I found it a bit too cold Saturday night to go to the beach to watch this amazing event, but Susan Endicott kindly sent me the following account. “Saturday, February 24, at 8:00 p.m,, thecold water dipping group, The Little Dippers, gathered under the full moon for their monthly moonlit wade into the icy ocean. There were close to ten dippers, all from different backgrounds and a wide variety of ages. They listened to a groovy playlist and gathered around a small fire to warm up with cocoa following the dip. The Little Dippers meet every day at Hendricks Head Beach to dip in the ocean. All are welcome to join anytime. If you’d like to receive the monthly schedule, email: hendrickslittledippers@gmail.com.”

About nine enthusiastic gardeners attended the coffee klatch to discuss gardening last Thursday, Feb. 22, beginning at 10 a.m. at the Southport Memorial Library. Claire Tomlin opened the meeting by asking each person to introduce themselves and speak about her gardening experience. When Linda Redman joined us, she offered many good suggestions including how to create gardens on the ledge, a problem for many of us. She reminded us that for compost to fully decompose, it needs heat, which explains why my compost, in a bin under the eves of the house, often generates too many live seeds. This meeting and discussion will continue each Thursday morning beginning at 10 at the library. Everybody is welcome. For additional information call Claire Tomlin 305-775-2166.

Many of you enjoyed the banners attached to poles along our roadways displaying a picture and information about people from Southport and elsewhere on the peninsula who served in the military. If you want to purchase a banner for someone not yet so honored, you have until March 15 to do so. The banners will be hung again beginning in early May, in time for Memorial Day and will remain up until Veterans Day. Contact Sarah Sherman (633-7161 or
shermanmcgrail@yahoo.com) or Jim Singer (751-8540 or singerjo@aol.com) to place your order.

Not a banner, but vital nonetheless are the sturdy, bright blue signs you can display at the end of your driveway showing your house number. These signs are meant to help folks, particularly an emergency response team, find your address. Forms to acquire such signs are available at the Southport Memorial Library and at the Community Center. Since so many of us live tucked into the woods or off the roadway, these signs are a big help. The completed form should be returned to Officer Larry Brown at the Harbor police station, who will contact you when your sign is ready. This effort has been funded through a generous grant from a local foundation.

From our Southport Memorial Library comes another reminder that on the second floor many books are on sale. If you are supplying a summer residence, expecting grandchildren, or just short of books to read, this is a good opportunity to restock your shelves. Books specifically about Maine, books for children, and lots of other enticing stories are available. Also news from the library is a gathering on Tuesday afternoons from 1 to 3 You are invited to drop in to draw or paint. Bring your own materials, but no oil-based paint. Also no instruction, no criticism, no pressure.

Our Selectmen have signed a proclamation announcing June as Pride Month in the Town of Southport. Many thanks to them for doing so. The proclamation is “acknowledging the inherent dignity of equality of all individuals…” The Pride flag will be flown at the Town Hall as a “symbol of diversity, inclusivity, and acceptance, (that) has become synonymous with the fundamental American value that every citizen has the freedom to be themselves without fear
of discrimination or persecution…” The conclusion to the proclamation encourages residents to “honor the progress made in the pursuit of LGBTQ+ rights and reaffirm our commitment to building a more inclusive and equitable society for all.” As with many situations in life, we do not know what others experience “til we walk a mile in their shoes.” We cannot always walk that mile, but we can respect those who do walk it.

I have heard that a former Southport resident, well known to many of us, has died. Dick Snyder who lived in Newagen and was, for many years, chair of the Southport Democratic party, died at a retirement home in Auburn, Maine, on Wednesday, evening, Feb. 21. Perhaps an obituary will be available in this paper.

A reminder that absentee ballots for two upcoming elections are now available at the Southport Town Hall. The first concerns the warrant for the Southport Town Meeting on Monday, March 4 when we will be electing a selectman, assessor and overseer of the poor; a fire chief; and the member of the school committee, each for a three-year term. The second vote is for the Tuesday, March 5 Presidential Primary. Voters can come to the Southport Town Hall to pick up a ballot, or they can call Donna Climo, the Southport Town Clerk and Tax Collector, at (207) 633-6311 to have a ballot sent to them. The town hall is open and Donna is available by phone Monday-Thursday from 8 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. and also on Mondays from 6 to 8 p.m.

Also you can sign up for a workshop to learn to dye Pysanky Eggs on March 30 by emailing Annie at Annie@SouthportGeneralstore.com or calling her at 633-0402. And you can put money in a donation can on the checkout counter at the store for three young children of Sam and Shale Maynard who have died, leaving the children in the care of their grandmother.