July 28, 1993

The Westbrook School Committee awarded two contracts totaling $675,170 Wednesday to Honeywell Inc., on recommendation of Superintendent Edward Connolly. School leaders decided the next day to schedule a new vote for tonight. When the committee approved the contracts Wednesday, it was the first meeting in which they came up. City voters decided in November that the School Committee must give two readings at meetings at least 72 hours apart for any purchase over $1,000. The contracts are for maintenance of heating-cooling systems in all school buildings and for new pumps, motors and controls in heating systems and for replacing thousands of lightbulbs and ballasts in all schools.

Gorham residents voted last week 1,759 to 303 to return the town-school budget to the Town Council for further review. The new Gorham Taxpayers Association is recommending that $1,043,098 be cut from the 1993-94 budget so spending levels are identical to the budget approved last year. The group will present that request to the council at its July 29 budget hearing. Their suggestions include no salary or wage increases for employees.

Westbrook’s newest business is one of northern New England’s oldest – Swenson Granite Works, founded in 1883 by Swedish immigrant John Swenson and headed today by his great-grandson, Kurt Swenson. Swenson Granite, based in Concord, New Hampshire, chose Westbrook for its second district office after several years of growth in sales in southern and coastal Maine. Opening day is Aug. 1 for the new showroom and office building on a 4-acre lot at 582 Bridgton Road. The company says it is one of the largest quarriers of granite in the world, owning or drawing from 47 quarries from Quebec to Georgia.

The band Steppin’ Out is heading to the Country Music Association’s national finals in Las Vegas in October. In recent competitions, the band won state titles for best country band and best vocal group. Three band members, Jon Merrifield, Denis Simoneau and Wayne Smith, grew up in Westbrook and graduated from Westbrook High School.  The Las Vegas trip will cost around $10,000 and the band is starting to raise the money. Last week they played in the Westbrook bandstand off Main Street, where about 150 people showed up in the rain. The group plans two more concerts there in August in September.

Photo caption: It may not be a world record, but Gorham fisherman Eric Heath was impressed when he hauled this 40-inch-long freshwater eel out of the Saco River last week. “The biggest I’ve caught before was 2 feet,” he said. The eel, which weighed nearly 6 pounds, fought for around 15 minutes before it was landed using a night-crawler with two silver spinners in front.

July 30, 2003
An international shoe company, Wolverine World Wide, announced plans last week to purchase Sebago, a shoe company founded in Westbrook a half century ago. Wolverine manufactures Hush Puppies and Merrell Boots. Sebago, which manufactures Docksides, employs 230 people in Westbrook, Gorham and Bridgton. The new owner would eventually move or consolidate Sebago’s manufacturing operations, though no decisions have been made yet. Sebago CEO Dan Wellehan said it was a difficult decision to sell the business his father founded in 1946 in the Haskell Silk Mill. Developer Tim Flannery now owns that building.

The Maine Human Rights Commission will hear a complaint next month against the city from a female Westbrook firefighter who went to the commission with allegations of sexual discrimination. Kathy Reynolds, a 13-year veteran of the department, said she has endured lewd and sexist comments, false rumors and has been consistently assigned jobs within the department that are inferior to the ones assigned to male firefighters with the same seniority. “This is not about me proving anything,” said Reynolds. “It’s just about a job I love. I can’t even say it’s a job. It’s a lifestyle I love.” Tina Crellin, the city’s human resources manager, said that “we don’t tolerate harassment. We’ve worked very, very hard to do training to bring people up to speed and to increase awareness.”

The Rev. Thomas Chittick, who was born in Gorham and grew up in Portland, has returned to Maine to be pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church on Main Street in Westbrook. Most recently he was Lutheran campus pastor at Harvard University. He previously served as Lutheran campus pastor at Yale University and the University of Pennsylvania. He was also college chaplain at Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania.

Cindy Hazelton, director of the Gorham Recreation Department, recently received a sentiment from the Maine Legislature. She was recognized for receiving the 2003 William V. Haskell Award from the Maine Parks and Recreation Association. The award is given to a professional in the field who provides exemplary service to their community and profession.

Gov. John Baldacci and representatives from Maine’s congressional delegation came to Westbrook’s old high school Monday to celebrate the opening of Presumpscot Commons at a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The Westbrook Housing Authority spent $3.7 million renovating the old high school into 29 senior housing apartments. Officials on hand all hailed the project as one that will provide affordable housing for the elderly and play an important role in the revitalization of downtown.

St. Anne’s Church on Main Street in Gorham has begun raising money for a $1.2 million expansion and renovation as the congregation grows, going against the national trend of declining Catholic memberships. “The biggest reason we are expanding is because of the projected growth in Buxton, Standish and Gorham. Our membership has been rising gradually and we expect that to continue,” said the Rev. Lawrence Conley. The project would create a new chapel area and would also include installation of an elevator to make the entire building accessible.

The Haskell Silk Company, established in 1874 by Frank Haskell, was started in this wooden building on Bridge Street next to the bridge. The building was enlarged several times to meet the demands of the fast-growing company, and that is the building in the photo above. The company eventually was forced to move to a larger facility, the 65-acre King Farm on the north side of the river just above Dana Warp Mills. Haskell Silk closed in 1933. The old mill was eventually demolished and a three-story brick building with stores on the first floor and apartments on the upper floors stood on the site for many years. The site is now a parkiing lot. To see more historical photos and artifacts, visit the Westbrook Historical Society at the Fred C. Wescott Building, 426 Bridge St. It is open Tuesdays and Saturdays, 9 a.m.-noon, and the first Wednesday of each month at 1:30 p.m., September-June. Inquiries can be emailed to westhistorical@myfairpoint.net. The website is www.westbrookhistoricalsociety.org.