Care packages for troops serving abroad are filled with a variety of things, but this request is one of the most interesting I’ve seen, and I think you will agree.

Dee Hancock of Dedham has sons serving with the military in both Iraq and Afghanistan, wrote Brewer resident Ellen Celli. The men are both graduates of Brewer High School, she wrote.

While serving our country in a foreign land, “they carry their own sheets and pillowcases, from area to area, to sleep on,” Celli explained.

“Most of the time, they sleep on an old mattress and like to have their own bedding, something that we all take for granted.”

And that is why Celli is asking “for donations of twin flat sheets and pillowcases” that are in dark colors, as the soldiers requested, and are in unopened packages.

If you can help with this care package request, call Celli at 989-4720, Hancock at 843-5962 or Sheila Merrill at 848-0932, and “we will arrange to pick them up,” or you can drop them off at 42 Gettysburg Ave. in Brewer, Celli wrote.

“The Blue Star Mothers,” the organized group of mothers who either have or have had children serving in the military, “will then send them to Dee’s sons, who will see that they are passed out to the troops,” she wrote.

An unfortunate e-mail glitch brings this important item to your attention on the day of the event, but president Tom Testa hopes anyone interested in the early days of Maine railroading will attend the annual meeting and volunteer sign-up day of the Downeast Rail Heritage Preservation Trust at 10 a.m. today at the Ellsworth Holiday Inn on Main Street.

The date, Testa notes, marks the 124th anniversary of the first train to operate on the Maine Shore Line Railroad, dating to 1884. That line would become the Calais Branch, running from Brewer to Hancock Point and beyond.

Current and prospective members are invited to attend, participate in the meeting and volunteer to work on the line. The first category of membership is just $40 per person.

After the organization’s annual business meeting, a tour of the line from Vittum Road west to Green Lake will be available for those who want to learn about this corridor.

The ride is from noon to 4 p.m., and you are asked to bring your own drinks and snacks.

If you cannot attend but are interested in the work of this organization, write to Downeast Rail Heritage Preservation Trust, P.O. Box 950, Bar Harbor 04609; call (866) 449-RAIL (7245), or visit www.downeastscenicrail.org.

“This project is not only a preservation project, but also an economic enhancement. Once fully operational it would add $5 million to the economy, locally,” Testa said.

Sue Kircheis, secretary of the board of trustees of Simpson Memorial Library in Carmel, wrote that the theme of its Summer Children’s Reading Program is “Get a Clue at Your Library.”

The program will be conducted from 1 to 2 p.m. Tuesdays beginning, July 3, at the library, and registration for this program is 1 p.m. Tuesday, June 26, at the library.

“All programs for ‘supersleuths and brilliant detectives’ are free of charge and are designed for children from preschool age and older,” Kircheis wrote.

If you have questions about this program, call the library at 848-7145.

Sandra Gordon reports a Handbag Sale is planned for 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, June 26, at the Waldo County General Hospital’s Education Center on Northport Avenue in Belfast.

The fundraiser features The Bag Ali Co. offering leather bags, designer bags, totes, backpacks, wallets, briefcases and scarves for sale at reasonable prices, she wrote, describing the event as “a great shopping opportunity for yourself or for gifts.”

The sale is sponsored by Hospital Aid, which provides volunteers and raises funds for WCGH.

We have received word that the opening performance of the SummerKeys’ Mary Potterton Memorial Piano Concert will feature SummerKeys founder, director and pianist Bruce Potterton at 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 27, at the Lubec Congregational Christian Church.

While each of the concerts in this summerlong series is free and open to the public, donations are always welcome to benefit the church’s piano tuning fund.

Potterton will play works by Haydn, Beethoven, Chopin, Poulenc and Copland.

During intermission at this concert, refreshments will be offered by Tours of Lubec and Cobscook.

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