New book tells story of Bangor Children’s Home

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What began years ago as a labor of love by former and current members of the board of directors of the Bangor Children’s Home (now Hilltop School) to preserve the history of that institution, has become a professionally written book that is available to the public.

“The Inmates and The Asylum: The Bangor Children’s Home 1835-2002” was underwritten by the board of the Bangor Children’s Home Hilltop School with production services provided by Tilbury House of Gardiner.

Board member Jennifer Coughlin said the directors “made the commitment three years ago to preserve the history” of the institution.

“We knew the value of keeping this information,” she said.

The board also recognized the need for a professional to do the work. “We owed it to the agency to do a decent job,” Coughlin said.

So the board hired well-known local author Trudy Irene Scee of Brewer to write the book, which is dedicated to the late Barbara Eames, who began the work of collecting the records for this project.

Scee, who is at work on a book about Seeds of Peace in Otisfield, and its founder, Timothy P. Wilson, also wrote “Mount Hope Cemetery: A 20th Century History” and “In The Deeds We Trust: Baxter State Park 1970-1995.”

Scee said she “had a great time researching the [Bangor Children’s Home] book because everybody was wonderful to work with, and it’s a great building.”

The book relates how local women in 1835 founded “The Bangor Female Orphan Asylum” on Fourth Street in Bangor, which was “a home for destitute girls,” Scee explained.

A major endowment in 1869 enabled the present facility to be built on Ohio Street, with the stipulation that it also take in boys. That year it became the Bangor Children’s Home.

Scee not only had access to records of the institution, she also interviewed several people who lived there, which she includes in the section “In Their Own Words.”

She was very impressed with the dedication of individuals and families who gave “lots of time, energy and their own money” to the facility. Many local families, she pointed out, still have members serving on the board.

The book sells for $24, and can be obtained by visiting or writing Hilltop School, 218 Ohio St., Bangor, 04401; at Borders and BookMarc’s in Bangor, Mr. Paperback in Ellsworth, Borders in Portland and the University of Maine bookstore in Orono.

Scee said the book “should be available in other bookstores throughout the state before Christmas.”

For more information about ordering (it might be advisable to inquire about postage and handling expenses) call Hilltop School Executive Director John Fahey, 945-3705.

Congratulations to Dawn Degenhardt of Houlton who is being honored today as one of the winners of the 15th annual National Caring Awards.

Degenhardt, who founded Maine Adoption Placement Service, or MAPS, in 1977, is a member of the 2002 class of the “Most Caring Men and Women in America” as selected by the Caring Institute’s board of trustees.

One of 10 winners nationwide, Degenhardt is in outstanding company that includes author Maya Angelou and actor-humanitarian Paul Newman who will be inducted, with Degenhardt, into the Caring Institute’s Hall of Fame for Caring Americans during ceremonies in the Main Amphitheater of the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C.

Kay Hyatt reports the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Maine is in the midst of its annual drive to collect books for needy youngsters. The public is invited to participate in this project by donating new books, suitable for toddlers to teens. Used books, in excellent condition, also are welcome.

You are asked to wrap the book and mark it for the appropriate age level.

The UMaine Bookstore will take 25 percent off all children’s books during National Children’s Book Week, now through Saturday, Nov. 23. The store also will match each book purchased for the drive as well as gift wrap and on-campus delivery of the books.

Now through noon Friday, Dec. 6, you can bring your books to the office of College Dean Robert Cobb, 151 Shibles Hall on the UMaine campus.

Award-winning Pottle Tree Farm owners Jim and Sandra Pottle and Maine forester Genieva Duncan-Frost will present “The Northern Forest as a Teaching Tool” during a meeting of the Schoodic Chapter of the Maine Audubon Society at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 19, in the Recreation Building of the Calais Housing Development on Palmer Street.

Society president Pete Edwards invites area residents to learn about this operation that includes an outdoor classroom and interpretive trails used to educate the public and students about how Maine forests provide wood for fuel, manufacturing, clean water and air, jobs and recreation.

Refreshments will be served.

Marion Syversen, president of Norumbega Financial, is offering a free seminar for women at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday Nov. 19, at the Body Works Day Spa, Western Avenue, Hampden.

“Smart Women Finish Rich” is the title of the one-hour seminar based on a book by the same name. A copy of the book will be given attendees after the seminar.

To reserve your place, call Syversen at 862-2952.

Joni Averill, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402; 990-8288.