“Faith is our truth,” said Meredith Charest. “We turn together to God with grateful hearts, thankful for each other and our family.”

Their stories, lives, and the strength of their faith are inspiring, and on Sunday, 30 Maine couples were honored for their nearly one thousand, five hundred combined years of marriage during the Silver & Gold Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland. 

Couples who are celebrating major milestone anniversaries were invited to register this year, but all were welcome to participate in the celebration of the goodness of Christian marriage. 

“Today, we want to mark those milestone anniversaries which speak to us of the enduring power and strength of married love,” said Bishop Robert Deeley who celebrated the Mass on Sunday. “This morning as we come together, we are honoring the people in our diocese who are marking special anniversaries of marriage this year. We had some thirty couples contact us who are celebrating twenty-five, forty, fifty or even sixty years of marriage this year. This year, we are unable to have everyone come together for this celebration. It is another ‘virtual’ gathering. But it is no less wonderful to honor these special anniversaries.” 

This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Silver & Gold Mass was live-streamed, but a commemorative program and slideshow featuring some of the couples’ wedding pictures was assembled (viewable at www.portlanddiocese.org/olff/silver-gold-mass.) 

An astounding twenty-three of the thirty couples (many of the participating couples pictured below) have been married at least fifty years, including Michael and Nancy Boyington of Monroe. When Michael met Nancy, he was in the U.S. Marine Corps, and she was a college student at Mount Ida in Massachusetts, but something inside sparked for both of them, a fire that God has helped keep lit for fifty-one years. 

Maine filmmaker, author, historian and frequent contributor to the Gorham Weekly Jeff Ryan was thrilled to recently receive an offer from the National Conservation Training Center (headquarters of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) to showcase his latest film.

“It had been a while since we shot some of the interview segments at the NCTC, and I was worried that they thought I’d shelved the project entirely” admits Ryan. “But I got sidetracked by a book project and circled back to the film late this winter, and I was glad I did.”

The film, entitled, “Howard Zahniser: Champion for the Wilderness”, traces the life of a man who dedicated seven years of his life and his health to finally steer The Wilderness Act into passage in 1964. When Ryan discovered that Zahniser’s story was little known outside of the community of conservation history buffs, he felt the need to bring it to film.

“Zahniser is an inspirational figure for so many reasons. He wasn’t quite cut from the same cloth as the founders of The Wilderness Society, where he became the head of publications in 1945. In fact, they were concerned that he didn’t ‘look like a wilderness man.’  He may not have looked the part, but what he accomplished — securing the protection of millions of acres of wilderness — certainly removed any doubts that he was up to the job”, says Ryan.

Ryan filmed the project in the studio at the NCTC and in Tionesta, Pennsylvania, Zahniser’s childhood hometown. The 35-minute film shows how the Allegheny region instilled an appreciation for nature in young Howard and how he went on to become an advocate for wild lands including the Adirondacks and Dinosaur National Monument before turning his attention to the passage of a national act. The film ends with a montage of places Zahniser helped keep “untrammeled by man.”

The film is narrated by veteran Maine actor Mitchell Clyde Thomas and is the second film in a series Ryan is creating called “Voices of the Wilderness”. For more information about the screening of the film and the interview with the director that will precede it, visit the National Conservation Training Center Facebook page at https://www.Facebook.com/USFWSNCTC.

Upcycle Maine Home Furnishing reopened yesterday, July 1, and is spending the whole weekend celebrating!

Great Falls Construction has spruced up the front of the building. New outdoor lights have been hung and lots of new inventory has been handmade and picked for the exciting reopening weekend. 

After nearly 15 weeks closed, Owner Stephanie Sands is excited to invite you back into the shop, located in Gorham’s Village, at 18 South Street, Gorham. 

The hours for July are Wednesday 2 to 6 p.m., Thursday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday 12 to 6 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Friday night Facebook Live Sales at 8 p.m. will continue for the convenient online shopping opportunity. 

Sands sends a huge thank you to everyone for supporting Maine small businesses here in Gorham, “We couldn’t have done it without such a strong community backing us!”

Come enjoy an evening of bluegrass music with The World Famous Grassholes July 21 at 6 p.m. at Robie Softball Field (28 Ball Park Road, Gorham, between the high school and Gorham Municipal Center). 

Bring a picnic, a blanket or chair, and enjoy the show! Parking available in Gorham High School or Gorham Municipal Parking lot.

In the case of inclement weather, the concert will be moved inside to Shaw Gym.

For more about the band visit https://worldfamousgrassholes.com.