Here's a distraction.

Happy Monday Bowdoinhammer,

The news is crazy right now. Remember to take a mental break from it to preserve your sanity. It might also be a good idea to practice a ton of patience and empathy when talking about politics over the next few weeks (months really).

Enough of that. You don’t need a lecture. Here’s the highlights for this week:

1. The Bowdoinham Water District Board of Trustees will be meeting on Tuesday. It WON’T be to discuss a water park, so don’t get your hopes up.

2. The Community Development Advisory Committee and Age-Friendly Bowdoinham will be conducting a Pedestrian Safety site visit at Mailly Waterfront Park on Wednesday.

3. The Loose Ladies Book Group will meet in the Kendall Room at the John C. Coombs Municipal Building on Thursday. They usually meet at Merrymeeting Hall, but I have a bet going on with Joanne Savoie that they’ll need the AC.

4. There will be no Foundations of Drawing class at Merrymeeting Arts Center on Saturday. Instead, you can check out the William Stanton Exhibit: A 40-year Retrospective. I hear it’s pretty good.

5. On Sunday, Bowdoinham Church of the Nazarene will be having a fundraising lunch to raise money to restore their steeple. Later on that day, you can catch some tunes down by the waterfront. “Novel Jazz” will be playing, and Bowdoinham Rec. will be feeding the masses.

There’s more information about these and other events below, so keep scrolling.

At some point this week, Bowdoinhammer.com will get a pretty serious face-lift. It will be turned into a landing page signup for this newsletter.

Nothing will change with this newsletter. You’ll still get event news every week, but events will no longer appear on Bowdoinhammer.com.

There are a few reasons for this:

1. According to the analytics, there aren’t many people going to the website. The ones that do, spend less than 30 seconds and don’t look at events beyond the week.

2. You kids looove this newsletter. To put it in perspective, the newsletter gets more eyeballs in one week, than the website gets in four months.

3. We spend twice as much time on website updates and maintenance than we do the newsletter. It seems like this time could be used more efficiently.

Some of the more web-hosting-saavy readers might say “But Rodney, have you tried XY&Z with the website?” The answer is yes. X will cost $60 a month, Y will cost $40 a month if I buy it a year at a time, and Z requires me to understand Python, and who has the time to learn that?

Additionally, this is a self-funded passion project, which is motivating our need to distill the process down to the most effective delivery. The donations we get through BuyMeACoffee.com are very much appreciated, the fact is it’s not enough to pay for the hosting of a robust event website with all the bells and whistles.

We would be happy to hear your feedback and answer any questions. Just reply to this newsletter.

I asked Kate Cutko how the Not Your Mother’s Garden Tour went on Saturday.

This is what she said:

It sure sounds like they might do it again next year.

Here’s what’s going on in Bowdoinham this week:

MONDAY, JULY 15TH

• Pickleball, Bowdoinham Community School TENNIS COURT (23 Cemetery Rd.), 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM. This is open to adults of any age and ability. The group has friendly games with mixed levels of competition. WEATHER PERMITTING.

• Open Pottery Studio, Merrymeeting Arts Center STUDIO (9 Main St.), 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM. $10 Suggested donation. The maximum capacity is 10 pottery enthusiasts.

TUESDAY, JULY 16TH

• Recycling Drop-off, Public Works Facility (121 Pond Rd.), NOON - 6:00 PM.

• Merryreading Book Store OPEN, Merrymeeting Hall Basement (27 Main St.), 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM.

• Bowdoinham Water District Board of Trustees Meeting, Kendall Room, John C. Coombs Municipal Building (13 School St.) 6:00 PM. 

WEDNESDAY, JULY 17TH

• Pickleball, Bowdoinham Community School TENNIS COURT (23 Cemetery Rd.), 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM. This is open to adults of any age and ability. The group has friendly games with mixed levels of competition. WEATHER PERMITTING.

• Bridge, Bowdoinham Fire Station (57 Post Rd.), 9:30 AM - NOON. FMI: Judy Gray, 666-3025. The group welcomes all players. Current players range from high-scoring duplicate players to seniors who played in college and newbies who have taken a class.

• Joint CDAC & Age Friendly Waterfront Block Site Visit for Pedestrian Safety Planning Study, Mailly Waterfront Park (1 Main St.), 10:00 AM - 11:00 PM.

• Bible Study for beginners, The house behind the church (7 School St.), 10:00 AM, and again at 6:00 PM. FMI: (207) 751-6888 or [email protected].

• The Clothes Closet, The house behind the church (7 School St.), 2:30 PM - 5:00 PM. FREE clothes for those in need.

• Bowdoinham Food Pantry OPEN, Bowdoinham Food Pantry (9 Main St.), 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM. For all residents of Bowdoinham and Bowdoin. Building community, with food. NO income verification. FMI: (207) 751-7779. Shop there first.

• Tennis - "Bowdoinham Specials", Bowdoinham Community School tennis court (23 Cemetery Rd.), 5:30 PM - 8:00 PM. WEATHER PERMITTING.

• Solid Waste Committee Meeting, Kendall Room, John C. Coombs Municipal Building (13 School St.), 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM.

• Open Pottery Studio, Merrymeeting Arts Center STUDIO (9 Main St.), 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM. $10 Suggested donation. The maximum capacity is 10 pottery enthusiasts.

• Mid-Week Bible Study and Prayer Gathering, Second Baptist Church (1 Church St.), 6:30 PM.

THURSDAY, JULY 18TH

• Trash Pick-up Day. Trash tags can be purchased at the Town Office and The Bowdoinham Country Store for $3 each. Pick-up times vary.

• Recycling Drop-off, Public Works Facility (121 Pond Rd.), 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM.

• Cribbage, Bowdoinham Fire Station (57 Post Rd.), 9:30 AM - NOON. Hosted by Age Friendly Bowdoinham.

• Loose Ladies Book Group, Kendall Room, John C. Coombs Municipal Building (13 School St.), 1:00 PM. The book discussion will be about "Northern Borders” by Howard Frank Mosher.

• Merryreading Book Store OPEN, Merrymeeting Hall Basement (27 Main St.), 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM.

• Taco Night with Guest Chef Little Brother Chinese, Dandelion Spring Farm (961 Ridge Rd.), 6:00 pm - 9:00 PM. $5 purchases a ticket to Taco Night. Food and drink purchases will be made onsite.

FRIDAY, JULY 19TH

• Pickleball, Bowdoinham Community School TENNIS COURT (23 Cemetery Rd.), 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM. This is open to adults of any age and ability. The group has friendly games with mixed levels of competition. WEATHER PERMITTING.

SATURDAY, JULY 20TH

• Bowdoinham FREE Gift Shop OPEN, Bowdoinham Recycling Barn (243 Post Rd.), 8:00 AM - 4:00P PM. The Recycling Barn will take source-separated materials for recycling on the first Saturday of the month.

• Recycling Drop-off, Public Works Facility (121 Pond Rd.), 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM.

• Bowdoinham Farmers' Market, Mailly Waterfront Park (1 Main St.), 8:30 AM - NOON. There will be line dancing from 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM.

• Open Pottery Studio, Merrymeeting Arts Center STUDIO (9 Main St.), 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM. $10 Suggested donation. The maximum capacity is 10 pottery enthusiasts.

• Landscape & Color with Amanda Hawkins, Dandelion Spring Farm (961 Ridge Rd.), 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM. $130.

• Merryreading Book Store OPEN, Merrymeeting Hall Basement (27 Main St.), 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM.

• Storytime for Preschoolers and their Grown-ups with Miss Kate, Mailly Waterfront Park (1 Main St.), 10:00 AM.

• A 40-year Retrospective: A William Stanton Exhibit, Merrymeeting Arts Center GALLERY (9 Main St.), 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM.

• Foundations of Drawing, Merrymeeting Arts Center (9 Main St.), 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM. CANCELED

SUNDAY, JULY 21ST

• Sunday Service, Bowdoinham Second Baptist (1 Church St.), 10:00 AM. Pot Luck Luncheon following service.

• Sunday School/Service, Bowdoinham Church of the Nazarene (7 School St.), 10:00 AM, Service 11:00 AM.

• Steeple Fundraiser Lunch, Bowdoinham Church of the Nazarene (7 School St.), 12:15 PM - 2:00 PM. Proceeds go toward steeple renovations.

• Summer Concert Supper with "Novel Jazz" playing at the gazebo in Mailly Waterfront Park (1 Main St.) 5:30 PM. Bowdoinham Recreation Department will serve food. The music starts at 6:00 PM.

(These events may change or cancel without notice)

Thank you for being part of the Bowdoinhammer journey.

We adore our town and appreciate the opportunity to add a little to its magic and showcase all the individuals who make the events happen.

Have an awesome week, and be kind to yourself.

Love,

Rodney & Tessa

❤️