Castine ceiling raining dollars again Dennett’s Wharf first helped 9-11 victims

CASTINE – It was the last thing Gary and Carolyn Brouillard wanted to have to do again.

But on Monday, they and a group of volunteers were busy stripping the ceiling of their Dennett’s Wharf restaurant of dollar bills.

Combined with donations from area residents and restaurant patrons, the money will total about $10,800 and will be sent to a church in Texas that is providing housing to 200 people displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

Over the years, the Brouillards have used an ingenious trick involving a 50-cent piece and a thumb tack to attach dollar bills donated by customers to the ceiling of their restaurant on the Castine waterfront.

After Sept. 11, 2001, they took about 15 years’ worth of dollar bills down from the ceiling and donated the cash to the family of an elevator operator who died when the World Trade Center towers collapsed.

“It’s sad that we have to do it again,” Gary Brouillard said Monday as the crew pried thumb tacks from the ceiling and dollar bills drifted to the floor.

“We never thought we’d have to take it down again, especially so soon,” Carolyn Brouillard added. “It’s too soon.”

Gary Brouillard renewed the tradition as the last dollar bill came down in 2001.

That effort to aid the 9-11 family drew nationwide attention, and people sent messages and dollar bills. They received $700 in the mail from all over the country, and those bills were stuck to the ceiling.

On Monday, aided by a host of volunteers, the Brouillards stripped the bills stuck to the ceiling. Some of the crew had been at the restaurant in 2001; others, such as Barbara Money and Peter Hardester of Stockton Springs and San Jose, Calif., just wandered in to help.

“It really touched us that he was doing this again, and we felt like we wanted to be a part of it,” Money said.

This time, as it did in 2001, the idea of donating ceiling dollars began in front of the Brouillards’ television as they watched images of the devastation in the South. It was Robert Brouillard, the couple’s 14-year-old son, who suggested using the bills to help.

“There were all these people in New Orleans with no homes, no clothing,” Robert Brouillard said Monday. “I figured we had all this money on the ceiling and we might be able to help a few people get back on their feet.”

The funds will be sent this week to the First Baptist Church in Huntsville, Texas, which is providing food, clothing and housing for 200 people.

“They’ve got about 400 or 500 members,” Carolyn Brouillard said. “They have a school there and they’ve set up cots in the gym. They’ve got about 200 people living in the gym now.”

In 2001, she said, they had wanted to donate the money so that it would help one family. This natural disaster was different.

“This time, there are so many people who have been affected by the hurricane,” she said. “We wanted to help people who were already helping some of those people.”

Carolyn checked randomly online and found the church. She called and asked them what the church needed. Officials there responded that they had food and clothing; what they needed was money, she said.

On Monday, she told a church member that they would be sending a check for a few thousand dollars.

“They were pleased,” Carolyn said. “I tried to explain what we were doing, but she didn’t really get it. I don’t think they understand what’s going on here.”

As word spread through Castine that the bills would be coming down, residents and restaurant patrons began donating additional money for the effort. Volunteers took about $9,300 off the ceiling on Monday, and people donated an additional $1,500 for a total of more than $10,800 that will be sent.

“American people are awesome,” Carolyn Brouillard said. “They’re kind and giving.”

The ceiling was bare by Monday afternoon,. But by the time the restaurant opened at 4:30 p.m., its owners were carrying on the tradition and already there were new dollars thumb-tacked up there.