HARPSWELL ? Althea Theberge, a retired supervisor of the School Administrative District 75 lunch program who was known in the community for her success at dowsing, died Monday. She was 94.
Mrs. Theberge was remembered by her children Tuesday as a good mother who worked hard and enjoyed spending time with her family.
For several years, Mrs. Theberge supervised the lunch program for SAD 75. Years ago, elementary schools in Harpswell, Topsham, Bowdoin, and Bowdoinham didn't serve lunches. Mrs. Theberge was responsible for getting lunches to the schools, said her daughter, Millicent Johnson of Port Charlotte, Fla., and Great Island. She said her mother also ordered the food and supervised the prep work.
"It was a big job," her daughter said. "She loved being with the kids and enjoyed the challenges. She liked the women she worked with. She made a lot of friends there."
Mrs. Theberge graduated from Brunswick High School in 1931. She was married to Elphege "Al" Theberge for 40 years. They raised five children.
Shortly after the couple got married, they bought a popcorn stand and ran the business on Maine Street in Brunswick. They also sold hot dogs and popcorn for several years.
Her daughter said she used to talk about how much fun they had running the stand.
"(My father) had a secret recipe for caramel popcorn. He packaged it in bags and took it down to the mall to sell it."
Mrs. Theberge and her husband also grew several acres of a vegetables and operated a farm stand at their home on Orr's Island. They grew corn, cucumbers, tomatoes and potatoes.
They also ran a hotel and coffee stand on the island, her daughter said.
Mrs. Theberge picked up dowsing from her husband, who lost his arm in a paper mill accident, his daughter said.
"They fulfilled their dream of building a log cabin in the woods on Great Island. He went to dowse the well (on the island) and couldn't do it," her daughter said. "She held the old apple branch and he put his arm around her. She found the water. She had the gift."
Mrs. Theberge dowsed for wells on the islands and throughout Brunswick.
"It's a small community. Drinking water on the island is hard to come by, and she developed a knack for it. She really liked the challenge. It excited and thrilled her that she could help people in that way."
After her husband died in 1976, Mrs. Theberge began traveling. She visited England, Alaska and Hawaii and went to Florida for a couple of months each winter.
"She liked being able to go places and see things that she never dreamed of seeing," her daughter said.
? Melanie Creamer
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story ... 2&ac=PHnws
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
