Let Mayor Robert Macdonald do the job residents voted him to do.

Americans have always welcomed anybody who wanted to live in a free country. By free, I mean, we have freedoms other countries don’t have, not free that we don’t have to pay for anything.

The French Canadians were welcomed here and they contributed so much to this country and this state. They came here and worked hard, and they brought their culture with them. But they embraced the culture here and people here embraced theirs. There was no pushing and shoving; there wasn’t any expectation of “give it to me free.” It took some time and hard work on both sides but, after a bit of time, the people blended.

I like learning their history and the stories of hardships they had to endure to eke out a living in a country with strange customs.

Nobody ever handed me a free education, free housing, free food. I wouldn’t want everything free anyway. There is nothing more satisfying than knowing what you own is through your own hard work.

Studies have proven over and over again, when people get everything for free they get spoiled and do not appreciate what they have been given. Like a rich man’s child, they just scream and cry for more.

Barbara Harlow, Lewiston