She and I have been acquainted for five years or so because we are, among many others, dedicated to presenting and promoting – and enjoying – arts in the River Valley.

Not everyone in the River Valley knows her so here’s a quick bio: An early employee of the former Scrappers Domaine, she became manager of the Pennacook Art Gallery. She is a student, an arts major at Farmington. She and husband, Steve, live in the old Bradeen farmhouse in Mexico. They have grandchildren. They moved here 14 or more years ago to be care-givers for Steve’s parents, first his father and then his mother were Alzheimer’s victims.

Until very recently, if asked, I’d have described Betsy as a strong, hard-working, kind, gifted reticent person. Talking with Betsy last week I learned that she is also, as needed, very assertive. Four or five years ago, she really needed a job. She read in the RF Times about Lem Cissel’s new arts and crafts supply store. And, “I thought, I want to work for this guy.”

An ordinary mortal might have sent a note and a resume and followed up with a phone call. Betsy went further. “Basically, I went after him.” She got a job and not long after, Lem asked her to manage a piece of his River Valley dream: Pennacook Art Gallery.

Before he closed the gallery, Lem was persuaded by Betsy to talk with Norway print maker Pat Chandler (she teachers at UMaine/Mexico) about an antique – 1890s – etching press. He bought it, a treasure. It could become the centerpiece of a burgeoning arts center in Rumford, fourth floor of the Tech Center. This was not to be.

When one door closes…

Pause here for a word about Lem Cissel, who has removed himself from the River Valley scene. I didn’t agree with all Lem’s moves or opinions, but share with Betsy the view that “he may have taken a huge financial loss in Rumford, but there are eternal rewards” for the kind of work he did. Betsy worked for Lem for three years and she “knows his strengths and weaknesses as well as anyone in the area: I still have the utmost respect for him. Most people will never know all that went into that gallery.”

The gallery door closed – but not for long. The Pennacook Art Center is a thriving enterprise, offering visual artists and craftspeople – currently 17 – exhibit space, exposure and sales, greatly enlivening the scene on Congress Street. Artists pay $30 a month to participate in the cooperative that Betsy Bell manages as a consultant. (Memberships are also available to the community at large.)

The center’s First Friday series has a loyal following. June’s First Friday brings Betsy’s exhibit home from Farmington to the gallery where she’ll give a talk about her works. These are wooden disks with exquisite renderings of the ordinary seen from a fresh perspective: portrait of a pepper seen from above. Wonderful: don’t miss them. (This means you, too, Tom Puiia: the Bells were grateful for the discount on the birch ply.)

And the press?

The hand-powered etching press that Lem bought and stored till the Arts Council could set it up in the Tech Center was moved instead to quite a different home, Betsy and Steve Bell’s.

The romance of an antique etching press may have escaped you, but that’s only because you haven’t seen one up close. All its parts are beautiful: the flywheel that moves the gears, turns the rollers that imprint the etching’s image onto paper – all work flawlessly. “Sweet,” said Steve.

The press was not assembled when the Bells moved its tonnage to an ell of their house. No assembly instructions. Steve said, “I just sat there and let it talk to me.” He heard it correctly: The press is in perfect operating order.

Beginning in June the Bells plan to offer area artists press time for rent and to conduct workshops in non-toxic print-making. They are planning with UMaine/Mexico’s leader Jane Kay to offer print-making classes.

A new lease on life for the old press and its proud owners, Steve and Betsy Bell.

Lem Cissel, you have left your own imprint here and it won’t fade. Thank you.

My apologies to Peggy Brigette: she stepped up to co-chair Relay for Life several years ago, and I failed to point that out in Valley Voices, April 24. (Thanks, Jen Cohen.)

Linda Farr Macgregor lives in Rumford with her husband, Jim. She is a freelance writer and author of “Rumford Stories.”