Occasional showers didn’t dampen Sangerville’s 200th celebration
By Mike Lange
Staff Writer
SANGERVILLE — The weather wasn’t the greatest, but it also wasn’t bad enough to dampen the enthusiasm of hundreds of people who gathered to celebrate Sangerville’s Bicentennial last weekend.
More than 50 parade units, from Shriners to decorated kid’s bikes, marched or rode the Main Street route under cloudy but dry skies.
Observer photo/Mike Lange
BUZZING ALONG — The award-winning East Sangerville Grange float featured several members in colorful bumblebee costumes.
Among the dignitaries enjoying the festivities were U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, Maine Gov. Paul LePage, State Rep. Paul Davis, Piscataquis County Sheriff John Goggin; Dover-Foxcroft Police Chief Dennis Dyer – who’s running against Goggin this fall – and Maine House candidates Norman Higgins and Paul Stearns.
The ancestors of one of two knights that called Sangerville their home were also on hand, carrying on a 100-year-old tradition.
Observer photo/Mike Lange
BIRTHDAY CAKE — This wooden birthday cake marking Sangerville’s 200th birthday was made by carpentry students at Piscataquis Community Secondary School.
Merritt Maxim, the great-great-grandson of Hiram Maxim, found out about the celebration almost by accident.
His son, Dimitri — a sophomore at Gould Academy — won first prize at the Maine State Science Fair earlier this year in Bangor, said Maxim “Part of the article on the science fair in the Bangor Daily News mentioned his connection to Hiram Maxim. So an astute reader from Sangerville saw the article, made the connection and someone got in touch with us,” he said.
Maxim, who lives in Bethel part of the year, said that his great-grandfather came to the centennial in 1914 “and my great-aunt came to the 150th anniversary in 1964. So I’m happy to carry on the tradition.”
Hiram Maxim, best known for his invention of the machine gun, became a naturalized British subject in 1900 and was knighted the following year by Queen Victoria.
Harry Oakes was a wealthy entrepreneur who made sizeable charitable donations to his adopted home of Nassau and to St. George’s Hospital in London. In 1939, he was knighted by King George VI.
LePage had just returned from an overseas trip, but said he was glad to make time on his schedule for the observance. “This is the heart and soul of our state — the hard-working people in rural communities like Sangerville,” he said.
Observer photo/Mike Lange
OLD GLORY — Sen. Susan Collins presents an American flag that flew over the nation’s capital to Town Manager Dave Pearson in honor of Sangerville’s Bicentennial.
LePage took a few digs at the Democratic-controlled Legislature, noting that after the income tax was cut by one-half percent in 2013 “revenue was up by $490 million and the income tax reduction was $400 million. So we actually gained $90 million…The more money you have in your pocket, the most successful the state will be.”
He praised Collins and added that she needs help from people like GOP Congressional Candidate Bruce Poliquin. “He’s like the Energizer bunny,” LePage said. “We’ve got to get him to Washington so he can break some of the gridlock down there.”
The governor joked that the bicentennial organizers “almost got it right — they got the parade finished before the rain started.”
Observer photo/Mike Lange
ALL IN THE FAMILY — The great-great-grandson of Hiram Maxim and his family are shown signing the giant greeting card at the Sangerville Bicentennial. Pictured, from left, are Lefki Michael-Maxim; her son, Dimitri; and husband, Merritt Maxim.
Collins said that Sangerville “is a town that really knows how to throw a party,” generating a round of applause for the organizing committee co-chaired by Pam Smith and Kathy Starbird.
The Republican senator recapped some of the town’s history, noting that the work ethic of Maxim and Oakes “were the qualities that built your town and sustain it today.” She also paid tribute to Phineas Ames, Sangerville’s first settler “who began clearing land in the wilderness in 1801” and Col. Calvin Sanger, who the town was eventually named after. “From the Revolutionary War to the conflicts of today, the patriots of your town have always answered freedom’s call,” she added.
Collins also presented Town Manager David Pearson with an American flag that flew over the nation’s capitol.
Observer photo/Mike Lange
MUSIC ON WHEELS — The Anah Temple Shrine Band was a big hit with the bicentennial parade crowd.
Observer photo/Mike Lange
LEADING THE PARADE — The Boy Scouts color guard was the first marching unit in Saturday’s Sangerville Bicentennial parade.
Observer photo/Mike Lange
TOP GUN — A German-manufactured Maxim machine gun was donated to the Dexter Historical Society many years ago by charter member Everett Bennett. He was part of the military unit that smuggled the weapon back from overseas piece by piece.
Observer photo/Mike Lange
HOUSE CALL — Mayo Regional Hospital’s float featured the theme “Healthy Home – Happy Heart.”