Sept. 6, 1989
Long ago, their ancestor Joshua Woodbury, a courier for the King of England, was granted Duck Pond (now Highland Lake) and all the land around it by the king. In the 1930s and ‘40s, a brother and sister, Joshua’s descendants, swam in Mill Brook and admired the deer and moose that visited the valley. Now they are at odds over Mill Brook Valley. Louise Woodbury Waycott went to court last week to halt the plans of her brother, Lyman K. Woodbury Jr., for houses along the brook. As a result, sometime in the next year a judge will decide whether the Westbrook Planning Board did right under state law on July 25 when it approved the plans for Woodbury Estates. Alderman Alexander Juniewicz is a principal in the development.
Peter Eckel, 33, is the next administrative assistant to Westbrook’s mayor. He will report to work Oct. 10 and be paid $48,000. That’s up from the $45,600 he’s making now in Frederick, Md., where he’s worked for four years as administrative officer serving a five-member board of county commissioners. Eckel and his wife, Jennifer, are expecting their fist child. He said he’s accepting the job in Westbrook because of “the high quality of life in Maine.” Eckel was a finalist also for the still-vacant position of town manager in Gorham.
Valerie Keith, 18, of Gorham, was crowned Miss Deaf Maine at a ceremony Aug. 5 in Portland. The pageant included competition in sportswear, evening gown, personal interview and stage interview. Keith, who attended Baxter School for the Deaf and graduated from the Model Secondary School for the Deaf in Washington, D.C., will represent the deaf community in Maine for the next two years. She will soon enter Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill, Mass., where she will study fashion design.
The verdict is in, after the first full weekend of fun at Westbrook’s new $35,175 playground structure at Riverbank Park. “Awesome,” said Corey Davis, 9, as he popped out of the end of the tunnel slide on a sunny Saturday afternoon. “Everything about it is awesome, but this is my favorite.” The plastic tunnel slide is just one of four slides in the structure. There’s also a plastic slide that twists and turns, a sleek, tall metal slide and a toddler slide. There are also monkey bars, a chain walk, a vertical ladder balance beam, a ring walk and swings. Yet to be connected up is a tire walk.
Sept. 8, 1999
Saunders Brothers, Westbrook-based wood products manufacturer, has bought the F.P. Saunders dowel mill in Bridgton. With the purchases, they acquired the lion’s share of the U.S. market for manicure sticks, smooth dowels with one end pointed and specialty sticks for the food industry, including corn dog skewers. The Saunders mill, just off Main Street in downtown Bridgton, will be closing and the machinery will be moved to Westbrook. The 16 workers in the plant will be offered jobs at Saunders Brothers here, or at Saunders-owned National Wood Products in Oxford or Forest Industries, Fryeburg.
Democratic Mayor Don Esty said yesterday that he would accept a second term in Westbrook’s election Nov. 2. That leaves a three-way race for mayor probable, but far from certain. Alexander Juniewicz is still considering whether to accept a Republican nomination if offered. John O’Hara is weighing whether to run as an independent.
South Gorham would get a major shopping center with an anchor supermarket under plans developer Hans Hansen expected to present to the Gorham Town Council last night. Hanson bought 21 acres across from the end of South Street last year, at the heavily commuter-traveled intersection of routes 22 and 114. It would be a perfect location for a Shaw’s supermarket, he believes. “We are always looking for a greater presence in Greater Portland,” said Shaw’s spokesman Bernie Rogan yesterday. “And these days that definitely includes Westbrook and Gorham.”
The Westbrook City Council defeated a proposal to establish two 30-minute parking spaces in front of the new Fruiti’s Deli at 531 Main St. Councilor John O’Hara argued that action should wait until the city re-examines all free parking along Main Street. At the same meeting Aug. 23, O’Hara requested that the council’s Highway Committee, which he heads, study a two-hour parking limit next to Fruiti’s, at 529 Main St.
The North Gorham Community Club is looking for participants in the North Gorham Day parade and festivities it is planning for Sept. 18, starting at Leon Wing’s field. Events include food, exhibition and craft booths, ox-pulling demonstration, music, apple pie contest, and a “Family Harvest Display.” A fish chowder supper is planned at the United Church of Christ at North Gorham, and a barn dance will be held in the North Gorham fire barn.
Beth and Mike Rand, Jennie and Cameron, North Street, Gorham, spent a week recently in a cottage on Peaks Island overlooking the open sea. They enjoyed exploring the island on land, and from the sea with their kayaks. They were amazed by the number of deer they saw; it is no surprise to them that the island’s deer population is becoming a problem. Summer is now over for Jennie, a sophomore at USM, and Cameron, a sophomore at GHS and a member of the school’s new varsity football team.
50 YEARS AG0
The Westbrook American reported on Sept. 2, 1964, that Gorham schools would open that year on Sept. 9. Charles Delano was principal at Gorham High School. The seventh and eighth grades were at Charles C. Shaw School and elementary schools were Charlotte Millett, Little Falls, White Rock and Village.
Martha Rose of West Buxton had entertained several guests from New York and New Jersey during the previous weeks.
On July 4, 1944, a fire swept through this building at 53 Seavey St., occupied by A. Pinette & Son Auto & Furniture Storage Co. The building was originally built in the 1860s as the Benjamin A. Marshall Tool and Shovel Co. The building was repaired after the fire and still stands. Through the years the building has been occupied by several companies, including Ames Shovel & Tool Co., Cook & Foster Inc., A.Pinette & Son, Cook Box Factory, Portland Stripping Co., Maine Tigue Stripping Co. and Thompson & Anderson Sheet Metal Co. To see more historical photos and artifacts, visit the Westbrook Historical Society at the Fred C. Wescott Building, 426 Bridge St. It is open Tuesdays and Saturdays, 9 a.m.-noon, and the first Wednesday of each month at 1:30 p.m., September-June. Inquiries can be emailed to westhistorical@myfairpoint.net. The website is www.westbrookhistoricalsociety.org. Send questions/comments to the editors.
