MSSM faculty member joins Franco-American Hall of Fame

LIMESTONE, Maine — Officials at the Maine School of Science and Mathematics recently announced that their very own art instructor, J. Donald Cyr, was recently inducted into a very exclusive group. Cyr is now a proud member of the Maine Franco-American Hall of Fame.
Cyr was properly introduced at a ceremony that took place at the State House in Augusta on Wednesday, March 18, as part of a celebration of French and Canadian culture in Maine. In addition to his recent work restoring the former Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel church and rectory in Lille, now the Musée Culturel du Mont-Carmel, Cyr collects Acadian relics from surrounding area antique dealers and pawn shops.
His passion for Acadian artifacts began when he was only 13 years old. Today, Cyr’s collection has grown to over 1,000 pieces.
“I’ve been painting since I was a kid, and I was looking one day in a Presque Isle antique shop for frames. While I was there, I saw a bell that I liked and it just went on from there,” Cyr said. “I’ve had to look into acquiring fine arts insurance because I have collected so many things.”
In 1978, Cyr rented the Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel rectory in Lille as his living quarters and soon began restoration of the former church into the museum. In 1984, when he bought the museum, he began the painstaking task of restoring it to its original state. It is worth a visit to better understand Cyr pursuing his labor of love.
“My entire MSSM salary goes toward the museum. I’ve always had two jobs, so one salary goes towards the restoration project and the other goes towards my living expenses. Luckily, I’ve always had very low living expenses,” Cyr said.
“It was my honor to have nominated Don Cyr to the Franco-American Hall of Fame,” said Rep. Danny Martin, D-Sinclair. “Don is a respected member of our Franco-American community. This is well deserved.”
Cyr’s latest project is modernizing the Galerie-Lille-sur-St.-Jean, an exhibition art gallery in Lille that will hold some of his collection. He is currently hard at work on the building’s roof and is hopeful that the project will be completed by June 2015.
Cyr has taught art at MSSM since 2001. He splits his teaching time between MSSM and the University of Maine at Presque Isle.
For more information about the Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel museum, please visit its website at http://www.musee culturel.org/. You may also like the museum on Facebook at “Musée Culturel du Mont-Carmel in Lille, ME.”