To the Editor:
This may sound “fishy”, but there is no way all the many events at the Alewife festival could be brought to mind without forgetting many – each of which took much time and planning and which paid off in a glorious combination of busy minds to make this yearly event memorable.
Dick Chase’s enormous alewife kept us posted on which way the wind was blowing and which was the biggest of the thousands of Alewives making their way up the new ladder – begun last fall, was worked on through the whole bitter winter and finished just in time to welcome the new crop of fish parents.
Next, the beautiful setting of the new climb – thanks go to Russ and Dianna Williams for providing the access needed. Not too many would allow such an invasion, but their “feel for the fish” and making an easier climb made them very happy about the whole project.
Then the little smoke-house where the fresh-caught fish are strung up high above the smudge fire, which the Mulligan family has been doing from the beginning and now carried on by sisters Mary Jane and Sally Mulligan.
For the little-people visitors, there was the game on Ladd’s Hill where they were to make the wooden gull catch a wooden fish.
Again… this is only a smattering of which brought hordes of people from land-knows-where, but we are blessed to be where such an event has been carried on for so many years.
Last, but not least, are the wagon rides – shared by Buck and his beautiful pair of draft horses – pulling one full load after another ’round the Mills and up the hills for every event that comes along – a rare sight for children who didn’t grow up with them as we oldsters did – so, yes, a good time was had by all – especially by the fish who managed not to be gulped up by the gulls en route, and to make the perilous climb, but the new ladder, with its larger resting pools must have put the winners on a higher “scale”.
Connie Curley, Damariscotta Mills
