I have been in one-act plays as a student at the former Higgins Classical Institute, gone to drama workshops and competitions at area high schools, and learned how to act older than I was. Now, it’s not an act.

I attended Bangor Community College, where by Harry Batty’s tutelage, I stepped out of myself to become Walter Mitty, as he stretched in his dreams to become heroes in his mind. Doctor, pilot and captured agent, Walter, as well as I, went beyond the limits of ourselves. This, rather than the mere performance, was only part of what this role did for Walter/me. I cherished that time.

I was reading Gus Bombard’s well-written commentary (BDN, Dec. 24, “Theater department resists last curtain call”) in the wee hours of Christmas morning. The one-act play contests were a bright spot for me in high school.

Plays like the “Monkey’s Paw” and “Spoon River Anthology” helped to make high school a beloved challenge. Drama with Harry Batty at Bangor Community College, then a part of the University of Maine System, was instrumental in showing me the interconnection between the importance of literature, critical written expression, as well as theater as means of communication.

I graduated a quarter century ago, and also love UMaine. I have not a wealthy bequeathment accumulated and may never, but I will stand with Gus Bombard and promise that not one dime will I leave to a system which would chose not to retain programs that have benefited so many, and have directly benefited me. I call upon all those who may have long since forgotten me to remember the benefits of Drama I and Drama II.

Charles H. Hendren

Manchester, N.H.