Historical Society finishes for year

NORTH WATERFORD — On Thursday evening, November 8, the Waterford Historical Society held its last program of this year at the North Waterford Church with a potluck dinner and a program including an hour of music.

Marjorie Kimball, a retired SAD 17 teacher, spent months creating what turned out to be an uplifting time for all.

First, there was the story of the piano that was donated to the church. It was delivered and it didn't work at first, but intrepid Marjorie found someone to repair it and so was able to begin the program with a demonstration on this renovated piano, of how one's mood is affected by music.

She told the story of the poisonous spider in Italy and if you danced fast enough to the musical piece "Tarantella," you could survive the spider bite! She played the song on the renovated piano.

Next, the mood of the music changed and a dancer performed a slow dance known as the "soft shoe." Marjorie played "Tea for Two" to fit the dancer's gliding steps. Last but not least by any means, the rest of the music was presented by the Wallace Jones Family Band, a lively group who played the trumpet, keyboard, tenor sax and drums and also sang.

They perform every Saturday night at the Legion Hall in South Paris. They even brought a pair of dancers, Ed and Beverly Damon, to demonstrate, like "Dancing with the Stars," how it's really done!

There was a display of "oldies" sheet music to add to the nostalgic mood. The only damper to the evening was that one piece of music, featuring Frank Sinatra on the cover, went missing from the table it was displayed on.

The Society asks that this music piece be returned to the Waterford Historical Society, P.O. Box 201, Waterford, ME 04088. It belonged to the owner's grandmother and its sentimental value is priceless.