Legislative record house appendix

Anniversary of Cumberland County and send our best wishes to its good citizens who symbolize the Maine spirit to dream, build, endure and achieve; (HLS 1631)

Phillip A. Cole, of Cape Elizabeth, upon the occasion of his retirement after 53 years of teaching in the History Department at the University of Southern Maine. A graduate of Fryeburg Academy, he attended Bowdoin College and earned his bachelor's degree from Boston College in 1954, his master's degree in 1955 and his Ph.D. in 1963. Dr. Cole joined the faculty of the former University of Maine at Portland in 1957 and was part of the growth of the institution into the modern University of Southern Maine. During that time, Dr. Cole served on numerous committees and served many times as the Chair of the History Department. The students he taught over more than half a century serve in many professions. He has generously shared with them his wisdom, dry wit, encouragement and love of the lessons and challenges in the study of history. We congratulate Dr. Cole on serving one of the longest tenures of any faculty member at the University of Southern Maine, and we send him our best wishes on his future endeavors and his enjoyment of the great outdoors of Maine, our beloved "Pine Tree State"; (HLS 1632)

Joshua Dill, of Oxford, a member of Boy Scout Troop No. 196, who has attained the high rank and distinction of Eagle Scout. This is the highest award in Boy Scouting and is given for excellence in skills development, leadership, personal growth and community service. For his service project, Joshua remodeled and restocked a food pantry nearby in Poland. We extend our congratulations to him on this achievement; (HLS 1633)

Clarence Newton, of Oxford, on his retirement as Scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop #196 after over 25 years of service. Mr. Newton has devoted his time to innumerable service projects and he saw 6 of his Scouts receive the highest Scouting rank of Eagle Scout. As Scoutmaster and as a friend, Mr. Newton has touched the lives of countless young men in the Oxford area. We send our appreciation to Clarence Newton for his many years of public service and his commitment to the youth of his community and State; (HLS 1634)

Fire Chief Steve French, of Minot, for his 26 years of dedicated service as Fire Chief with the Minot Fire Department. We extend our appreciation to Chief French for his commitment to the community and the State; (HLS 1635)

Andrew Smith, of Crystal, a member of Boy Scout Troop No. 202, who has attained the high rank and distinction of Eagle Scout. This is the highest award in Boy Scouting and is given for excellence in skills development, leadership, personal growth and community service. Andrew's Eagle Scout service project involved the installation of flags for the cemetery in Crystal. We extend our congratulations to him on this achievement; (HLS 1636)

Robert and Jeanette Sherman, of Island Falls, on the occasion of their 50th Wedding Anniversary. Mr. and Mrs. Sherman were married on November 12, 1960 at the Oakfield Baptist Church. Throughout the years, Mr. Sherman has owned and operated the Sherman Chevrolet dealership in Island Falls and Mrs. Sherman has served as the Director of Public Health Nurses of Aroostook County. They are the proud parents of 2 daughters and often served as parents to many more children. Mr. and Mrs. Sherman continue to keep their doors open to any individual or family in need. We extend our congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Sherman on their Golden Anniversary and send them our best wishes for continued happiness; (HLS 1637)

Hayden Pearson, of Eliot, a member of Boy Scout Troop No. 340, who has attained the high rank and distinction of Eagle Scout. This is the highest award in Boy Scouting and is given for excellence in skills development, leadership, personal growth and community service. For his Eagle Scout service project, Hayden improved the park at Legion Pond in Kittery. His efforts included clean-up, bench placement and beautification of the town-owned land for area citizens to enjoy. We extend our congratulations to Hayden on this achievement; (HLS 1638)

Skowhegan Savings, in Skowhegan, on its being named one of the 2010 Best Places to Work in Maine by the Society for Human Resource Management. This is the second year the bank has received this award, which was created in 2006 to identify, recognize and honor the best places of employment in Maine. We congratulate Skowhegan Savings on its receiving this high honor and send our best wishes for continued excellence; (HLS 1639)

Shepard Lee, of Cape Elizabeth, businessman, philanthropist and public-spirited citizen of Maine. Mr. Lee was born in Lewiston, the youngest child of Joseph and Ethel Lifshitz. He graduated from Lewiston High School and served in the United States Navy during World War II. A 1947 Cum Laude graduate of Bowdoin, he began his business career at his family's car dealership in Auburn. Under his guidance, Lee Auto Malls grew in 60 years across 3 generations from one to 13 sites across the State, making it the largest family automobile dealership in the history of Maine. Mr. Lee was a groundbreaking businessman and he was the first auto dealer to run advertisements on Maine's fledgling television stations. An advocate of social responsibility, he served on the Finance Authority of Maine and the National Board of the American Civil Liberties Union and on the boards of the Maine NAACP, the University of Maine Business School and the Muskie School of Public Service. As an advocate of equal rights, Mr. Lee received the 2004 Muskie Access To Justice Award. A strong believer in access to higher education for all Maine youth, Mr. Lee was a generous benefactor to Bates College, Bowdoin College and the Mitchell Scholars Program. Never holding public office himself, he was an advisor and friend to Maine governors, senators and public officials on both the state and national levels and across 2 generations. He enjoyed world travel, wide reading, good company, good conversation and good humor, seeking opportunity to share all these often with his worldwide circle of friends. All during his career, he staunchly remained a proud State of Mainer, sharing the independence, self-reliance and generosity that are the spirit of the "Pine Tree State." He will be deeply missed by his large and loving family, his many friends and all whose lives he touched across his beloved Maine, believing, as Aristotle wrote, that one life, well lived, may make all the difference; (IN MEMORIAM) (HLS 1640)

John Kierstead, of South Portland, historian and community activist, for his successful volunteer effort to raise a memorial to the victims of the greatest aviation disaster in Maine history. On July 11, 1944, for causes still unknown, a World War II A-26 Invader bomber tragically crashed during a dense fog into the Long Creek, South Portland trailer park built to house shipyard workers, killing all aboard and 19 others. Over 20 civilians were gravely injured or perished in the resulting inferno. Mr. Kierstead devoted years to researching the heroes and heroines of that day, located over 100 witnesses and survivors, personally raised over $11,000, and directed the effort to memorialize the lives lost in this sadly forgotten tragedy. On July 11, 2010, the Long Creek Air Tragedy Memorial, a 7-foot obelisk of Maine granite bearing the names of the fallen, was dedicated on the site. Many survivors and affected families attended. We congratulate Mr. Kierstead for his diligence and dedication in commemorating the lives lost in this tragedy and for bringing honor to its memory.

May it stand as a symbol of the sacrifice made during World War II by the proud citizens of Maine, the "Pine Tree State"; (HLS 1641)

Mad Horse Theatre, in Portland, on the occasion of its 25th Anniversary. One of Portland's oldest continuously running resident, professional ensembles, Mad Horse Theatre has presented over 120 Main Stage and Dark Night productions since 1986, ranging from Shakespearean classics to modern experimental works. For a quarter of a century it has produced plays which compassionately portray the enduring aspects of the human experience and focus on challenging issues, personal transformations and the building of lasting literary and social communities of thought. We congratulate Mad Horse Theatre on its past achievements and wish the company many future evenings of bright lights and opening nights in its new home, Lucid Stage, to inspire, enchant and entertain the playgoers of Portland, Longfellow's beloved city "that is seated by the sea"; (HLS 1642)

Irvin C. "Buzz" Caverly, Jr., of Corinth, upon the occasion of his 50th anniversary of service to Baxter State Park, one of the longest continuous records of service to the park since its creation in 1931. A native of Cornville, Mr. Caverly was first appointed a Baxter State Park ranger in April 1960. Rising through the ranks, he served from 1968 to 1981 in the posts of Acting Supervisor and Supervisor. In October 1981 he became Acting Director and in August 1982 was appointed Director of Baxter State Park, serving 23 years in that post until his retirement in June 2005. He received the Olaus and Margaret Murie Conservation Award in 1991 and the Natural Resources Council of Maine Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005, and statewide "Buzz Caverly Day" was proclaimed in his honor on October 30, 2005. During his tenure at the park, over 7,000 acres were added to the "forever wild" park preserve. The last Director to personally know Governor Percival P. Baxter, he spearheaded in 2006 the drive to acquire Katahdin Lake and complete Governor Baxter's original vision of the park. Under his guidance, Baxter State Park weathered forest fires, storms natural and political and the demands of society's changing concepts of wilderness. Today he continues his service as Commissioner of the Baxter Wilderness Trust Fund. We congratulate him for his diligence, his dedication and his 50 years of continuous service to the forest preserve its benefactor, Governor Baxter, called the "park of the people of the State of Maine"; (HLS 1643)

Verner Z. Reed III, of Falmouth, artist, craftsman and chronicler of the New England scene. Born in Denver, Mr. Reed was a graduate of Milton Academy in 1941 and attended Harvard. During World War II he served as a lieutenant in the United States Army Air Corps in the China, Burma and India Theatres. Beginning his career as a furniture maker, he later became an accomplished silversmith and jewelry maker and taught himself the art of photography. His career as a photojournalist began in the 1950s and spanned 3 decades and over 125 freelance assignments across New England for LIFE magazine. His work also appeared regularly in Time, Fortune, and Paris Match magazines. His subjects included country life, civil rights marches, President Eisenhower and President Kennedy and the young Governor Muskie of Maine. His black-and-white studies of rural New England after World War II captured the changing landscape and peoples of the region in transition between traditional values and expanding urban challenges. Shot always in natural light, his works preserved the landscape and life of the New England he loved and have been collected in his final book, "A Changing World: New England in the Photographs of Verner Reed, 1950-1972," published in 2004. Today his archival prints are included in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Portland Museum of Art and the National Heritage Museum in Lexington, Massachusetts. Mr. Reed will be greatly missed and long remembered by his family and friends and those whose lives he touched; (IN MEMORIAM) (HLS 1644)