Ramblings

Military collection dedicated

The Westbrook Historical Society’s military collection was the topic at the monthly meeting May 7, as more than 40 people were on hand to witness the unveiling and dedication of the Veteran’s Military Collection in honor of Philip LaViolet. LaViolet has dedicated his life to preserving the history of Westbrook’s military veterans.

Among those present were Mayor Bruce Chuluda, who wore two hats, as he is also commander of American Legion Post No. 62; Commander Dana Staples and David Martin, representing American Legion Post No. 197; Mrs. Philip (Constance Meloche) LaViolet and their two daughters, and longtime friends, Mr. amd Mrs. Philip Mailhot.

The military collection contains donations from many Westbrook families; however, it was Philip LaViolet who organized seven volumes of histories and obituaries of Westbrook’s war veterans, which cover Westbrook veterans from the Revolutionary War up to present-day conflicts. Most importantly, they contain items about the actions on the home front, such as the article about Earle Stanley, a local barber who gave free haircuts to all military men during World War II, and the Bernier family, with five sons serving in the war. Phil has donated many of his own family’s artifacts, including items belonging to his father, William LaViolette, who served in World War I. Among Phil’s many personal donations are a Japanese canteen and invasion maps, his diary from World War II when he was a young man of 19 serving on Okinawa, and other military memorabilia.

Mr. LaViolet has put his heart and soul into preserving and updating this piece of Westbrook history for future generations. It is for this reason that the society honored him with an engraved sign across the top of the cabinets that house the collection. It reads: The Philip LaViolet Military Collection. The sign was unveiled at the conclusion of the program. A reception, featuring a beautiful cake decorated for the occasion by Gene Libby, immediately followed.

Busy trip

I recently had a note from Rose McDermott Coffin about the two-month trip she and her husband, Dick Coffin, spent in Florida. It made me envious and the weather was quite different, compared with our long, cold winter here. Some of you planning a Florida trip might like to visit some of the areas Rose wrote about:

“Dick and I left for Florida on Feb. 11. We flew to Miami, where we caught the Keys Shuttle, which took us to the door of our hotel, Sunset Cove Beach Resort, in Key Largo. We were joined a week later by James Turgeon, the son of Dr. and Mrs. Ralph Turgeon of Old Orchard and Cape Coral, Fla.

“We three went to Theater by the Sea, where Dick swam with the rays. We next went by car to Miami, where we stayed at the Royal Palms Hotel on Collins Avenue.

“Lincoln Avenue is a street closed to car traffic. It has many outdoor restaurants and the occasional street entertainers. We walked it the second night in Miami, and it was delightful.

“We then proceeded to St. Pete Beach, where we had a suite at Pasa Tempo, a small resort. From this base of operations, which is on the ocean and has a heated pool, we went to Disneyland.

“Dick and I went on a Ghost Tour (a tour of ghostly sites in the St. Pete Beach area). The tour guide picked us up in a hearse, and we told the driver that he had two Coffins in the vehicle. (How clever). The tour was a lot of fun.

“After returning to home March 31, we rested for about a week, then went to Sedona, Arizona, on April 9. We landed in Phoenix, which was unusually cool (about 70 degrees), and we drove with Jim to Sedona. We celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary there on April 11. Jim went out to Prescott to see the lions being fed.

“In Diamond Ranch in Sedona we went to a Cowboy Cookout, a very pleasant evening, eating steaks and listening to the cowboy singer. We plan to go there next year, too.

“We noticed some announcements on the airport public address system, in Mandarin, which surprised us, until we were informed that there is a Chinese expatriate community in the Detroit area (you learn something new every day).

“After about two months spent traveling, it was good to be back. We look forward to the Maine summer.”

Dick and Rose have two lovely locations here, too, their home on the shore in Falmouth, and the camp on the shore at Highland Lake, Windham.

Handful of goodness

Today’s recipe is from Mary Webber’s “Frugal Family’s Kitchen Book,” 1985. You could mix up this granola recipe to take along on some of your summer hikes.

Basic Good ‘N’ Chewy Granola

6 cups rolled oats

2 cups whole wheat flour (or Graham)

1 cup coconut

1 cup wheat germ

2 cups raisins

1/2 cup chopped nuts

1 cup salad oil

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup water

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 tablespoon salt

Combine oats, flour, coconut and wheat germ, mixing well. Mix oil, sugar, water, vanilla and salt together, and stir into dry ingredients. Spread on two greased cookie sheets. Bake at 250 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally. Cool, mix in raisins, nuts and any other dried fruit you wish. Store in an airtight container.

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