7588-R1_CIC_June2021_Calendar_Web

Notes From The Council

The Chebeague Island Council is excited to present the annual Fourth of July Parade. After the year we have had, we deserve a grand celebration! “COVID Made Me Do It!” is this year’s theme. What did COVID make YOU do? As the winner of the parade theme contest, Piper Allison will be invited to shop at School House Seconds before the rest of the patrons at the Grand Opening on Tuesday, July 6. There will be awards for the best girls’ and boys’ bikes, costumes, tractors, golf carts, and floats. It is only fitting that the Grand Marshal of this year’s parade is Billy St. Cyr. Billy and his team have delivered more packages throughout the pandemic than anyone could have ever imagined. We want to honor Billy and all the work he does for our community! New this year will be an online pre-registration for parade participants which will allow us to get numbers out early and simplify the muster. Kel Haney and Michael Grew did not plan on living on Chebeague. Neither one grew up here or was a “summer complaint”. They did not come here to visit friends, play golf, eat at the Inn or stop in at the Boat Yard to resupply. Theirs is a more serendipitous tale. Kel had been coming to Maine for years, staying with family friends in Ocean Point. One summer she was looking for a place to stay while waiting to meet up with her family. She wanted a place that was accessible to someone without a car, a quiet place where she could get some work done, and maybe a bit of an adventure. She saw an ad for a place on Chebeague and was soon settled in at the Holt’s. Her first stop was the Library, and it did not take long before she felt the magic of Chebeague. About ten years passed. Kel brought her boyfriend, Michael to Chebeague. He was equally drawn to the Island. They came whenever they could. They made friends. They came to appreciate the rhythm of island life. By the summer of 2018 they are in the Hill’s back yard getting married, exactly where Michael had purposed! But they still had to return to their lives and jobs in NY City. They were able to arrange to be here for a month in August of 2019. Then came COVID and they knew it was time to leave NY and move to Chebeague. They came in May of 2020, thinking they would be here for the summer, then for the winter, and now for good. Chebeague, Maine is now their legal residence, and they couldn’t be happier.

We will keep track of CDC guidelines and checklists and pass along the information to the community as it may relate to the parade. More information and updates will be posted on Chebeague.org, Chebweb.com, and Facebook pages. We look forward to celebrating with you on the 4 th ! This will be the first summer using CLYNK for Chedemption. So far it has been running smoothly. The sign-up sheets have gone out to the non -profits, along with the checks for their $600.00 “earnings” for working their week in the summer. You do not need to be a member or on a non -profit Board to volunteer! Please call the non-profit of your choice and sign up for a couple of hours. The new CLYNK system is so much easier than the old banana boxes. Please help keep these returnable out of the waste stream!

How I Got Here

They made this move at a difficult time. None of the usual Island activities were happening. Winter on the Island can be isolating in the best of times. Even the Library was closed. But Kel jumped right in, working at the Food Pantry, and becoming a volunteer at the Red Studio. They adopted a Maine “rescue” puppy, Ella. They started new careers working remotely. They made it through this difficult year. They are home now.

Mike Grew and Kel Haney

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JUNE 2021 CHEBEAGUE ISLAND COUNCIL CALENDAR