I honestly believe those of us who have always lived in Maine tend to take its beauty and uniqueness for granted. I know we are guilty of that. We spend our days going about our business and never really give thought to what's going on around us, except for complaining about the traffic!

Thanks to hosting Hiroko, our month long visitor from Japan, we have been doing a little sight-seeing ourselves. We have been to Pemaquid Lighthouse, Boothbay Harbor, Hendricks Head Beach, and we enjoyed a performance at the Maine Maritime museum in Bath.

Hiroko enjoys cooking and has prepared authentic Japanese foods such as okonomiyaki, Japanese curry and tempura. In return, I have taught her how to make corn bread, beef stew and blueberry pie. Thanks to Mike and Sarah, she was able to have her very first lobster. She was a little startled when the lobster moved, but she has some good before and after photos to take home.

Barbara Cromwell hosted an Applebee family reunion on Sunday, August 5. Nearly 35 people showed up to say happy birthday to Barbara and her sister Dona. She was thrilled that her siblings all showed up to help celebrate, with the exception of her oldest brother, Eugene, who passed away several years ago. Joining us were her sister Dona, her sister Sylvia and husband, Ken; her sister Irene and husband Sterling; brother Melburn with wife Jean and her youngest brother, Terri and his wife, Marie who spent the weekend on Westport. They had a great time, but were a little taken aback when my mom and I teamed up to slaughter them at a game of canasta.

Following is a note from the Human Resource Committee:

"The benefit yard sale at the Town Hall last weekend was a great success, thanks to all of the many donations and volunteers helping out. The sale made almost $3,000, which will go to the volunteer fire department and the human resources committee.

Jay and Lori, from Lori's store, were there to provide refreshments. Thank you to everyone who put in hours and contributed to the sale. We couldn't have done it without you. Thank you as well to Rich Coventry for allowing us the use of his trailer for storage during the sale.

Mark your calendar for Saturday, August 18 as that is the day the Westport Community Association will present a program featuring our own local lobsterman, Dana Faulkingham and island artist, Linda Wolcott. They will host their affair beginning at 6 p.m. that evening at the old Town Hall. Association members will provide dessert and coffee. As with all of their events, this is offered free of charge. Please consider becoming a member of this delightful group. You can contact Carole Dunbar at 882-8143 for further information.

The History Committee is planning an Island History Open House on Saturday, August 25 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the old Town Hall. Everyone's invited to come by and see island and family photos and talk with residents and committee members about island life and family histories. There'll be photos, albums, and business ledgers on loan for the day, and the Westport Quilt will be on display. If you have an album or photos that you'd be willing to share for the afternoon, please bring them along. The more stories and photos, the more fun we'll all have! The Committee is also trying to put together the history of different topics of island life, such as schools, roads, military service, or community life, and wonder if there are town residents interested in researching these topics. There will be copies of materials already collected on some of these topics as a place to start, so anyone with a knack for sleuthing or interest in tracing the past are welcome to come on August 25.

The Third Annual 2007 Westport Island Shore Run will be taking place on Sunday, August 26. You may have noticed that I accidentally referred to the race as a "bike race." That was not correct - it is a 10 kilometer (6.2 miles) race for "runners" (and a 3.5 mile "fun walk" for walkers). 

Listed below are the sponsors who have offered donations to date: Montsweag Roadhouse, BFC Marine, Bath Savings Bank, Air and Water Quality, Inc., Shaw's, Simpson's Seafood, Sharon Drake Real Estate, Wiscasset Ford, Newcastle Jeep Chrysler Dodge, Norm's Used Cars, Ames True Value Hardware, Bath Natural Market, Kennebec Tavern, Scandia Yacht Sales, Bath Subaru and Bath Cycle & Ski.

Those wanting additional information about becoming a race sponsor or wanting to volunteer to help out with the race, can e-mail Rob at rob@westportisland.org, or can call me (207) 882-6534.  The Web site is www.westportisland.org.

This race has historically raised a lot of money for the Westport Volunteer Fire Department, so please consider helping by signing up to run or walk, becoming a sponsor, or volunteer to help in other ways on the day of the race.

If you have any information you'd like to see in this column, please contact me at 882-9032 or e-mail me at pbonyun@gwi.net.