Salem rallies to restore its building, with help from residents and two grants.
By Samantha C. DePoy
Staff Writer

SALEM – The name, the Salem Community Building, speaks for itself, says April Grant.

Other than the church and the high school, the building is the only place where the town’s 200-plus residents can come together, whether that’s for a wedding reception, a bean supper, a concert or just because.

And although it has become a bit worn since it was constructed in 1858, it’s a building, Grant says, that has character. That’s why Salem residents are willing to put some elbow grease into its rough, white and green exterior and hope that the result shines as a beacon of true community.

A gathering place

Originally built as a town hall, the building was deeded over the Mount Abram Cemetery Association in 1945 when Salem made the transition from town to unorganized territory. At the time, the association was the only organization in town it could be left to.

Over the years, it has been used for a hodgepodge of activities and now, although a bit musty, it serves as host for community suppers, Cemetery Association meetings, and meetings and functions of the Pine Tree Club, a social/community service ladies group in Salem that Grant belongs to.

In exchange for unlimited free use of the building, the ladies pitch in and help pay the insurance cost and keep the place tidy.

Through her connection to the building with the club and also through having her wedding reception there (three of her brothers celebrated post-nuptials there as well), Grant has come to know it like a second home.

“People prefer the friendliness of this small building. It’s a gathering place and a place we really need to keep going. It’s been used over the years,” she says, and then with deliberate emphasis, “a lot.”

Most of the money the club raises at its functions like dinners and concerts by A and E’s Hill County Music, they put right back into fixing up the building.

It’s not enough though.

A $3,180 grant

And so, for the past two years, Salem resident Charlie Howard, secretary of the Cemetery Association, has written grants, hoping to pull in a bit of extra money to help make the community building a centerpiece the town can be proud of.

Last year, through the Maine Community Foundation, the restoration project was awarded $3,400, which went toward the $7,000 cost of jacking up the building and installing a cement-block foundation and a septic system.

Recently, Howard scored again, collecting $3,180, again through the foundation. That amount and in-kind labor provided by local building Reggie Spencer, will go toward building a new addition, adding a bathroom and topping the building off with a new roof.

Fixing up the building, Howard says, will help serve both Salem and surrounding communities better. Grant couldn’t agree more. “We say it’s important and we put our labor where our mouth is,” she jokes. “It can be the hub of this community and that’s what we are tying to get it up to again. I’d like to see a couple of functions in there a month. That’s all you need to combat just staying at home and staring at the four walls,” she goes on, saying that the building helps to pull seniors out of their homes, professionals back into their town and a community together. “We are trying to keep traditions alive in Salem, and the community building helps us do that.”

sdepoy@sunjournal.com

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