NEW VINEYARD – The Historical Society will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 20, in the Historical Room. Daniel Lightbody will speak of his Boys State experience at Maine Maritime Academy. All are welcome.

Class reunion

FARMINGTON – The Mount Blue High School Class of 1973’s 30th Class Reunion Celebration will be held from 3 p.m. into the evening Saturday, Aug. 23, at the Titcomb Mountain Memorial Ski Area.

All members, friends, family, associates, cronies, and any interested parties are invited to attend.

There will be no prizes for the longest distance, most kids or grandkids/great grandkids, least changed or most changed. If anyone has the same high school waist size, class members would be interested.

There will be music so those attending are asked to bring their 8-track tapes, albums and 45 records. Gas grills will be provided and there is a kitchen area.

Organizers will pass the hat for expenses. There is tenting and camper parking, with no hookups. A bonfire is planned. There will be at least one CPR-qualified class member present. For more information phone Rob Stevens at 778-4301 or email: rstevens@mainewest.com or Pete Tracy at 778-6369.

Museum program

STRATTON – The Dead River Area Historical Society Museum will host an hour with Charlie Bruce, a local singer, at 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 24.

Bruce will sing Jud Strunk’s hit song, “A Daisy a Day.” People may visit the Jud Strunk exhibit with memorabilia donated by his sons. The display includes Jud’s guitar, posters and photographs of the popular singer/songwriter of the 70s.

John and Ruey Balwin will host the museum as well on that day. Ruey grew up in Flagstaff and was author of the book, “There Was a Land.”

The museum is open every weekend from Memorial Weekend to Labor Day Weekend from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. as well as year-round by appointment. It is located at the junction of Routes 27 and 16 in the village of Stratton.

Displays include a collection of old carpentry and logging tools, china, glass, church organ, furniture from native families, a complete schoolroom, a memorial room to the “lost” towns of Flagstaff and Dead River, the lineage of several native families, and a host of memorabilia from native homesteads. Artifacts, manuscripts, photographs, etc. have been donated or loaned from interested townspeople and descendants of the Dead River areas providing collections from 1850 with all of the artifacts given from the original families of the Dead River Region.

Each Saturday throughout the summer the museum is hosted by Ryan Wing, whose ancestors came from Flagstaff. A great deal of knowledge has been handed down to him about Flagstaff and the Dead River area. Sundays are hosted by local volunteers who grew up in the area or are familiar with the exhibits. A directory is provided.

For more information, phone Mary Henderson at 246-2271.

Old Home Sunday

MADRID TOWNSHIP – The Reeds Mill Church will hold its annual Old Home Sunday on Aug. 24. A potluck noon luncheon is planned. Baked beans and beverages will be provided. People are being asked to bring their own place settings. The church service will follow at around 1 p.m.

Hunter safety

WILTON – A hunter safety program will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 30 and 31 at the Wilton Fish and Game Club on Route 2. It is sponsored by the Wilton Fish and Game Association. For more information, people can call 897-2740.

Talk about trees

RANGELEY – Naturalist Warren Balgooyen will speak about “Trees in Trouble” at 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 24, as part of the Natural Science Program at the Wilhelm Reich Museum.

Balgooyen will discuss why tree growth is slowing down and what can be done to prevent it. Some causes of dying or unhealthy trees are acid rain, global warming, the changing light spectra due to ozone depletion and bad forestry practices.

Other factors are natural such as pathogens, which cause chestnut blight, and insects such as the gypsy moth and the hemlock woolly adelgid.

Homeowners, camp owners, woodlot owners and people interested in learning about trees would find this program informative. It will include a walk around the museum trails.

The programs is are free. People should meet at the Sheltered Classroom. For more information, people can call the museum, 864-3343.

Help for farmers

FARMINGTON – Livestock producers who had grazing losses due to drought in 2001 are eligible to apply for benefits under the Farm Service Agency’s Livestock Assistance Program through Oct. 24.

Under the program, a producer’s grazing land must be in a county that was declared a primary disaster area under a presidential or secretarial declaration for either 2001 or 2002.

County Executive Director Gary J. Raymond reports that Franklin County’s rainfall was 52 percent below normal for four months during the grazing period in 2001.

People can contact the Franklin County Farm Service Agency office at 778-2788 for additional information.

Children’s meals

WILTON – Western Maine Community Action is participating in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Child and Adult Care Food Program.

The eligibility scale for reduced price meals is based on family size and annual income. The guidelines are for a family of one, an annual income of $16,613 or less; for two, $22,422; three, $28,231; four, $34,040; five, $39,849; six, $45,658; seven, $51,467; and eight, $57,276.

For more information on participating day care homes, people can call the agency at 645-3764 or 1-800-645-9636.

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