The Boothbay community once again proved their generosity by overwhelmingly supporting the Fuller Marine/Legion/Legion Auxiliary breakfast fundraiser for Chris George. You will remember that Chris is the veteran who was literally crushed in an automobile accident on Route 27 on Feb. 8. Chris is an employee of Fuller Marine and they wanted to hold a breakfast fundraiser for him on May 4. They contacted the Post to see if they could use the Hall. Once the Post learned what it was for, not only would they support the event, they moved the Legion’s Sunday breakfast to Saturday and pledged to provide all the proceeds to Chris. Once that was decided, Ed Harmon, our Breakfast Lead, did his magic and was able to secure most of the food by donation (thank you Hannaford, SAMs, and Brady’s) which enabled every dollar that people gave for the breakfast to go to Chris. As people came in, they were greeted with “all what you donate for the breakfast will go to Chris” and people just dug in. It just so happened that this was also Chris’s birthday which, of course, meant we all sang “happy birthday” to him. Chris is amazing. He came into the Hall in his wheelchair with a smile on his face. That smile stayed there the whole time. We wanted to make a couple of presentations but wanted him to eat first. Well, that became very difficult! Everyone wanted to talk to Chris. Bill Pearson covered the event so I won’t go into any more detail but will provide the grand total…..$9,000, yes, even!

Did you know we have two wonderful military museums in Maine? The Maine Military Historical Society Museum in Augusta and the Maine Military Museum and Learning Center in South Portland. The curator of the museum in Augusta is Peter Ogden, retired Army Colonel, and past Director of Maine’s Bureau of Veterans Services. The museum, dedicated to solely to Maine’s military history, is located at 194 Winthrop St across from the Augusta Airport and is only open on the first Sunday of the month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. but tours can be provided by calling 622-4468.  If you are a military history buff, this is a must. 

The Maine Military Museum and Learning Center located at 50 Perry Terrace in South Portland is uniquely different that the museum in Augusta. To quote their website: “The museum’s mission is to teach today’s and future generations the meaning of “Service Above Self.” Museum exhibits cover every aspect of military service from the Revolutionary War to Afghanistan and Iraq. The primary focus is American Prisoners of War (POWs) from our Civil War up to the Vietnam Conflict.” Lee Humiston is the founder, curator, who will have you spelled bound when he shows you around. The Museum is opened daily, except Monday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Both happily accept donations of military clothing, artifacts from families to be displayed.  If you are interested in military history and Maine’s contribution to it, visiting both museums is a must.