AROOSTOOK COUNTY – Representatives from The Aroostook Medical Center and the town of Fort Fairfield have been working jointly for the last few years on a Community General Hospital Legacy Project that has brought both a memorial garden and a community garden to the site of the former hospital in Fort Fairfield. The work has been spearheaded by members of the CGH Legacy Project Committee.
“When TAMC, or any business, partners with a community to help the residents of that community, it’s a benefit for all,” said Jim Risner, town manager of Fort Fairfield. “This has been a great collaborative effort to improve citizens’ physical health by what they can grow in the community garden and their mental health by providing a quiet, green space to go and reflect in the memorial garden.”
The plans for the Community General Hospital Memorial Garden were unveiled in July of 2015, as part of the town’s Maine Potato Blossom Festival activities. The community garden was unveiled at the same time, giving residents free access to space to try their hand at gardening and grow their own vegetables.
Since that time, thousands of dollars’ worth of items have been donated to the memorial garden, such as benches, trees and shrubs from various entities. The Pendleton Pavilion was unveiled last year in honor of Dr. Arthur “Don” and Patricia Pendleton, and a winding pathway through the garden is in memory of J.R. McGillan. The most recent donation is a children’s playhouse, donated in memory of Fort Fairfield children who have passed away. The playhouse, donated by the Doughty family, is another great example of collaboration for the benefit of the community.
MaryLou Doughty and her daughter, Barb Ireland, donated the funds to pay for the playhouse, while her son, Kerby Doughty, and the students in his industrial technology class at Fort Fairfield Middle & High School designed and built the log playhouse. In addition, Katahdin Cedar Log Homes in Oakfield donated the logs for the building, while S.W. Collins Company and the Easton Amish donated additional materials. The Fort Fairfield town crew supported the effort by moving the completed playhouse to its location near the Community General Hospital Memorial Garden, which is adjacent to TAMC’s Fort Fairfield Health Center.
“This project was a labor of love. The students learned something every day that we worked on it,” said Kerby Doughty. “It was a great service learning project that allowed them to give back to their community.”
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