FARMINGTON — On Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 23, Mary Ryan was recognized for her decades-long commitment to reducing, reusing and recycling.

Ryan, of Wilton served as the consultant/coordinator of Everyone’s Resource Depot for more than 40 years.

“Mary has been an institution here for a long time, she has been here forever,” Mark Stofan said.

Bob Gramlich of Chesterville reminisced about the days when the depot was in the basement of Franklin Hall on the University of Maine at Farmington campus before it was moved to the Theodora Kalikow Education Center.

“Those stairs were killers,” Bob’s wife Linda Gramlich exclaimed.

“I remember back when I was in my 20s when I found out that there was a resource for recycled materials,” Frank Chin with Gold Leaf Institute said. “I taught art. I started in Farmington. And of course, art is always a subject where there’s not a lot of funding. So I found two resources. One is the depot and the other one was a mill in West Farmington.”

Chin said he practically lived at the depot and Mary was always very welcoming. “You remember, it was in the other building near, I think, the gallery, and you had to go downstairs, and you had to find a parking space too,” he noted.  “Mary categorized everything. It was neat and orderly. I taught ceramics, and they had some great dowels, some spools that would make forms.”

When Ryan stepped down as coordinator Donna Williams took over. Williams recalled bringing her daughter to the depot and using materials from the depot in her job as an Early Head Start teacher assistant in Winthrop. Williams joined the Everyone’s Resource Depot board and became friends with Mary. “I am thankful for that,” she said.

Cathy Wimett used to be on the faculty, said as part of orientation she would bring students to the depot. She would assign her students projects, they often used things from the depot. “I know a lot of us in education did that. For our education students, it was always a wonderful resource,” she noted.

Rob Rogers of Chesterville, who once lived in Wilton spoke of his association with Mary and Wilson Lake, “She’s been steady, been loving, she’s been caring,” he noted. “She’s been here at the depot all that time too. I know thank you doesn’t seem like enough. It’s just you’re so important to the community and it’s a wonderful thing to celebrate you.”

As the coordinator, Ryan helped artists and others find inspiration and materials, Chin stated. “For the creative mind, that resource is unbelievable.”

Lynn Chellis of Wilton was a UMF student before the depot opened. “I remember coming to the depot and the ideas you shared of what to do with all those weird things. It became the recipient of my recycled goods, so I was happy about that. Mary developed relationships with businesses, they shared things with the depot such as puzzle pieces from former Lauri [Toys].”

Chellis also remembered Ryan’s involvement with the chicken barbecue at the Congregational Church during the Wilton Blueberry Festival. “She was very organized and kept us all on task,” she said. “You’re a remarkable woman and  my heart has many fond memories of time spent with you.”

“A lot of students started knitting through the depot,” Wimett said. “Mary had yarn and needles, was always smiling, welcoming and helpful. One sadness during COVID was that people couldn’t come to the depot. I am so glad that it is still thriving.”