PHILLIPS — On Saturday, Jan. 25, the Phillips Area Community Center [PACC], located at 21 Depot Street, hosted  “True Stories, Tall Tales,” bringing together residents for an evening of food, fun, and storytelling. The event, which began with a potluck supper at 6 p.m., featured local storytellers and drew a crowd of all ages.

Admission was $10 for adults and $5 for children, with free entry for those bringing a dish to share. The night was underwritten by Central Maine Crane, Dark Star Fabrics, Bear Belly’s Tap and Table, Pike Industries, and several other local businesses.

Winona Davenport emceed the evening, kicking off with a warm welcome. “I want to thank everybody for coming. I wish you had all brought your neighbors–there is enough food,” she said.

Davenport shared a story about a turkey raffle she ran 35 years ago. “I sold 540 tickets at 25 cents each, to 540 people. How much money does that come to? $138,” she told the crowd. The money was used to provide full turkey dinners for families and individuals in need. She read aloud the ticket:
“Hello turkey, you have just been screwed out of 25 cents. You are now a member of the dumb-a** club. You will remain a member for the rest of your life, unless you sell this chance to another turkey. Don’t b*tch, don’t whine, get your quarter like I got mine.”

Sharon Jones followed with a vivid account of her African safari with her daughter. “It’s wonderful to see everyone in these times of trouble; we have our little town of Phillips we can come to,” Jones said, expressing her gratitude to the PACC for hosting the event.

Jones described their journey from Maine to Paris and then to Tanzania, where they explored the Serengeti and witnessed wildlife like lions, zebras, and giraffes. She said in the morning you might see the remains of a kill from the night before. “We saw that with a lion and a zebra,” she said. “The lion leaves the stomach for last due to the stench–I didn’t know that.”

Their journey also took them to Uganda for a gorilla trek, a highlight of their trip. “It takes two years for a gorilla to acclimate to humans, and there were armed guards with us,” Jones shared. “After just one hour, we located the family, and I even earned a certificate,” she added with pride. The adventure concluded on the picturesque island of Zanzibar, where unexpected challenges–like lost luggage and a flooded presidential suite–added to the story. Laughing, she recounted, “I yelled to my daughter when I realized the bathroom was flooded, and she came running in and slid across the floor. I said, ‘Welcome to Zanzibar!’”

Tom Saviello, a Wilton resident and former legislator, shared the story of his involvement in passing a deposit law for miniature liquor bottles, commonly known as nips. Holding up a Fireball nip bottle, Saviello explained how the issue came to his attention during his last term in the legislature.

“I was chairman of the Natural Resources and Environmental Committee, and we were looking at putting a deposit on nips,” Saviello began. “These things are convenient for people heading home from work, but they often get tossed out the window or left around convenience stores. A woman came in wearing a necklace made of nips and said, ‘I am a street walker. Look at my nips,’” he recalled, sparking laughter from the audience.

Saviello described how he reached out to the president of a liquor company to discuss the issue. “I emailed him, asking about the company’s stance on drinking and driving. He responded and was willing to work with us to put a five-cent deposit on nips after their current labels were used up,” Saviello explained.

Despite the company’s cooperation, the bill faced opposition, including from lobbyists and then-Governor Paul LePage, who threatened to veto the legislation. “LePage vetoed it, but we managed to override the veto with support from the Senate and the House. That brought in millions in taxes from nip bottles alone,” Saviello said.

The story didn’t end there. Saviello shared how Governor LePage expressed his displeasure with the new law. “He said he might ban nips altogether.” Saviello said one day LePage happened to find one of the nip bottles on the ground, framed it, and sent it to him, Saviello recounted, drawing laughter from the crowd.

The final storytellers were Chris Hardy and Willie Bachelder.

For more information about upcoming events at PACC, call 207-639-4296.