PARIS – Residents and staff at the Maine Veterans Home in South Paris have received the gift of a lilac from the McLaughlin Foundation.

The lilac bush will be planted on the grounds of the 90-bed facility. Lee Dasler of the foundation presented the Mount Baker lilac to representatives of the home, Ellie Newell, admissions coordinator, and Robert Sessions, member of the Western Maine Veterans Advisory Committee.

Dasler said she hopes it will become an annual part of the Lilac Festival and that each year another bush will be presented to the home.

The McLaughlin Foundation celebrated its eighth annual Lilac Festival over Memorial Day weekend. Throughout the weekend, there were workshops on lilac care and maintenance.

The silent film, “Jeannine, I Dream of Lilac Time,” starring Colleen Moore and Gary Cooper, was shown Saturday and Sunday. New this year was a book signing by Maine author Jane Lamb and a 5K Walk/Run on Monday morning. “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomed” was recited by actor and minister Dan Lakeman during the program on Monday.


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