Roughly 13 Rotarians and neighbors assembled at 5:30 to walk much of our land from our Rotary building north to the cleared power line area. Jonathan Tindal led us, Irene Fowle organized us, and we savored the landscape, discussed the features, and enjoyed our romp through the woods. We also enjoyed some of the history and stories.

This land area was where the ancient Montgomery Road was located, in the 1700s, from where Hackmatack Road now is to Montgomery Mills, now East Boothbay. Rotary, in 1981, acquired and saved this land from the Pine Tree Council, which had sold the land but rescinded the sale. This was where local scouts, including Rotarians Robin Reed and much younger Chip Griffin, had camped out with the local Boy Scout troop in the 1950s and 1960s respectively. Rotarians built the Scout Hall in 1999, and years later, after Scouts had died out in Boothbay Harbor, we built the addition that became our new Rotary building. Mike Thompson also led construction of the Rotary Barn for auction and bicycle storage for our enhanced community efforts. Jonathan Tindal later in the evening waxed eloquent on how generous Carl Poole was, in 2016, in donating around twenty acres for any purposes Rotary chooses. We are free to keep this forever wild, consider mixed uses and conservation, or do anything we believe most appropriate for our community.

Rotarian Griff gave a powerful and eloquent invocation celebrating Jon McCain’s life. 

We enjoyed our guests, Past President Stuart Guey and his Rotarian wife, Valerie Guey, the Belle Chase Club near New Orleans, which is currently celebrating the local contributions of Paul Harris before Harris founded Rotary in Chicago in 1905. We also welcomed Rotarian Kathy Fisher, who recently volunteered at the auction, hails from the Tidewater Club in Easton Maryland, and is spending more and more time in Boothbay Harbor.

President Alice read a very grateful letter from a very deserving and meritorious Boothbay Region graduate entering college and thanking us for our generous scholarship and planning to embark on her own service above self for continuing her community service work in her college community. 

We celebrated Linda Clapp’s successful and risky eye operation this past week, and tighter-than-tick Bob Pike garnered as sergeant-at-arms over $450 from the rest of us over the past few weeks. Bob Reed, from the Bath Sunrise Rotary, is the poster person for membership, increasing his club from 12 to 22 in two years; now he embraces the need to create the structure for integrating new members.  

Alice reflected upon the many sponsors and volunteers (now officially titled Friends of Rotary) from our community who helped us make the 61st Auction such a success. The 2018 co-chairs Debbie Graves and Laurie Zimmerli have agreed to co-chair the 2019 Auction so long as two leaders accept their challenge to step forward in 2020 to lead the event.

Mike Thompson came forward to accept the grant check for our successful Rotary Foundation grant of $5,000. This $5,000 will add to our own club’s $5,000 donation for the Elementary School project. Ann Demeranville, in absentia, thanked Marty for grant writing and cement mixers Brian, Doug, Robin, Chip, Tony, Steve, and Griff for making and pouring cement this past weekend. Apparently, this amounted to five and a half tons of wet cement, anchoring the playground assembled by patient and flexible professionals.  

Our international committee reports that approval is expected soon for the Global Grant we joined which will help provide a community water system in Kigutu, Burundi. Next Wednesday evening Sept 5 the Brunswick Coastal Club will be hosting the two physicians from Brunswick who are involved in the water project. We are invited to come hear more detail. They meet at the Fairgrounds Cafe, Topsham Mall, 6 p.m. If anyone plans to attend, please notify Ann as she will forward a head count for the buffet dinner.

This coming Thursday evening, Sept. 6 we will have a presentation at our clubhouse on the Schooner Ernestina-Morrisey.  The following Thursday night, Sept. 13, at 6 p.m., Rotary will meet at the Spruce Point Inn to host, honor and celebrate our Hometown Heroes. Contact Debbie Graves for details.