JAY — When Arcadia Publishing reached out to Jay-Niles Memorial Library Director Tamara Hoke about writing “Images of America: Jay,” she didn’t hesitate.

“I jumped at the idea,” Hoke said. “I knew a bit about Jay’s history and was eager to learn more. I love looking at old photographs and trying to guess the story behind them. The challenge of writing this book appealed to me.”

Arcadia, known for its “Images of America” series, contacted Hoke simply because she was the town librarian. After submitting a proposal outlining her plan for collecting and marketing the book, she began by reaching out to the Jay Historical Society.

“One of the first steps I took was to contact the Jay Historical Society to see what they had for photographs,” she said. “Once I knew what sorts of photographs they had, I started to organize them into categories.”

She also relied heavily on earlier works, including the Rev. Benjamin F. Lawrence’s “History of Jay: Franklin County, Maine” (1912), Helen Cushman’s “Horizons Unlimited: A History of Jay” (1967) and Virginia Plaisted Moulton’s “A History of Jay, Maine: From Its Settlement as Phips Canada” (1995). Hoke said Brad Crafts’ local histories and photo collections were also invaluable.

“I chose the photographs based on which ones appealed to me, how much information I could find on the subject and which photographs I thought might appeal to others,” she said. “You can tell what a community values by the photographs it collects.”

Her book’s chapters reflect those values, organized under headings such as Agriculture, Industry, Community, Worship and Leisure: Many Villages, Many Main Streets.

A broader view of Jay

Researching the book changed how Hoke saw her hometown.

“When you grow up in a community, you sometimes think you know all there is to know about it,” she said. “Doing the research gave me a more well-rounded view of Jay. I learned a lot more about who built this town, where they came from and how their values are still reflected today.”

Among her favorite discoveries were the photographs of the town’s once-bustling railroad stations.

“Look at that crowd!” she said, pointing to a 1910 photo of the North Jay Station on page 57.

Honoring all histories

Hoke also wanted to make sure the book recognized the Abenaki people who lived in the area long before European settlers arrived.

“I wanted to make sure that I acknowledged in the introduction that the land in Jay had a history before being ‘settled’ in 1795,” she said. “The earliest inhabitants were in fact Abenaki. They had a settlement at Canton Point, or Rockomeko.”

She noted that early written history often portrayed Indigenous people in biased terms.

“As history is often subjective, it is hard to know the real story of Jay’s earliest inhabitants,” Hoke said.

A vibrant immigrant past

Hoke said she finds the early 20th century especially compelling.

“This was once a place that people came to work in the mills and granite quarries,” she said. “It’s important to remember that our town was once made up of immigrants — French Canadian, Italian, Lithuanian, Czechoslovakian, Polish and Finnish — and those nationalities are still reflected in many surnames today.”

Local reactions

While the book was well received, Hoke acknowledged that a few minor errors slipped through.

“Even when you check and recheck your sources, issues can occur,” she said. “The best advice I would give is to have others in town who know the history read through your work. It’s always good to have more than one set of eyes.”

For many residents, the book has become a family keepsake.

“Others have expressed gratitude for telling part of their family’s history and have told me they bought the book because there was a photo of their great-great-grandparents in it,” Hoke said.

From barnyard curiosity to librarian

Hoke’s love of history began early. She grew up on Morse Hill Road in North Jay, where an old barn beside her home stirred her imagination.

“I liked to imagine what life was like in an earlier time,” she said. “There were little trinkets in the old barn. I guess that piqued my curiosity into the past.”

Her path to librarianship was shaped by early experiences at Jay-Niles Memorial Library, where she first worked as a teenager through a Summer Youth Employment Training Program.

“I loved working at the library, yet it would be many years before I decided that I wanted to be a librarian,” she said.

After earning a degree in social work, Hoke realized she was happiest surrounded by books. She later earned her masters degree in library and information science from the University of South Carolina in 2004 while working at the University of Maine at Farmington’s Mantor Library.

“If you have a library card, you can be a lifelong learner,” she said. “Libraries are one of the last vestiges of democracy where everyone, regardless of socio-economic status, has equal access to information.”

‘Cheers without the beer’

For Hoke, the Jay-Niles Memorial Library is more than a workplace; it’s the heart of the community.

“I have always viewed libraries as being the nucleus of a community,” she said. “How a town supports or doesn’t support a library says a lot about a community. I joke that the library is ‘Cheers without the beer.’”

She strives to make the library a welcoming place “where everyone is greeted with a smile and where those who come in our doors can find something that nurtures them.”

From books to ballots

Hoke has also explored civic life through political involvement.

“I have always been a bit of a political junky,” she said. “If you just complain and don’t try to ameliorate the issues of society, then you are part of the problem rather than being part of the solution.”

Her deep roots in Jay, she said, motivate her to help strengthen the town’s future.

“When people have decent jobs and benefits, strong schools and libraries, the whole picture is better for everyone,” she said. “When we strengthen the most vulnerable, we empower others to make positive changes in their lives.”

Hoke hopes her work, both in books and in service, helps Jay continue to thrive.

“My greatest wish was to give back to a community that had given me so much but which was facing some real struggles economically,” she said. “We are better when we work together.”