Sanford Springvale News

13/09/2025

Updated Post: Sanford Seventy-Five Years Ago https://buff.ly/fcVl55e Coach Danny Alvino with L-R: Roger Durant, Johnny Demers, Gene Savage and Charlie Caramihalis. Kneeling: Francis Mayo and John Maher

Credit: Sanford Tribune

By Lawrence Furbish

While not on the front page, the picture above of Sanford High School returning lettermen was probably the most interesting photo in the September 14, 1950, edition of the Sanford Tribune. We are not sure of the others, but Roger Durant is still very much alive and active in the Sanford-Springvale Rotary Club and on the board of the Sanford Water District.

The front page contained election news as Carl Broggi was selected to the State Senate. Broggi was a local businessman who ran a newspaper distribution business. He later was instrumental in establishing the Chamber of Commerce and attracting new business to town after the closure of the mills. Governor Edmund Muskie appointed him the first commissioner of the new Department of Development and Industry and Commerce. He died of a heart attack in March of 1965. The next year, he was honored by the state legislature which passed a law naming the section of Route 111 from Biddeford to Alfred and the section of Route 202 from Alfred to the New Hampshire border the C. J. Broggi Memorial Highway.

In other election news, the voters of Sanford sent a mixed message regarding their views on drinking as they passed some alcohol related provisions but defeated others. The Tribune described it as the town getting wetter and dryer at the same time. A Sanford or Springvale tippler could visit a state liquor store or purchase beer to take out from a licensed store, but cocktail lounges, beer parlors, and taverns for “stand up drinking for men only” were prohibited.

Reading this article today, one might wonder why an election was held in September rather than November. Voters approved a change to the State Constitution on September 9, 1957, ending the 137-year tradition of elections being on the second Monday in September. The September date had been set to accommodate farmers, coming between late summer and early fall harvests. It gave rise to the sometimes-inaccurate saying, “As Maine goes, so goes the nation.” The change brought Maine into line with the rest of the nation and the first November election was held in 1960.

The Sanford Drive-in promoted that their shows began at dusk, rain or moon. One would think watching a movie at the drive-in during a rainstorm would be difficult with the windshield wipers constantly in action. The movie showing that week was White Heat with James Cagney.

The First National store advertised a jar of mayonnaise for 35 cents, two cans of baked beans for 37 cents, and a dozen eggs for 35 cents.

Lawrence Furbish is president of the Sanford-Springvale Historical Society and the Sweat Morin Homestead. The Historical Society Museum in Springvale has many resources regarding Sanford’s history. It is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

13/09/2025

Sanford Springvale News was at the Sanford Alumni Association dedication ceremony last night and the unveiling of this memorial sign at Alumni Stadium.

13/09/2025

New Post: School Notes https://buff.ly/a7Nnqen Diana Allen displays her award, presented by Tonya Prentice

Photo: Sanford School Department

Compiled by Kendra Williams

Sanford teacher recipient of national award: Sanford Middle School science teacher Diana Allen was honored at the Maine Department of Education’s Annual Summit in August as a recipient of the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching—the nation’s highest recognition for K-12 math and science educators. Allen was one of 336 awardees nationwide after being named a Maine state finalist and completing a rigorous application process that showcased her content knowledge, teaching practices, and educational leadership. At the summit, she received her award from Tonya Prentice, joining a select group of Maine educators recognized for their classroom excellence and commitment to fostering scientific discovery among students.

September is Attendance Awareness Month: It’s a time for individuals and organizations to learn about attendance issues and absenteeism. The Sanford School Department recognizes that attendance is essential to academic success. Missing 10 percent, or about two days each month of the school year, can make it harder to learn to read. Students can fall behind if they miss just one or two days every few weeks.

School meals are free in Maine…including breakfast: A delicious, nutritionally balanced breakfast is served every day free of charge. At SHS, breakfast is served from 6:45 to 8:15 am; at the Middle School from 7:10 to 7:40 am and at the three elementary schools from 8 to 8:20 am.

Share your organization’s events and activities with the Sanford school community: The School Department website offers a Community Announcements page to help you reach students, families, and staff members. Complete the online approval form and submit it to the Superintendent’s Office along with your promotional materials for review. Find the form here. (https://buff.ly/pPQVgL2)

12/09/2025

12/09/2025

New Post: Out in the Woods https://buff.ly/waPEbqs Ragweed spreads and has tiny flowers on stalks and fern-like leaves.

Photo: Kevin McKeon

Ragweed, Not Goldenrod, Is the Reason You’re Sneezin’

By Kevin McKeon, Maine Master Naturalist

From summer until a heavy frost, watery and itchy eyes, along with sneezing and runny noses, fill the lives of folks with hay fever; for those with underlying conditions like asthma, it’s even worse. Many things can cause these unpleasant conditions throughout the year, so allergy season and its causes are generally defined to be three separate times: Early Spring, from tree pollen; summer, from grasses and ragweed; and autumn, from mold and ragweed. So, ragweed is the primary allergen from mid-summer until the first killing frost, which usually isn’t until October. It produces copious amounts of very lightweight pollen that’s easily wind-dispersed throughout vast areas. Its pollen has been found 400 miles from its source and up to two miles up in the air! And it does this for 1½ to 2½ months. So susceptible folks find it difficult to escape its effects for any length of time.

Climate change has exacerbated this. The increase in CO2 atmospheric levels has provided plants with more food for photosynthesis, making them healthier in many ways, including larger plant size, higher and healthier pollen production, increased levels of pollen toxicity and irritability, and longer allergy seasons due to longer and warmer growing seasons. These factors can both worsen symptoms and affect more people.

So what is it about ragweed that makes it such a noted allergen? And what is an allergen? Our immune systems help protect us from bad stuff like germs by using antibodies to attack them. Sometimes immune systems think something’s harmful when it isn’t. This overreaction, or hypersensitivity, causes the release of histamines, which in turn cause the symptoms of hay fever. An estimated 20% of the U.S. population is affected by ragweed to some extent, and 75% of pollen-allergic folks have ragweed sensitivity. While most allergies can’t be cured, treatments offer relief. Highly susceptible folks and asthmatics are advised to stay indoors and close windows. Or, if you’ve ever wanted to go to Alaska, here’s your excuse: It’s our only ragweed-free state.

There are 17 species of ragweed found in North America, but the only one in Maine is the common ragweed, or Ambrosia artemisiifolia. Ambrosia here means “food or drink of immortality.” It grows up to 3 feet high from seeds the plant produced the previous year; its small green flowers give it an appearance of not being a flowering plant, but those flowers can produce an excess of a billion pollen grains per plant.

A plant can produce up to 60,000 seeds, which can remain viable in the soil for 30 years. They’re rich in protein and fats and remain on the plants through winter, making them a reliable food source for foraging wildlife during leaner times. Rabbits and voles browse on ragweed leaves in the late summer and fall. Goldfinches, sparrows, quail, pheasants, and other overwintering critters find ragweed seeds a valuable winter food source. And these critters become available to feed others in the sparse winter food chain. Deer also visit ragweed, and young game birds and many insects find it a suitable habitat.

There is an unfortunate and widespread misconception that goldenrod causes hay fever, probably because many goldenrods bloom during hay fever season. However, its pollen is too heavy to be wind-carried, relying instead on animal pollination. Its nectar also feeds many bee, butterfly, and bird species. Both ragweed and goldenrod are pioneer species that tend to populate disturbed and eroded areas — like roadsides, ditches, fire-damaged and newly-timbered areas — often forming shared colonies.

And since ragweed relies on wind instead of critters for pollination, its flowers have evolved to be inconspicuous to wildlife; and these flowers are often mistaken for pre-blooming goldenrod buds, adding to the confusion. But a key difference is easily seen in the leaves: Ragweed leaves are fern-like, while goldenrod’s taper to a point at both ends.

So, most of us can rest easy while immersing ourselves in a goldenrod meadow, realizing that its pollen has a difficult task to reach our nostrils, and that these golden beauties feed a host of wildlife during late mid-summer to late autumn season. And even the despised-by-many ragweed has its place in nature’s landscapes.

Editor’s note: Did you see something unusual last time you were out in the woods? Were you puzzled or surprised by something you saw? Ask our “Out in the Woods” columnist Kevin McKeon. He’ll be happy to investigate and try to answer your questions. Email him directly at: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

12/09/2025

‼️ Upcoming Parking Ban ‼️

See the below post from public works for more details.

12/09/2025

New Post: Real Estate Transactions https://buff.ly/tVsXcTk 29 Winter Street (8/29 closing listed below)

Photo: Tap Realty

Compiled by Carolyn Cadigan

8/29, 29 Winter St., Mixed-use Commercial Building, 4,536 square feet, first floor has office and gathering spaces, second floor has 4-bed residential apartment, finished basement, garage, ample on-site parking, auction property, includes adjacent .11-acre lot, 100-foot water frontage on Mousam River, downtown, zoned Urban Business, .36 acre, $350,000

8/29, 18 Grant St., Springvale, 5-room Ranch, 3 bed/1 bath, recent updates, unfinished basement, detached 1-car garage, deck, $325,000 (pictured above)

8/29, 24 Brunelle Ave., 6-room Raised Ranch, 3 bed/1 bath, two living rooms, finished basement, deck, shed, .33 acre, $345,000

8/29, 5 Brunelle Ave., 8-room Split Level, 3 bed/2 bath, primary bedroom with ensuite, pantry, bonus room and laundry room in basement, open concept layout, recently updated, 2-car garage under, deck, $420,000

9/5, 248 Sam Allen Road, 8-room Saltbox, 3 bed/3.5 bath, bedroom on first floor, primary bedroom with ensuite, open concept layout, newly renovated kitchen, laundry on first floor, bonus room and family room in partially finished walk-out basement, deck, shed, rural setting, 3.6 acres, $498,000