Once again, I found myself standing in the middle of the Center on winter Saturday afternoon. I heard the sirens on Main Street and spotted the blue lights of the Trooper Andrew’s cruiser, followed by several of the Lincolnville Volunteer Fire Department’s engines, and finally, a yellow school bus.

For the second year in a row, both the boys and girls middle school basketball team found themselves in the Busline League championship, after undefeated seasons. The final was held in Boothbay this year, a bit of a hike for our LCS kids.

The Lynx boys went up against Great Salt Bay, from Damariscotta and Newcastle. What proceeded was one of the most intense games I have ever witnessed, and an amazing comeback by GSB resulted in a tie game at the buzzer. With the crowd on both sides of the gym roaring, Lincolnville managed to pull it off in the final seconds of overtime, ending with a score of 37-41. 

I left after the boys game, and relied on frequent updates from my son, who, with the rest of the boys team, were cheering on their counterparts. The Lynx girls faced Bristol Consolidated School, another powerhouse team, who shot a three-pointer in the final seconds, tying the game, and resulting in another overtime matchup.

Glued to my phone from afar, I got the message that the girls team had lost in overtime. The girls team has absolutely nothing to be ashamed of, and demonstrated amazing strength and teamwork throughout the season.

So once again, on a Sunday afternoon, Lincolnville welcomed our kids home with the championship and runner-up plagues to display at LCS, alongside the championship and runner-up plagues from last year.

I will miss evenings cheering on our kids from the school gym. My last kid transitions to CHRHS this year. It was his first basketball season, but he and his fellow eighth graders demonstrated great skills and growth, and I hope to see some of them join their former rivals from surrounding schools on the freshman team next year.

To the sixth and seventh grade girls, there is always 2026.

Cribbage and The Town’s Attic, by Diane Roesing O’Brien

A couple of well-worn cribbage boards turned up in a neglected drawer at the Historical Society the other day. Now we, the self-appointed guardians of Lincolnville’s archive, are used to finding stuff that stumps us – what on earth was this gadget used for, we muse – but we all immediately knew what these were.

By the way, “we” are the dedicated crew of Friday morning volunteers – Kim Clark, Deanna Hartel, Roberta Heald, Jane Hardy, Jan Kelsey, Cyrene Slegona, Cheryl Wienges, and me – who spend these weekly three hours together trying to bring order to the mild chaos of the town’s attic.

For an attic is what it is, that small office over the kitchen and at the back of the Schoolhouse Museum, the repository of every gismo, receipt, letter, and diary “gifted” to the town since the day in 1975 when Jackie Young Watts decided we needed a historical society. 

Where many of the things we find send us down a rabbit hole of google searches, these little boards pointed us onto memory lane, each on our own private lane. Our grandparents played cribbage, our dads played, or our mother taught us – we happily reminisced for a few minutes. Perhaps because most of us are older ourselves, we easily recalled the hours our elders spent playing.

My dad’s game was gin rummy. I grew up on his stories of playing in the observation car of the Super Chief, a cross country train (three days and two nights Chicago to San Francisco, a business trip he took several times a year). Dad didn’t drink, but I’m guessing his opponents did. And that may be why he always won, even at a tenth of a cent a point. He once won $30 from a guy who scoffed at such a measly bet.

“He’d have owed me $300 if we’d played for a penny a point,” he used to tell me. 

See why your old ones always told you the same stories over and over again? So you’d remember them.

When my dad grew old and lived alone, he played endless games of solitaire. So many games laid out on the table by the picture window overlooking Camden’s Shirt Tail Point that his deck of cards was fading, the numbers worn off, the corners rounded, and the cardboard soft.

This reminds me of Bessie Dean, also alone at her window looking out at the hills near Dead Man’s Curve, putting together a puzzle on the table she kept there. Day after day. Year after year.

Having myself reached their age – Bessie and my dad – it’s not so bad to have this quiet, solitary time at the end of life. I recommend it.

Of course, a partner is needed for cribbage, though undoubtedly there are on-line cribbage sites that can be played alone. But playing with someone else, perhaps a spouse, adds the bonus of competition, of winning. To be blunt, of crushing your opponent. And if it’s your spouse, a frisson, a quiver of pleasure at this tiny victory.

I thought of myself as uninterested in competition throughout my marriage, most likely because Wally was a much better cribbage player. He always won. And crowed about it, I’m sure.

I hated that.

Don, who stepped with me into the role our late spouses held, has a jar of quarters, old silver quarters, the loot his grandparents collected from their many years of nightly cribbage. Seated across from each other in the bay window of the house their grandson now lives in, they battled over the cribbage board. If I’ve got it right, the loser put a quarter in the jar every night, and she usually clobbered him. 

Now Don and I play Rummikub most evenings at his table, before separating for dinner in our respective houses. Two games a night. I started keeping score in a notebook, and can say in all honesty, that we’re pretty even. Well, all right, I got clobbered in the most recent game.

Rummikub is a number game played with 106 little plastic tiles, a game I learned from my Louisiana sister several years ago. She’d taken me with her to a job she had entertaining Miss May (they talk that way down south). Miss May, who lived at an assisted living facility, wasn’t clear who my sister was. Miss May wasn’t clear about most anything, but boy, could she play Rummikub. 

I wish I knew who owned those battered cribbage boards we found. They could have belonged to almost anyone in town, anyone who grew old together, anyone whose children grew up and left. Anyone who loves a little friendly competition along with companionship. Simple homely games that just need a pad of paper and a pencil (or a quarter jar) to keep track of the wins and losses.

Fishing Derby

I missed the Lincolnville PTO Fishing Derby due to the games, but it sound like a huge success. 

In the adult division, first place went to Peter Bailey with a 2.7 pound, 17.25 inch largemouth bass. Second place went to Annie Jones and family, with a 1.59 pound, 20 inch pickerel. And third place went to Judith Collins with a .87 pound, 13.5 inch brook trout.

For the Youth Division, Chris Moody won with a 1.44 pound, 14 inch largemouth bass. Eva Wagner got second with a 1.38 pound, 13 inch crappie. Ella Yandall came in third with a .97 pound, 16 inch pickerel.

In the tough competition of the chili cook-off, Scott Crockett ultimately took first place.

The PTO raised over $700 for their ongoing support of LCS students and staff with materials and programs.

Dark Skies Presentation

Lincolnville resident Arlene Jurewicz-Leighton has been involved in Dark Skies International, an organization involved in working and educating communities around the impact of light pollution on humans and our environment.

There will be a free all ages program on Saturday, February 15 from 1-3 p.m. at the Waterfall Arts, 256 High Street, Belfast. The program will feature education a mix of science and art, including a zine making activity.

Library Happenings

Tuesday will host needlework from 3-5, followed by a book discussion of Gabrielle Byrnes’ Walking With Ghosts from 5-6.

On Wednesday there will be an open art studio from 6-8. Painters and other artists are welcome.

Thursday morning the library will once again welcome LCS grades K-2, who walk the nature trail from the school for stories at the Community Library.

Stop by with little ones Friday morning for Valentine stories and cookies.

On Saturday, February 15, the AARP will offer Tax Preparation assistance by appointment from 12-4. Call or email the library to make your appointment. They will also be offering this service on March 1, March 15, March 29, and April 12.

Sympathy

For Bill Carroll, a long time Lincolnville resident, who raised three girls here with his wife Nancy.

To the loved ones of Ava Jackson, who grew up here and whose story is featured in Staying Put in Lincolnville, Maine, by Diane O’Brien. Her long time partner, Allan Thomas, passed away just a few weeks ago.

For Reggie Engstrom, a Lincolnville native who lived a long and independent life here. He didn’t let his physical limitations keep him down, playing snare drum in the Camden High School marching band and was getting around the community long before accommodations for physical disabilities were common. 

Much love to all of their families and loved ones.

This was a week where the strength of our community really shone. This is the time of year when it is so important to look out for each other, as the snow piles up and the temperatures remain frigid. The February sun, however, is reassuring, and I leave my office long before it gets dark. 

We have snow for skiing and snowmobiling and a thick enough ice sheet to see pickups alongside the ice shacks on Nortons Pond. Be mindful if you are using your tractor to clear snow off your farm pond though, as resident Justin Laite learned this week. Glad you’re okay Justin, and hope you can get the John Deer back in working order.

It’s February in Lincolnville, both the shortest and the longest month. Get to it, and be nice. Reach out at ceobrien246@gmail.com.

Municipal Calendar

Monday, February 10

Recreation Committee Meeting, 6 p.m. Town Office

Select Board Meeting,6 p.m. Town Office

Tuesday, February 11

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

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

Heart and Soul Team, 12 p.m., Lincolnville Community Library

Select Board/Budget Committee Meeting, 6 p.m. Town Office

Wednesday, February 12

Planning Board, 6 p.m., Town Office

Thursday, February 13

Select Board/Budget Committee Meeting, 6 p.m. Town Office

School Committee, 6 p.m., LCS

Friday, February 14

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

Library open 9-12, 208 Main Street

Saturday, February 15

Library open 9-12, 208 Main Street

Sunday, February 16

United Christian Church, 9:30 a.m. Worship, 18 Searsmont Road

Bayshore Baptist Church, 9:30 a.m. Sunday School, 11:00 worship, 2648 Atlantic Highway