BOWDOINHAM — The Bowdoinham Historical Society wants to turn the century-old Merrymeeting Grange Hall into a community center steeped in history.
The group finalized its purchase of the hall last week. Now, it is working out its plans to give the community a place to gather.
“One of our purposes is to save old buildings in Bowdoinham to save the flavor of the town,” said Betsy Steen, historical society treasurer. “We didn’t want to see this become apartments or a McDonald’s.”
The hall’s future was uncertain after Merrymeeting Grange members merged with the Enterprise Grange in Richmond.
Steen said feedback from the community last fall showed interest in a community center. After that, historical society president Tom Deforeest came to her with the idea.
“Our president said to me, ‘Let’s buy it.’ I actually thought he was kidding,” Steen said. “I thought about it, and I saw him the next day and said I think we should.”
With the location set, plans for a center are moving fast — and the community is willing to pitch in to make it a reality.
A Tuesday meeting to collect ideas drew residents willing to lend help and resources.
“It’s not just historical society members,” Steen said. “It appears to be all sorts of people. There’s been an influx of younger people in the last few years. There are a lot of people who can’t wait to start planning.”
“It’s interesting the fact that everybody has a connection now or, if they’re retired, they have a connection to all different services the building might need,” added historical society member Billie Oakes.
Volunteers have offered to clean the hall within the next month, with one volunteer willing to open it and ensure a volunteer staff member is present. Steen is planning to create a volunteer calendar to keep the community center running.
The initial meeting also resulted in new connections to provide resources the building might need.
“This town has a history with donated money and a lot of donated labor,” Steen said. “A lot in this town has been done through volunteer labor and without resorting to big bucks.”
A delay in purchasing the building — due to complications created by the merger of the two grange groups — has built anticipation for what it could mean for the community.
In the short time, the historical society has bought the hall, a nonprofit group has made plans to use it at the end of June and a local theater group has secured the second-floor stage for rehearsals.
Among the ideas now being considered: Renting the hall for meetings and other functions. With a kitchen in place, Steen is hopeful proper certifications will allow it to be used for hosting events.
Steen and Oakes would like to see the local food pantry and farmers’ market find ways to utilize the community center. They also look forward to the prospect of providing a place for kids and senior groups alike to gather, and dinner theater events and connecting with other community groups are other ideas percolating currently.
“The whole point is to bring people together,” said Steen. “I think teenagers and grandparents are a great combination.”
Oakes noted that Maine School Administrative District 75 has a late bus that drops students off at a central location. A community center could be a place for those students to do homework or an activity while they wait for a ride. There is already a volunteer willing to work with the younger patrons.
With community support, the hope is that challenges at the building will be met head-on. Investment of a large donation made a few years ago covered the $50,000 price tag for the building, but the historical society will need funding help to pay for needed foundation work. Month-to-month operations costs also will need to be sorted out.
The historical society already hosts a yard sale and dinner, and Steen expects all fundraising done by the organization will go toward the new project. Money made by hosting functions at the hall is expected to help offset the monthly costs.
Challenges aside, the community center is quickly becoming reality — with a future full of ideas waiting to be developed.
“Everything else I’ve always done we’ve had a basic idea, but then it has grown,” Steen said. “Things have come out and people have come forward and I don’t want to limit that. We want to be inclusive.”
The sign on the porch of the hall echoes her sentiment. It reads: “Soon to be Merrymeeting, a community center for Bowdoinham. Please help us create it!”
Betsy Steen stands recently on the porch of the Merrymeeting Grange Hall in Bowdoinham. She is handling the operations in its change to a community center. (Chris Quattrucci/Times Record)
The second floor of the Merrymeeting Grange Hall in Bowdoinham provides some unique opportunities, such as a dinner theater or a location where local theater groups could practice. (Chris Quattrucci/Times Record)
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