What a privilege and joy to hear about our local paper, the Boothbay Register (BR) from Kevin Burnham, editor and Sarah Morley, operations manager! Sharing an adorable BR front page baby picture of Kevin on Dec. 26, 1957, and a delightful childhood picture of Sarah (many years later) sitting at a typewriter at the BR office, we were off and running on the history and goals of the paper.

While the paper is now 150 years old, extending from its first publication on Dec. 9, 1876, with only four pages in length, it is being digitized to extend the life of those thousands of pages and provide access to that information by all. Over the years those 4-page papers grew to 20 or 50 pages at times, and those paper pages are fragile to aging. The job of the digital endeavor is requiring significant monetary and labor to save our history. In collaboration with the Boothbay Region Historical Society and the Maine State Library, this labor is underway. Individual and organization sponsorship will ensure success, that will benefit us all. While the BR is one of the oldest local newspapers in Maine, it offers communication and connection that social media will never duplicate! 

This Thursday we welcome Joanna Breen and Desiree Scorcia from the Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library. The library makes such a difference in the life of our community providing books, DVDs, Interlibrary loans and so much more. The staff and volunteers are knowledgeable and friendly. The historic 1842 Greek Revival building graces the hub of our town and welcomes everyone.  It's hard to imagine our community without the library.  Join us Thursday to learn how we can support it.  

The Rotary will again open the doors to the Rotary Barn this Saturday the 11th of April from 8:30 to 11 a.m., and Rotary pick-ups are being done on Mondays at 1 p.m. and Saturdays at 9:30 a.m. so please access our website to leave a pick-up request at rotarybarnpickup@gmail.com, and do come over to peruse the many treasures in the Barn at 66 Montgomery Road, Boothbay Harbor. Or join us for a meeting on Thursday evenings at the same address at 6 p.m.