacks were much appreciated. The money comes from the state teachers association for “A Day of Caring.”

Jane Conroy gave a legislative report urging members who could, to watch the proceedings on their computers.

Michaud announced the annual state meeting will be May 6. She will be attending and urges other members to do so. She thanked Linda Howard and Lynne Snow for refreshments. The meeting was then adjourned.

The next meeting will be Wednesday, May 26 at The Bear’s Den and will be a pound party.