ORANGE — A bottle and can drive will be held Saturday, June 11, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Orange Recycling Center/Transfer Station, with proceeds benefiting the Wheeler Memorial Library Renovation Fund.
This drive is part of ongoing fundraising efforts to offset the cost of the project to the town. The state will fund 52% of the renovation costs. Nearly $400,000 has already been committed.
Direct contributions are also welcome by writing a check to the Town of Orange, with “Library Renovation Project” on the memo line. Mail or bring the check to Wheeler Memorial Library, 45 East Main St., Orange, MA. 01364. For more information, call Library Director Jessica Magelaner at 978-544-2495.
NEWS SALEM — The 1794 Meetinghouse at 26 South Main St. will host a celebration of life in honor of Dorothy Johnson on Saturday, June 11, at 1 p.m.
Johnson, who died earlier this year, was a playwright, author and a staunch supporter of the 1794 Meetinghouse. The program will include designated speakers among Johnson’s friends and family; improvisational piano performed by Johnson’s neighbor, Steven Schoenberg; a selection of songs from Johnson’s plays; and images from her life.
Capacity is limited, so advance registration is recommended. According to a 1794 Meetinghouse newsletter, any overflow crowd will have space to sit on the lawn under a tent, with audio from the hall piped outside. Athol-Orange Community Television (AOTV) will also livestream the event at aotv13.org/live.
For more details and to register, visit 1794meetinghouse.org/dorothy.
Additionally, Johnson had started planning a new reading of her book, “A Swift River Anthology,” before her death, the newsletter states. Friends who have worked with her before have kept that project alive. The reading will take place at the 1794 Meetinghouse on Sunday, June 26, at 4 p.m. Readers will include Matthew Crowner, Peter Frost, Pam Hardy, Sally Howe, John Reese, Richard Trousdell and Dee Waterman. More details and the registration form can be found at bit.ly/3NWoIxz.
ORANGE — Serendipity blessed the Orange Historical Society at its annual spring meeting and elections in May.
Members in attendance at Witty’s Funeral Home on South Main Street expressed frustration that they could not find any portrait of state Sen. Ralph C. Mahar, the namesake of the local regional school and the man remembered as “the father of regional schools in Massachusetts.” That’s when Witty’s owner and Historical Society Treasurer Jeffrey Cole exited the meeting parlor and returned to unfurl a large canvas of the man who lived from 1912 to 1962. Cole explained he had taken it upon himself to commission a California artist to paint the enlarged likeness from Mahar’s obituary photo. Meeting attendees applauded, and Cole pledged to have the painting framed for Historical Society display.
Followed by a social hour, the meeting produced the elections of: Kathryn Schiappa, president; Ingrid Pollard, vice president; Sandra Eklund, secretary; Linda Knechtel, assistant secretary; Jeffrey Cole, treasurer; Tom Smith, assistant treasurer; and Jeri Deyo, auditor. Denise Andrews, Irene Ballou, Anne Colo, Lurene Hall, Glenn Johnson, Gregory Metevier, Ann Reed, Maureen Riendeau, Ginette Richard, Frank Schiappa, Linda Temple and George Willard were elected to the board of directors.
Meeting, book
reading and ice cream social planned
NEW SALEM — The Friends of the New Salem Public Library will vote on board members and next year’s budget during the group’s annual meeting on Saturday, June 18, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the library, located at 23 South Main St.
Following the business meeting, retired Greenfield Recorder reporter Richie Davis, author of “Good Will & Ice Cream,” will offer a reading, paired with an ice cream social. Email the Friends at nsfriendsoflibrary@gmail.com with questions.
ATHOL — The North Quabbin Chamber of Commerce is partnering with Rhumb Line Maps to make the 2022 North Quabbin Region Recreation Map & Business Guide that will highlight local small businesses, events and attractions, and is raising money to support this effort.
The cost to design, revise and produce the map will be approximately $12,000, according to a Chamber of Commerce newsletter. Any money raised beyond the initial production costs will be put toward the second and third phase of the project, which will entail making large prints for public display throughout the region and creating an online, interactive version of the map with webpage links.
For more information, email NQmap22@gmail.com.