But first, on May 21st Bath will celebrate the first day of Arbor Week with the planting of two Honey Locust trees on the Customs House lawn and at City Park. The saplings were donated to the city by the Bath Forestry Committee and are direct descendants of the famous tree under which Abraham Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address. The following Monday, the American Legion will hold memorial services and a Memorial Day parade starting at 10:30am. For information on the full schedule, call the Main Street Bath office at 442-7291.
Other happenings around town in the next few weeks include:
- Bath Farmers Market – May 19
- Commemorative “Lincoln Tree” planting – May 21
- Arbor Week Events - May 21- 25
- Early Bird Fiesta Fitness Express – May 22
- 10th Annual House & Garden Tour - June 16
ART/MUSIC/THEATER
- Coastal Art Glass opens new Studio - June 2
- War of 1812 Exhibit opens - May 26
- BIW Trolley Tours – open for season
- Lunch at the Library - May 30
- MHS Class of 1967 Art Raffle – thru June 11
Scroll down for more details.
See you downtown!
Jennifer Geiger, Director, Main Street Bath
Outdoor Farmers Market Opens for Season, Commercial Street
We’re back at the river, feeling good. The Bath Market opened its summer season as part of citywide Mayfair, braving cloudy early skies to end in a pleasant morning, and a lot of people coming by. This week and next we are south of the Freight Shed down in back of the Customs House. There is plenty of parking under the highway. It’s relaxing at the waterfront, watching the river in spring. The treats at the market flow as sweetly as the water.
More of our growers are bringing in fresh greens-kale, spinach and braising or salad mixes. Goranson and Sparrow Farms have greens on offer; lettuce and herb seedlings are sprouting. Kyle at Squire Tarbox has some lovely young garlic, looking like purple tipped scallion. Jan Goranson had some early rhubarb which went fast. This is a come early cause it goes fast item.
Appleton has named its newest cheese-Gurnet Road Gouda, after the road they live on-it suits this cumin studded cheese. Balfour is offering a new Pyrenees type cheese, aged 90 days, sharp and dry. it is called Summit and is tasty indeed.
New this summer is Laura at Maine Saltwater Creations. She is happy to offer samples of her testy crab, salmon and fish cakes. She also has fish sticks on hand (everything is gluten free). She always has a fish chowder and a vegetarian soup option available-and you can order ahead for large parties at 650-8075, or check her out on facebook. Their chef is Gretchen Bates, who owned Katahdin Restaurant in Portland, Nice credentials!
Candace at Oyster Creek Mushroom has watercress, ramps coming, and fiddleheads now-another get there early item. Top off your shopping trip with a batch of the wildly beautiful parrot tulips from Sheepscot Flower Form… They are truly breathtaking.
FMI 549 7611, or call joan.detel@comcast.net
Bath celebrates Arbor Week with planting of descendants of Gettysburg “Witness Tree”, Customs House, 1 Front Street
During Arbor Week, the lawn of the Customs House on Front Street in Bath will become the new home of a commemorative Lincoln Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos f. inermis) tree. The tree is a direct descendent of the famous “Witness Tree” under which Lincoln gave his Gettysburg address in 1863. The sapling will be planted during a ceremony scheduled for 11:30am, on Monday, May 21st, and dedicated to the memory of Edward D. True II, who served as chairman of the Board of Trustees of the historic Customs House building from 1978 until his death in 2007.
A second Lincoln Honey Locust will be planted at City Park on Washington Street immediately following the dedication ceremony at the Customs House.
The two 15’ saplings were cloned from root cuttings of the original tree at Gettysburg, which sadly fell in 2008. They will be placed in the same locations as two earlier trees planted in Bath in memory of President Abraham Lincoln after his assassination. A newspaper report from the Bath Independent dated September 21, 1901, identifies those spots as in City Park “to the west of the Pagoda” and on the Customs House lawn “in the curbed grass plot directly opposite the west entrance to the Post office”.
Bath Arborist Tom Hoerth will plant the new Lincoln trees, which were given to the Bath Forestry Committee by Dr. Paul Doolan. Honey Locusts are native to the eastern United States and can grow up to 100’ in height.
FMI 442-7291
May 19 – Last year BCFC gave away hundreds of evergreens from the nursery on Old Brunswick Road. This year the giveaway will resume with a slight hitch. The Committee will be weeding, mulching, and repotting trees, and would appreciate a little help from Bath area residents. Lend a hand and take home a tree or two! Stop by the nursery between 9:00 a.m. and noon just past the Middle School on the right and enjoy some dirty fun!
May 21 – After Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, many communities planted trees in the president’s memory. Called “Lincoln” trees, these trees ranged from elm to weeping willows to pine. Bath’s two Lincoln trees are long gone, but thanks to the generosity of Dr. Paul D. Doolan, a former member of the BCFC, Bath will plant two Gettysburg Honey Locusts –one at the Customs House at 11:30 a.m. and one at Library Park at 12:30 p.m., where the two original memorial plantings were located After the planting at Library Park, two State tree experts will lead a walking tour, at approximately 2:00 p.m., around downtown Bath to see some of Bath’s historical trees.
May 22 – The Maine Arbor Week Celebration will be held at the Longfellow School in Portland. Bath will be presented with the Tree City USA Award for the 15th year as well as a Growth Award. Tom Hoerth, Bath City Arborist & Tree Warden, will accept the award on the City’s behalf.
May 20-26- Take a self-driving tour of unusual Bath trees. Follow the red, white, and blue ribbon path to check out some of the most unusual trees you can plant and enjoy for years to come. Pick up a tour guide at City Hall, the Cemetery Office at 1 Oak Grove Ave., or other establishments around Bath.
FMI 443-8345
Early Bird Fiesta Fitness Express with Tracey Bushnell! – FREE demo Class Tuesday May 22 @ 5:15am
Join Tracey for a free Fiesta express. Tracey is Fun, energetic and will give you a great dance workout. As you move your body while dancing, you strengthen your heart, tone your muscles, improve balance and burn fat. This class is only 45 minutes and ideal for people that like to workout first thing in the morning, before going to work, or before your busy day with the kids.
Fiesta Fitness doesn’t have beginner or advanced levels and is not choreography. Anyone who wants to can join at any time. Fiesta Fitness combines Latin dances with unique style of steps, movements, motivation, catchy music and party-like atmosphere, which provides each student with a total body workout, yet doesn’t feel like a workout at all!
If you hate to workout but love to dance… Fiesta Fitness is for you!
June 16th – 10th Annual House & Garden Tour sponsored by Sagadahoc Preservation, Inc.
10:00am – 3:30pm (rain or shine)
To purchase Advance tickets: @ $25.00 visit our local Bath businesses: Now You’re Cooking, Springer’s Jewelers, Brick Store Antiques, Ornament,
New England Antiques and Bath Printing AND at Gulf of Maine Bookstore in Brunswick. OR, Check payable to: SPI, Box 322, Bath, ME 04530
Tickets day of tour $30.00 at Winter Street Center, 880 Washington Street, Bath. We look forward to your attendance at this premier annual event. For questions regarding Tour, please call: SPI office: 207-443-2174: or EMAIL your request to: info@sagadahocpreservation.org and visit website to order tickets online via SPI website. www.sagadahocpreservation.org.
Coastal Art Glass Grand Opening, 233 Water Street
Coastal Art Glass expands into their new Studio in Downtown Bath. Come join us for our Grand Opening on Saturday June 2nd 5PM to 8PM at our new location at 233 Water Street, entrance off the municipal parking adjacent to Wilson’s back door. Refreshments and live music featuring Earl Bigelow, of The Natives are Restless fame. Say hello and see the new work.
We as Coastal Art Glass are excited to join in the growth of one of the five best downtown’s in America.
Subdue, Seize and Take: Maritime Maine in the Unwelcome Interruption of the War of 1812, Maine Maritime Museum, 243 Washington Street
Exhibit opens May 26 - To commemorate the bicentennial of the start of the United States’ second war with Britain, commonly known as the War of 1812, Maine Maritime Museum announces its latest exhibit, Subdue, Seize and Take: Maritime Maine in the Unwelcome Interruption of the War of 1812.
The exhibit will open to the public on Saturday, May 26 and will be on view until Sunday, October 28, 2012 at the Museum in Bath.
Contrary to the name given to the war, the conflict lasted from 1812 to 1814. It was a prolonged period during which a fractious atmosphere of double-dealing, defiance, subterfuge, vitriolic satire, confusion and propaganda flourished along the coast of the then-District of Maine. Statehood would not be achieved until 1820.
Maine Maritime Museum’s exhibit chronicles the nation-building hubbub – from the Eastport “Flour War” and the sacking of Hampden to the alarming frolics of the Royal Navy threatening the partially-built USS Washington at Kittery.
Artifacts and original archival documents from four Maine museums and numerous private collections have been brought together to present the story of how this often overlooked war impacted our state. Among these are a rarely-seen model of the privateer Dash, a cannon from HMS Boxer that was captured by the American brig Enterprise in a dramatic battle off the coast of Monhegan Island and two gowns worn at the 1815 Saco Peace Ball.
Above all, this war in Maine was waged passionately, and is due all the appreciation that its bicentennial demand
FMI www.mainemaritimemuseum.org or call (207) 443-1316, M-F, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Bath Iron Works Trolley Tours, Maine Maritime Museum, 243 Washington Street
Monday through Saturday
Nonmembers – $33; members $25; 6 to 16 years old $15
Get a behind the scenes tour of BIW to see how this Maine shipbuilding industry icon earned the axiom “Bath Built is Best Built.” Be among the first to see the Navy’s ultra-modern destroyer DDG 1000 Zumwalt being built. Fee includes two-day Museum admission.
FMI and to purchase tickets www.MaineMaritimeMuseum.org.
Lunch at the Library, Patten Free Library, 33 Summer Street
LibraryThing Creator Tim Spalding to Speak at Final “Lunch at the Library”
On Wednesday, May 30, the Patten Free Library (PFL) will host the final brown-bag lunch of the season with a guest speaker, Tim Spalding, the founder of LibraryThing (www.LibraryThing.com). The “Lunch at the Library” presentation is free, open to the public, and will begin at 12:00 p.m. in the Library’s second floor Community Room. No pre-registration is required.
LibraryThing is a Portland-based “dot-com” enterprise that was launched in 2005. Mr. Spalding started the site as a pet project that would allow him to catalog his own library, but the idea of creating and sharing libraries on-line quickly caught on with book lovers everywhere. Today, over 1.5 million users throughout the world are part of this social networking site that has been characterized in media outlets as a “Facebook for the bookish.”
“We are so fortunate that Tim Spalding will be our final speaker for the ‘Lunch at the Library’ series,” says Roberta Jordan, an outreach librarian at Patten. “This is a home-grown Maine business, and its purpose should appeal greatly to our patrons. In addition to providing a way to keep track of a personal library and the books that people love the most, LibraryThing lets users connect with communities of readers who share interests. It’s a unique way to reap the benefits of social networking; and, best of all, the only personal information you reveal about yourself is your opinions and tastes relating to books.”
FMI 443-5141
MHS Class of 1967 Art Raffle benefits Morse High School Scholarship Fund
Brian Foster, artist, traveler, sea lover and member of the MHS Class of 1967 has produced an exceptional 36″ x 15″ painting of Morse High School as it appeared in 1967. The work is done in acrylic house paint on a pumpkin pine board salvaged from the pantry of the circa 1840 Donnell House now a part of the Maine Maritime Museum on Washington Street in Bath.
Raffle tickets for the painting will be sold through the drawing date of June 11th to benefit the Morse High School Scholarship Fund. The painting will be displayed and tickets will be available weekdays at Midcoast Hospital and MCCM, and weekends at the following ticket sale sites:
Sat. & Sun, May 19 & 20, Shaws Market, 10am – 2pm
Sat. May 26, Bath City Hall, 10am – 2pm
Sat. June 2, Brackett’s Market, 10am -2pm
Fri. June 8, Kennebec Tavern, 7pm
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