BRADLEY, Maine (WABI) – The Maine Forest and Logging Museum in Bradley Maine celebrated their annual Living History Days Saturday, October 5th, and Sunday, October 6th.

The event, which ran from 10am to 3pm, featured horse-drawn wagon rides, fresh-pressed cider, and reenactors bringing us back to colonial and civil war times.

The Maine Forest and Logging Museum is a nonprofit organization focused on presenting Maine’s forests through a cultural lens.

The museum hosts a myriad of events, but it’s Living History Days that bring patrons to the era of sawmills and blacksmiths.

The heart of the reenactments took place at Leonard’s Mills, the site of an actual pioneer settlement that has since been rebuilt.

Besides reenactors, the site features a plethora of tools and machinery that would have been used at the time, from looms to sawmills.

Living History events began in the 1980′s with the first event featuring bean hole beans.

These celebrations have since only gotten bigger, showcasing to modern audiences what the various facets of colonial life would have been like.

It’s not just fun and games though — events like this provide a learning opportunity for children and adults alike.

“There’s so many museums where you come out to see things, and the best you can do is get twenty feet away behind a wall or a rope or something. Here you can come up and actually touch things and interact with people, making them work, and it’s a lot more fun. You can learn a lot more actually seeing things, going and helping out with it, they’re always looking for more volunteers and people want to come out and help,” said Chris Reuby, a volunteer at the museum.

“Take stock and see how far we’ve come from 1863, take stock and see how much we’ve learned. We don’t want to go backwards. We can’t go backwards. The clock only goes in one direction, it goes forward,” said David Sulin, one of the Civil War reenactors at the event.

Living History Days has concluded for this year, but will return October 4th and October 5th next year.

More information about Living History Days and other events can be found on the museum’s website at maineforestandloggingmuseum.org

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Leavitt’s Izzy Gates, left, battles for the ball with Gardiner’s Anna Tweedy last month in Turner. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Mt. Blue at Messalonskee field hockey
5 p.m., Monday
The Eagles (6-2) have won five consecutive games, including overtime victories against defending A North champion Skowhegan and contender Brewer. The Cougars (6-2) are an up-an-coming squad. Both of their losses – to Skowhegan and Mt. Ararat – were one-goal games.

Belfast vs. Cony field hockey
6 p.m., Tuesday
One of many quality field hockey matchups involving Class B North squads this week. The Rams (8-2) have won seven straight games and scored an astonishing 41 goals over their past three. They welcome the Lions (9-1), who have also won seven in a row and are fresh off an impressive 7-0 victory over Messalonskee.

Portland at Windham boys’ soccer
6:30 p.m., Friday
Want to mix things up and watch high school soccer on a Friday night? This is a rematch of last year’s Class A South semifinal when No. 4 Portland knocked out No. 1 Windham in a shootout, and both teams are again in the top four in the competitive league.

State golf championships
Friday and Saturday
Among the major storylines is whether Jade Haylock will cap off her incredible 2024, which features the Maine women and junior amateur titles, by winning her fourth Class B individual girls championship. Also, Alexis McCormick of Oxford Hills is shooting for her second straight Class A individual girls title, and St. Dom’s is looking to repeat as Class C champion.

Leavitt at Freeport field hockey
11:30 a.m., Saturday
The reigning state champion Falcons (8-0) host the Hornets (10-0) face a showdown of the only Class B teams who enter the week without a loss. Neither team is guaranteed to still be unbeaten by the time they play — Freeport plays at A North contender Mt. Ararat on Monday, while Leavitt is at Belfast on Thursday.

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Absentee voting in Maine is getting underway, with the state’s four Electoral College votes up for grabs and a number of other national, statewide and local races on the ballot.

Maine is one of two states in the U.S. — the other is Nebraska — that does not use a winner-take-all system for all its electors. In the presidential race, two electors are given to the winner of the statewide popular vote, while one elector is awarded to Maine’s District 1 and District 2, respectively.

Maine is mostly Democratic, but its vast 2nd District is critical for a Trump victory

Maine is one of several Democratic-leaning northeastern states. President Biden won here by about nine points in 2020, improving on Hillary Clinton’s margin four years earlier. And it hasn’t voted for a Republican at the statewide level since 1988. It is ranked Likely D on the Fox News Power Rankings.

Like Nebraska, it also allocates its electoral votes by congressional district. The winner of the statewide tally receives two votes, with another vote for the winner of the presidential tally in each of its two districts.

The small coastal 1st District is solid blue territory. The 2nd District, which is predominantly rural and represents almost all the land area of the state, leans conservative.

Trump won the 2nd District by 7.4 points in his last race, and it’s ranked Likely R this cycle. The former president will look for a win here to get one step closer to the 270 electoral votes he needs to win the presidency.

Key downballot races in today’s early voting states

The same district is also home to a competitive House race.

Maine’s 2nd District: Incumbent Rep. Jared Golden is one of five Democrats running in districts Trump won in the last presidential election (Golden won by 6 points). The former Marine made headlines this year when he said he “didn’t know” whether he would vote for Biden again and was one of the first Democrats to question Biden’s mental fitness. This time, he’s up against Maine State Representative and former NASCAR driver Austin Theriault, who says he wants “more balance and less extremism” in politics. This race is a Power Rankings toss-up.

How to vote in Maine

This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Maine.

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Voting by mail

Absentee ballots are beginning to be sent to voters after clerks were required to have received printed ballots to be sent out by Saturday. Applicants do not need to provide an excuse to receive a ballot. The state must receive a ballot application by Oct. 31, and that ballot must be delivered to county officials by Nov. 5.

A voter arrives at a polling location to vote in Portland, Maine, Nov. 3, 2009. (Reuters/Joel Page)

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Early in-person voting

Maine counties offer early in-person voting, but the start date varies by location. Check the state’s website for more information. Residents may vote in person with an absentee ballot until the Thursday before Election Day.

A box for ballots in a polling area ahead of Election Day at Waterville Junior High School in Waterville, Maine, Nov. 2, 2020.   (Reuters/Elizabeth Frantz)

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Voter registration

Maine residents can register to vote online or by mail through Oct. 15. They can also register in person during early voting and on Election Day.