Another why-we-like-it-here story: A few days before the Rumford town meeting vote — two weeks ago — Rumford Library friends and volunteers were out in the mosquitoes and rain, putting leaflets in Sun Journal boxes or behind screen doors. Yours truly among them.

One last stop over in Rumford Corner headed for Bethel, stopped the car one last time for one last yellow paper box drop.

“You have a spare?” a big fellow called across the road.

“I think so. Do you need one?”

“No, YOU do.”

Ed Hoyt and his uncle, Prentiss Hoyt (of the Corner Hoyts, not the Center ones), took charge and in no time — and only three or four more bug bites — they’d changed the tire. Move over, Triple A.

Since then, more rainfall and an endless, heavy fall of pine needles. They nearly smothered the impatiens and petunias struggling for life off the porch, and they clogged the gutters. Worse this year? A result of some of the pine diseases we read about? Ask Barbara Murphy, of course. She said the needle fall will soon be over. Have to hope that is true for the white pines struggling with a fungi that got a boost during the excessively wet summer of 2009.

How many is enough?

“We have a whole lot of auto parts stores and beauty parlors,” Julie Dickson observed. She might have added, and pizza places! The River Valley boasts a bunch of pizza outlets: Ellis’ in Dixfield, also Towle’s General Store; Mexico has the Blue Moose at its eastern border, Maddie’s, Dead River Convenience Store, Dick’s and One Stop.

In Rumford there’s Mt. Valley Variety, House of Pizza, the Falls Hill Dead River Convenience Store, and Sam’s; in Andover, the General Store sells pizza (the status of Mills Market is unclear); in Roxbury, pizza’s available at the Corner Store.

With the forthcoming Amato’s in Rumford and the newly opened Pizza Hut in Mexico, the River Valley will have 15 pizza places. Do Peru and Canton run the number still higher? Probably.

For some of us, pizza is a now-and-then treat. But it must be more than now and then for a whole lot of people in the River Valley. Skateboarders, for example, if their event at Hosmer Field last Tuesday is anything to go by, could handily down a 14-incher each.

The Strathglass Park band was burning a lot of calories, too, on that first day of summer at Hosmer Field. The vocal was loud but clear: “Live right now! Just be yourself … .” (The group has a video on YouTube you can check out.) Couldn’t help but think of the Strathglaass Pipers of ancient days.

The skateboard event was hosted by the newly organized Eleven Circles to launch its campaign to build a proper skateboard park — like the one in Bethel. “We’ve done a lot of research,” Becky Skibitsky said, “on how to engage kids in activities that are sustainable.”

Some folks hope the new skateboard park will be closer to the road, and therefore safer for all.

Pizza on Black Mountain

Mexico’s Pizza Hut set the buffet table for a women-only gathering at Black Mountain last Thursday. Pulled together by staff from the governor’s office, Oxford County Economic Development Director Linda Walbridge and Rumford Selectperson Jolene Lovejoy, the event provided some 60 River Valley women the opportunity to meet Maine’s First Lady Ann LePage and to talk about their work and service here, the challenges and their aspirations for the River Valley.

Upbeat!

Linda Farr Macgregor is a freelance writer; contact her: [email protected]