Neighbors Raise Funds for Congolese Family Reunited in North Gorham

The crowdfunding site established to help the family with living expenses while they adjust to the United States is here.

- John C.L. Morgan

10% for Maine: August 29, 2016

(Editor's Note: This is the first installment of 10% for Maine, a weekly feature that will highlight North Gorham residents' ability to spend at least 10% of a weekly grocery bill on Maine-owned products at a major grocery store in the area.)

Percentage of Maine-owned goods bought: 14.3%

Backyard Farms tomatoes (Madison)
Kate's Sea Salt Butter (Old Orchard Beach)
Oakhurst Dairy Skim Milk (Portland)
Sebago Brewing Company Simmer Down beer (Gorham)
Wicked Joe Wicked French coffee (Topsham)

- John C.L. Morgan

State Sen. Volk: LePage Needs to Be Held Accountable

PPH:

Republican State Sen. Amy Volk of Scarborough, who is facing re-election in November, told her constituents in a Facebook post Sunday that she shares their “deep concerns” about LePage’s recent behavior and said it may be appropriate for the Legislature to censure him. Volk said she had received numerous emails and phone calls from people who told her they were disturbed by the governor’s behavior.

- John C.L. Morgan

Committee Sends Comprehensive Plan to Town Council

AJ:

Following a sparsely attended public hearing, Gorham’s Comprehensive Plan Committee Tuesday recommended that the Town Council adopt the town’s updated version of the plan as amended by the committee. The committee voted 7-0 (Jon Smith and Doug Carter absent) that the Town Council adopt the town’s updated version of the plan with the committee’s proposed changes. “I anticipate it will go to public hearing with the Town Council most likely on Sept. 6,” Town Manager David Cole said before Tuesday’s committee meeting. The town’s Comprehensive Plan was approved in 1993 and amended in 1994. The proposed updated version with the committee’s multiple recommendations in red letters is posted on the town’s web site www.gorham-me.org.

- John C.L. Morgan 

Babb's Bridge Among Five Best Watering Holes in Maine

PPH:

Rope swings beside and under this covered bridge are the main attraction for swimmers, and on most hot days you can see kids of all ages launching into the slowly flowing river. One thing that’s a no-no is jumping from the bridge, which is strictly prohibited. It’s also a popular fishing hole, drawing anglers who set up both on the bridge and along its shore. 

- John C.L. Morgan

North Gorham Library to Host Local Author

AJ:

Chester Kay will speak at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 25, at North Gorham Public Library, 2 Standish Neck Road, Gorham. A retired minister, Kay has worked in a national denomination office, higher education and New England churches. He wrote “A Promise to Keep,” an adventure story about boys and the friendships and community that shaped them. 

- John C.L. Morgan

North Gorham Church to Host Bean Supper

The North Gorham United Church of Christ will be hosting its monthly bean-hole baked bean supper this Saturday from 4:30p-6p.

- John C.L. Morgan

Better Know a Rep

Residents in North Gorham are represented in the Maine State Senate by State Sen. Amy Volk (R-District 30) and in the Maine State House of Representatives by State Rep. Andrew McLean (D-District 27).

Below are the legislative Web pages for each of the representatives:

State Sen. Amy Volk (R-District 30)

State Rep. Andrew McLean (D-District 27)

- John C.L. Morgan

Where Is NoGo?

Despite the thickness of historian Hugh D. McLellan's The History of Gorham Maine, his geographical description of the area commonly known as North Gorham* is slight: "Great Falls, or North Gorham as it is now called, is situated on the Presumpscot River, near the most northeasterly corner of the town."

I'll see McLellan's spartan description of North Gorham's boundaries and raise him a few more:

• The Presumpscot River to the north and east separating North Gorham from Windham.
• A mostly straight line on the north and west between North Gorham Road and Route 35 separating North Gorham from Standish.
• The intersection of Route 237 and the Mountain Division Trail** to the south separating North Gorham from civilized Gorham.

Now that we've got our boundaries out of the way, let's go ahead and start documenting this little triangle of the world.

- John C.L. Morgan

* Or NoGo to those of us perpetuating the "SoHo Effect"

** If you squint wicked hard at the image above, the Mountain Division Trail is the faint gray line running from west to east near the bottom.

Introductions

Who am I, and what am I doing here? 

Usually these might be the questions we ask ourselves after a steady flow of Allen's or after an unexpected trauma to the head--or as might often be the case, a combination of both.

In this instance, though, they're likely the first couple questions the initial reader of this site might have about this upstart. 

So real quick: I moved to NoGo, my ancestral home*, in July 2014 with my family after spending the first thirty-one years of life living within the same ZIP code. 

Since moving here, I've spent the last couple years working on becoming a better teacher, jumpstarting a new youth soccer club, and surviving the daily grind that is raising a young family.

What I haven't been doing a lot of since moving to our relatively rural outpost, though, is being an active member of the community. Hence this blog, which will hopefully enable me to build up stronger connections to our neighborhood's people and organizations, while also doing my small part to helping others build those bonds as well.

That's the thought, anyway. We'll see how it goes.

- John C.L. Morgan

* My connection to North Gorham traces back seven generations to the original settler of the area, Uriah Nason, Sr., who established the first homestead in the neighborhood in 1765. Uriah Nason, Sr. and Abigail Knight begat Uriah Nason, Jr.; Uriah Nason, Jr. and Jemima Snow begat Charles Alonzo Nason; Charles Alonzo Nason and Emely Z. Bodge begat Harriet Ellen Nason. Harriet Ellen Nason and John Lenard Labrecque begat John Nason Labrecque, Sr. And yada, yada, yada for three more generations.