The Mapleton Lions Club hosted the 2022 Mapleton Memorial Day Parade and Remembrance Ceremony.
Capt. Gabriel Cheney, who grew up in Castle Hill and is now a member of the Vermont Army National Guard, was the grand marshal.
Cheney recently returned from active duty in Somalia, where he commanded Bravo Company 3 of the 172nd Infantry Mountain Company. He was a 16-year member of the Maine Army National Guard until he recently transferred to the Vermont Army National Guard. Cheney and his family led the parade.
Mapleton Lions Wes Buck, Steve Hanning and Paul Grendell ride in the Mapleton Memorial Day Parade. The Club began the parade nearly 30 years ago and only missed 2020 due to the pandemic. (Courtesy of Terry Sandusky)
Mapleton’s Boston Post Cane Holder, Lyle Kenney, who is the oldest citizen in Mapleton, drove in the parade. Lyle was born in 1928 and has lived all of his 94 years here. The Mapleton-Chapman-Castle Hill Fire Department was well represented with their drivers and the fleet of firefighting vehicles. Leading the department was Luke Glasscock, the current mascot.
The Presque Isle Middle School Band marched in the parade, which they have done since the Lions Club began hosting the event, and the Maine State Police and Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office led the parade as they have for many years.
The Remembrance Ceremony was held at the Veterans Memorial Monument at the Mapleton Elementary School. Cheney and Sandra Fournier, town manager for Mapleton, Chapman and Castle Hill, spoke. Pastor Nathan Gardiner of the West Chapman Advent Christian Church offered the invocation and benediction. The “Star-Spangled Banner” was sung by Kaci Chapman while Lions Steve Hanning and Adam Nicak, assisted by Faith Getchell and Maya Lopez, raised the American and state of Maine flags.
From left, Mapleton firefighter Lance Johnson, mascot Luke Glasscock and Fire Chief Adam Rider salute after laying the wreaths at the Mapleton Veterans Monument on Memorial Day.
(Courtesy of Terry Sandusky)
The laying of the memorial wreaths at the monument was conducted by members of the Mapleton Fire Department: Fire Chief Adam Rider, firefighter Lance Johnson and firefighter mascot Luke Glasscock. Presque Isle Middle School students Julia Daggett and Leo Stacey played taps, which coincided with the 3 p.m. playing of “Taps Across America.”
Community service day
Mapleton Lions Club held its first “Spring into Service” May 14 at the Mapleton Recreation pool area.
Joining the Lions were members of the Presque Kiwanis and Rotary clubs along with other community volunteers. Crews gave the Mapleton recreation area a face lift, painting the picnic shelter and cleaning up the tennis courts in preparation for summertime use.
Lions Club President Rick Fowler and Mapleton Recreation Department Director Jake Graham said volunteers did an amazing job making the area more attractive and enjoyable.
On May 14, 2022, the Mapleton Lions Club hosted a Community Service Day at which repair and renovation projects were conducted at the Mapleton Recreation Area. Joining the Lions Club members were members of the Presque Isle Rotary and Kiwanis Clubs and other community citizens. The painted the picnic pavilion and tables as well as cleaned and prepared town’s tennis courts. (Courtesy of Terry Sandusky)
“We are grateful for everyone who came out to give their time. A huge thank you goes out to members of the Mapleton Lions Club, Presque Isle Rotary, Presque Isle Kiwanis, as well as students from PIHS, and other members of our local communities who made time to come and work on the projects,” Graham said.
The picnic shelter was built more than 25 years ago by the Maine National Guard Engineering Battalion, who was conducting summer training exercises in the Central Aroostook area. The shelter was located on Main Street across from the Lions Hall, but was moved near the pool as an Eagle Scout project by Aaron Swanson with the help of his father, Alden.
Both the Mapleton Lions and the Mapleton Select Board approved the planned move. In 2016 footings were poured and the pavilion set in place, where it has been enjoyed by many families and kids who use the pool, the tennis courts and the soccer field. The roof had been replaced, but the shelter needed a serious paint job to spruce it up.
Volunteers raked and cleaned the tennis courts, and other repairs are in progress, including resurfacing, crack filling and post resetting. It is being considered to mark the courts for pickleball.
Graham and Fowler said it’s really special to see what the community can do when they come together. Volunteers received a hot dog roast for lunch and the satisfaction of being part of a job well done. The Lions Club thinks the annual community service day will become an ongoing program.
Grange Hall closed
This week the Castle Hill Grange Hall Preservation Society announced the hall would be closed indefinitely due to substantial damage caused by animals this spring. Most of the ceiling and some contents, curtains and the hallway to bathrooms were damaged.
They are in the process of cleanup but have little money for repairs. Grange leadership stated this may result in the permanent closure of the hall, built in 1905.
The preservation society started in 1995 and has tried to maintain the hall as a community center, town hall, voting place and the only historical building left in Castle Hill. Their efforts have led to donations, rental funds and other income that resulted in over $80,000 and hundreds of volunteer hours being put into this preservation project.
Funding for the hall began to decline substantially because of the pandemic, which limited and restricted the use of the hall for public events and private rentals. Without income, the financial coffers of the society have been drained.
Should anyone wish to learn more about the future of the Castle Hill Grange Hall and Preservation Society, please feel free to contact Sheena McHatten, secretary.
Terry Sandusky is the Star-Herald correspondent for Mapleton, Chapman and Castle Hill and can be reached at 764-4916 or at starherald.Tsandusky@gmail.com.
