Stanley Barnum |
By Barbara Scott
Staff Writer
Stanley Barnum, a resident at the Maine Veterans’ Home in Caribou was recently named December’s Resident of the Month by staff and administrators at the facility.
Born on Jan. 25, 1946 in Woodland where he grew up and attended school, Barnum enlisted in the U.S. Army on April 16, 1964, and was trained as a radio technician and cryptologist, stationed at Fort Drum, New York and Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
After residing in Florida for several years, Barnum returned to northern Maine in the early 1970s and became a member of the Maine Army National Guard. During this time he also took classes to become a code and plumbing inspector, serving as a code inspector for multiple towns in the area for an estimated 25 years.
Barnum, who served as town selectman in Woodland, also ran a sawmill for 10 years and worked for a cable company.
The local veteran and his wife Carol have been married for 39 years and the couple has two sons, Stanley, Jr. and Will. He is also the very proud Grampy of his granddaughter Aurora, who was born this year.
Following a period of time living at the High View Manor in Madawaska, Barnum became a resident at the Maine Veterans’ Home in March. He enjoys gardening and has many plants throughout his residence at MVH, noting that his interest in gardening began when he was only six years old. The Resident of the Month also likes to fish and ties his own flies. He is very interested in farming and the timber industry.
At the Maine Veterans Home, Barnum participates in a number of activities, many offered to him daily and he is always happy to be around his fellow veterans, staff and volunteers. He also enjoys watching old westerns and listening to country music, especially by recording artists Johnny Cash and Hank Williams.