Freight Lines a seasonal newsletter Fall 2015

Volunteers are truly the heart of the Freight Shed Alliance. Partner organizations, board members, and community folks doing specific tasks, or donating time, equipment and expertise, are the boat that keeps us afloat. So many things—from cleaning the building, support in writing grants, to waiting on tables at the Full Moon Dinners—are done with willing cheerfulness by people who want to save this building for the community. 27 commercial street, bath maine 04530 bathfreightshed.blogspot.com [email protected] mail: 349 bald head road, arrowsic me 04530

The authentic rustic character of the Freight Shed, the appeal of the river, ease of access to downtown and good parking are all working to make it a desirable choice for many kinds of events.

At the Annual Dinner in June, we welcomed Julia Simmons of Bath, a teacher at Morse high school, employee at Goranson’s farm and long time volunteer with the alliance, to our board. Her energy and passion for the work we do, her many skills and community

Full Moon Dinners will also help support Morse High School’s “Greener School, Brighter Future” program led by Maeve McGowan pictured here with Julia Simmons.

connections are a valuable resource. A serendipitous and very welcome outcome from the Annual Dinner was an offer by Jeff Galuza of Arrowsic to do our snowplowing. This is Maine, and you all know how important and valuable a contribution this is. For the second year we hosted a Morse High School reunion, the 20th for the Class of 1995; two fiber workshops; the Bath YMCA chose us for their fundraiser; and we welcomed two wedding showers and a wedding reception. We expect to stay busy over time as we build capacity. The atmosphere of the building has certainly contributed to the success of our annual series of Full Moon Dinners. All three quickly sold out, and our partnerships with local farms, musicians, artists, and especially the generous area chefs, Eloise Humphrey, Aaron Park and Jon Merry who donated their considerable talents, created magical and memorable evenings. Our Food Hub Committee did a remarkable job of planning and producing these events. Again, our dedicated volunteers successfully managed most of the work, from cleaning and set up, to organizing food deliveries, supporting chefs and musicians, waiting on tables, and liaison with various community supporters. Our food events will be a lot easier to manage since El Camino Restaurant graciously donated a commercial dishwasher—many thanks to them! And we now have a work friendly food prep space—complete with running water—at the south end of the building. Jon Merry, chair of the Food Hub Committee; committee members; and students from Morse High donated lots of time and energy getting the prep space organized, and did a yeoman’s job of getting the dishwasher up and running during the first Full Moon Dinner!

In May Morse Freshmen were a great help on Community Service Day, and a super team of electrical students from BRCTC (see the cover) and their teacher Steve Vachon installed new electrical hookups for the dishwasher. Many thanks to them all!

Renovations to the Commercial Street façade have begun. Local contractors Jerry Mitchell and John Vigue started work on the excavation and building of the new sills in September. Thanks also to Higmos for supplying the lumber at a generous discount. We are working very hard to raise funds to replace the big glass doors. New ones will add to the comfort of the building. We are working on grant opportunities and seeking donations as well. We've focused on developing a design that is accurate and complementary to the historical façade of the building, as well as practical.

Donate to the Commercial Street project at bathfreightshed.blogspot.com

The Bath Freight Shed 1892

Saturday morning Winter - Bath Freight Shed Summer -Waterfront Park bathfarmersmarket.com

Many of you have purchased engraved bricks for the new Commercial Street sidewalk. It's time they got installed! This Commercial Street Elevation sidewalk will improve accessibility and safety. Individuals with mobility challenges, families with children, and vendors Door Proposal

transporting product will all benefit. The city of Bath has a really good plan in place, but implementation has been delayed. Please lend your support by letting the Department of Transportation know that this project matters. Public comments can be made by email at http://maine.gov/mdot/contact/ or by letter to David Bernhardt, PE, Commissioner, 16 State House Station, Augusta 0433-0016 Please reference this project number: Commercial Street East Sidewalk

Federal Project AC-STP-1939(000)X



State PIN 019390.00

Fall and Winter at the Freight Shed Bath Citizen Involvement Day Saturday October 10 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM We will have a table at this annual gathering in Waterfront Park. Area non-profits and community groups will share information and build connections. Stop by after your visit to the Farmers Market. Work Days Wednesday, October 14 1 - 4 PM Saturday, October 17 9 - 1 PM Sunday, October 25 1 - 5 PM We’re looking for volunteers to do some housekeeping and help make the building more airtight to keep market goers and vendors as warm as possible. Volunteers will be part of a raffle for $20 in Bath Farmers Market tokens. No need to register, you can simply show up at the appointed time. If you have questions about these work days, please email us at www.bathfreightshed.blogspot.com. Bath Farmers Market Returns to the Freight Shed Saturday, November 7 9 - 12 AM The 25 vendors will have a full range of food and farm goods. Remember, we have plenty of parking and a bathroom! Maine’s First Ship Volunteer Shipwrights: Year-round, Wed and Sat 9 - 3 Visit the freight shed and the boat shed to see the progress on the pinnace Virginia. Thank you to everyone who responded to our survey. Your input is very important. To follow activities at the freight shed between newsletters, look for our regular posts on Facebook and the blog. We are committed to ongoing development and support of our volunteers. They bring so much to us, such positive energy, necessary skills, and great ideas. Please let us know what you might be interested in doing. We will keep you posted on emerging needs. Looking forward to an exciting fall and winter, we thank you all for your interest and support. You are the Freight Shed Alliance, and you matter!

27 commercial street, bath maine 04530 [email protected] http://bathfreightshed.blogspot.com