Two boats built for service are beginning a new chapter at Burnt Island. The Keepers of Burnt Island Light recently celebrated the christening of two 26-foot Navy Whale Boats Mk II, generously donated to the organization by longtime Burnt Island supporters Howard and Dee Wright.

Here at Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library, we meet you in all your life's many chapters. We welcome you in with our “Grow a Reader” kits in infancy and are now offering patrons tools for navigating the ending of life. We are facilitating topics that may feel morose and heavy but are important to face with accurate and up-to-date information.

On Friday, Oct. 16 from 3 to 5 p.m., the Boothbay Region Historical Society joined by the Friends of the Southport Historical Society and the Boothbay Railway Village will host Preserving Antique Treasures presented by professional conservator Barbara Moore at the Town Hall Building at the Railway Village.

In the third installment of the “Real Pirates” series, we learned that the Marianne was indeed the pirate ship reported at “Damerill’s Cove” (known today as Damariscove) in the 1717 Boston News-Letter. Captained by Paulsgrave Williams, the vessel successfully reached the chosen rendezvous destination off the coast of Boothbay Harbor – the place that he expected to reunite with his partner Samuel (“Black Sam”) Bellamy and the treasure accumulated from more than 50 vessels.

With temperatures peaking at 73F, it didn't feel much like a fall day in downtown Boothbay Harbor Oct. 2. However, businesses are beginning to show their Halloween spirit as storefronts transform into spooky scenes, and pumpkins appear in plant pots and window frames. It may be too early for leaf peeping, but visitors are enjoying the pleasant weather in the meanwhile.

The Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission (LCRPC) is partnering with the state’s Municipal Planning Assistance Program and the Maine Coastal Program to host a workshop on nature-based planning strategies that encourage resilient shorelines in coastal communities.

Saturday, Oct. 10, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 11, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

$5 per person, free 5 and under. Train additional $5 and train free to Museum members.

Mark your calendar! The Boothbay Region Historical Society will hold its annual Cheese & Treats fundraiser at the museum on Saturday, Oct. 10 from 9 a.m. until sold out. In addition to a variety of delicious baked goods, the society is pleased to once again offer a special 2-Year Reserve Cheddar cheese from Maine producer Pineland Farms Dairy. This classic cheddar cheese has been aged for full flavor.

Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust will host a free guided hike along the River~Link Trail on Friday, Oct. 9, from 2 to 5:30 p.m. This three-hour excursion offers community members an opportunity to explore one of the region’s largest remaining blocks of intact conserved land, which serves as a crucial habitat and corridor for native wildlife including moose, deer, bobcats, and bears.

Imagine walking into church and hearing U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." What could that song possibly have to do with communion? Quite a lot, as it turns out.

Midcoast Literacy is holding its seventh annual Readers Theater performance on Saturday, Oct. 24, 1 to 3:30 p.m., at Morse High School Auditorium, 826 Shipbuilder Drive, Bath.

Wiscasset's Steve Erskine said his grandfather Roy B. Rowe and Rowe's brothers Clarke and Frank started Eastern Steamship Company and owned the Winter Harbor and another steamboat. Winter Harbor did the Boothbay-Wiscasset mail run with over 100 passengers aboard, Erskine, of Wiscasset, said. He told Wiscasset Newspaper Sept. 24, Route 27’s paving “gradually put them out of business.” He has a logbook he said shows a Boothbay-Wiscasset trip with seven passengers. 

Sarah Whitfield will be joining the staff of the Congregational Church of Boothbay Harbor (UCC) on Oct. 1 as our associate pastor. A native of Wiscasset, Sarah recently completed her ministry studies with the Maine School of Ministry and has spent the last five years covering sabbaticals and serving as a supply preacher at 14 different churches throughout Maine.

Boothbay Baptist Church on Route 27/999 Wiscasset Road is holding a free Community Harvest Fair Sunday, Oct. 4 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

There will be lots of food: Italian sausage subs, hamburgers, hot dogs, fried dough, apple crisp, popcorn and snow cones.

The family event will include an obstacle course, face painting, game and apple cider press.

For more information, call 633-7378.

The Boothbay Region Garden Club is fundraising for the American Cancer Society with a local Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk on Sunday, Oct. 4 at 1 p.m.

The walk will start at St. Columba’s Episcopal Church, 32 Emery Lane, Boothbay Harbor. Participants will walk the nearby Penny Lake Preserve.

Registration will be held on site before the walk. Donations: Check only, made out to the American Cancer Society.

Participants are urged to wear pink!

Thanks for helping to end breast cancer. Your involvement matters!

In the one month of September, five esteemed organizations provided $80,000.00 in grants to Finding Our Voices to brighten the lives and prospects of Maine women domestic abuse survivors and their children as well as to foster healthy relationships among teens, according to the statewide nonprofit.

Some Midcoast Christian churches are banding together for the second time to raise funds for heating assistance for local families. They are holding a public event, the second “Helping Hands, Heating Homes” on Saturday evening, Oct. 24 at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church on Academy Hill Road in Newcastle at 5:30. The event will include a spaghetti dinner, silent auction and concert. The first dinner/auction raised over $8,000. The cost to attend all events of the evening is $25 per person, or a maximum of $60 per family.

Colonel Shanon W. Cotta, of Alna, Maine was awarded the Legion of Merit Medal by Major General Diane Dunn, the Adjutant General of the Maine National Guard, on Sept. 13 after serving over 32 years in the United States Army. His final assignment was serving as the brigade commander of the 52nd Troop Command in the Maine National Guard.