« September 2025

September 2025 -

Next Meeting - October 8, 2025

Montello Heights

Lewiston

Start Time - 10:00 AM - AUCTION!

Making Life Easy- You are welcome to give this a try in order to pay for lunch - no envelopes or stamps required

Go to - The Exchange
Under Product Type, select "Meal."
Under Organization, select "AREA."

Then complete the payment information and submit. You can use your Amazon account or any of the other methods to make a payment. The system uses Stripe secure payments - kind of like Paypal but way way better.

President's Message

from David Wing

I want to thank everybody for their patience at our last meeting. I was pleased that we paid particular attention to our speaker and what she had to say. Don’t forget this month is our annual auction for our scholarships. Don’t forget to handover those keepsakes that are no longer your keepsakes.We appreciate it very much. I’ll see you in a couple weeks Dave Wing.

Downloads Folder - Click this link for all the downloads, all in one place!

The September Downloads

Treasurer's Reports

from Gina Fuller

Treasurer's Report

An Overview

Day of Caring

from Crystal Ward

DAY OF CARING PROJECT 2025

Our project this year is to provide food gift cards (Shaws, Hannaford, Walmart) to the Student homeless programs at Lewiston High School and Edward Little High School. AREA has $200 and a MEA Retired grant of $100. If you would like to donate a gift card of no more than$25 or money to purchase the gift cards please bring to the October AREA meeting or mail to Crystal Ward 171 Montello St. Lewiston, Me. 04240

From the State House

from Crystal Ward

Please Vote on November 4, 2025 or before by absentee and early voting

Vote No on Question #1

This 28-page document is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. While masquerading as a Voter ID law, hidden inside is pages of rules and restrictions that could harm the 40% of Maine voters who rely on absentee and early voting to cast their ballots.

Here are some problems:

Harder to receive and return an absentee ballot
Harder for town clerks to deal or have drop boxes
No requesting a ballot over the phone or on the internet
Negatively impacts the elderly, disabled and people in nursing homes and assisted living.
Mainers without reliable transportation to the polls would be harmed

Maine does not have problems with its current voting system. Protect Maine absentee voting rights.

VOTE YES on Question #2

Maine Question #2 the Extreme Risk Protection Orders to Restrict Firearms and Weapons Access Initiative, aims to add a red flag law to Maine's legal framework. This law would allow courts to temporarily prohibit individuals from having dangerous weapons if law enforcement, family, or household members show that the individual poses a significant danger of causing physical injury to themselves or others. The initiative would enable judges to issue extreme risk protection orders more easily, allowing for the confiscation of firearms if an individual is deemed a threat by law enforcement or family members. Many lives could have been saved in Lewiston if this was a law.

The Short Session of the Maine Legislature starts in January 2026

Please Vote On November 4, 2025 or before by absentee and early voting !

Six Degrees -

from Mona Ervin

At the first meeting of the season, we learned that Beth Bell was born in Scotland and that Mora Lepage was born in Nova Scotia which is New Scotland. What a fascinating bit of news. To make it more fascinating and along the lines of Six Degrees of Separation, I learned something about Gina Fuller. Gina's ancestry is Italian. In the early 1900's a plane crashed in her ancestral village. The pilot was from Scotland. The villagers nursed him back to health. Upon his return to Scotland he brought with him many of the villagers. The village was a poor one and the pilot offered the villagers jobs in his factory. Some of Gina's ancestors went to Scotland!! Scotland has now awarded Gina's relatives an all individuals from Barga a Scottish tartan. Ask Gina to show you her tartan. Any other Scottish connections to add to this Six Degrees of Separation story?

Are there Six Degrees of Separation with Paula Maselli? Paula informed us that she was born in France.

It was fun learning things about our friends and colleagues. So, if you have not yet completed the questionnaire that was in the previous newsletter copies will be available at the next meeting. So come to the next meeting to learn some fascination facts about our group members and bid on items at the auction. Remember, the auction raises money for the scholarship fund

Here are two new teasers for this newsletter:

Do you know that we have a very brave member who was held up at gunpoint and someone broke into this member's home while our member was sleeping? Who do you think this member is?

Do you know that we have a member who has dined at the White House - not Gina and Roger's - but the one in Washington.

Quiz

from Mona Ervin

We have many cat parents so lets see how well you know cats.

The most famous cat in the Pine Tree State. It is considered the largest of all breeds.
This cat was developed in the United States and Europe from a Thai breed. The first cat of this breed to come to America was a gift to President Rutherford B. Hayes. His wife named the cat and hence its breed name.
This cat probably came from Africa or Asia, maybe Ethiopia. By 2016 this cat was one of the to 5 most popular breeds.
This cat is the most common breed of cat in the United States. Over 95% of all cats in the US are this breed.
This cat breed is the most expensive breed costing between $75,000-$125,000. It is exceptionally exotic in appearance.
This is a very small cat that even full grown resembles a kitten. Its name derives from characters in a Judy Garland movie and a Dunkin Donuts item.

Not about cats, but have the word cat in the word/saying.

7. A platform extending into an auditorium, along which models walk to display clothes in fashion shows; a runway.

8. A type of multi-tailed whip or flail. It originated as an implement for physical punishment.

9. Something that is fashionable or excellent.

10. Someone who is anxious and unable to settle down.

Answers

Maine Coon Cat.
Siamese - the cat that the president received was called Siam by Lucy Hayes.
Abyssinian - this is the former name of Ethiopia.
American Shorthair.
Asher Cat - looks like a mini leopard.
Munchkin.
Catwalk.
Cat-o-Nine Tails.
The cats pajamas.
Cat on a hot tin roof.

To Your Health - Covid Shots this Fall

Our freinds at AARP have provided a handy guide to getting COVID shots for this fall.

This fall, millions of adults could face new challenges in getting a COVID-19 vaccine.Narrowed vaccine approvals and delayed recommendations are fueling confusion over the fall rollout and sparking questions about who can get the shot, where to find it and who will pay for it.

Join the Fight - Family caregivers face daily challenges like grocery shopping, medication management and meal prep. AARP fights to save caregivers time, money and to increase support.

Click this link for more information - COVID Shots - Fall 2025

Newsletters of Note

Age Friendly Newsletter - Please click the link below to read the Age Friendly Newsletter - Lifelong Maine News

Lifelong Maine News

Maine PERS - Please click below to read the Maine PERS Newsletter for fall, 2025

Maine PERSpective