Sun, 08/03/2025 - 7:14pm

Ed O’Brien

Lincolnville Beach faces another amazing sunrise. (Photo by Sarah Johnston)

So there has been some chatter around Lincolnville recently. On the social medias, on the Lincolnville Bulletin Board, about town. People are not getting their mail as expected.

We take the post office for granted. That center of every community which was founded in 1775, before even our Declaration of Independence from England, with none other than Benjamin Franklin appointed the first Postmaster General. It is just always there, even as most of us long ago moved away from writing letters to each other. We don’t think much about “snail mail” generally, until it stops coming on time.

Lincolnville has two post offices, as it has all my life. One at the Beach and one at the Center, the traditional Lincolnville divide.

When I was a kid, the Center office was little more than a shack, sitting on Main Street, containing the P.O. boxes of the folks from that part of town, the 04850 zip code. The one at the Beach was always bigger, and it is from here that your mail is delivered, 04849.

Both offices have moved to larger buildings as our town has grown.

When mailing letters was more common, the post office was one of the most prominent places in town to meet your neighbors, to gossip and share news.

It seems a little quieter now.

Not that the demand has changed. Thanks to its contract with Amazon, the post office is as busy as ever, getting you that package that took two clicks to order, in an obscenely short amount of time. Anyone remember how long mail order used to take?

In the spring, we often wait for the early morning call from the postmaster at the Beach, informing us that the box of live chicks have arrived, and please pick up the loud, smelly birds as soon as humanly possible.

Heh, last time we ordered chicks, the company messed up, doubled our order, and we found two boxes of 25 fluffy peepers each. Serendipitous, as by the time they were laying, the egg crisis was in full swing, and we were chicken-rich at Sleepy Hollow.

The Lincolnville post office runs on a postmaster, two clerks, and five mail carriers, along with a couple substitutes. Our postmaster is in the process of retiring, and we are down several carriers.

Therefore, the delay in receiving mail.

My daughter placed an online order last week, and was dismayed to see her package was sitting at the Beach post office Saturday afternoon. Imagine my surprise when last Sunday afternoon when the postal truck pulled up as I was reading in the woodshed, delivering her outfit for the Renaissance Festival. She was a happy and grateful girl.

I was recently told that the overly taxed postal carriers in Lincolnville are currently putting in 14 hour days, with at least 100 trips in and out of their vehicles, to deliver our packages. Your delay in receiving your mail is certainly not the fault of your local postal worker.

The folks at the post office are aware of our concerns, and doing their best to make sure the mail gets to you, and “neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night” will stop them, but you might need to be a little patient.

That said, if you or someone you know is looking for a job, the post office is definitely hiring. Once fully staffed the job is pretty amazing, I was told by someone who knows. Federal benefits, including healthcare and a pension, union, and room to advance.

Wanda Pendleton Owen, a Lincolnville girl, is now the Postmaster of the Fairfield office, and active in both helping keep Lincolnville’s office running, as well as recruiting future postal workers. She told me about walking into the old Center Post Office as a child, barefoot, to pick up the family’s mail. “The floor was always cold,” she reminisced.

She invites jobseekers to give her at call at her office, 207-453-6101, and she will help navigate the application process. The USPS is not going anywhere soon, and it seems like an ideal career for someone who wants to be an integral part of the community.

Be patient with your postal carrier, thank your mail person. Know that they understand your frustration, and are doing their best. It is a federal agency, so direct your concerns to our federal representative and senators, and give a call to the offices of Jared Golden, Angus King, or Susan Collins.

Blueberry Wingding

It is that time of year again, with “Blueberry” Hannah Burke supplying the berries, and Rick at McLaughlin’s restaurant providing the venue, the Lincolnville Improvement Association’s Blueberry Wingding is on for this Saturday, August 9, from 7-10 a.m. Tickets for your blueberry pancakes, breakfast meats, coffee and juice are just $15 for adults, and $10 for children under 8, with all proceeds going toward the LIA’s support of our town.

There will also be a bake sale, the “Wingding Marketplace”, and a raffle with prizes donated by several local businesses. So come see your neighbors, and the summer visitors in the know. Should be one heck of a time.

3rd Annual Lincolnville Arts Fest

While you are digesting your pancakes and sausage, why not take a tour around town of the studios of the amazing artists and artisans who make their home here? This year’s Arts Fest is sponsored by Windsor Chairmakers, The Red Cottage, Owen’s General Store, Green Tree Coffee and Tea, Dot’s Market, The Beach Cottage Inn, Lincolnville Improvement Association, Lincolnville Women’s Association, The Red Barn Marketplace, Glenmoor By the Sea, and Diane O’Brien.

Pick up a map of participating studios at one of the sponsoring businesses or visit https://vandervenstudios.com/lincolnville-arts-festival/.

Library Happenings

Needleworkers will meet from 3-5 p.m. on Tuesday, al experience levels welcome. On Saturday, Molly and Thatcher Macintosh will lead Summer Kids Yoga starting at 9 a.m., followed by stories and rock painting to create Scribble Stones.

Man, I wish my kids had such robust library programming in Lincolnville when they were little. They do get to claim that they were there when we Moved It- when the town got together to drag the old one-time school house across the street to where our amazing library stands today.

Okay, Lincolnville. What an amazing weekend we have had in our little town. I hope you all got the chance to appreciate it. Be well, and be kind. Reach out at ceobrien246@gmail.com with your news or thoughts.

Municipal Calendar

Monday, August 4

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

Tuesday, August 5

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

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

Special Town Meeting, School Budget, 6 p.m. Walsh Common, LCS

Wednesday, August 6

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

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

Comprehensive Plan Review, 6 p.m. Town Office

Bayshore Baptist Church, Youth Group, 6 p.m