Hoping to catch residents and tourists as they begin their summer vacations rather than being in the midst of them, the St. Croix Valley International Garden Club scheduled its Lubec-Campobello Garden Tour a bit earlier this year.

To begin a week that celebrates America’s Independence Day and Canada Day, the club invites the public to tour eight private gardens from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, June 30, in Lubec and Campobello, New Brunswick.

The club’s publicity chairwoman, Gail Menzel, told me Monday morning that tickets are still available; that they can be reserved in advance; and that they will be waiting for you at whichever garden you choose as your starting point.

Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 on the day of the tour. They can be purchased in advance by calling Linda Gralenski at 726-5837, or by sending a check to her at 857 Leighton Point Road, Pembroke 04666.

Tickets, programs and directions will be available at all locations, and tea desserts will be served in the garden of the Louis Johnson house at 35 School St. in Lubec.

And, the club members remind you, along the Campobello route, you will see several other beautiful gardens as well as fields of wild lupines. If you choose, lunch can be purchased at the Roosevelt Cottage, or at restaurants on the island or in Lubec.

Menzel said the route for the tour, which will be held rain or shine, will be well-marked.

Lubec gardens featured in addition to Johnson’s will be those of Doug and Diana Wilson, North Lubec Road; Alan and Gretchen Mead, The Cottage Garden, North Lubec Road; Kathryn Rubeor, Bayview Bed and Breakfast, 6 Monument St.; and Judith Sulzberger, 29 Main St.

On Campobello Island, you will have access to the gardens of Dale Calder, 3 Ridge Road; Evelyn Bowden, 81 Grand View Land; and Michael Long, 1048 North Road.

Last year’s tour was very successful, Menzel said, raising nearly $2,000 for the International Garden Club’s projects, “and we have high hopes for this year.”

Money raised during the tour augment the club’s scholarship fund, help it maintain gardens in several area towns, and allow for planting a tree in a public place in the home community of each deceased member.

Menzel said the club also supports a Junior Gardener Program. Each September local youngsters participate in an exhibit and vie for prizes for the products they have raised.

If you have questions about this event, call Gralenski, or Menzel at 726-4734.

Bangor Band president Don Menninghaus wrote me that the band’s first concert at 7 tonight in Paul Bunyan Park begins “a whirlwind week of activities” for the nation’s second-oldest continually performing community orchestra.

R. B. Hall Day is Saturday, June 30, at the Narragansett School in Gorham, he wrote.

“Bands from around the state gather at this event each year, and there will be music all day. The Bangor Band performs at 3 p.m.”

Next, the band will be holding “our usual Tuesday evening performance in an unusual location,” Menninghaus wrote of the concert that begins at 7 p.m., Tuesday, July 3, “outdoors at the Cole Land Transportation Museum.

“It’s a great spot for a concert,” he added, “with lots of parking, and the landscaped grounds of the museum offer a variety of places to sit and listen. We’ll be indoors, there, if it rains.”

The Bangor Band will participate in the Greater Bangor Fourth of July Corp. parade, and present an evening concert at 7 p.m. in Paul Bunyan Park featuring a variety of patriotic music.

“We usually see a huge crowd of folks, already, in the downtown area,’ Menninghaus wrote, “and we play spirited music in the holiday tradition. Bring a picnic dinner and join us on the lawn.”

Menninghaus added that the band’s “concerts will continue, through mid-August, on Tuesday evenings, so mark your calendars, and we’ll see you there.”

Earlier this month I told you about the opportunity of In-Tyme Programs of Bangor, a local food pantry, to purchase a tractor-trailer.

A kind supporter has given the organization a chance to purchase the rig for just $20,000, but the purchase must be made by Sunday, July 1.

A tax-deductible gift will help the nonprofit organization obtain this much-needed vehicle.

And while a gift in any amount is gratefully accepted for the “Hands of Hunger” fund-raising campaign, those who make a gift of $100, $300, $500 or more will have his or her name, or company name, placed on a hand that is permanently painted on the tractor.

Contributions can be make to In-Tyme Programs Inc., P.O. Box 6214, Hermon 04402-6214.

For more information about the program or this fund-raiser, call In-Tyme executive director Donna Smith at 262-7277.

Last April, all high school seniors, or their equivalents, who reside in Penobscot County were invited to enter the Penobscot County Bar Association 2001 Law Day Essay Contest.

On behalf of the Penobscot County Bar, Brewer attorney Marie Hansen extends congratulations to the 2001 Law Day Essay Scholarship winners who addressed the subject “Protecting the Best Interests of our Children.”

From among 85 entries, the first-place, $500 scholarship was awarded to Ian Buzanoski of Nokomis Regional High School in Newport.

Second place, a $250 scholarship, went to Gracey Guy of Brewer High School, and third place, a $100 scholarship, was awarded to Frank Breau, also of Brewer High.

Receiving $50 honorable-mention awards were Racheal Spalding and Lisa Patterson, both of Brewer High School.

Joni Averill, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402; 990-8288.