Please notice elsewhere in this paper the obituary for Fred Helming, a long-time summer resident on Marr’s Point. His funeral will be held at All Saints by-the-Sea summer chapel on July 1, at 9:30 a.m. with a reception following at the Southport Yacht Club where Fred had served as commodore and later as steward. If you are unable to come to Fred’s memorial service at All Saints, please know the family would still love to see you at the reception following the service at the Southport Yacht Club (10:30-noon).

Birds have been cheering me up these days. We can now use our front porch again because the two junco babies have fledged, and the house finches who were working on multiple nests on the porch have abandoned the project. Denis McWhan reported a redheaded woodpecker busily feeding her babies through an the oval opening about two-thirds of the way up a tree at the end of Russ and Nan Jackson’s driveway. When I passed by she was sitting on the nest looking sternly out at passing traffic.

Flowers all over the island are especially lovely this spring, but Barbara Baseman says to be sure to take note of the beautiful flowers surrounding our Southport Island Sign this season. They are compliments of Josh Seiders of J &A Construction and Property Management in thanks for all his friends and clients on our island! Thanks so much for the added beauty. Barbara and Steve are glad to be home after further treatment for Steve in Boston.

The Friends of the Southport Historical Society held its annual meeting at the Southport Town Hall last Monday evening. A short business meeting preceded the presentation by Maine State Historian, Earle G. Shettleworth Jr., who shared photographic work of E. Joseph Leighton, the early 20th century Lincoln County photographer who chronicled everyday life in our county on antique glass slides. Mr. Shettleworth noted that when all the available negatives are sorted they might find some photographs of Southport, but currently none are available. We saw many scenes of Wiscasset, Westport, Alna, Head Tide and Sheepscot Village. During the business meeting Dick Snyder was thanked for his 10 years as president of the Friends, and Kathy Messmer was welcomed as the new president. Ann Roche and Nan Jackson were elected as new members of the board of directors. Jim Singer gave the treasurer’s report for his wife Becky, thanking everyone for their generous donations. You can join the Friends for dues of five dollars, a real bargain.

The Hendricks Hill Museum will open for the summer on June 27, and it will be open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Sept. 2.

Among Southport travelers are Bruce and Maureen Kinsey who visited Bruce's cousin in Haines, Alaska last week. Maureen writes, “The scenery was majestic, with towering snow-capped mountains rimming the town, eagles as plentiful as our seagulls, and the local people friendly and welcoming. Bruce's cousin, Mary, who is now in her 80s, kept up the pace with us even as she proclaimed she had a ‘hitch in her gitalong.’ When Mary was 21 she left California in a 1931 Ford pickup with her 19-year-old sister Ollie to homestead in Alaska. They both stayed, Ollie becoming a bush pilot, and Mary raising a family and driving that pickup until two years ago. She is giving the truck to Bruce to restore to its former glory, a task he will enjoy immensely.”

Another traveler, using a more ancient means of transportation, is Bill Helming who participated this last weekend in the “Trek across Maine” by bicycle, raising money for the American Lung Association. Billed as “the mountains to the sea,” the participants start at the Sunday River Ski Resort in Newry, Maine, and finish at Steamboat Landing in Belfast, a journey of 180 miles. Bill made the trip without incident, but Peg noted that getting his biking clothes clean was an arduous job.

A reminder that on June 25, the Southport Island Association invites all members, Southport residents, and guests to join neighbors and friends at the Southport Town Hall from 5 until 7 p.m. for the first event of the summer season! Kicking off the evening will be a short performance by the 2017 summer cast of the Boothbay Carousel Theater. Please bring a sweet or a savory to share. Cash bar beverages will be available