The Haystack Historical Society received an energy and renovation grant of $10,000 from the Maine Community Foundation Aroostook Fund.
Society President Alice Shepard and Board Member Dena Winslow prepared and submitted a grant request to the Maine Community Foundation. The funds were requested to buy and install a heat pump, repair the roof and stabilize the outhouse toilets.
Winslow completed the application after meeting with the foundation’s Frank McElwain. The foundation required the society’s current mission statement in order to be considered for funding. The society updated the statement to read: “The Haystack Historical Society Old Mill School Museum serves the towns of Mapleton, Chapman, and Castle Hill, as well as the surrounding Aroostook County area as a repository of the history and culture of the rural tri-town area. Through interpretive displays of the collections; temporary exhibits; workshops and tours for adults and children that highlight displays of the museum collections; films and videos that complement the exhibits; publications; and public programming; the Museum serves as a cultural and community hub for social interaction and as an educational resource related to cultural and historical content.”
The Society was founded in 1981, when the Old Mill Schoolhouse was secured from the Town of Mapleton. After the original school was closed, wings were built on each side of the building as the town prepared to house its public works operations and truck garages there. Funds raised by the society have been used to restore the schoolhouse proper, which was built in 1908, and to turn the garage wings into museum display areas.
The heat pump will replace the portable dehumidifiers used in the summer and the several-decades-old oil furnace. Dehumidifying air in the summer is important to protect many historical artifacts from mold, mildew and dampness in the building. The heat pump should reduce the use of oil.
The work will start in September.
Annual ham dinner
At the Aug. 26 meeting of the Haystack Historical Society, plans were finalized for their annual baked ham dinner to be held on Sept. 14.
The dinner is a longstanding tradition enjoyed by many residents of Mapleton, Chapman and Castle Hill. This year folks will be able to dine in the museum or do a drive-thru. The menu will feature honey baked ham, fresh potato salad, baked beans, dessert squares and soft drinks or water.
The cost is $12 for adults and $5 for children under age 12. All funds raised will support the operations of the museum.
(Courtesy of Terry Sandusky)
School welcomes students
On Wednesday, Aug. 28, Mapleton Elementary School hosted its annual fall open house for the 2024-25 school year. Students, parents and siblings visited for the one-hour open house.
(Courtesy of Terry Sandusky)
Returning students and families found their rooms, met their teachers and checked their desk assignments. Every student and family was greeted by Principal Dan Duprey. Pre-K and kindergarten students investigated the school, and regular classroom teachers for grades 1 to 5 greeted their students in their classrooms.
Students quickly found their desks, dropped off school items and peeked at their books for the coming year.
Mapleton Elementary School parents can find class supply lists at www.sad1.org/o/mes/page/school-supplies.
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.
(Courtesy of Terry Sandusky)
