Johnson Family Spaghetti Dinner Set for Saturday

A spaghetti dinner will be held in Orrington this Saturday to remember a family lost in a tragic fire. Ben Johnson III and his children Ryan, Ben, and Leslie were killed last weekend when cardboard stored too close to a wood stove started the fire that devastated their house. Now the community is coming together to donate to the family, including Ben's wife Christine who survived the fire, and to show support.

Ben worked part-time as a dealer at Hollywood Casino in Bangor and his coworkers wanted to find a way to remember him. So they paired up with the East Orrington Congregational Church, Sam's Club, the Center Drive School, and others to put together an evening of community, remembrance, and healing. I spoke with Pastor Carl Schreiber of the EOCC, who said that phone calls have been pouring in, with people asking what they could do. This dinner seemed like a great solution.

Dinner will be served from 4:30 to 7 on Saturday at the Center Drive School, 17 School Street in Orrington. Admission is by donation and folks are being asked to give whatever they can to help support the family. Anyone who can't make the dinner but would like to make a donation can take it to any Peoples United Bank Branch, in care of the Johnson Family Fundraiser Account.

Friends of the family are invited to call from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Brookings-Smith funeral home, 133 Center St. in Bangor. Relatives and friends are invited to gather from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in the Lancaster Room of Hollywood Casino, Hotel and Raceway for refreshments and conversation, according to the obituaries. The funerals will be Sunday at 2pm. Interment will be private.