John Ford Sr., retired Maine Warden, and Mark Nickerson, retired Maine trooper, have been traveling the state the last several years with their sometimes humorous, sometimes poignant tales of law enforcement covering a combined 60 years as cops in Maine.

On Tuesday, August 2, at 7:30 p.m., they bring their “Blue Lights and Funny Cider” tour to the Southport Memorial Library, located at 1032 Hendricks Hill Road in the village of Newagen, just 3.7 miles south of the Southport Bridge. The event is sponsored by the Library Aides, and refreshments will be served. All are welcome.

John Ford Sr. was raised along the shores of Mousam Lake in York County, Maine. He comes from a long line of police chiefs and state troopers, and served as District Game Warden in the Waldo County area for 20 years before becoming Sheriff of Waldo County in 1991.

John’s Sportsman’s Wildlife Calendar sold around the country from 1983–2000 and was a hit with many sportsmen. John wrote a bi-weekly article for a local newspaper from 2000-2009 detailing memories he kept from his Warden’s diaries. He received a second place award in 2005 and a first place award in 2007 from the Maine Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest.

His popular books include “Suddenly the Cider Didn’t Taste so Good,” “The Cider Still Tastes Funny,” and his latest, published in 2015, “Deer Diaries.” Like his first two books, “Deer Diaries” regales the reader with touching, funny tales of his life as a game warden and sheriff, and shows him as a man who never lost his sense of humor even when dealing with the worst of humanity.

Mark Nickerson’s father was captain of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation of the Maine State Police. Mark started out to be a dentist, but eventually went into police work to follow in his father’s footsteps. From 1997 to 2005 he was a Maine State Trooper in the Moosehead Lake region and finished his career in the Waldo/Kennebec areas of central Maine.

In his first book, “Blue Lights in the Night,” Nickerson shares more than 30 memorable episodes of his life as a trooper including a hair-raising motorcycle chase, a prison uprising, and riotous capers with Warden John Ford. His second book, “Behind the Blue Lights,” delves into the reasons people become cops, along with his usual hilarious stories of law enforcement.

Please join us at the Southport Library to enjoy tales involving rowdy suspects, unfriendly dogs and intoxicated pedestrians. Who knows, they might just be your neighbors! A question and answer period and book signing will follow the presentation.

For more information, call the library at 633-2741.