If you stood in line recently at the Maine Forestry Museum’s festival Saturday, you know that your salivary glands are in good working order.  When the smells of bean hole beans reached your nose, the saliva most certainly started to flow. The grilled sausages, onions and peppers helped….but mainly it was those signature and heavenly beans.

The volunteers at the museum are just like Rangeley’s volunteers at a dozen other organizations; they bring what is special about their mission to the fore to make this a very active and interesting community (see photos).  Bringing some of the features of historic logging camp life shows up on the grounds of the fine forestry museum grounds…especially those beans that have simmered overnight in large pots buried underground in hot coals carefully nurturing the beans and their “secret” additions to keep ‘em (the baked bean lovers) coming year after year.

Shown here are just some of the folks making the Maine Forestry Museum, its parade, and its annual festival, something special.  However, its volunteers are aging a bit, and some new volunteers are needed to keep the museum going strong. If you are interested in  learning more about what you can do to help the current fine volunteers, simply call the Maine Forestry Museum at 864-3939.

This is the point at which your salivary glands shift into high gear! Allen Wicken

 

Carol Fournier (L) and Carolyn Nobbs hard at work preparing those delicious biscuits that complement the beans Allen Wicken

Ray Heaton (L) and Lloyd Record had the very warm job of managing the biscuit reflector ovens Allen Wicken

John Field (L) and Don Curtis tend to the hot ashes that line the “bean holes Allen Wicken

Don Curtis handled the Maine “Red Snapper” hot dog boilers. Allen Wicken


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