WATERBORO – In life, Waterboro’s Barbara Lord had two passions: flowers and books.
It seems appropriate, then, that a $5,000 fund established after her death in 2003 be used to create flower gardens on the property of the Waterboro Public Library.
“It’s a great thing,” said Lord’s daughter, Patricia Joyce. “My mother was an avid reader.”
After a referendum to build a new library near Massabesic Middle School on Route 5 failed last fall, town and library officials decided to renovate the library’s current location, at 187 Main St.
As part of that work, library trustees have decided it’s high time to put the memorial fund to use, building new gardens outside the library and around the sign that greets visitors there, according to Brigit McCallum, chairwoman of the library’s board of trustees.
Of course, McCallum said, the trustees asked Lord’s spouse, Willis Lord, himself a longtime Waterboro resident and past state senator and selectman, for his blessing before proceeding.
“I think it’s a wonderful thing,” he said, when asked how he felt about the new project.
The building and property have a long history with the town. The land was donated by the Hamilton family in 1925, and the town was free to do what it liked with it, provided the use was educational in nature.
Right away, the town built what was then called the East Waterboro Elementary School, which opened in 1926. It remained part of the school department until the mid-1980s, when it last served as the superintendent’s office.
Meanwhile, McCallum said, the Waterboro Lions Club, noting the lack of a public library in town, had built one on the second floor of its building, located on Route 202, also in the 1980s.
But that soon proved inadequate for the library’s needs, and in 1990, the club moved the library to the Main Street location, preserving the requirement to use the property for educational purposes.
In 2000, the library and its staff became an official town department, and, McCallum said, she remembered getting involved shortly afterward, in 2002, first as a member of the Friends of the Waterboro Public Library, and later as a trustee.
While most agreed that it would make sense to eventually build a new library, McCallum said, it’s been tough to get funding for such a big expense. Now, the trustees are hoping to get some more life out of the existing building, and the gardens will be a part of that.
“It’s really a new chapter in the life of this building,” she said.
When Barbara Lord died, Willis Lord asked well-wishers to donate to a fund in her name, which he eventually donated to the library – about $5,000. Back then, McCallum said, the plan was to use the money to build gardens outside a new library building when the time came.
But with no clear plans to build a new library in the immediate future, McCallum said, the trustees sought Willis Lord’s permission to use the funds to build a garden at the Main Street building.
The project is now under way, with the help of the Waterboro Garden Club. When finished, McCallum said, it will have sunken stone walls surrounding flower beds with plenty of perennials.
“This weekend, we’re starting to buy plants,” McCallum said last week.
McCallum said she hopes the gardens will be finished in about a month.
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