We received very little rain over night, but the pond is still quite high. I haven't heard from Green Mountain Power's John Voyer, although I sent him an e-mail yesterday letting him know we had nearly two inches of rain over Saturday into Sunday morning. The water was quite high today around noon when I checked.

Don and Audrey Walker stopped by for a few minutes this afternoon. Don said he won't be scoring the basketball games this year, after many, many years. He said it is time to quit. I'm sure he'll be missed. Don has a great enthusiasm and I know he did a fine job at the games. He promised he'll still be working with us on our Ice-Out Contest, though. In fact, he brought me a picture and a note he received from Fred Hammerle of Bridgton, Maine.

Some time ago Mr. Hammerle had contacted Don about setting up a contest like ours. We get lots of requests for that information and have always generously shared. Apparently the Bridgton folks wanted something a bit different, so they created "Frosty"! I'm not sure whether Frosty actually gets dunked or not , but they do have a bit different set-up than we use. Mr. Hammerle said Frosty is 8 ft. tall and is located about 50 feet off shore as soon as the first ice fishermen go out on the ice. The mechanism for the weight isn't engaged until a few weeks before the ice is due to go out. The contest is declared over when the weight (you can see it in the lower right corner of the photo) drops through the ice. He also said they have added some "feather flags" to the supports holding Frosty upright.

I was curious about Bridgton and found we have been through there numerous times. It is located on Rt. 302 between Fryeburg and Naples. That's a great lake region. Frosty resided on Moose Pond, which seems to be a long, fairly narrow stretch of water.

I've been working on some of the historical material Mrs. Jennie (Smith) Donaldson's family donated to the historical society, and among the papers I found a copy of an old newspaper clipping, probably around 1916, indicating that Mrs. Lucretia M. Kimball offered to donate $10,000 to the Judith Lyford Woman's Club ladies for their library, but with two provisions. The town had to furnish a site and build the foundation. Mrs. Kimball came to Cabot and helped select the spot she thought would be best to locate the library, and declared it should be of stone or brick. There were other conditions as to how the money would be spent, and she even named a committee, of which she would apparently remain advisor.

I had never heard about Mrs. Kimball's offer, and I doubt many people know of it today. Interestingly, the town did not take her up on this offer. Whether Mr. Willey's offer was on the table at that time or not, I can't tell from this clipping as it is undated, but I will be on the lookout for more information. The reporter opined, "it would seem almost to the discredit of the town to let such an opportunity slip, without making a strenuous effort to carry out the conditions necessary."

Mrs. Kimball was born in Peacham in 1820, to Hector and Lucretia Elkins McLean. She came to Cabot with her parents as a child. In 1849 she married E. A. Kimball of Cabot. He was a captain in the Mexican war, and lost his life when a colonel in the Civil War. Mrs. Kimball worked in Washington for the U. S. Treasury Department for over forty years. She wished the library to be built in memory of her parents, so had the town accepted her gift, the library would probably have been McLean Memorial Library instead of Willey Memorial Hall.