RUMFORD – Jane deFrees held a strong belief that only education could help people survive as a nation and as a world. She believed everyone was deserving of an education.
When she died in September 2004, the Rumford Historical Society had just begun to organize a scholarship fund to help Mountain Valley High School students pay for college.
Now, nearly 18 months later, her husband, Burt deFrees, who was the society’s president at the time, has written and published a children’s book whose sales will go toward these scholarships. Eight colorful paintings created by Wilton artist Luanne Wrenn illustrate the book.
Titled, “The Big Brass Bed,” the 12-page, colorfully illustrated glossy book tells the story of three children who hear strange scratches in the night.
The three children in the story are named for his own children who grew up in the family’s early 19th century farmhouse in Rumford Center, deFrees said Monday.
deFrees will sign copies of the book on Saturday, Jan. 14, at Mill View Bookstore in Mexico and on Jan. 21 at Rumford Public Library.
The book will be available for purchase beginning Jan. 14 at the Rumford Historical Society office, the Bethel Historical society, Mill View Bookstore, and Port-to-Port in Rumford.
Although this is the first book to benefit the scholarship, the society has also in the past sponsored a country fair in Rumford Center and a variety show in Rumford to raise funds. He said another country fair may be planned, and a second variety show is scheduled for Feb. 11 and Feb. 12.
deFrees has always written stories to read to his children, he said. Now, with the publication of this book, he is anxious for them to read it to their own children.
“I can hardly wait for them to read it,” he said.
Another book written by deFrees may be published sometime in the fall. This one, titled “Gift of the Animals,” was written soon after the birth of Burt and Jane’s first daughter, Evelyn.
The two students chosen to receive the scholarship money must have completed one semester of college. They will be selected by the school’s committee on scholarships. The funds will be awarded sometime in the spring.
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