Cutline: The 1955 class reunion committee is planning its 50th. Members of the committee in the front row are, left to right, Paul Irish, Patsy Kimball, June Hayes and Rita Willis. The two in the back row are Janice Weed and Leroy Dixon. A courtesy photo

Class of ’55 reunion

The Gorham High School Class of 1955 will be holding their 50th reunion on Aug. 19 at Spring Meadows Golf and Country Club in Gray.

The committee includes Leroy Dixon, Paul Irish, Patsy (Wyman) Kimball, Janet (Lowell) Rich, Janice (Wing) Weed, Rita (Thoutte) Willis and June Alice Hayes, chairman.

They are hoping to locate Jeanne Kiefer Noteware and Thomas J. Cassidy. Those with information about either are asked to call Weed at 839-3404 or Janet Rich at 892-3806.

Cutline (Mom and Dad) – Kendall and Pauline Conant

Conants celebrate golden anniversary

Kendall and Pauline Conant celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at a party with family and friends on Saturday, June 11. They were married on June 18, 1955, at a family ceremony in Portland.

The couple has five children. They are Kendall and his wife, Kristin; Kevin and his wife, Carol; Penny and her husband, Peter, of Gorham; Paula and her friend, Bill, of Portland; and Kim and her husband, Doug, of Limington. Their two sons and their wives live in Westbrook.

Kendall and Pauline, who lived in Westbrook for 40 years before moving to Gorham, have seven grandchildren, Michael, Kendall III, Allen, Nicholas, Alex, Grace and Anthony. They also have two great grandchildren, Bailey and Jacob, and the third is to arrive in September or October.

Sea Scouts cruise harbor

Sea Scouts Michael Buchanan and Jose Carrillo recently cruised Portland Harbor aboard the 98-foot tugboat “Peggy Winslow,” which is berthed in South Portland.

Buchanan and Carrillo, members of Sea Scouts Ship 12, took the cruise with other scout shipmates and their adult leaders. Their scout group serves young people ages 14 to 21. Led by their skipper, Steve Birmingham, the scout group is chartered by the South Portland/ Cape Elizabeth Rotary Club.

Church bean-hole bean supper

The United Church of Christ at North Gorham, 4 Standish Neck Road will hold its second bean-hole bean supper of the season from 4:30 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, June 18.

They’ll be serving three varieties of baked beans along with hot dogs, homemade brown bread, salads, pies and beverages. Janice Labrecque, church secretary, said the suppers would be on the third Saturday each month through October.

The church celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.

Yard sale reminder

The Gorham Woman’s Club benefit yard sale will be 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 18, at the West Gorham Church on Route 25.

Proceeds will benefit the club’s community projects and scholarship awards.

‘Roses 101’ at O’Donal’s

The Maine Rose Society will be exhibiting roses grown by its members and presenting a program, “Roses 101,” on Saturday, June 25, at O’Donal’s Nurseries on County Road.

The program begins at 10 a.m. and topics will include how to select the right rose for your garden, how to fertilize, prune and winterize roses and how to treat rose diseases and pests. There will be another “Ask the Experts” question and answer session with society members at 1 p.m. The exhibit will be on display 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

O’Donal’s will be offering 10 percent off all rose plants and rose-related products. For more information, visit www.mainerosesociety.com or www.odonalnurseries.com

Cutline (farm 1, 2, 6 or 9) – Ryan Rust of Rusty Knoll Farm mans a tractor pumping liquid cow manure from a lagoon into a tank last week. The natural fertilizer is spread onto fields, which are being planted to corn for the farm’s dairy herd. Rust, son of Alan Rust, graduated from Gorham High School in 2004. Staff photo by Robert Lowell

(farm 4) – Ryan Rust of Rusty Knoll farm drives a Mack truck with a 4,200 gallon tank spreading liquid cow manure onto a field on Thursday. The natural fertilizer is used annually in growing corn for the farm’s 400 dairy cattle. Staff photo by Robert Lowell

(farm 5 or 7) – Carol Wyman drives a 135 horsepower International tractor with a wagon spreading liquid cow manure onto fields on Thursday at Rusty Knoll Farm. Wyman is the daughter of dairy farmer Bill Rust. Staff photo by Robert Lowell

(farm 8) – Ryan Rust climbs down from this Mack truck to pump liquid cow manure into the truck’s tank from a storage lagoon at Rusty Knoll Farm on Thursday. The natural fertilizer is used annually to grow corn for the farm’s dairy herd. Staff photo by Robert Lowell

(farm 11 or 12) – Carol Wyman uses a tractor to power a pump, filling a tank with liquid cow manure at Rusty Knoll Farm in West Gorham on Thursday. The natural by-product is used annually to fertilize corn, which is grown to feed the farm’s 400 dairy animals. Staff photo by Robert Lowell

(farm 10) – Carol Wyman uses a tractor to power a pump, filling a tank with liquid cow manure for spraying onto fields on Thursday at Rusty Knoll Farm.

Corn planting underway at Rusty Knoll Farm

The annual corn-planting season was in full swing last week at Rusty Knoll Farm in West Gorham.

Ryan Rust, son of Alan Rust, said they’d plant about 120 acres of corn. As winter fodder for the farm’s 400 dairy animals, the stalks and ears of corn will be chopped in the fields in the fall and packed in bunker silos.

The farm practices recycling. Rusty Knoll fertilizes its corn crop with its natural by-product from the cows, the end result of last year’s crop. The fertilizer has been stored as a liquid in a lagoon behind the dairy barns.

The fertilizer was loaded into tanks last week with a tractor-powered pump. Ryan Rust and his aunt, Carol Wyman, were busy on Thursday spraying the liquid onto fields.

Rust manned a Mack truck with a 4,200-gallon tank and Wyman drove a 135-horsepower tractor hauling a 4,500-gallon tank on a trailer. The material was sprayed onto fields, which had been first tilled by a chisel plow, Wyman said.

After the fertilizer is sprayed, the fields are harrowed, which mixes fertilizer into the soil before the corn is planted. The farm plants four rows of corn simultaneously with a mechanical planter drawn by a tractor.

The Mack truck is equipped with an AM-FM radio and stereo, a CB, a telephone and a cell phone. The communication equipment allowed Rust to stay in contact with his dad, his uncle Richard and his grandfather, Bill Rust, who were busy driving tractors during the planting operation.

Ryan Rust takes good care of the Mack truck he drives. “He washes and polishes it,” Wyman said.

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