The annual Damariscotta Mills Alewife Festival was canceled due to COVID-19, but the quilt raffle was not. At the Alewife Festival Quilt Raffle drawing on Labor Day, Christine Ruffley was the lucky winner. In front of a small crowd of 11 cheering onlookers Christine’s ticket number 253 was drawn from the bag by Mary Chase.

On learning that she was the winner, Ruffley exclaimed, “I am absolutely speechless! Well that’s not true. I just ran around the house screaming. I love the quilt so very much!” Ruffley lives in Massachusetts and spends part of her summers in Damariscotta Mills, She is hoping to soon become a full-time Maine resident.

The Fish Ladder Restoration Committee thanks the 79 quilt raffle participants who bought 589 tickets and thereby raised a net $2,390. At the current time, fundraising efforts are focused on “Bridging the Gap,” the repair and upgrade of the viewing bridge that has supported many Fish Ladder onlookers since its construction in the 1920s.