DEAR SUN SPOTS: We are looking for St. Dom’s alums. At the Franco-American Collection at the University of Southern Maine, we were saddened to learn that St. Dominic’s Academy was closing its high school. 

We are reaching out to the St. Dom’s alumni community asking you to help us preserve keepsakes and stories from St. Dom’s. We hope you will consider adding these objects and your memories to the Collection’s archives. 

Did you know that the Franco-American Collection was born at St. Dominic’s? In 1972, the Collection began as a local history project at the school and continued to grow with community support from there. This is why we feel a strong connection with the school. 

Consequently, we encourage you to donate items such as school rings, jackets, hockey jerseys, or yearbooks, or other memorabilia from your school days to the archive. We also encourage people who would like to record oral histories discussing St. Dom’s to contact us. 

At the Franco-American Collection, we have a mission to preserve our local Franco-American culture and history. And regardless of where you attended high school, if you are of French-Canadian descent, we’re interested in hearing from you. Get in touch with Anna Faherty, Franco-American Collection Archivist at 753-6545, [email protected] , or visit in person at USM Lewiston, 51 Westminster St., Lewiston, room 171. — Anna, Lewiston

ANSWER: I hope you get many responses and can plump up your collection. Readers, you can really make a difference here and preserve history. Please let me know if you participate and you can also share short stories of your heritage right here in Sun Spots. 

DEAR SUN SPOTS: The Franco Center will host a festive Homecoming Dance on Friday, Nov. 8, complete with music, dancing and a community coat drive. Doors will open at 6 p.m., with a happy hour until 7 p.m., when the dance officially begins.

Guests are encouraged to bring new or gently used winter coats to donate and will receive a $1 off coupon for the concessions table. All coats collected will be given to Kaydenz Kitchen Food Pantry, a local nonprofit organization that provides free food and clothing to unhoused individuals and families in need.

“Our Homecoming Dance is a chance to bring the community together for a night of fun while also helping neighbors who need warm clothing for the winter,” Theresa Shanahan, Franco Center’s executive director, said.

The evening will feature music by DJ Brothers, dancing and a lively atmosphere in the center’s historic performance hall. Concessions and drinks will be available for purchase.

The Franco Center is at 46 Cedar St. in Lewiston. Parking is available in the mill lot across the street, the lot on the corner of Lincoln and Cedar, and in the Chestnut Street parking garage.

Buy your tickets now at https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=298086. For more information, visit francocenter.org or call 689-2000. Advance tickets are $25 (before 5 p.m. on Nov. 8 or buy them the night of the event at the door for $30. — No name, no town

ANSWER: This sounds absolutely wonderful and is for a good cause. Be sure to invite your friends! 

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 [email protected].