Ernie’s Ark cover

“I like the idea of a community reading project – there is such social value in it. It gives people a chance to discuss their relationships with other people in the community.”– Monica Wood, author, Ernie’s Ark

“So many of the things that happen in the book are not happy occasions. It’s about life in a small town with a mill on strike. There’s unemployment and strikebreaking and people who are sick and die. It makes the work a rich topic for discussion.”– June Gillis, Project Director



Scarborough Reads

Scarborough Reads

The program began in June with a two-day kick-off event held in conjunction with the Friends’ annual book sale. An ark designed by Jonathan Price, USM art student, was built on the library lawn with help from the community. Books were available for sale at this time as well. The ark remained on the Library lawn throughout the summer. During this time a teen writing contest was held, and a photo exhibit of late 19th/early 20th century Biddeford and Saco mills was on display in the Library. Conclusion of the first OBOC: Scarborough project took place over the weekend of September 17 and 18. The event opened with a lecture by the author, Monica Wood, followed by a reception and book signing. Over the two-day period there were many workshops, demonstrations, dramatic readings, discussions, and art projects for all ages.
2005: Ernie’s Ark by Monica Wood
Synopsis Ernie’s Ark is a collection of nine interrelated short stories surrounding grief and loss in a small Maine mill town. The paper mill looms up from the riverbank in Abbott Falls, a town once drenched with ordinary hopes and dreams, now praying for a small drop of good fortune. Ernie Whitten, a pipe fitter, was three weeks away from a pension-secured retirement when the union went on strike eight months prior. Now his wife Marie is ill. Struck with sudden inspiration, Ernie builds a giant ark in his back yard. It is a work of art for his wife, a vessel to carry them both away, or a plea for God to spare Marie. As the ark takes shape, the rest of the town carries on. There’s Dan Little, a building-code enforcer who comes to fine Ernie for the ark and makes a significant discovery about himself; Francine Love, a precocious thirteen-year-old who longs to be a part of the family-like world of the union workers; and Atlantic Pulp & Paper CEO John Henry McCoy, an impatient man wearily determined to be a good father to his twenty-six-year-old daughter. The people of Abbott Falls will try their best to hold a community together, against the fiercest of odds.
Partners The Friends of the Scarborough Library
Activities
  • The weekend activities began with the keynote address by Monica Wood, followed by a reception and book signing.
  • The three awardees of the Teen Writing Contest had lunch with Monica Wood and Jeff Inglis, Editor of The Current newspaper.
  • Book discussions were held on both days of the weekend. They were led by Nancy Crowell, Director of the Scarborough Library; Ron Owens, Town Manager; Sylvia Most, Town Councilor; and Jeff Inglis, Editor of The Current.
  • Activities for children included a workshop on owls led by a representative from the Maine Audubon Society; a boat-building workshop led by Beth Libby, Art Specialist at the Wentworth School; a Float Your Boat Flotilla, held on Sunday afternoon so the children could float the boats they had made; and a Dance and Do tap dancing lesson led by Tina Rae Kelly, owner of the Stardancers Dance Studio of Scarborough.
  • A brief history on the labor movement in Maine presented by Charles Scontras, retired UMO professor.
  • A photography workshop led by Tim Byrne: using photographs of Maine mills, Mr. Byrne discussed the skills necessary for capturing one’s surrounding reality on film.
  • Family Issues 2005: A workshop led by representatives from Sweetser and Woodfords Family Services.
  • A lecture and slide show of public art installations in abandoned Maine mills, presented by Amy Stacey Curtis.
  • Jonathan Price explained his ark/art project.
  • Dramatic readings from Ernie’s Ark: fellow residents of Scarborough brought Abbott Falls main characters to life through their readings of excerpts from the book — the perfect culmination to a wonderful weekend!
Materials/ Promotions
  • Flyers, brochures, and bookmarks were distributed to sponsoring businesses in the community, the Scarborough Municipal Building, and the library.
  • The brochure was mailed to the Friends’ membership and other interested residents.
  • Events were publicized in the “Your Neighbors” section of the Portland Press Herald; Scarborough Leader, Forecaster-South, The Current, Footnotes, the Scarborough Public Library newsletter, the Friends’ website, and via local-access television.
 
Book Distribution The Library purchased 100 books. Of these, some were given away to program participants, students entering the Teen Writing Contest, and sponsors for distribution to their customers. The Library had approximately 20 books to loan to patrons. Nonesuch Books sold the book at a twenty-percent discount at their Saco and South Portland stores.
Attendance The goal was to promote reading and literacy while building community by encouraging people to meet and discuss a single book by a Maine author. The keynote address by Monica Wood brought 45 people; the remaining events were attended by 22 or fewer participants. However, the evaluations of each event provided us with only favorable comments, indicating that those who attended the various programs were very pleased with our first OBOC project.
Community Impact Those who participated commended our choice of book and were delighted with the programs we offered. Statistically, we were able to count 213 circulations of the book from the library. Nonesuch Books reported selling 68 copies, but we are not able to confirm that those sales were to program participants. It appears that clustering the events in one day or weekend, rather than over several weeks, was a good move. The planning committee suggests that even one full day, rather than two, would have permitted better focus. It was felt that too many choices were offered during the Saturday afternoon time slots, thus making attendance at some of the programs very low. While the planners were pleased with the response of the participants and the quality of the presenters, they were disappointed with the overall attendance.
Budget/ Funding The total cost of the program was approximately $3,000. Major expenses included the purchase of books, honoraria for speakers, printing of the brochure and bookmarks, and postage.
Funders The two leading sponsors were the Friends of the Scarborough Library and the Maine Humanities Council Grant. Other sponsors/contributors were All Points Realtors; Chamberlain Construction; ALC Development; Maine Bank and Trust; Spurwink Country Kitchen; Worthing and Going, CPAs; Scarborough Public Library; and Scarborough Community Chamber.
Challenges Holding the event over a weekend made it necessary to use neighboring Wentworth School and the Library for the various programs. Thus planning and scheduling was a challenge, and somewhat difficult for participants.

We didn’t know how many people would attend the weekend event, even though we encouraged advance registration by mailing the brochure to the Friends. A form was provided to fill-out and return to the Library, but very few did this.

It was difficult to sustain interest and momentum between the kick-off in June and the weekend events in September.

For More Information
Contact June A. Gillis,
Project Director
207-883-2645
jgillis@gwi.net