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New Postcard Now Available!
2018 Chesterville postcard
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Postcards for sale at the Chesterville Corner Store, the Chesterville Town Office and Sandy River Farms



   The Chesterville Center Union Meeting House is a non-profit-run community events center supported by volunteers, located at 3 Borough Road in Chesterville. FMI call 779-0660





Coming up next:

Friday, October 20th, 2023 at 7:00 pm







 

The annual Chesterville Poetry Night at the Chesterville Center Union Meeting House will be held on Friday, October 20, 2023, at 7:00 p.m.

Now a cherished tradition among local poetry enthusiasts, the event has drawn a faithful audience over many years, but always welcomes new participants. The gathering features an “open mic” available for those who wish to read or perform on a first-come, first-served basis.

Chesterville Poetry Night participation is broadly defined, explained organizers: Beyond the obvious occasion for living Chesterville-dwelling poets to share their work, non-residents are also invited to read poems about Chesterville or written by living or deceased Chesterville poets; also included might be works of parents, grandparents, siblings, children or other relatives of Chesterville residents past and present, works of Chesterville lovers who live elsewhere, part-time residents, would-be residents; a current resident who does not write poetry but just wants to read a favorite poem; in short, anything or anyone related to Chesterville in any way, as well as music about Chesterville, are all encouraged.

Youth poets are especially welcomed. Organizers stress that volunteers will be on hand to read the poems of authors who do not wish to read out loud and do not have someone to read for them.

Audience members who simply want to observe are of course warmly welcomed, say organizers from the Board of the Chesterville Center Union Meeting House. The event is free and open to the public. The Meeting House is a 501(c)3 non-profit organized to preserve the 1851 building for future generations to enjoy; donations towards the building’s maintenance and up-keep are gratefully accepted at the door.

Refreshments will be available, and the building and its attached privy are accessible to those with mobility impairments. For more information, call 778-3513.






And that's it for 2023 at the meetinghouse

Stay tuned for Spring events.







Bell Tower Restoration Complete!

For a photo slideshow of the work in progress,
please click the image above

Bell Tower Restoration Continues...

For a photo slideshow of the work in progress,
please click the image above

Bell and Tower removed for Restoration
Bell and Tower Removed 2019
Work on bell tower update: The upper section of the bell tower and bell were removed with a crane on November 22, 2019 and a temporary cap was put in place over the base of tower.  The belfry will be restored at an offsite location and then returned to the building later this year or early in 2020.

For a photo slideshow of the work in progress,
please click the image above

Assessment and Stabilization of Bell Tower

For a photo slideshow of the work in progress,
please click the image above

See more photos here...


CCUMH 2018
Chesterville Center Union Meeting House, 2018

Recent Events


















 

The Chesterville Center Union Meeting House has announced the resumption of the popular Chesterville Poetry Night on Friday, October 21, at 7:00 p.m. Having missed two years due to the pandemic, poets and poetry fans will again gather for what will be the fourth time to share their own poems or favorites written by Chesterville poets or others.

The event is free and open to the public, with no requirement that an attendee participate in poetry reading. However, participation in poetry reading is open to not only current Chesterville residents, but also “former residents, future residents, relatives of residents past or present, residents of nearby towns who wish they lived in Chesterville, people reading poems about Chesterville or by Chesterville poets, or any other Chesterville connection, no matter how tenuous or remote," explained a Meeting House spokesperson. "Also, if a poet is shy, we will find someone who will read your poem for you."

Youth poets are particularly encouraged to contribute, and will be featured in a bed-time friendly order in the poetry line-up.

Past Chesterville Poetry Nights have attracted a wide range of ages and styles, and featured original poetry, narrative poem performance, reading poetry written by deceased Chesterville poets, and poems interspersed with musical stanzas, among others. Original works shared have been collected into a volume for each poetry night.

"It's always been an inspirational experience, exposing all kinds of creativity, talent, and enthusiasm in the people of the Chesterville area," reflected Fran Fuller, himself a contributing poet. "There are many secret poetry fans and artists out there, and we look forward to meeting more of them on October 21!"


2022
 
Oct 2, 2022
A slide show entitled "Wilderness Canoeing When You're Almost Too Old To" will be presented at the Chesterville Center Union Meeting House at 2 p.m. on Sunday, October 2 by Paul and Cynthia Stancioff.

Now in their 60's, the couple have undertaken canoeing/fishing trips in the contiguous wilderness preserves of northern Minnesota and western Ontario numerous times over the past four decades, most recently in July of 2022.

Acknowledging the questionable need to travel so far when they live in a state full of lakes, they nonetheless maintain that the drive to Quetico Provincial Park and Minnesota's Boundary Waters Wilderness Canoe Area is worth the trouble because of the quality and scale of the wilderness experience.

While the Stancioffs' trips have always involved fishing, canoeing, and portaging (carrying all gear from lake to lake), they avoided portaging on their most recent trip due to physical limitations. Nevertheless they say the trip was as worthwhile as ever in terms of their objectives, which include getting away from stress, detaching from society, catching fish, and relaxing fully immersed in Nature.

Their presentation will include tips for provisioning a 10-12 day trip in a low-tech, low-cost, high-enjoyment manner, even if you are feeling a bit past your Best-If-Used-By date. The event is free and open to all.





July 14 2022




Friday May 20, 2022
An Evening with Bernd Heinrich
 7:00 p.m.

   
   On May 20, 2022 at 7:00 p.m., internationally renowned author, field biologist, illustrator, and long distance runner Bernd Heinrich appeared at the Chesterville Center Meeting House. After a childhood in the forest of post-war northern Europe, then Weld and Fairfield, Maine, and an academic career spanning the continent, Heinrich has retired to his true home, a forest in Weld. He reflected on the significance of Franklin County in his long life and entertained questions from the audience on many of his works. Having set numerous distance running records and authored 2 dozen books on various nature topics as well as on running, the conversation could ranged broadly. "The more unusual the question, the better," he smiled, when asked about potential topics.





A fun time was had!!
June 2022








Welcome to the website of the Chesterville Center Union Meeting House. 

The Meeting House is maintained and owned by a non-profit organization called Chesterville Center Union Meeting House, Inc.  This corporation was formed in the 1960's for the purpose of raising funds "to restore and maintain the Chesterville Union meeting house as a place of worship...without favor or discrimination...it being the purpose of the corporation to encourage religious activities of all creeds as first instituted by the Union Meeting House Society upon its organization in 1851."

In 2005 the Meeting House organization was revitalized and the corporate purposes were amended to include arts, culture and community-building.  In 2013, the corporation received an IRS non-profit 501(c)3 designation and  applied for a grant from the Davis Family Foundation of Falmouth, Maine. In April 2014 the Davis Family Foundation awarded the Chesterville Center Union Meeting House, Inc. a grant in the amount of $10,000 for construction of an accessible restroom facility and wheelchair ramp.

This Fall (2014) the Board and other community volunteers have spent approximately 200 hours on design and construction of the restroom, ramp, and entryway.  The goal is to have the restroom structure closed in by winter.  Further grant funds will be sought to complete this project and to add a heating system to make the building available during cold weather.  It is hoped that this beautiful antique and historic building will be even more useful to not only current residents, but for generations to come. 

Chesterville Connections

The vision of the Board is that the Meeting House will be seen by Chesterville residents as a community resource - a place to hold events, from concerts to exhibits, to readings, presentations, movies, exhibits, children's shows and events, and other things yet to be thought of.  Chesterville remains a tight-knit community despite its sprawling geography, and it is hoped that this commodious building will inspire more interaction among residents and serve as a common center for connecting with neighbors near and far, for bringing people together from all corners of town, and to encourage the strong sense of "community" in Chesterville.

    We always welcome new Board members.  Please feel free to participate in any way. 
Contact us!

Center Chesterville Union Meeting House, 2012
© Chesterville Center Union Meeting House, Inc. 2014-2021