RUMFORD — Ben Byam and his family will will pay tribute to his mother in a public lighting ceremony at 8 p.m. Saturday for the renovated Rumford Point Church steeple.
Ben Byam and two of his children, Julien and Melina, hold a photo of Byam’s mother, Norma Taylor (Byam) Hodsdon, who will be honored posthumously at a public steeple lighting ceremony Saturday evening at the Rumford Point Church on Route 232 in Rumford. Absent for the photo in front of the church were Byam’s wife, Samantha, and son Jonah. Bruce Farrin/Rumford Falls Times
“This is for anyone that wants to come over,” he said, adding there’s plenty of distance outside to stay safe and people can stand beside Route 232 across from the church.
The restoration of the 1864 steeple and bell tower was completed in early July, but there wasn’t enough money to replace the lights so the Byam family stepped forward.
Byam’s mother, Norma Taylor Byam Hodsdon, 85, was a member of the church and lived across the road from it the past two years of her life. She died June 1.
“The church was very important to her,” Byam said. “She made donations to the project.
“Two weeks before she passed, I said to mom, ‘I’ve been talking to some people and it doesn’t look the lights are included in the major renovation. Would you be willing to go halves with us to put the new lights on there. The old lights just wouldn’t work; would run about three months and have to be replaced.'”
She approved of the plan wholeheartedly.
“The night that she died, I came out and was walking around and I looked at the church steeple and I said, ‘That’s going to be lit, no matter what.’ I made the decision right there to fund it myself, for family,” Byam said.
He was determined that the new LED lights would be lit by her funeral service at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, at the church.
“The church is only going to allow 50 people, so family fills that up,” Byam said. Afterward, they’ll go to the cemetery. In the evening, they’ll return to the church for the lighting ceremony and dedication to his mother.
The steeple restoration was paid through fundraisers and a $55,000 matching grant from the Maine Steeples Fund, church moderator Dottie Adams said. Mid-Maine Restoration, under the leadership of Andy Wilcox, followed historic building requirements in the restoration, she said.
Other church members working on the project with Adams are Harry Burns, Cindy Christie, Lynne Ramsey and Gail Parent.
They hope to have a larger celebration of the project when it’s safer to congregate, especially for older people, she said.
Members are accepting donations for future maintenance projects, including painting the exterior. Checks can be made out to: Rumford Point Church Steeple Fund and sent to P.O. Box 38, Hanover, ME 04237. Donations are tax deductible.
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