RAYMOND — The three-year-long “Save the Hawthorne House” fundraising campaign, launched by the Hawthorne Community Association to repair serious structural damage to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s boyhood home, has received a $10,000 donation.

The donor, a resident of California wishing to be identified only as a descendent of Ichabod Roberts Kelsey and Martha Ann Bartlett Kelsey and of George F. Murch and Mary Jane Nutting Murch, has asked that the donation be identified as a special gift in honor of Clyde Stanley Murch and Edna Pearl Ames Murch.

Clyde Murch, a descendant of George F. Murch and Mary Jane Nutting Murch, was a founding officer of the Hawthorne Community Association upon its formation in 1921. He was instrumental in revitalizing the association in 1956, and in securing its federal tax-exempt status in 1963.

While offering his donation to the association, the donor said, “I wish to convey my congratulations to the residents of the Casco/Raymond area for support for this project, and I hope that others with ties to the region generally and to the Hawthorne House specifically — including seasonal residents like myself — will consider donating to the fund. This will allow the association to successfully complete this urgently-needed renovation project,” according to a news release from the association.

In addition to smaller donations from a wide array of Mainers, the “Save the Hawthorne House” fundraising effort previously received a $11,000 donation from William and Anne Harrison of Raymond and a $5,000 donation from David Flanagan of Manchester.

To help save Nathaniel Hawthorne’s boyhood home, make checks payable to “Hawthorne Community Association,” P.O. Box 185, South Casco, ME 04077. Or PayPal donations can be made at hawthorneassoc.com.

For more information, contact Abel Bates at 207-318-7131 or jbates4@maine.rr.com.

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