Rachel Davenport Dutch
Monty Darryl Vogel sent a news-filled email with details of his very interesting life. He began at Maine as a member of the Class of 1967, but took a detour when academics forced him to answer the “Greetings” letter from the US government, becoming a soldier in the US Army in January 1968. He returned to Maine and graduated with a degree in engineering in 1973 after 39 ½ months in the service in Vietnam. His intent was to document his time in-country in a book, but his first attempt that summer after his return was “awful” — his word, not mine. After being laid low with a hockey-related wrist injury and surgery (!) this past winter, he set about to rewrite the book. Pawns of Pleiku is available at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble. A fact-based novel, it includes details of his Special Forces MAT team in the central highlands of Pleiku Province living and operating with the Montagnard indigenous tribesman with photographs from his scrapbook. It is available as an eBook, Kindle, and paperback from Amazon.
Pike Bartlett appeared in a nice feature in the Bangor Daily News about his journey as an inventor. Pike has a talent for “tinkering with and improving” products. His decade-old endeavor is a solar-powered, fully automated backyard greenhouse that has been “tinkered” with. It’s in his blood; his dad and his brothers all invent. Pike designed and created wire-coated lobster traps at his Friendship Trap Company. He went on to design a garden hod as part of his Maine Garden Products. He says he “didn’t invent the lobster trap and … the backyard greenhouse, but I’d like to think I made them better.” (For more information, see stores.mainegarden.com)
Rick and Nancy Duncan received a Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce Citizens of the Year award for spearheading the fundraising for and the creation of the Aroostook House of Comfort hospice facility in Presque Isle. Gabby Price has stepped down from his position as Husson University’s football coach after a decades-long career in coaching at the high school and college level. Gordon Smith has been named director of opioid response by Maine Governor Janet Mills. Gordon had previously served the Maine Medical Association. Morrill Worcester received the Colonel Roger Donlon Patriot Award from the US Army. Dave Poulin retired from Winthrop High Schools after 46 years of teaching social studies.