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‘Pathways to the Past’

ORONO – The University of Maine Page Farm and Home Museum will offer its first “Pathways to the Past” day camp for kids June 25-29, providing a chance for area children ages 6 to 12 to learn about what it was like to grow up in rural Maine, 1865 through 1940.

Children will spend 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. learning about a very different era in Maine, the pre-Industrial Revolution, when most tasks were done by hand. They will make cheese and ice cream from scratch with organic ingredients, said Patricia Henner, museum director.

Hands-on activities include creating folk art like decorative stenciling, learning about gardening and worm composting, having a “sugar on snow party” and seeing a blacksmithing demonstration.

“It’s a unique and fun way to introduce children to the past,” said Henner, who will lead the activities with Mary Bird, instructor in science and environmental education in UM’s College of Education and Human Development and chairman of the museum’s programming committee.

Children also will learn about wool production, “From Sheep to Shawl,” through a visit to the university’s sheep pens at the Witter Farm.

“This event focuses on what it was like for a child growing up in rural Maine during that earlier time period,” Henner said. The nonprofit museum is dedicated to preserving artifacts, customs and traditions in Maine between 1865 and 1940.

A $65 fee for the five-day camp covers the cost of materials for activities.

The museum’s community outreach activities and programming are designed to educate the public – young people in particular – about early life in Maine. It is open 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. weekends for individual visits, group tours, special hands-on programs and other interactive events.

More information about the Page Farm and Home Museum and “Pathways to the Past” day camp is available at 581-4100.

Teacher of the Year

BANGOR – Each year, Wal-Mart and the Sam’s Club Foundation partners with Phi Delta Kappa International, the education association, to recognize an educator from each community as the local Teacher of the Year.

The 2007 Teacher of the Year for the Bangor area is Brendan Murphy of John Bapst Memorial High School. Murphy is one of 25 teachers from Maine who received the local recognition and whose school will now receive a $1,000 grant.

Murphy has 18 years of experience as a high school teacher and part time college professor. He has a master’s degree in business administration from Bentley College, a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Tufts University and teaching certificates in secondary level mathematics in Maine and Massachusetts.

He is a College Board national trainer and an endorsed consultant in math. Murphy has served as a Maine Mentor for AP Statistics Teachers and in the last seven years has designed or presented more than 50 mathematics workshops throughout the United States.

At John Bapst, he teaches algebra I, algebra II, honors algebra II, college math and AP statistics. He also is the school’s math team adviser.

The Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year program is one of the largest teacher recognition programs in the country. Since 1995, the program has recognized more than 25,000 teachers in the U.S. and Puerto Rico and contributed more than $19 million to those schools.

In 2007, 4,219 local winners were announced in May in honor of National Teacher Day.

John Bapst Memorial High School is a non-sectarian, college-preparatory, independent day school in Bangor serving students in grades nine through 12, most from within a 60-mile radius of the school. For information, visit www.johnbapst.org

Bangor Class of 1977

BANGOR – Bangor High School class of 1977 will hold its 30th reunion on Saturday, July 7. Classmates who have not yet received an invitation to the reunion should call Cheryl Robertson Brown at 262-9447.

‘Letters about Literature’

BANGOR – Two area pupils were recognized in the grades four-six category of “Letters about Literature,” a writing contest sponsored by the Center for the Book in the Library for Congress in partnership with Target Stores. Honored were:

. Lizzy Loxtercamp, second place, Weatherbee School, Hampden.

. Emily Guare, honorable mention, Fairmount School, Bangor.

Entrants were asked to write a short letter to an author explaining how the author’s book changed the pupil’s way of viewing the world and herself or himself. The contest was open to fourth- through 12th-graders.

In Maine, the contest was sponsored by the Maine Humanities Council’s Harriet P. Henry Center for the Book and the David Royte Fund.

Woodmen speech contest

HAMPDEN – Indian Island sixth-grader Seneca Orion Love placed first in the fifth- through eighth-grade division of the Modern Woodmen of America speech contest held May 10 at Reeds Brook Middle School.

The topic for the contest was “Great American Leaders.” Love, who competed against seven other district winners, chose his father, former Penobscot Indian Nation tribal governor Tim Love, as his great American leader.

Seneca Love now advances to the national finals as one of two representatives from Maine in his grade division.

On June 8, Love videotaped his four-minute memorized speech at the Indian Island School under the supervision of speech coach David Thibadeau and Dale Tudor, district representative for the Modern Woodmen of America. The tape will be shipped to Rock Island, Ill., where the videotaped speeches from across the country will be judged in July.

Scholarship recipients

HOLDEN – The SAD 63 Teachers Association announced recipients of two $500 scholarships made possible by association members. They are:

. Lucas Simmons, a 2007 graduate of Brewer High School. He has been accepted at Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, Fla. He is enrolled in the health professions college where he will study nursing. He is the son of Jeffery and Karen Simmons of Holden.

. Richard Adams, a 2007 graduate of Brewer High School. He has been accepted at the University of Maine in the college of natural sciences, forestry and agriculture to study ecology and environmental sciences. He is the son of Richard and Laura Adams of Eddington.

. An additional scholarship in memory of former teacher and association member Patricia Moores, in the amount of $400, also was available this year. Kristy Kerns is the recipient. A 2007 graduate of John Bapst Memorial High School, she will attend the University of Maine to study nursing. She is the daughter of David and Shirley Kerns of Clifton.

High school seniors who graduated from grade eight at Holbrook School in Holden are eligible for the scholarships.

Teen Parent graduates

BANGOR – Fourteen young women graduated from the Good Samaritan Agency’s Teen Parent Education Program on June 7. Teen Parent Education is an alternative high school program for pregnant and-or parenting teens. For more information, call Good Samaritan at 942-7211.

Colleges

Amherst College

AMHERST, Mass. – Maria Millard, daughter of Dr. Peter Millard and Emily Wesson of Orono, graduated May 27 from Amherst College. She received a bachelor’s degree in sociology. She entered Amherst College after transferring from Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.

Bates College

LEWISTON – Scott Rosenthal, a dean’s list student, graduated recently during commencement ceremonies held at Bates College. He received a bachelor’s degree in history with a minor in mathematics. He is the son of Robert and Barbara Rosenthal of Bangor.

Boston University

BOSTON – Blake Goodwin has been named to the dean’s list in the college of fine arts for the spring semester at Boston University. He is the son of Timothy and Beth Goodwin of Hudson.

Bucknell University

LEWISBURG, Pa. – Benjamin Erker graduated cum laude on May 20 during commencement ceremonies at Bucknell University. He earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and received the Michael D. LaGrega Award for excellence in environmental engineering. Erker, a 2003 graduate of Orono High School, is the son of David and Victoria Erker.

Cedarville University

CEDARVILLE, Ohio – Kaitlyn French was named to the dean’s list for the spring semester at Cedarville University. French, a sophomore studying elementary education, is the daughter of Jonathan and Janet French of Glenburn.

Iowa State University

AMES, Iowa – Kaitlin Walmsley of Bangor was named to the dean’s list for the spring semester at Iowa State University. She is studying animal science.

Lasell College

NEWTON, Mass. – Ashlyn Chesney of Hampden was named to the dean’s list for the spring semester at Lasell College. She is studying fashion and retail merchandising.

Lewis and Clark College

PORTLAND, Ore. – Tyler Noonan of Holden graduated on May 6 during ceremonies at Lewis and Clark College. He received a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and sociology-anthropology, with a minor in religious studies.

Maine Maritime Academy

CASTINE – Dr. John Barlow, vice president for academic affairs and academic dean at Maine Maritime Academy, has announced the appointment of Dr. William J. DeWitt III, to the post of associate dean of the college’s Loeb-Sullivan School of International Business and Logistics.

DeWitt has extensive hands-on experience in freight transportation and logistics management and more than 10 years of graduate level instruction and academic administrative oversight.

He will be responsible for overall management of the college’s bachelor’s program in international business and logistics and master’s programs in international business, supply chain management and maritime management.

DeWitt most recently served as professor of the practice of logistics, transportation and supply chain management at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, College Park. He fills a position at MMA recently vacated by Dr. Shashi Kumar, now academic dean at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y.

DeWitt will be on campus on June 29 to tour the college and meet graduate level faculty to discuss goals for the college’s programs.

DeWitt has led and participated in executive development programs for Black & Decker-DeWalt, the Smith School of Business and the University of Tennessee. He has master’s and doctoral degrees in transportation and logistics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a bachelor’s degree in English from Allegheny College, Meadville, Pa.

Saint Joseph’s College

STANDISH – These students, who attained a GPA of 3.5 to 4.0, were named to the dean’s list for the spring semester at Saint Joseph’s College:

. Annmarie Reed, Bangor.

. Devon Brooks, Corinth.

. Hannah Growe, Hampden.

. Jessica Lindsay, Hampden.

. Joseph Schacht, Hermon.

. Marie Lint, Orono.

These students, who attained a GPA of 3.0 to 3.49, were named to the honors list for the spring semester:

. Meaghan Mower, Bangor.

. Amy Levesque, Hampden.

University of Maine at Farmington

FARMINGTON – Sara Kingsbury, who is studying elementary education, achieved a 4.0 GPA during the spring semester at the University of Maine at Farmington. She is the daughter of Brenda and Galen Kingsbury of Winterport.

University of New England

BIDDEFORD – Megan McBurnie was named to the dean’s list for the spring semester at the University of New England. She is studying psychobiology and is involved at the university with the Ultimate Frisbee Club team.

McBurnie, a 2006 John Bapst Memorial High School, is the daughter of Jeffrey and Kimberly McBurnie of Holden.

Zuckerman Fellowship

BANGOR – Elizabeth Cote, daughter of Vincent and Monica Cote and a 1995 graduate of Bangor High School, has been awarded a prestigious Zuckerman Fellowship, which will enable her to pursue a public service degree at Harvard University.

After high school, Cote attended Wellesley College, graduating in 1999. She worked as an AmeriCorps Fellow, founding the Massachusetts School Meals Insurance Program, which connects children enrolled in free or reduced-cost lunch programs with state health coverage options.

She conducted research on health care quality at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris.

In 2004, Cote traveled to Baghdad, Iraq, to work for the Department of Defense, Coalition Provisional Authority, as a special assistant to the Iraqi Ministry of Health in an effort to rebuild Iraq’s health care infrastructure. There, she also volunteered at the main combat support hospital. She plans a career as a pediatrician and health advocate, and is pursuing a concurrent degree program at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and Harvard Medical School.

During her time at Harvard, Cote also will participate in a co-curricular program designed by the Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership that focuses on leadership development and professional skill building.