The small Washington County community of Jonesboro retains the major distinction of being home to Maine’s oldest continuous Parent Teacher Association.

The nationally chartered Jonesboro PTA was founded in 1947 and today boasts an active membership of 25 that includes parents, teachers and teacher-parents such as president Janet Mawhinney.

A kindergarten teacher for 26 years, Mawhinney also is the parent of an eighth-grader and, understandably, very proud of the organization she leads that adopted as its motto for this year, “Every child. One voice.”

The school and the PTA, with the cooperation of members of the community, are able to “meet the needs of every student, and we are able to do that in a small setting,” Mawhinney said.

Throughout its 54-year history, the Jonesboro PTA has worked to provide funding for items not covered in the regular school budget such as a band and uniforms, financing field trips, purchasing books for the library and providing scholarships for former Jonesport Elementary School pupils who continue their education in college.

Members of the Jonesboro PTA now are working to raise funds to “overhaul the whole playground,” Mawhinney said, explaining that equipment in use is 25 years old.

The main reason for the fund drive is “safety issues,” Mawhinney said while adding that newer playgrounds “are also more challenging.”

The PTA has established a Playground Fund to cover this project, and is in the process of raising money for that fund.

“What we’re doing,” Mawhinney said, “is raising money so we can grant-write. We want to apply for a matching grant so, the more money we can raise, the more money we can apply for.”

To help in that effort, the Jonesboro PTA is sponsoring its third annual Pot of Gold Supper and Auction, beginning with the auction preview at 5 p.m. and dinner at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, March 16, at Jonesboro Elementary School on School Street.

Admission is $5 for adults, $2 for children and $12 per family.

Pot of Gold, in this instance, means a delicious potluck supper for which the whole community can take credit.

Mawhinney said that everyone participates in making this a successful event.

Local business owners and individuals contribute items for the silent auction, individuals and community groups prepare the food, and the “wait staff” consists of youngsters who are members of the local Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops.

It’s an event everyone looks forward to and enjoys, as do those who live in surrounding communities.

Mawhinney did add, however, that while the “silent auction preview” actually is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m., “a lot of the senior citizens arrive early, around 4:30 p.m., so we always let them in first.”

And the supper, truthfully, begins when everyone is ready to eat! Announcement of the silent auction winners follows the meal.

The Jonesboro PTA considers this event an opportunity “for families to relax and have a pleasant meal with friends and classmates,” Mawhinney reports, as well as an opportunity “to raise funds for our school playground and other worthwhile PTA projects.”

If you can attend, she hopes you will.

If you can’t attend, but would like to help the oldest continuous PTA in Maine acquire a new playground for the pupils it has served so well for so many years, you can send a donation to Jonesboro PTA Playground Fund, RR 1, School Street, Box 155A, Jonesboro 04648.

It is hoped you’ve signed up already but, if you haven’t, you still can be part of the Catholic Charities Maine Downeast Big Brothers/Big Sisters Bowl for Kids Sake fund-raiser.

The event offers two opportunities to support this organization, depending on which type of bowling you prefer.

Ten-pin bowling is available from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 16, at Family Fun Lanes in Bangor or, you can bowl candlepin from 1 to 5 p.m. the same day at the Bangor-Brewer Lanes in Brewer.

This event is the largest annual fund-raiser for Downeast Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

To register or to receive information, call 941-2862 or e-mail amatlins@ccmaine.org.

The public is invited to attend a Community Family Concert featuring award-winning children’s performers Peter and Ellen Allard beginning at 7 p.m. Monday, March 18, at Brewer High School.

Presale tickets can be obtained by visiting or calling Capri Street Elementary School, 989-8620; Pendleton Street Elementary School, 989-8625; or Brewer High School, 989-4140.

Tickets are $4 for adults, $2 for students or $10 per family.

For information, call Dawn Ward, 989-6663, or any of the schools listed above.

Philip Bernaiche of Houlton wrote the Bangor Daily News recently to express his public gratitude to medical personnel who so expertly cared for his wife, Marie Bernaiche, during a recent life-threatening illness.

Philip Bernaiche compliments the cooperation of employees and physicians who cared for his wife when she was admitted to Houlton Regional Hospital in critical condition, and then made the decision to have her transported, by Houlton Ambulance, to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

The situation was so critical, Bernaiche wrote, that Dr. Ted Sussman accompanied the patient in the ambulance to Bangor.

“They made it to the emergency room with the help of God,” Bernaiche wrote.

At EMMC, “Dr. Larry Flanagan and his team were standing by to take care of whatever had to be done.” Bernaiche added.

He extends his deepest appreciation to those doctors, EMT Glenn Miller, paramedic Paul Stewart, nurses Karen Flannery and Cathy Kingsbury, and to all the staff, at both hospitals, for their efforts on his wife’s behalf.

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