We went to the fair Sunday morning. The only fair I got to this year, the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardners Association’s Common Ground Country Fair.

I’ve been attending since it was held in Litchfield, near the beginning of the whole thing. I remember that first fair at their Thorndike location, when it was just tents in an empty field way back in 1998. The grounds are now lush with trees and gardens.

I have missed very few fairs over the years, turning it into a yearly pilgrimage full of memory. Getting lost at the Litchfield grounds in the late 1970s. Attending with my family, and then with my friends, bringing those I met in ucollege to see this remarkable Maine event. Escorting my new girlfriend, who became my wife, and then the six years when she was alternately heavily pregnant or carrying babies on her hip. The year when one of the children was bald and frail and on a break from treatment, but still game to hammer nails in the children’s area.

This year, the boys, on their only day off both school and football, elected to stay home, though our eldest came with us. It was her second visit this weekend, independent young woman that she is, and upon visiting a political tent, I had somehow forgot that she will be old enough to vote come November. She even secured a bumper sticker of her favorite 2026 political potential for her Honda minivan.

Our daughter soon abandoned us to assist a friend who was working one of the food tents, and my wife and I were on our own, just like we were 23 years ago, the first time we went to the fair together.

Perusing the crafts, picking up some local farm products- bread and honey and cheese. Every year, Tracee becomes more and more enthralled with the livestock, envisioning how she might bring more critters to this old farm, the flock of dinosaurs just not doing it for her. My new strategy is to try to push her toward bees, away from alpacas and goats and pigs. My grandpa would not have approved. He was not a fan of the idea of beekeeping.

Another year, another Common Ground Fair. We move closer to the time when it will just be the two of us again. No babies on the hip, no little ones sliding down the amphitheater hill on pieces of cardboard.

My wife’s long hair was beautiful with its streaks of silver in the sunlight, as she watched the sheepdog demonstration, laughing as she laments that our dog Conrad missed his calling. This new stage of life will be pretty good. 

This week we will celebrate our 20th anniversary. Still not sure what I will get her, but I promise it will not be a pair of alpacas.

Special Town Meeting

The Select Board has called a special town meeting for Monday, September 29, at 6 p.m. at Walsh Common, aka the Lincolnville Central School Cafeteria.

The purpose of this meeting is to see if the town will vote to approve a plan to appropriate $150,000 from the Harbor/Pier Reserve account to purchase a parcel of land adjacent to the boat launch next to the ferry terminal, 15 McKay Road, from the Lincolnville Sewer District.

This is the land where the old sewer facilities were located. If this purchase is approved, the plan is to provide parking for harbor users, and to secure funding to eventually shore up the land to prevent further erosion and ultimately rebuild the boat launch.

I am told that the current boat launch has far too low a slope for the successful launching off many boats without specialized equipment, and it seems to make sense to have an actual functioning boat launch at our working waterfront, not to mention provide parking for those who work on the Bay. This is typical at the harbors of most of the surrounding towns.

The plan, reviewed and recommended for approval by the Harbor Committee, Select Board, and Budget Committee, would not result in an increase in the town budget, as the money already exists in the reserve account, which was set up to support projects like this. Small town democracy that we are, the will of the people is still needed to determine if we believe this is a good use of the funds.

Should this be approved, there will still be the matter of making the land usable, which will involve more exploration, as it has been a number of years since the cost of such improvements has been assessed. The Harbor Committee and Select Board will likely look into potential grants that may exist for the preservation of working waterfronts.

Ultimately, any additional funds that might need to be raised in the future will go before the voters some June in the future. The municipal and school budgets are approved once a year, and as demonstrated by this special town meeting, the town cannot even transfer existing money from reserve accounts without the approval of the tax payers of Lincolnville.

So come out on September 29 and ask questions, and participate. I see the value in investing in our harbor, and our fishing heritage. I am a little surprised by the cost to the town for the piece of land owned by the private Lincolnville Sewer District, but I suppose it is a piece of land directly on the shore. 

I once again remind you to continue to participate in the process of running this little town. After the New Year, the school and municipal departments will start drawing up their budgets for the 2026-2027 fiscal year, and the public is welcome to all those meetings, in person or virtually, with the exception of Select Board or School Committee Executive Sessions. They are listed on the town’s website and at the end of this column each week. It is rare in this country to have such direct participation in where your tax dollars go, so take advantage of it.

Library Happenings

Come in Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. for an intro to AI, sponsored by the AARP, free and open to the public. Ah, the AARP. I saw that envelope you sent me at the beginning of the year, but I am not yet ready to open it. Maybe when I turn 51.

Also, on Tuesday, at 3 p.m., as always, the needleworkers will meet, and is open to all skill levels. At 5 p.m. will be the Lincolnville Community Library Book Discussion of Wild Dark Shore, by Charlotte McConaghy. Finally on Tuesday at 6 p.m. will be Conscious Aging, a discussion led by Roe Chiacchio, RN, CPT, SFS.

At 3 p.m. Wednesday the poetry circle meets, and all interested poets or aspiring poets are welcome to join the discussion. At  6 p.m. Wednesday will be a presentation on Getting to Know Lincolnville Hills Project, the group beautifying the publicly owned hill tops of our town.

3 p.m. Thursday will be Cribbage for Everyone.

Friday at 10 a.m. the library will hold its preschool story time.

September is just flying by. We set a day to finally get the wood stacked- next Sunday- and I am hoping to convince my brothers, now that they are both local, that they want to relive that childhood autumn tradition, and help get our mother’s wood in for the winter. “Warms you up twice, ayuh!”

Meanwhile, the leaves are starting to turn, though I hear the drought will likely mute the colors a bit this year. The days are steadily getting shorter, and I will have to start attaching a light to little Belladonna’s collar for our morning walks again.

Have a great week Lincolnville. Reach out at ceobrien246@gmail.com.

Municipal Calendar

Monday, September 22

Historical Society Museum Open, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., 33 Beach Road

Tuesday, September 23

Library open 3-6 p.m. 208 Main Street

AA Meeting 12:15 p.m., Community Building, 18 Searsmont Road

Lakes and Ponds Commission, 7 p.m., Town Office

Wednesday, September 24

Library Open, 2-5 p.m., 208 Main Street

Historical Society Museum Open, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., 33 Beach Road

Bayshore Baptist Church, Bible Study, 7 p.m

Select Board (Executive Session), 6 p.m. Town Office

Thursday, September 25

Library open 2-5 p.m., 208 Main Street

Friday, September 26

AA Meeting 12:15 p.m., Community Building, 18 Searsmont Road

Library open 9-12, 208 Main Street

Historical Society Museum Open, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., 33 Beach Road

Saturday, September 27

Library open 9-12, 208 Main Street

Sunday, September 28

United Christian Church, 9:30 a.m. Worship and Children’s Church, 18 Searsmont Road

Bayshore Baptist Church, 10 a.m. Sunday School for All Ages, 10:40 a.m. Coffee and Baked Goods, 11:00 a.m. worship, 2648 Atlantic Highway