Music lovers lined up against The Inn at Schoppee Farm last night, among about 100 listening to Beals’ The Stillwaters Band perform as part of the Machias ATV Jamboree pre-party. Photo by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

We’ve enjoyed three days of sunshine, inserted between roughly 18 weeks of rain, which will return this afternoon, Saturday, June 24. Fortunately for the Machias ATV Jamboree, any rain should be light, and this warm and cloudy day is perfect for trail riding.

The jamboree kicked off last night at the Inn at Schoppee Farm with an energetic performance by The Stillwaters Band out of Beals.

Live music is a luxury, I think, and one we’re getting more of Way Downeast. Next month kicks off Machias’s Bad Little Falls Summer Concert Series, and now bands are playing weekly at The Anchor, too.

Today, if you’re in the area, as part of the jamboree, you can hear Cook N Lamb perform at Middle River Park at about 4:30 p.m., followed by The Steele Hill Band. 

Come rain or shine. There’s a huge tent.

Drums for both bands will be played by my buddy and coworker Gary Lamb, who capably proofreads the Machias Valley News Observer, where I serve as editor. In addition to my writing there and here, I freelance, especially for The Working Waterfront, which I consider one of the finest newspapers statewide. 

Side note: The title of finest newspaper motto statewide indisputably goes to the Houlton Pioneer Times, “The only newspaper in the world interested in Houlton, Maine.”

This article about Machias dropped online last week, and next month will go out in the print edition of The Working Waterfront. It has provoked a wide range of responses, from enthusiasm to concern. 

Anyone who has chosen to live in Washington County, whether we moved here (me) or never left (so many), knows it's an extraordinary place — stunningly beautiful, rural, quiet, and, mostly, affordable. Who would want any of that to change?

Machias as seen from the air by drone photographer Ryan Malagara of Drones Eye View Inc. Ryan and his wife Sandi work tirelessly in service of positive grassroots change for the Machias area. Click on the photo to see more of his work. Photo by Ryan Malagara DEVI Productions

But as one commenter pointed out, sometimes change is good, sometimes change is bad, and always, it’s inevitable.

Still, there are conversations to be had. Currently, Columbia Falls is pausing to consider whether it wants to become home to the world’s largest flagpole. That’s a decision that would impact — positively or negatively, depending on your point of view —  a wide swath of the county, but which only Columbia Falls voters are responsible for making. 

That’s how that goes.

In Machias, new investments and grassroots efforts aim to build the economy, hopefully creating a positive financial impact on the community, which is technically the poorest in Maine.

Change is challenging for all humans — this I believe — but when it comes to growing a rural economy, I don’t think critics' concerns are reducible to fear of something new. The Maine coastline is dotted with communities that, within living memory, once housed average Mainers but today are occupied chiefly by tourists or the wealthy.

Gratuitous adorable photo of our dog Flossie, doing her best Ferdinand the Bull impression, just quietly smelling the lilacs.

If Machias wants to become vibrant but affordable, how should it then grow? Should it consider zoning or ordinances, at one time overwhelmingly shunned by Machias voters? Is there a perfect balance of growth that could reduce poverty without pricing the locals out of town? 

Can you vivify a place, without gentrifying a place?

These are just some of the questions that we all might be asking but which, when it comes to Machias, only Machias voters can answer.

That’s how that goes.

Speaking of grassroots efforts, no one watching the Jonesboro Grange and the work of Rebekah Hodgson can fail to be moved by the heart-driven work that has resurrected the Grange building and constructed a vibrant community in one fell swoop.

Tomorrow, the Grange’s largest effort of the year will come to fruition with the 3rd Annual Crush Cancer 5k Walk/Run, a fundraiser Hodgson began after her beloved father battled cancer. Inspired by Hodgson and the legion of Jonesboro Grange volunteers, hundreds of supporters will set out tomorrow morning, walking or running, rain or shine.

It will be something to see. 

• Baby groundhogs, snapping turtles, and a green heron spotted by local nature photographer Tanya Decatur. Follow her on Facebook to see more of her work.

• Me doing a jig because U.S. Senator Susan Collins announced that $820,000 in funding for Porter Memorial Library’s accessibility project is officially included in the 2024 Agriculture and Rural Development appropriations bill. Now, it goes to Congress. As a library board member, I’ve had a front-row seat to the challenges facing this project, which is crucial for providing equal access to the library via an elevator. There have been some lows, but the possibility of this funding, which is 75% of the project’s cost, is one BIG high.

• It’s the little things that amuse us, even when they’re huge. See this giant plantain spotted by Michael Hoyt, currently of Centerville and formerly of Machias Hardware Co. fame. Follow his Facebook page for lots of fantastic photography and nature knowledge.

• News that fellow Washington County journalist Jayna Smith is adding another feather to her community cap by purchasing the Riverview Restaurant & Lounge in Calais with the wonderful Matt Vinson. They’ll be serving lunch and dinner six days a week in July. Stay tuned for a gift certificate giveaway by following our Facebook page!

I’m working to grow this newsletter list. If you know someone who might enjoy these newsletters, please forward! If this was forwarded to you, you can sign up here. And be sure to Follow and Like our Facebook page here to see what we are loving in Washington County, Maine, and to be the first to know about upcoming giveaways of amazing Washington County goods. - Sarah Craighead Dedmon