GREENWOOD — Butch Fuller of Greenwood volunteers transcribing Civil War letters and other historical documents and maintaining the trails at Maggie’s Nature Park on Greenwood Road.

Where do you volunteer?
For the past 15 years, Fuller has transcribed Civil War letters and journals for the Maine State Museum in Augusta. His transcriptions are saved in the museum’s archives along with a photograph of the original letter. Last winter he transcribed 75 letters that they sent him via e-mail. His interest in the Civil War brought him to the work. Currently he is working on two sets of transcriptions for the Museums of the Bethel Historical Society. Letters are from a Grafton Notch settlement’s residents and also from a Bryant Pond letter writer.

Greenwood  Town Manager Kim Sparks asked him to transcribe the town’s 19th century charter. He said that project took about a week.

He said penmanship and misspellings make the original documents hard to decipher. Writers often used double p’s or double f’s instead of the letter “s.”

Fuller’s other volunteer work is maintaining the trails at Maggie’s Park. Last summer he completed a new trail and is working on creating another. He drags rocks down or up the hill to create steps on the trails, picks up litter, and moves fallen trees with his chainsaw that he carries in his backpack.

At the end of the red trail at Maggie’s, he added a bench to honor Blaine and Margaret Mills. Blaine built the trails and three years ago passed the torch to Fuller.

What inspires you to volunteer?
Fuller said he volunteers because, “it’s something that needs to be done.”

What brought you to volunteerism?
About 40 years ago, Fuller, his wife Esther; Dale Buck; and Buck’s wife Jannine enlarged a ball park and tennis courts on Howe Hill Road.

“The Cross Brothers loaned me their bulldozer to take the loam off the former ball park.” When things got too muddy, they contacted the National Guard who brought their all-wheel dump trucks in for a weekend “drill.”  Fuller said Echo Mill donated the gravel from their high river bank that helped them get the gravel base they needed.

At the time there were many teams that used the ballfields: little league, farm teams and ten local mens’ softball teams all took turns. Greenwood, Bethel, Andover, Bryant Pond, and Newry played in Greenwood and on their own town’s fields, too. He said eventually women’s teams were added. He and Dale Buck coached the women.

What basic skills do you need to do your volunteer work?
Fuller said it’s important to have an interest in what you’re doing. Regarding his transcription work he said, “you can get the overall history anywhere, I always liked the stories of the soldier in the field that was writing to his family.”

He said his love of baseball likely played a part in volunteering to head the refurbishment and expansion project at the Greenwood Town Fields.

Looking ahead what plans do you have regarding your volunteerism?
Fuller said he plans to transcribe letters and clear trails for as long as he can.