GazetteOTHIssueDigital

list of priorities, so it was no wonder that
the alarm went off for NYHS when, at the
March 13, 1976 Town Meeting, a warrant
article was proposed “to see if the town will
authorize the Board of Selectmen to sell or
dispose of the Old Town Hall ...”
Some in town felt that the neglected
building was obsolete and probably beyond
repair; it was suggested that it be destroyed
by pushing it over the edge of the slope
created by the Royal River-associated
landslide of the 1830s.
Fortunately, the idea of losing what
they knew was an integral part of North
Yarmouth’s history galvanized the newly
formed historical society and a group of
residents, especially Nellie Leighton,
Ursula Baier, and Shirley Fountain sprang
into action.
Signatures with pledges of money and
volunteer effort needed to refurbish Old
Town House were collected and certificates
were issued to supporters (at right). A special
town meeting was called on August 16,
1976 and it was then that North Yarmouth
Historical Society officially purchased Old
Town House for $1.00, beginning an era
of remodeling and upkeep of the building
by Society members and residents. This
has been proudly remembered as a time of
wonderful community cooperation.
A massive renovation effort occupied
many volunteers over the next four years,
financed by acquired pledges. A crowd of
workers assembled on at least six Saturdays
over three years and tackled the project,
inside and out.
The lawn was seeded and mulched one
warm May day in 1977, and the town fire
truck was brought up to wet the ground.
Windows were replaced by Ed Hall and Dick Baston. Matt
Baier organized a Boy Scouts workday, and the troop cleaned
and painted the exterior. A fence was added, and a large
garage door on the back of the building was removed by John
Ames, Dick Baston, Jere Townsend, and Ed Hall. The door
had ben added to accommodate Maynard Scott’s boatbuilding
business, which had rented the structure around 1970.
Roll of Honor: Old Town House
Restoration Sponsors & Workers
• Nellie Leighton • Clark &
• Shirley Fountain
• John & Beth Ames
• John & Pam Ames
• Linda Wentworth
• Philip Knight
• Marjorie Leighton
• Richard &
Rosalyn Baston
• Lee & Ursula Baier
• Ann Warner
• Sue Clukey
• Helen McLean
• Gray Leighton
• Gladys Hamilton
• Elizabeth Stowell
• Martin Stowell
• Kathleen Jones
• Douglas &
Esther Mitchell
• Harriet Bowie
• Charlotte Lawrence
• David Boynton
• Ulysses Hincks
• Liza Chandler
Kathy Whittier
• Vena Aldridge
• Ronald &
Carol Burgess
• John Schnupp
• Russell Ross
• Donna Curtis
• Mildred Baston
• Ruth Swanson
• John Sloat
• Gloria Burrell
• Linda Dexter
• Richard &
Judith Maddox
• James &
Blanche Mays
• Ed & Joyce Gervais
• Myra Barter
• McIntire, Meggier
Insurance, Inc.
• Frances Barter
• Polly Grindle
• Suzanne McGuffey
• Judy Marden
• Trudy Pilsbury
• Harold Freeman
• Donald McLean
• Hazel Anderson
• Jane Curtis
• Donald Smith
• Carroll Baston
• Nancy &
Harold Hopkins
• Donna Olsen
• Edward Vogeler
• Claudia Quatticci
• Herman &
Phyllis Smith
• Pat Emmerson
• Sharon Miller
• Jennifer Curwood
• Joan Kidman
• Corinne Greene
• John Vento
• George Warchol
Donna Thurston
• Donald &
Harriet Thurston
• Joyce Lawrence
• Florence Baston
• Lucy Hatch John
• Theodore &
Isabel Clark
• James Baker
• WIlliam &
Carolyn Verrill
• Neil &
Peggy Jensen
• Vivian Rodick
• Angelia Foster
• David & Jane Ayers
• Shirley Verrill
• Ted & Karen Walcott
• Jere, Pat, &
Tiffany Townsend
• Ed Hall
• Bill & Dot Hayward
• Al Grover
• Dana, Jim, &
Kellyjean Kelly
• Dare Foley
• Norman &
Marion Reed
... and many others
Ursula and Lee Baier, Joyce Gervais, Liza Chandler,
and Suzanne (Quirk) McGuffey removed the rotting
upper bricks from the selectmen’s office chimney. The
oil-burning furnace and underground fuel tank were
removed, freeing the front room for a replicated oldfashioned
kitchen. The new kitchen’s chimney was rebuilt
and re-lined by mason Rick Hossman of the Royal
River Brickyard. A six-plate schoolhouse woodstove was
12 The GAZETTE