DEAR SUN SPOTS: There will be a free public Christmas Day dinner again this year at the America Legion Hall on Reynolds Avenue in Livermore Falls. Our greatest food need this year is for home-baked pies and cookies.

Please call Pam Newton (897-3072) or Karen Mitchell (897-3593) if you would like to help, provide food items or join us for a meal.

We serve turkey and ham with all of the fixings and pie for dessert. This is for anyone who is alone Christmas, can’t do a meal or just wants to be with a wonderful group of people.

We need a general idea of how many people are coming, so please let one of us know. While this meal is for anyone (regardless of where one lives) who wants to come, we also provide delivery to those who live in the tri-town area. — kftm@myfairpoint.net

DEAR SUN SPOTS: Thanks for all the help you give to our community. I am wondering if anyone has need of trophies. I have basketball trophies (11 male, one female) and four baseball (male) that I would like to give away. None have engraving plates, so they could possibly be reused if anyone would like them. — antiebabs@yahoo.com.

ANSWER: In the past, Sun Spots has been told that the John F. Murphy Home (800 Center St., Auburn, 782-2726) will take old trophies and reuse them. If any other groups want them, please let the column know.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I read in your Dec. 4 column about the groups trying to raise money to buy the bells from St. Louis Church.

My question is who funded the bells in the first place? Members of the parish or the church?

If the parishioners, why are they being asked to buy them again?

Or maybe, who owns them now? The church or salvage company? — No Name via email

ANSWER: Sun Spots approached the spokesman for the Catholic Church in Maine, who referred her to Ashley O’Brien, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Auburn. Ashley said that the bells, which are owned by the parish, were paid for more than 100 years ago by donations from the parishioners and their priest. He added:

“The parish was approached over 18 months ago by a group of community leaders who made a convincing argument that in light of the closure of Ste. Louis de France Church that its bells, engraved with the names of many of the earliest local families, should now be considered as a ‘community and cultural treasure.’

“The thought was entertained of making an outright gift of the bells or to permanently loan them, but it was decided that if they were to be seen as more than a church artifact, the community needed to come together, take ownership and transform them into a symbol of the city’s history. Consequently, the decision was made to sell them for only the salvage value of the 4,800 pounds of brass they contain.

“When the first group failed to follow through on their intentions, the city of Auburn stepped in to complete the purchase, and from my discussion with the Economic Development Office this is soon to be a reality. Certainly the efforts of the local merchants reflect the importance they place on this project.”

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I hope you will have space to include this message of gratitude to a stranger.

One day recently I dropped my credit card in the Taylor Brook Animal Hospital parking lot. I did not miss it right away so was surprised to get a call the next day from Taylor Brook telling me that it had been turned in to them.

When I picked it up, I asked if they knew who had found it, but the clerk did not. I hope that whoever was kind enough to do this reads this message and accepts my grateful thanks.

He/she has done much to restore my faith in humanity given the horror stories we hear about lost and stolen credit cards. Thanks again, whoever you are! — June Spear, Auburn

This column is for you, our readers. It is for your questions and comments. There are only two rules: You must write to the column and sign your name (we won’t use it if you ask us not to). Please include your phone number. Letters will not be returned or answered by mail, and telephone calls will not be accepted. Your letters will appear as quickly as space allows. Address them to Sun Spots, P.O. Box 4400, Lewiston, ME 04243-4400. Inquiries can also be emailed to sunspots@sunjournal.com.

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