Gov. Paul LePage visits The Highlands

Yes, Govenor LePage designated April 22, 2011 as one of his "Capitol for the Day" events in which he spends a whole day visiting major sites in a selected county. His Sagadahoc County visits included, among others, the Bath Iron Works, Crooker & Sons, the Tedford Shelter, Mt. Ararat Junior High School and The Highlands.



Here's the headline from the Portland Press Herald, with the newspaper photo of the Governor in Brunswick, along with a photo of Crystal and the Governor in our living room here at The Highlands.




I am meeting Gov. LePage at the front door, welcoming him to the Maine Lodge of The Highlands.

 

The Governor is conversing with Charlene Strang after having met Jim Millinger and Meg Cousins. Kay Bell and Peg Fearon are in the background.



Dot Livingston with the Governor.



Dorothy & Frank Farner welcoming the Governor while Pat Aikens watches from nearby.



Gov. LePage greeting David Gay of Kent Circle and David Kilpatrick of Sewall Lane.



Nick Nelson with Gov. LePage.



The Governor chatting with Dorothea Farrow

Joking with Susan Sorg, Doreen Chamberlain, Roberta Zimmerman and Don Wessels



Last but not least, John Tyler warmly greets the Governor while Don Wessels smiles in the background.

Bruce Poliquin, the State Treasurer, was also part of the Governor's staff which accompanied him.  Crystal saw to it that we all made Bruce feel welcome, too.

Digital Photography at The Highlands

Many of the residents of The Highlands have computers and are conneted to the Internet, so many, in fact, that e-mail addresses of residents are now included in the roster of residents, along with street addresses and phone numbers.

Several persons who are skilled in computer use come to The Highlands to give us instruction and support along with help in hardware or software problems. One of those experts is  Debbie Kasper, who, on April 13, 2011, sponsored a program in digital photography, demonstrating how to insert graphics into documents and how to prepare fun and useful products.



Debbie Kasper comes to this area several times a week helping clients in the Maine Lodge, the Estates, and Highland Green as well as the Holden Frost House, Benjamin Porter House and Town Hall Village.



This is the poster for the well attended program in April 2011.





Ron Kurtz, Sandra Hansen, Louise Cook and visitor Becky Sentementes at work

  

Stan Sylvester trying to help Frank Farner




Belle Traver of Hubbard Lane helping Carol & David Frucht of the Maine Lodge





Jim Millinger & Pommy Hatfield came over from Curtis Lane to participate in the workshop

  

In addition to work on individual computers, Debbie made a presentation to the group about fun and simple projects:  note cards, jigsaw puzzles, calendars, photo books plus scanning old slides into digital format.



" . . . and I'll raise you a nickel"

There are numerous opportunities for card players here at The Highlands. Bridge games take place on Thursdays at the Holden Frost House and on Fridays in the Maine Lodge.

Cribbage games are regularly scheduled and informal  cribbage matches are frequent. In addition, poker players gather three evenings a week.



Jo Atlass enjoys both bridge and poker




Jim Nolan is "in the chips"




Do the green eyeshades which Dot Livingston and the other poker players are wearing make them look like professional gamblers?




Joe Goldstein demonstrates his special shuffle




Meg Cousins loves to play poker and it is she who organizes the games




This is a view of the whole group of poker players, between hands, in the Craft Room on April 6, 2011. Everyone is invited to join. Look for the days and times of games in the weekly newsletter, The Highlighter, or check with Meg Cousins.



The Holden Frost House, a great extra benefit to residents of The Highlands

A couple of years ago I was at a Bowdoin function and I introduced myself to the man sitting beside me. He said he was Steve Frost, Class of '42 at Bowdoin. When I told him that I live at The Highlands in Topsham, he told me that he had lived in the Holden Frost House for 70 years, that it was he who sold the property to John Wasileski in 2001.



This is the front of the Holden Frost House at 26 Elm Street. The commonly used entrance is a side door just to the left of the vehicle.  The guest suite is on the second floor, at the right of the front. After John's purchase, a wing was added at the rear of the original house, the addition containing ten apartments.

  Extensive history exists about the Holden Frost House. Constuction first started in 1804, long before Maine became a state.  Daniel Holden, the first owner, allowed the ballroom to be used as a Masonic Hall. In 1814 it became a "Public House" and tavern. From 1857 to 1899 it housed the Franklin Family School for Boys, an outstanding educational establishment caring for sons of well-to-do sea captains. Later it was used as an apartment house and finally bought, in 1937, by John Frost who used it as a private home until John Wasileski purchased it from the Frost heirs in 2001. 

The ballroom on the second floor is used for many meetings and social events. It is available for use by any resident of The Highlands. Contact Sandra Hansen at 721-0913 or call Resident Services at 725-2650 to find out about availability and to make reservations.




This is a banquet being held in the ballroom of the Holden Frost House to celebrate Jean Sylvester's 90th birthday on January 16, 2011. Jean is dressed in black, in the middle of the photo.



An appreciatve audience attending a concert in the ballroom in June 2010

Some residents are not aware of the guest suite which is available for $50 per night donated to The Highlands Resident Assistance Fund.  Sandra Hansen is demonstrating the comfortable twin beds.



Sandra is in the sitting room of the guest suite which adjoins the bedroom and the private bath.



In addition to the ballroom and the guest suite, residents can utilize the dining room of the Holden Frost House which can seat a maximum of twelve guests.

A major extra benefit of residing at The Highlands is the genealogy research center which is in one of the front parlors of the Holden Frost House. Here is Louise Hudson at one of the two computers dedicated to this type of research, each with special programs installed.