Rachel Hubka with her sons, fifth grader Daniel Jaronczyk and second grader Thomas Jaronczyk. wave at the Stevens Brook Elementary School teacher parade outside their house in west Bridgton. Courtesy of Deb Roy

Teacher parade

Stevens Brook Elementary School third grader Jack Caron waits for the teacher parade to pass by his home. Courtesy of Nadine Caron

Last Friday, I looked down my road and saw a line of cars and some flashing blue lights in front of my neighbor’s house. The road was blocked and I began to worry that something bad had happened. However, as I watched, the cars filed slowly down one side of the road, made a U-turn, and then drove back up the other side. When the cars were gone, I went up and asked my neighbor if everything was okay. She laughed and told me it was a parade of Stevens Brook Elementary School teachers and staff driving around town past all their students’ houses to say hello and show how much they missed them. Her boys are two of those students. I continued into town and followed the teacher parade as it rolled past numerous students standing along the roads waving and holding signs displaying their teachers’ names. It’s the closest they’ll get to a classroom these days and the mutual affection was obvious.

Hello, spring!

In the meantime, we should be welcoming spring because it is one good thing happening now. Paris Farmers Union is open and following physical distancing guidelines so people can buy seeds, soil and tools to get their gardens started. Flats of annuals and seedlings have not arrived as of this writing but hopefully they will appear soon. Pansies can be found at Hayes True Value Hardware and Hannaford for those eager to have some color in their window boxes and flower pots.

Road works

Another positive despite, or perhaps because of, the stay-at-home mandate is much less traffic so road work crews are getting a lot of work done.  They have been busy on Main Hill and along most of Main Street and the town is looking good – preparing for business when things can reopen again.

Books are essential

In addition to being “fun-damental” (according to a TV ad), reading is also essential. Bridgton Books has been certified as an essential service by the state so it can remain open during the pandemic shutdown. Now is a great time to catch up on your reading after a day working in the garden. Just give them a call (647-2122) to buy books, pay online and then pick them up via curbside service. They are still taking special orders, too.

Perri Black may be contacted at perrilb@gmail.com.