Jonesboro Grange swan song to benefit Scouts

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Bittersweet may best describe this story of elders facing the loss of an institution they love while helping preserve an institution loved by youth.

Suzanne Plaisted of Jonesboro wrote me about the Jonesboro Grange, which is sponsoring a golf tournament to benefit Cub Scout Pack 125 serving Jonesboro, Machias, Roque Bluffs, Whitneyville, Northfield and Wesley.

The tournament is a four-person scramble with shotgun starts at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 25, at Barren View Golf Course on U.S. Route 1 in Jonesboro.

Your $30 registration includes 18 holes of golf, lunch and qualifying for several prizes from first to third place and a $599 Weber stainless steel gas grill donated by Coffin’s True Value Hardware of East Machias and Church’s True Value Hardware of Jonesport.

Preregistration is required, and may be made by calling Barren View at 434-6531, or tournament coordinator Jeff Anderson at 434-6887.

Plaisted wrote that the local Grange has “a long history in our town, but that history is about to come to a conclusion.”

Citing “an increasingly elderly and dwindling membership … unable to continue its financial obligations” to maintain the building, she wrote the Jonesboro Grange “is going to cease operations at the end of this year.”

Which is why this sponsorship is so bittersweet.

“Even though they have financial troubles serious enough to end the existence of their organization,” Plaisted wrote, “they are sponsoring the golf tournament to benefit the Cub Scouts of Pack 125.

“In a day when organizations are all vying for a ‘piece of the pie,’ I thought it was remarkable that these 10 or 12 Grange members, most over 75 years old, would commit the proceeds of their benefit function to the boys, rather than use the money to meet their own financial obligations and, possibly, save their own organization.”

I agree.

What a wonderful legacy they are leaving the youth of the area, one not soon to be forgotten.

Mary Marin Lyon, executive director of Literacy Volunteers of Bangor, reports confirmation is requested by Tuesday for those taking the English as a Second Language Basic Literacy Tutor Training program.

The course is 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 25; 6-9 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 29; 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 2; and 6-9 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 6, in the lecture hall of Bangor Public Library, 145 Harlow St.

Confirmation must be made by Tuesday, Oct. 12, for Basic Literacy Tutor Training, which is 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 16; Saturday, Oct. 23; and Saturday, Oct. 30.

The first two Saturdays the course will be taught in the library’s lecture hall, and the final Saturday in the library’s boardroom.

Volunteers may confirm their attendance by calling Literacy Volunteers at 947-8451.

Seating is limited for the University of Maine men’s hockey meet-the-team dinner, with dining times at 5:30 and 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 22, at Oriental Jade Restaurant on Bangor Mall Boulevard.

Buffet prices are $12 for adults, $6 for children under 12.

Reservations and tickets are required.

Call either Gayle Morin, 990-6930 or 942-6552, or Karen Marsters, 942-6711, ext. 137, to make reservations or receive more information.

Sponsored by Friends of Maine Hockey, the event benefits the University of Maine men’s hockey program.

Vaughn Martin of Millinocket reports AARP Chapter 2652 will sponsor another AARP Driver Safety Program for all Katahdin area seniors from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 23, and Friday, Sept. 24, at Millinocket Baptist Church on Penobscot Avenue.

Designed to help seniors cope with age-related changes that may affect driving ability, Martin stresses the course “is open to all seniors.”

The $10 fee is payable to AARP.

The course includes videotapes, a traffic law book and student handbook.

Participants also receive certificates for discounts on their automobile insurance.

For information, or to register, call Martin at 723-5590.

Community members and friends of Bradley and Mona West of Cherryfield are planning a benefit luncheon for the couple from noon to 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 26, at the American Legion Hall in Cherryfield.

Bradley West, whose wife is Cherryfield’s town clerk, is not well.

Casseroles, salads, breads and desserts are needed for the potluck benefit, for which attendees are asked to make a donation.

Signup sheets are available throughout the community, Juli Beal told me.

If you can help, or want more information, call her at 546-7492.

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