Forrest Carver carries Edgecomb’s ceremonial 250th birthday cake to be cut at a party in the town hall on Sunday, March 17. Celebratory events will continue throughout the year, including a road race, an ice cream social, local business tours, and a potluck supper with local storytelling. (Elizabeth Walztoni photo)
The town of Edgecomb turned 250 years old this month, and it still knows how to throw a party.
Residents and neighbors filled the town hall on Sunday, March 17 for a birthday celebration recognizing Edgecomb’s incorporation on March 3, 1774. The event was one of a yearlong slate of activities organized to celebrate the past and future of the town.
The planning committee worked for about a year putting together the event schedule, which began in January and will conclude with a special version of the annual Charlie Brown Christmas Tree decorating event in December.
“I’m so excited for everyone presenting and performing,” said select board member Michael Maxim, who ran for his seat last year in part to help plan the birthday events.
Maxim said organizers aimed to bring Edgecomb businesses into the celebration, including flowers from Gracelynn’s Floral Studio, ice cream from Blanchard’s Creamery, and cake from Rising Tide Co-op, where Edgecomb resident Heather Burt is the general manager.
The March 17 program opened with performances by students from the Center for Teaching and Learning, including monologues, poems, a dance, and a song all rooted in their coursework.
Presenters sponsored by the Edgecomb Historical Society included Mary Ellen Barnes, who gave a talk on the history of nearby Westport Island, and Edgecomb resident, author, and storyteller Van Reid.
Barnes, recently retired executive director of the Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission and current Westport Island history committee chair, relayed the challenging times faced by early settlers and area history of forts and industry. Edgecomb’s boundaries included what is now Westport Island until 1828.
Reid, author of seven novels including the Moosepath League series set in 19th-century Maine, told the rapt crowd stories of life in Edgecomb, both humorous and touching, from days gone by. His parting message to the audience was to ask more questions of those around them to preserve and understand community history.
Select board members recognized notable attendees including Rep. Holly Stover, D-Boothbay; Lincoln County Commissioner Hamilton Meserve, Fire Chief Roy Potter, and members of the school committee. Maxim read a legislative sentiment sponsored by Stover and Sen. Cameron Reny, D-Bristol, congratulating the town. Lynn Norgang read a letter from Gov. Janet Mills commemorating the anniversary and the hard work residents had put in over the centuries while wishing them the best for the future.
A celebratory quilt made by Deb Boucher and Fran Mague was unveiled to admiration from the crowd. Their design portrays nine notable landmarks in Edgecomb surrounded by a border representing the two rivers on either side of the town. Boucher said the women were inspired to continue the tradition of a quilt made for the town’s bicentennial that was recently donated to the historical society.
Select board Chair Mike Smith told the crowd the quilt would be valued by the town forever.
A ceremonial cake reading 250 was then carried up to the front of the hall to be cut by Willis Clifford, from one of the oldest families in town, and young resident Reid Carver with the help of Smith.
“We have new Edgecomb, old Edgecomb, and I am everything that’s good in between them,” Smith joked.
The rest of the afternoon gathering was spent enjoying cake and ice cream, catching up with neighbors, and listening to music by the Broken Hipsters String Band, a local outfit playing familiar songs and their own composition “Edgecomb Wedding.”
Ramone Hanley-Warren, an Edgecomb resident and a planning committee member, said the event was “good old-fashioned fun” and a good way to come together after a long winter.
“It was great,” she said. “It’s hard to get Edgecombites together because we’re all spread out.”
Wendy and Paul Johnson, of Boothbay, said they attended to see their friends who live in town and enjoy some cake, ice cream, and music on a rainy day – exactly what they got.
“It’s nice to see everybody come together,” Wendy Johnson said.
For historical information and a full schedule of upcoming events, go to edgecomb.org/edgecomb-250 or find @edgecombmaine250 on Instagram.
