So I have this friend. One of my oldest – we met over 43 years ago in Kindergarten. Lincolnville’s first Kindergarten, but that is a story for another column. We are both oldish men with kids of our own at LCS. We text regularly, and every time the weather gets a little messy on a school day in winter, I often get the text from him before I get the text from the school. “G********! They are cancelling school for this! Moose Wooten would have just hammered that school bus through this slush!” Yeah, he is that guy.

But my favorite recent rant from him was about how he misses “the old bell.” Meaning the bell that used to hang on the side of the old Lincolnville Central School, its ear splitting cacophony signaling the end of recess. I understand the LCS of 2023 doesn’t even have a bell. Not even over the intercom. I was incredulous when my kids informed me of this. “Not the same!” my buddy would say.

Recess. The best time of the school day, in my humble opinion. We had two, the short one mid-morning, and a longer one after lunch. The worst punishment that could be delivered was being sentenced to “standing on the wall” at recess. The miscreants were made to stand against the side of the school, silently watching the rest of us in our playground antics.

Tag, swings, tether ball, four square. Pick up basketball and soccer and kickball. The teeter totters. At least two separate, massive wooden play structures during my time there. Nothing like playing ball tag and trying to knock your classmates to the wood chips below with a well aimed dodgeball….

So according to my kids, dodgeballs are now made of foam, and probably won’t even leave a welt if you take one to the face. I can just imagine what my friend would say about this. And that isn’t all. Tether ball seems to have vanished; I recall lots of tether ball related injuries. As have the teeter totters. As my strongest recollection of this piece of playground equipment was seeing how far we could launch the smallest kid in class, this is probably not a bad thing. 

And, as I would remind my grumpy friend, modifying the playground for safety is not a new thing. My own father, the principal of LCS in the early 1970s, caused a minor uproar by banning snowball fights. Though to be fair, he was a man with knowledge of the damage caused by a well placed snowball, having acknowledged that he threw a few at the construction workers building Augusta’s Memorial Bridge in 1949…

But I am happy to report that recess is alive and well. It is even the subject of many studies which demonstrate the importance of outside time to overall learning. Running and screeching and even occasionally getting hurt, this is part of childhood. Asking my own children about their thoughts on the playground provided me with more stories than I could ever put to words. As a mature, functioning adult. I miss recess.

Scouting

Troop 200, the local Scouting Troop, spent last weekend at Camp Roosevelt for a winter camping excursion. They all came back in one piece, so it was clearly a success, though I did hear a complaint about toes that were cold “even though I put on three pairs of socks!”

Brought me back to my time in the now disbanded Troop 244, and camping in surplus Korean War tents in the snow on the banks of Moody Pond. Troop 244 may be gone, but Camden’s Troop 200 is going strong and welcoming Lincolnville Scouts, regardless of gender. Contact Ed Hurlburt edhurlburt@outlook.com or check out their Facebook page. They meet at the Camden Congregational Church Monday evenings at 6 p.m.

A Cappella

So I had the pleasure of seeing UMaine’s Renaissance a cappella group perform at the Strom Auditorium last Wednesday, opened by performances by Camden Hill’s student-led a cappella groups Fortissima and The Off Beats. Both feature alumni from LCS. Such talent in our community. It was an amazing performance, and I noticed the bus from Quarry Hill was there. I love how much support this community provides the performing arts.

Middle School Basketball

In the Deep Winter, basketball keeps many of us going. LCS boys and girls teams played two games this week, against their sibling schools of Hope and Appleton. Both lost hard fought matches against powerhouse Hope teams, and came out ahead of Appleton. Watching a recent match with my sister-in-law and niece, we talked about that special kind of heart that middle school players bring to the court. Camden Hills Regional High School will have powerful teams in the coming years.

Condolences

Sympathy to the family of Pat Ballou, who built the Black Horse Inn with her husband at Lincolnville Beach.

And to the loved ones of Frances Knight, a member of Lincolnville’s unofficial founders, the Knight Clan.

Love and light to the family of Jamie Clark Cole, Lincolnville contractor and  someone I wish I had met.

And to the family of Debbie Fullington. Another Lincolnville resident I didn’t know personally, but who sounds wicked cool.

And for the family of Kevin Curit. I knew Kevin for over 30 years, and I will remember him as an incredibly sweet guy, who loved this town.

Okay, Lincolnville. Take care of each other, take care of yourselves.