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Friday, August 15, 2025 Volume 21 • Issue No. 33
Wells Chamber of Commerce To Host Annual Chili Fest WELLS The Wells Chamber of Commerce will be hosting the 24th Annual Chili Fest on Saturday, August 23, at the Wells Junior High Campus on Route 1 in Wells from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Joe Harvey Invitational Cook Off, sanctioned by t he Inter national Chi li Society, is among the events where local chili enthusiasts, or “chiliheads,” can compete for a chance to qualify for the world championship, which will be held this October in Indianapolis, IN. Past competitors
have traveled from across New England and as far as Florida, Nevada, and Illinois to take part in the cook-off. The event will feat ure cooks and their specialty chilis in four categories: Red Chili (beef and red ripened chili peppers), Green (verde) Chili (chicken or pork and green chili peppers), and Homestyle (traditional chili with beans). Cash prizes and plaques are given to the winners, along with bragging rights. Competitors will be presenting their chili from 11 a.m. to
3 p.m. for the “People’s Choice” competition, with a $250 first prize. Ballots for People’s Choice are included in the “tasting kits” available for purchase at $10. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Wells Chamber of Commerce Scholarship Fund. Kennebunk Savings and DF Richard Energy are the main sponsors for the event. Vendors, crafters, and food booths will be on hand make this an event to remember. Admission and parking are both free. For more information, visit www.wellschilifest.com.
Remembering York Beach’s Beloved “Love, Lois” YORK Lois Griswold was more than just a familiar face at York Beach – she was a beacon of warmth, faith, and community spirit who touched the lives of visitors and locals alike. Griswold found a second home on the shores of Short Sands Beach, where for many summers she could be found at her favorite bench near the Fun-O-Rama, crocheting blankets and sharing stories of faith with anyone who stopped by. Born and raised in Schenectady, NY, Griswold first visited York Beach at age 5 while attending the York Beach Bible Conference with her family. She returned year after year, eventually bringing her husband, Gary, making the coastal town their
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summer destination. The couple became wellknown around town, of ten spotted at local favorites like the Goldenrod and The Sand Dollar, or parked near the Nubble Lighthouse in their blue Porsche Boxster with the license plate “WAYS 2 GO.” Griswold became a local celebrity in 2019 after announcing on the “Friends of York Beach, Maine” Facebook page that she would be crocheting blankets on the beach in honor of a late friend. She also offered to buy ice cream cones for anyone who found her. Known as “Love, Lois” for the way she
YORK COUNTY York Land Trust (YLT) has partnered with the York River Stewardship Committee, Wells Reserve, Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and Maine Coast Heritage Trust to restore approximately 132 acres of salt marsh across YLT and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) lands along the upper York River. During the colonial era, the salt marshes were widely used and maintained for growing cattle fodder. Channels dug at that time remain visible today and have contributed to the for-
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Beyond York Beach, Griswold carried a unique legacy. In the late 1990s and early 2000s,
she baked thousands of cookies for the Boston Red Sox, including the championship-winning 2004 season – a quirky and sweet chapter of her life that endeared her to sports fans and teammates alike. Griswold’s life was marked by courage and grace in the face of her ongoing battle with highgrade urothelial cancer. For five years, she shared her journey openly, offering updates through Facebook posts and her CaringBridge journal. Even as treatments became tougher and her health declined, GrisSee LOIS on page 6 . . .
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signed her posts, she became an icon through her “Where’s Lois?” contests. These playful hunts challenged beachgoers to find her, with prizes including an ice cream cone or one of her hand-crocheted gifts. The contests became a local tradition, drawing dozens of participants to both Long Sands and Short Sands beaches. As a result, new friendships blossomed, along with countless hours of conversation and laughter. Griswold’s bench became a sort of “town hall” for locals, a gathering place for random acts of kindness, belly laughs, and one-onone personal connection.
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mation of “mega-pools” on the marshes. These mega-pools can cause soil collapse and plant death, while also reducing the marsh’s ability to store carbon and adapt to sea-level rise. The restoration project aims to reestablish natural water flow through the marshes so the mega-pools can drain and the underlying soil and vegetation can recover. The York River Stewardship Committee, in coordination with landowners, hired Northeast Wetland Restoration to assess the marsh systems and develop restoration designs for the 132 acres of salt marsh
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owned by YLT and USFWS. Now that the planning phase is nearly complete, Maine Coast Heritage Trust has committed initial funding for restoration implementation and is coordinating efforts to secure additional funding for restoration and monitoring of the full project area. Despite challenges related to federal layoffs and temporary freezes on conservation grants, on-the-ground restoration work is expected to begin between fall 2026 and spring 2027. YLT will work with staff from Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, the Stewardship Committee, and volunteers starting
in spring 2026 to monitor the marshes before and after restoration work is completed. For more information, visit www.yorklandtrust.org.
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