Friday

BRENDA GATES

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and on Sunday you can wish

PHILLIP PERSON

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY," too!

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Thank You!

GAIL DWYER

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VETERANS, FRIENDS & FAMILY
of CPL. JOHN P. SIGSBEE

in memory of

Cpl. John P. Sigsbee

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It's 45 degrees and clear.

It's Columbus Day Weekend.

(Click image for history.)

From WKTV: " Sunshine will be with us all day Friday as high pressure settles in over us. Temperatures will actually be a little cooler than they were out there Thursday. Thursday's highs were in the upper 60s, where as we should struggle to get to the mid 60s Friday. Another cold night is expected Friday night, with lows in the 30s and low 40s.
That area of high pressure will be with us all weekend long! Saturday and Sunday will see full sunshine, with highs in the upper 60s to start and low to mid 70s Sunday. Monday will be nice as well, but a backdoor cold front coming from New England may shave a few degrees off the high temperature. Either way, upper 60s to around 70 should be expected with ample sunshine.

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There's a wonderful tribute to Autumn on Conger Avenue.

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That WAS a "quick stop," as far as remodelling was concerned!

Be prepared to make another quick stop - or at least a slow-down - up at "Hubbard's Corners."

A short stretch has a fairly smooth surface ........

... but, with almost no warning, the pavement ends and bumps begin again.

At Rancho Cerritos, the alpaca seem disinterested in visitors.

The Pryputniewicz farm stand is bright with Fall produce ..........

............ but not as bright as this patch of Black Alder (American Holly) in a swamp just south of Paris. Those of us who search for this shrub, hoping to add a touch of red to our Christmas bouquets, are continually frustrated by the facts that not only does the plant seem only to grow behind "Posted" signs, but it's always knee-deep in cold water!

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I did visit the Library to look at the Veterans' Wall. There were just four stars there, and here is what was written on them:

LEMAN WOLF

Korean War 1950

Leman entered the war in his junior year of high school. He was based mostly in Hawaii and Japan.

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J. MASON REYNOLDS

US Merchant Marine

WW II Pacific

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CALVIN SOUTHWICK

WW II

Navy

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DEAN SHAW

WW II

Navy

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I'm sure that the "wall" will be filled by Veterans' Day!

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FOR THE RECORD

That's the lowest it's been in just about six months!

The Sox meet the Rays, tonight, in Florida.

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Have a Great Weekend, Everybody!

Thursday

IT'S GARBAGE DAY!
54 degrees and drippy.

WKTV predicts that: "Thursday will start off cloudy. Overcast conditions will likely persist into Midday. But, we could see some breaks in the overcast as we move into the afternoon. We'll hold out for some sunshine, especially south and west of Utica. Highs tomorrow will get into the mid 60s with some sun, but stay in the upper 50s to low 60s under clouds.
Then, a sprawling area of high pressure is going to settle in over us just in time for the weekend. This means sunshine, and a lot of it, for the holiday weekend. Highs will top off in the mid 60s Friday, upper 60s Saturday and at least low 70s on Sunday."

I know what I'm going to be doing:

Playing in the dirt!

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Look what came in the morning mail!

"Hi Flip!
I'm sure you're working on the blog now...was wondering if you could wish my big brother, Bobby, a Happy Birthday today. (October 9th). He's 42 today and lives in Waterville with his beautiful wife Marlene and my best friend, my Mom."

TO BOBBY

FROM MARK

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And this E-note, from Charles Thompson of "No Sheep Designs:"

"It appears that so many people read your blog that the day you announced that new photos were up, so many people looked that the site exceeded its bandwidth limit. There were no visitors at all yesterday (due to the site being over-limit) and I just found out about it today. I’ve raised the limit substantially and will keep an eye on it, so would you be kind enough to let people know that they can view the photos again?"

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Yesterday afternoon, Jillian Getman sent this request from the Waterville Public Library:

"I was wondering if you would be willing to write a tid-bit in your blog about our Veteran's Day events that we have in progress. Now through Veteran's day we are welcoming anyone to come in (or call or email) and fill out a star with information, stories, pictures, etc. about a veteran. Then, on Veteran's day we will have a small reception and Louis Langone will give a presentation on his book "The Star in the Window" at 6:30 pm. Although the wall is just starting to come to life with stars, you're welcome to come anytime to take a photo or I would be happy to send you one. Thanks! Jill" (I'll stop in at the Library later today for a look, some photos and a book!)

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It was bright and cheery in the Park, around noontime.

Putnam Street

Quite a few streets in the village have been getting new surfacing, lately, with a product called "slurry." It looks like "blacktop" (or "hot mix") but is applied in a thinner layer and can be driven on almost immediately.

Barton Avenue

Madison Street, Tower Street and W. Bacon Street have already been done, too -- and perhaps others.

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On Putnam Street

A favorite Tower Street view

New, on Osborne Avenue

Heading out of town on Berrill Avenue ......

........ and then at the Cornishes' home on Hanover Road ....


... and at the Moshers' at the bottom of Grant Hill.

(Click to enlarge.)

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(Click to enlarge.)

It starts tonight!!

Have a great day, everyone!

Wednesday

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SPECIAL INVITATION to SENIOR CITIZENS

I received the following E-note from Paula Harris and Gerda Mortelette, the new Memorial Park Elementary School Student Council Advisors, and am happy to relay it to blog-readers!

"On behalf of the students and our MPS Student Council,
we would like to extend an invitation to attend our
Annual Senior Citizens Breakfast
on Wednesday October 15th at 9:30 AM
in the Memorial Park Elementary School cafeteria.

Please contact The MPS office at 841-3700
by noon on Friday October 10th
if you are able to attend.

We look forward to seeing you there!

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It's Recyclables Day!
34.3 degrees and clear

Sunshine will greet commuters on their way to work and school Wednesday but a cold front will begin to move our way. As a result we ought to see a sharp increase in cloudiness as the day wears on. While it should be mainly dry, a shower or two cannot be ruled out late in the afternoon. Winds on Wednesday will shift into the southeasterly direction. This will transport warmer temperatures our way. Highs Wednesday should crack the 60s.
A period of showers is likely Wednesday night, ending by Thursday morning. While the majority of Thursday should remain cloudy, we could see some sunshine break through the clouds Thursday afternoon, with rapid clearing perhaps toward sunset. Temperatures will be cooler under the clouds, with highs in the low 60s expected.

More and more doorways and front yards are brightened
with Hallowe'en decorations, but ......

.......... just about ALL of Pat's Babbott Avenue South garden was in her wheelbarrow, yesterday afternoon .........

............. and the front porch at the St. Bernard's Church rectory was mournfully empty.

The "killing frost" that did in flowerbeds on Monday night served to bring out the autumn crimson of winged euonymus bushes.

(This is why they're called "winged.")

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After a long series of rainy days, the sky was wonderfully blue, yesterday, and the view north along Mason Road from Cole Hill was as pretty as any.

An ancient maple at the southern end of Newberry Road.

While Nature decorates the countryside, Dan Maine and his crew are adding a new look to the old "Wheeler Block" on East Main Street.

All three buildings were built in the 1830s, but were only two stories high until after the Civil War. The building on the left was the first bank building and was used as such until a new bank - the present Woodman and Getman Law Offices - was built in 1869. After that it was the Brown & Jones Tinners and Stove Store and, much more recently, the office of The Waterville Times.

The building in the center was a drygoods company known as "Webb's Cheap Cash House," and the "Wheeler Block" had started out as two buildings that were combined into one store around 1870.

Detail of the elegant new moulding that now accentuates the nearly-continuous, horizontal "belt course" on the three structures.

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FOR THE RECORD

There were NO baseball games last night.

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Tuesday

BIG TRASH DAY!

It's 31.3 degrees and starry clear.

(As soon as it got light I realized that
there was FROST on the lawn!)

WKTV predicts that "after a chilly start to Tuesday, we expect full sunshine to get to work and warm things up, with highs in the low 60s expected. Another chilly night will follow suit Tuesday night, but it will not be nearly as cold as tonight. Wednesday should be a nice day mostly, but some high clouds should race in here by mid to late afternoon ahead of a weak weather system. This will generate some showers on Wednesday night and plenty of clouds for Thursday. We may see some afternoon sunshine, but we're not too optimistic on that right now."

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Thank You!

I think it must have become a game, yesterday:

"get the "hit counter" over the 100,000 mark!"

I set the meter up on January 26th - 8 months
and 10 days ago.

A rough average, dividing 100,000 by 250 days
equals 400 hits a day.

(More, actually, because I haven't done a seven-days-a-week blog for quite a while.
Anyhow - I may as well keep going!)


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Barton Avenue

More lovely foliage .............

Sally Road

........... and more Hallowe'en decorations.

An "ocean" of soybeans, on Bogan Road.

Last Fall, I asked Mr. Fredolyn Zweifel where all of the soy was being shipped. He said that, as far as he knew, just about all of it would stay right on the farms where it was grown. "It needs to be roasted or the oil otherwise extruded," he said, "before it can be used." Some of it is probably taken to Ed Gale's Feed Mill for roasting, but Fredolyn also told me that there were "travelling" roasters that would come right to the farm and do the job. I didn't ask, because it sounds so stupid, but ....... I guess I should know that the roasted soy gets mixed in with dried corn and other good stuff and fed to our fine local cattle all Winter long.

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A number of people have commented on the series of "before & after" photographs that Jeff Reynolds arranged on the hallway gallery wall at the Library.

Click the images to enlarge - or go and see the pictures for yourself! - and you'll agree:

"It's hard to remember how really bad Waterville looked!"

"What a mess we went through! But it sure was worth it!"

(The display will remain in place until the 14th.)

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FOR THE RECORD
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Advertising to the contrary,

The Brothertown Music Boosters

do NOT plan on having a

Bottle Drive next Saturday!

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Have a Great Day, Everyone!