Simply by attending a Giant Garage and Yard Sale and, perhaps, making a purchase or two, you can help restore the historic Byzantine steeple of the Essex Street Baptist Church in Bangor.

The Giant Garage and Yard Sale is 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday, May 17, and 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, May 18, at the residence of Oaksman and Arline Smiley, 178 Chamberlain St., Brewer.

Arline Smiley said “the garage is so full, you can’t get anything more in there; I have to have some strong men come and get the big things out of the basement; and we still have lots more coming.”

Items in the yard sale, she told me previously, “have been collected by members of the church.”

The intent of this big event is to benefit the Steeple Fund of the 157-year-old Essex Street Baptist Church, which is located just off State Street at 82 Essex St.

She believes the sale will be successful because it has what everyone in real estate refers to as “location, location, location.”

“One summer we had the garage screened in, and we sat out there and counted 65 cars going by in 15 minutes, so I think this is a good place for the sale,” she laughed.

Arline Smiley, now in her 80th year, has been a member of the church for 70 years and, for 50 of those years, before John Nickerson took over, she was the church organist. “I’m now the assistant organist,” she said.

She believes that while, in age, she is not the oldest member of the church, she is the individual who has been a member of the church the longest.

Arline Smiley is, understandably, very proud of the institution she has served so lovingly and so well for so long, and she wants to help maintain its historic place in our community.

The church, built in 1845, was designed by famed Boston architect Harvey Graves, whose work is familiar to anyone who has studied Bangor architecture.

Several years ago, the Byzantine steeple, which Smiley believes “is the only one in this area,” was struck by lightning “and it had to be taken down,” she explained.

Part of it actually resides, at the present time, “in the vestibule of the church upstairs,” Smiley added.

Church historians are trying to discern exactly what the steeple looked like, originally. “Evidently, it had a cross on the top of it, but I never realized that,” Smiley said.

Church members certainly hope you will stop by the Smiley residence Friday or Saturday, and help them raise the funds necessary to help restore this fine old Bangor institution.

They expect, Smiley said, the restoration to cost in the neighborhood of $25,000.

If you would like to help, but cannot attend the yard sale, I am sure the church pastor, the Rev. Randall Wilbur, would be happy to hear from you.

You can write the church at 82 Essex St., Bangor 04401 or call the church at 947-4177.

Congratulations are extended to all associated with St. Joseph Healthcare, commemorating its 55th anniversary during Hospital Week, which runs through Friday, May 17.

Many of the Hospital Week events focus on recognition of the hospital’s dedicated employees and staff, both present and past, and its theme focuses around a tree representing the vitality and growth of the organization through its 55-year history.

Now through Friday, a “tree of appreciation” is on display in the cafeteria of the hospital at 360 Broadway in Bangor.

Sister Mary Norberta, president and CEO of St. Joseph Healthcare, and other members of the administration will participate in a special tree-planting ceremony at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 15, outside the hospital’s Broadway lobby in Bangor.

Members of the community are invited to attend the event. Refreshments will be served immediately following the ceremony.

For children in kindergarten, the annual Hospital Week “Teddy Bear Clinic” is 9-10:30 a.m. Thursday, May 16, at the hospital.

At the “clinic,” teddy bears will be given “check-ups” and receive “treatment” by hospital staff in an effort to give children a chance to meet doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers in a relaxed, non-threatening environment.

Dennis Smith, president of the Mount Desert Island Rod and Gun Club, has announced that the organization is offering five scholarships for young people between the ages of 8 and 14 to attend Camp Jordan this summer.

Camp Jordan is the Bangor YMCA’s resident camp on Branch Lake in Ellsworth.

Camp scholarship applications can be obtained by calling Smith at 288-5457.

Smith encourages those interested in obtaining these scholarships to call as soon as possible, he said, “because the camp spaces are filling up.”

Mount Desert Island Hospital staff member Brenda Hall wants readers to know that the Mount Desert Island Hospital Auxiliary needs items for its giant yard sale, and she reminds you that MDI Auxiliary members subscribed to that old saying “Your trash is our treasure.”

The MDI Auxiliary Giant Yard Sale is 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, June 1, at the Somesville Fire House.

You are asked to donate unused or unwanted items, and are promised the organizers will take “everything from kitchen sinks to catcher’s mitts,” but are asked that you donate clothing for babies and children only.

All donated items can be delivered from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday, May 31, at the Somesville Fire House.

For more information, call Cherie Belsan at home, 288-9950, or at work, 288-9786, or Karen Dillon at 288-3777.

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