We’ll Always Have the Memories

Photo from the Bangor Daily News

As the new Oceanside High School seniors prepare to be the first class to graduate from the new school, our thoughts turn to the old Rockland High School, now the soon to be closed Lincoln Center on Lincoln Street.

The saga of the 144-year-old building has been of concern to residents this past month. The Lincoln Street Center, a non-profit organization, took over the building in 1998, buying the property in 2002. They recently announced, however, that they will leave the building at the end of this month. They have insurmountable debts totaling around $69,000.

According to board member John Bird, who attended the school in the 50s, keeping the old place going has been a “Herculean” task, despite generous support from donors. Efforts to find ways to pay for much needed repairs proved to be too daunting.

Closing of the Lincoln Center means that about 50 artists will need to find new studios; the Watershed School will need to find new quarters; and our beloved heritage room which displays memorabilia from the 144 years of history of both Rockland High School and Rockland District High School is in jeopardy. Board member Ben Perry overseas the room, which is sponsored by the alumni association. The association cannot afford to rent a space for the articles which contain old sports jerseys, yearbooks, and the like. The room itself has also been preserved as the way it was when we were attending classes there. What will happen to these treasures now?

The Heritage Center at the Lincoln Center,
 photo by Bangor Daily News

Enter Joseph Steinberger, a Rockland lawyer and former city councilor. The next part of this saga concerns the establishment, by Steinberger, of a non-profit organization called “The Old School.” He called for a public meeting in the old auditorium at the school for May 15 to try to figure out ways to save the old place.

Before that meeting took place, an inspection of the building was made and it was determined that “yes” it could be saved.

However, by the time the meeting took place that position had been changed. It might have had something to do with the fact that the furnace is 25 years old and has only one zone for the entire building. There are also about 100 windows that need to be replaced because they are not thermal and many are opaque, which evidently were that way to keep the students from gazing out the windows and daydreaming. Cost: a whopping $120,000. Where is a non-profit supposed to get that kind of money in this economy?

Therefore the meeting turned out just to be an announcement that “no” sorry, we can’t do what we said we could.

In a Courier Gazette survey around this time, four out of five people asked about the future of the building wanted it renovated so that it could continue to be an arts center for the community. OK, people. Do you have the deep pockets needed to do this? Is your name Farnsworth, Wyeth, or Rockefeller?

Here’s my take on the whole dilemma.

The building has seen more than one revival in its 144 years. It may be time to demolish it in the manner of the old post office. How many times can you use a chewing gum approach and pray that it sticks?

A new smaller, more efficient building may be the answer. Where the money is coming from I haven’t figured out yet. Perhaps a fund-raiser needs to be hired, and the city could help a little couldn’t they?

As for the heritage room of the Rockland High School Alumni…perhaps a time capsule could be buried somewhere on the property after said razing. In it could be a picture of the room and a sample of all the articles now displayed there. The historical society could perhaps take possession of some of it, or they could share those duties with the Rockland Public Library. What do you think?

Memories

Something that can’t be destroyed is our memories. Those of us who attended the old Rockland High School have many of the same memories. No one can take them away from us whether the building is there or not.

How many of you have these memories:

I remember the old bike rack which stood on one side of the building by the sidewalk. Before I got my license and was therefore embarrassed to ride my bike to school from the South End, I used that bike rack. I had no lock on my bike, nor did the rack provide any. How many bikes do you think were stolen from that rack in the 50s?

I remember all the hot rods and souped up cars which some of the boys owned parked up and down Lincoln Street and Grove Street.

I remember some of the boys who between classes tried to take the down staircase “up” instead, taking them two at a time before someone caught them.

I remember playing basketball with the girls’ team on the old gym floor where the sign on the wall read, “It’s not whether you win or lose, but how you played the game.” At least it goes something like that.

I remember the canteen on that same gym floor and the Kippy Karnival games that took place there every year.

Kippy Karnival time was of course the highlight of our year. It was a lot of fun to do things for the school as a class.

I can see Mrs. Viik, (sorry forgot how to spell her name), reprimanding our senior class, which she led as the teacher representative, as we sat in the auditorium practicing for our graduation walk at the Community Building.

“Now everyone please stop signing yearbooks and pay attention. I swear you all have senioritis,” she said.

I have so many more memories I can’t name them all here. Some of them can be found in another log, “Scrapbook Memories,” in the archives for May 2011.

Say Farewell and Walk Through Your Memories

Today, June 1, the Lincoln Center is giving you the opportunity to revisit your old school. Come and walk the halls, check out the heritage room, sit in the old auditorium and go down to see the old gym one more time.

You may visit from 6:30-9:30pm. Potluck snacks will be provided in the second-floor art gallery.

To celebrate the event and the spirit of our artistic community, artist Alexis Iammarino will install an art installation that will stretch from Main Street to the Lincoln Center.

The installation will consist of long-sleeved shirts sewn together at the cuff and creating a continuous line in honor of the first Friday art walk and the farewell party at the center’s gym at 9:30pm.

The shirts will be held up by long stakes, symbolizing the importance of having stakeholders in the community to uphold the importance of the arts in our society.

Come and reminisce, enjoy the night with your friends, maybe even some old classmates. Sneak up the down staircase if you dare. Celebrate and say good bye. There will be more memories to be made later on in a new place. Trust me.

Thanks for listening.

Sonny’s

Sunshine

Corner

Sonny’s corner may not be so sunshiny this month as I have a few gripes to air here. More on that later.

Another technical glitch has appeared in the past month. Evidently, my blogs are no longer posted to my South End Stories Facebook page automatically. I have, therefore, been posting them separately along with the posting on the Village Soup site. I still forward the blog to FB and it does appear there OK.

You can reach the South End Stories page without going to the blog first by using the new URL: www.facebook.com/SouthendS. I am now posting some items to that page that will not appear on the regular blog site, so check both places to keep up on all the news I have discovered I want to alert you about.

Now for the gripes. Some of the news from the old home town recently has given me cause for distress. After I wrote the blog about the history of lobstering last month, it hurt me to discover that two lobster boats owned by very young boys down Friendship way were vandalized. One of the boys was six years old when he got his lobstering license, the youngest in the state. He’s had his boat since he was 10 and was proud that he was keeping up the family tradition of lobstering. The boats were saved, but the event reminds us that the life of a lobsterman is not always easy. I wish both the boys a good lobstering season.

I noted a story about a whole neighborhood being demolished because the 100 years plus old houses are uninhabitable. The twelve houses on Philbrick Avenue, a short street off Camden Street are owned by Madeline Philbrick. Her grandfather, the late Eugene Philbrick, built them all one by one. The septic systems began to be bothersome which led to Madeline’s decision. Evidently the city has no money to install a sewer system in the area. The old established neighborhood will be missed. Hopefully we will see some new homes built in that area in the future.

Speaking of old buildings, I have been following the saga of the Lincoln Center and its closing at the end of their season. Look for a special blog on that subject. I’m afraid it may have to go the way of the Philbrick houses.

The last gripe I have is about all the flak at Lynn Archer’s restaurant, The Brass Compass, on the corner of Main and Park Streets. The mayor has said you need to read all the pros and cons about the situation. I did and I for one will agree with Lynn here. She has added a lot to the area to attract the summer tourists. She’s willing to work with the city, so why are they spending all that money to “improve” the park? If I were there, Lynn, I would be number 401 on your petition to let you use the space for seating for your restaurant.

Also this month, look for another Fish and Chips column from brother Ted; a guest column- collaboration with sister Sara about summer Maine reading; and a possible blog about Maine and New England foods. Stay tuned, I may get some more inspirations from other sources.

 

Do-it-yourselfer lends expertise

This column appeared in the Bangor Daily News on December 4 or 5, 1982

In answer to several inquiries, we are happy to report our friendly do-it-yourselfer is still alive and kicking. He was rather inactive for several months, opting for a few simple repair jobs around the house. He did tangle with the kitchen sink drain again and managed to shower himself with murky drain goo when back-flushing the clogged pipe. Got the mess all over the kitchen and cabinets. Learning from experience, he tackled the job while his wifemate was away and had ample opportunity to clean up the mess before she got home.

Last summer he became involved with the largest project ever, helping out on the construction of a whole house. The big difference this time was that he did not have to be responsible for the planning and execution of those plans. He was more or less a bystander helping out here and there.

You have to understand the picture. Here, for the first time in his vast experience as a do-it-yourselfer, he was working with others who actually knew what they were doing. He was constantly amazed at the exactness and correctness of calculations and construction. Why, they even cut wall-partition studs the correct length the first time. Do-it-yourselfer always thought it was perfectly acceptable to cut the studs too long the first cut, too short the second cut, then insert a shim to make it fit.

Even more amazing was to have the exact quantity of materials on hand to complete a segment of the construction. It seems reasonable to believe that if one correctly measures an area for materials and orders what it needs, it would come out all right. Never in his experience has do-it-yourselfer ever enjoyed this luxury.

Even more amazing than this was that framing of windows and doors was made well in advance of installation. When it came time to insert the windows, every one fit perfectly into the frame. Our friend could not understand why at least one of the openings was not too small or too large. That’s the way he always did it.

What really took the cake was to see a hole cut into the roof for the chimney and have it located exactly where it was supposed to be. It’s enough to make a grown do-it-yourselfer close his tape measure forever.

There were other new experiences for our friend. Imagine, if you will, here he is perched atop a pretty steep roof shingling between two young bucks half his age and part monkey. The two young men jumped around on the bouncing staging boards as if they were walking down Main Street on a cement sidewalk. Well, after a day of shingling, do-it-yourselfer couldn’t open his hand for three days as it was clamped closed where he had clung to the roof and staging.

Standing atop three sections of portable staging installing collar beams and insulation is an experience not to be forgotten.

With progression of construction to a point-of-interior work, it was time for installation of kitchen cabinets. Do-it-yourselfer was beside himself. With the cabinets situated in place, he drilled a hole to fasten it to the wall, and would you believe it, there were actually solid stringers behind the sheetrock to screw into. Why, any respectable do-it-yourselfer would have to remove at least one piece of sheetrock to install the necessary backing.

Finally, do-it-yourselfer found even the experts can become frustrated and upset when something doesn’t go right. After the cabinets were installed, the stove and refrigerator were installed. The door of the refrigerator opened from the wrong side. This was not a problem as the doors are reversible. The task was begun to reverse them. Everything went smoothly until it came time to install the bottom hinge, which for some reason would not fit to accept the door.

The installer even had to resort to an old trick of the do-it-yourselfer; he read the directions. But no amount of finagling could make the hinge fit. Giving up in disgust, the installer declared the manufacturer must have made an error and installed the wrong part. Ha, thought the do-it-yourselfer, there’s another ploy he has utilized in the past, blame it on the manufacturer. Wow, these people really are human after all.

The sequel to this, however, is that an inquiry from the dealer about the reversible refrigerator door brought a service representative to the house to make the necessary changes. Know what the serviceman discovered? The manufacturer had installed the wrong hinge which would require his sending for a new part.

Well, at least the do-it-yourselfer can still clean out a clogged sink drain even if he usually sprays himself with water in the process.

Thomaston Library

Summer Reading Program

Submitted by Joanna Hynd

Wiffle Ball Game to Start Summer Reading Program! Come to the Thomaston Public Library to celebrate reading and baseball on Saturday, June 16^th at 11am! We have 50 TICKETS to the Portland Sea Dogs we are giving away to the first 50 kids who sign up for our summer reading program.

Stop by the Thomaston Public Library at 60 Main St. Thomaston. Public Parking is located behind the Thomaston Academy Building. We will meet to sign up in the Children’s Room and give away ticket vouchers. Then we will travel to the Thomaston Little League Field on Watts Lane (behind the American Legion) and play wiffle ball coached by our own Parks and Recreation manager, Matt Judkins. After the game we will be giving away free popsicles. We hope to see you there!

We recommend kids between the ages of 7 and 12 participate in the wiffle ball game, but all are welcome to attend!

For more information contact Joanna at the Thomaston Public Library

(207) 354-2453 or childrensdesk@thomaston.lib.me.us