WOODSTOCK — Marta Clements of Bryant Pond volunteered at Agnes Gray School in West Paris — where she taught — and for Woodstock’s Whitman Memorial Library. She is Chairman of the Board of the First Universalist Church of West Paris.

Marta Clements of Woodstock sells chicken pies in a fundraiser at First Universalist Church of West Paris. Submitted photo

Where do I volunteer? What inspires me to volunteer?

I am a people person and I like to help out and get things done. I have probably been a volunteer my entire life. At the present time the majority of my volunteer work is with the First Universalist Church of West Paris where I have been a member for approximately 60 years. However, let me stress that in all my volunteering I am not doing it alone. Many others volunteer right along with me.

At the church, since we do not have a minister, I am in charge of lining up ministers and lay speakers. I was the clerk for many years, but am now the chairman of the board. Other jobs I do are to change the sign weekly in good weather, work on our newsletter, and chair the board meetings. I am one of the first ones there on Sunday mornings to set out the orange cones along the driveway/walkway. I take my turn at providing refreshments for the coffee hour after church. I make sure there is coffee, tea, creamer etc. on hand. Of course I am always involved in fundraising and quite proud of our group when we raised $50,000 for the restoration of our stained glass windows. I also find other volunteers to help us out. We are a small congregation so we volunteers do whatever needs to be done. I am also active in our ladies’ group, the Goodwill Fellowship as secretary and participating in whatever the group is doing.

For nineteen years I was on the board of the Whitman Memorial Library in Bryant Pond. We did fundraising, story hours, and special programs. Of course I was involved in all of that. I am also an avid reader and would suggest books to be purchased. I enjoyed working with Althea Hathaway, who was librarian all the time I was on the board, as well as enjoying working with the other members of the board.

My passion in retirement is duplicate bridge. I belong to the Oxford Hills Duplicate Bridge Club which meets at the American Legion Hall in Oxford every Friday morning. Ever since our bridge club started in the early 2000s I have helped set up and clean up. I jokingly refer to myself as the “lovely assistant.” I work with our club every year to help raise money for the Alzheimer’s Association. Our little club raises thousands of dollars every year when we play on the Longest Day for that event. Everyone knows someone with that disease and it is such a worthwhile cause.

When my children were little I volunteered in whatever activity they were in. I transported, kept score, helped with refreshments etc. I still have a bracelet with a baseball on it that Tommy and Genneth Berryment gave me for helping out with Little League. When my New Hampshire grandchildren were little I volunteered in the Snack Shack at their soccer games.

I taught at the Agnes Gray School in West Paris for 25 years. When you are a teacher there is always a lot for which to volunteer. I would often volunteer to be on a committee since we felt it was important for our school to be represented on most committees held in the district. At one point we were asked by the Bethel Citizen if someone would write a weekly school column for the Bethel Citizen, so of course I volunteered. Back in those days you might even give a child a ride home.

I can’t say enough about what a great school we had in West Paris. People would come into the building and comment on the positive atmosphere. We had a wonderful mixture of men and women teachers and we worked so well together. The secretary, Alta Pierce, was not only the secretary, but the person who did whatever needed to be done, including helping in the classrooms. It makes me sad to see what is happening to that school today.

I hope the district will be able to continue to keep the small elementary schools open. I firmly believe that children get a solid foundation in their own community. Many of my former students remember our Monarch Butterfly project, the poetry they learned, the field trip to Boston. One young lady approached me in the grocery store and said she still remembered that d…..poem. She was referring to the Walt Whitman poem, Old Ironsides, that kept the ship from being scuttled. We learned that every year and recited it on the ship when we visited it on our Boston trip.

I belong to a book club and a knitting group. We take turns hosting at our homes, and I do my share.

I also often volunteer to drive whenever any of my events are carpooling. I like to drive and I often tell people that I model myself after my mother-in-law, Margaret Clements, who, like myself, was driving the “old folks” around in her 80s. I am in my 80’s. Margaret was a volunteer too. She often said that when you want something done, ask a busy person.

I plan to continue volunteering for as long as I’m able, particularly at the First Universalist Church in West Paris. The church continues to be a very important part of my life. I wish more people would come and check us out. My late husband, Nicholas Clements, was active in the church also. He said he wouldn’t want to live in a town that didn’t have a church.