Not-so-fun while it lasts?

Bangor Daily News reported last week on an odd juxtaposition of graves and Funtown USA in Saco:

Saco workers to move graveyard amid Funtown/Splashtown
The Associated Press
Posted Sept. 16, 2011, at 9:24 a.m.

SACO, Maine — A small, 150-year-old private cemetery amid Maine’s Funtown/Splashtown USA is going to be moved.

Next week, municipal workers in Saco will help move the graves with the assistance of a local funeral director to the Laurel Hill Cemetery.

Over the years the amusement park has grown up around the cemetery, believed to contain at least 17 graves.

In 2006, Bob Phillips, a retired postal service worker from New Hampshire whose grandparents are buried there, discovered a 10-foot-deep trench that was part of a park attraction passed within 10 feet of the cemetery, which he claimed was a violation of a state law requiring a 25-foot buffer around cemeteries.

Phillips family attorney Sandra Guay told the Portland Press Herald the family is happy the graves are being relocated.

Source: http://bangordailynews.com/2011/09/16/news/portland/saco-workers-to-move-graveyard-amid-funtownsplashtown/

5 years ago, the All Things Maine blog reported on the initial struggle to protect the graveyard from desecration by development. Read more: http://allthingsmaine.blogspot.com/2006/11/grave-situation-at-funtown-usa.html

EVENT: Lafayette in America

The Maine Historical Society invites you to...
WHAT: Lafayette in America book event with Alan R. Hoffman, Translator and Author
WHEN: Tuesday, April 28, 2009, from 12:00pm - 1:00pm
WHERE: Maine Historical Society, 489 Congress Street, Portland, Maine
COST: This event is free and open to the public.
FMI: For more information call (207)774-1822 or e-mail info[at]mainehistory.org

Join us to explore General Lafayette's 1824-1825 Farewell Tour of the United States, including his visits to Kennebunk, Saco, and Portland.

Translated from the journal kept by Auguste Levasseur, Private Secretary to General Lafayette, this rich new book describes the adoring welcome the 67-year-old hero of the American Revolution and apostle of liberty received from the American people.

With its panoramic view of the young country - its burgeoning cities and towns, its technological innovations like the Erie Canal, and its industrious people - Levasseur captures America on the cusp of its jubilee year. Hoffman will share this story and chronicle Lafayette's affectionate visits with his old friends John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, and John Quincy Adams.

Police blotter bonanza

I wound up with a copy of the Biddeford-Saco-OOB Courier from January 18, 2007, after working on the Emptyhouse Film zombie movie "2" (the Courier had run an article about the production). I was getting ready to dispose of the rest of the issue when I noticed they have a great blotter on page 25, "Police Notes." This is some priceless stuff! The staff is to be commended for their excellent efforts in titling each item of interest.

For your enjoyment, I will transcribe the best of the bunch.

Police Notes
Biddeford
Lost laundry
Police received a call about a basket of laundry in the roadway. The caller said he picked up the laundry and moved it to the McDonald's parking lot. Officers were unable to locate the laundry.

Not a bank robber
Police responded to a call about a man that was pacing in front of the Biddeford Savings Bank for more than 10 minutes. Police approached the subject and learned he was simply waiting for a bus.
[I wonder if they offered him a ride? --M]

They're all going to laugh at you
A woman called police and claimed harassment after she alleged that a group of people were laughing at her at Common Connection.

Saco
Big money
A vehicle on Ura Street was burglarized. The owners reported $1 worth of items stolen.

Bah Humbug
The baby Jesus in a nativity scene in front of Notre Dame Church was stolen. It was valued at $100.
[Maybe it was time for him to move on? --M]

Darn teenagers
A 13-year-old girl was reported as a runaway shortly before being recovered in front of city hall on Main Street.

For those who, like myself on slow nights, enjoy the mild entertainment factor of unambitious crimes and confused call-ins about suspicious activity, the Courier has kindly made available the text files of their issues online, which you can search for Police Notes, and come up with a bumper crop of your own reading material. Here's the link:
Search the Courier for more Police Notes material!

The latest addition, as of the writing of this post, was from August 21st, and included such fabulous items as:

NIGHT SWIMMERS

Police took a report of people swimming in a resident’s pool at 2:30 a.m. The caller reported at the time they thought it may have been an animal that made a splash in the pool, but upon waking they found a table broken by a person who stepped on it.
[What?!! --M]

HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM APPLES?

A person called police to report area juveniles had thrown apples at her vehicle. When police spoke with the woman, she said she was angry and admitted to making up the story about her vehicle being struck by the apples.

What are you waiting for?! Go read more!

Cryptozoology, murder, and more!

Well, it's been a great week in Strange Maine land, with some stand-out talks by local experts, from historical mill girl murders to monsters in our midst!

First we had Loren Coleman giving a great presentation at both the Belfast Library (Monday, read a terrific article about it on Cryptomundo) and the Portland Public Library (Wednesday), which resulted in an article on the Portland Phoenix's website, titled "Have You Ever Seen the Maine Mutant?"

I had the great pleasure of introducing Loren to the noontime crowd which attended the Portland Public Library talk. He gave a terrific overview of the current state of the cryptozoological field, as well as filling in the history for those curious souls in the audience who have yet to explore that field. His presentation include a wealth of pop-culture artifact examples, and plenty of intriguing slide imagery not often seen by the public. I was curious to find out what he viewed as being the most important Maine cryptid sightings. On his list are, among others, the sightings of the Casco Bay sea serpent, a.k.a. Cassie, and the Specter Moose, which I and others have pondered over the last couple of years.

Read more about the Specter Moose:

The original Specter Moose post

Cryptomundo article about Coleman's article about the moose in TAPS Paramagazine

Alex at the Museum of Hoaxes has dug up the actual newspaper articles about the moose

Second, Elizabeth De Wolfe gave a lively talk about her recent book, The Murder of Mary Bean and Other Stories, which is also the topic of a current exhibit at the Saco Museum put together by a very talented group. De Wolfe read and illustrated excerpts from the book, summarizing the sensational case, and enthusiastically answered a round of detailed questions in the intense question and answer session held following the reading. Great stuff!

The Saco Museum exhibit is titled Murder, Mystery & the Mills: The Story of Mary Bean, and it is open from Feb. 28 - May 25, 2008. We strongly recommend you both read the book and see the exhibit! The hours of the museum are Tue., Wed., Fri. Sat: 12 - 4 p.m., and Thur.: 12 - 8 p.m. Admission varies for adults ($4), seniors ($3), students/children ($2), but best of all, supervised children under 6 are FREE, and there is universal Free Admission on Thursdays from 4 - 8 p.m.