Antique tractors
and wagon rides

Vintage tractor owners from the Maine Antique Tractor Club will show them off in action during Plow Days at Parsons Dairy Farm, 321 Buck St., in Gorham.

The event will run from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, and Sunday, Oct. 6, and promises to be bigger and better than ever with a car show, motorcycle display, live music, petting barn and pop-up market.

“We have a load of vendors from the local farmers markets selling crafts, baked goods and local produce,” organizer Zak Parsons said.

Breakfast with pancakes and Parsons maple syrup along with homemade breakfast sandwiches will be available from 7 to 10 a.m. in the sap house’s heated dining room. Lunch will be available from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with burgers, hot dogs and maple glazed onions.

Wagon rides will give an up-close look as the tractors plow up a corn field and tour around the farm. “Should be a good one this year,” Parsons said.

Lisa Bird going to
national pageant

Lisa Bird, longtime Gorham hockey mom, was crowned in July as the reigning Miss Maine Sweetheart in the Crossroads’ Maine Academic Scholarship pageant, a press release said.

Bird is now preparing for the national title in the USA Ambassador pageant July 2025 in Orlando, Florida. Bird works for Granite Bay Care, a provider of residential services for adults with intellectual disabilities.

She and her husband, Frank, have two sons, Noah and Jonah. The family has three rescue dogs and “a few thousand bees.”

Bird sings with the Christian band Fulcrum and volunteers with the Trauma Intervention Program, Honor Flight, the Clothes Closet in Gorham and other nonprofits. She will walk next month to end Alzheimer’s in honor of her father and will plunge into the Atlantic on Jan. 1 for Special Olympics.

“Last year, Lisa was recognized for her volunteer work when she was selected as one of Maine’s outstanding women,” the press release said.

Bird is seeking sponsors for the national pageant and can be reached by emailing mrsmainesweetheart@gmail.com or at the “2025 Mrs. Maine Sweetheart USA Ambassador” page on Facebook.

Local artist shown
at USM gallery

The 2024 fall exhibition “under/current” at the USM Art Gallery in Gorham features work by artist Stephanie Garon. “This show uses video, sound and mined rocks to transform our two-century old building into an immersive experience,” a press release said.

Garon focuses on materials to investigate human collisions with the environment.

An opening reception is set for 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 3, at the gallery, 5 University Way, Gorham.

50 years ago

The American Journal reported on Oct. 2, 1974, that David Bonney and his wife had entertained her uncle Albert Boyd of Limington at his birthday party.

U.S. taxpayers’ debt

The U.S. Treasury Department reported on Sept. 26 that the U.S. public debt was $35,296,367,284,952.26.