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Showing posts with label Lewiston. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lewiston. Show all posts

Friday, February 2, 2024

Lewiston presentation reaffirms faith in human spirit for Windham poet

By Ed Pierce

A Windham resident who believes that written words can soothe emotional pain presented a framed copy of a 14-line poem he composed to Lewiston city councilors during their meeting on Jan. 23.

Windham poet Bob Clark was honored by members of the
Lewiston City Council during a meeting on Jan. 23 for a
poem he wrote last October recognizing the bravery shown
by Lewiston residents following a mass shooting there on
Oct. 25 which killed 18 people and injured 13 others.
COURTESY PHOTO     
Bob Clark composed the poem “Our Candle Vigil” in response to the Oct. 25 news of two separate shooting incidents in Lewiston in which 18 people died and 11 more were injured by a lone gunman.

“I wanted to communicate support for people victimized by the deaths and wounds,” Clark said. “I wanted to acknowledge the collective bravery being shown by citizens as they were directed to shelter in place. Peoples’ plans shifted, and a manhunt was on. I became fearful since Windham was within striking distance of the shooter’s escape. Eventually the danger ended, allowing recovery to begin.”

Clark grew up and spent a great deal of time only a few towns away from Lewiston and said that his aunt had graduated from Bates College there. He had worked for an adult education program in Lewiston after serving in the U.S. Peace Corps in El Salvador in 1980 and has many connections to the area.

“I felt unsettled learning of death and injury details. The ugly truth was on my mind, so I wrote and edited and placed feelings directly into poetry,” he said. “Once the lyrical stanzas were complete, I contacted the Lewiston Sun Journal in the hope that if it was published it might ease some of the shocking pain. In that way, I wanted to communicate with victims that they were not alone in their grief.”

His poem “Our Candle Vigil” was published in the Lewiston Sun Journal in its Nov. 4 editorial section.

At the end of December, Clark visited Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline and took him a copy of the poem. That led Sheline to invite Clark to present a framed copy of “Our Candle Vigil” to the Lewiston City Council at its next scheduled meeting.

According to Clark he is thankful to have found the will to compose the poem and feels it has had a positive effect upon a grieving community.

“It was not pleasant work to align tortuous words that questioned reality and at the same time reflect feelings of agony,” he said. “By contrast it was uplifting to convey the strength of community-wide solidarity. The poem includes both types. Many candlelight vigils have taken place. Those images became my visual connecting point. Above the poem’s title I presented to the council is pictured the glow of 18 candles. This assault is nothing I take lightly.”

Clark told Lewiston city councilors during his presentation that the community showed resolve and determination during the ordeal.

“So, these traits continue and no doubt in the same way that Bostonians showed strength in their battles of Breeds and Bunker Hill. These traits are helping heal and helping move forward, and to gain our footing again,” he said. “Learning about those October crimes caught me off guard and in disbelief. I was listening, watching, and fearful. Realizing the senseless harm, and injury, and death just plain hurts. Soon after, in open grief, gatherings started taking place, community prayers were raised, and candlelight vigils were held. As heartfelt as ideas are, no words erase scars or do away with pain but this short poem arrangement I hope will serve, alongside others, to honor victims of this gruesome assault.”

Since its publication, Clark says that responses to his poem and the Lewiston City Council presentation have furnished him with faith in the importance of humane connections.

“The composition of ‘Our Candle Vigil’ became positioned with an unexpected outcome. My usual writing themes relate nature to people and people to nature, I’ve never characterized crime or punishment,” Clark said. “The events had jarred my senses. I related with deeply seated sorrow. I was hopeful it could bring some comfort. The poem seems to carry that affect. Work with words is a labor of love, I feel rewarded to realize the use of poetical lyrics does benefit recovery.”

He said that the events before and during the Lewiston shootings had a dismal effect on him and for his home state of Maine.

“I never envisioned a type of support that would have me reading a poem at a televised, open city council meeting. But it has happened,” Clark said. “Words are surely not a medical remedy for the fatigue of emotional pain, though they are a way to communicate. They can relate a positive intent. They can show concern. They can calm nerves. I am gladdened that my words have found a positive place in all the stress and madness of these past crazed events. I am also being inspired to find that compassion remains at the ready, it continues to be reliable. I am glad to have joined in to help victims heal from the shooter’s mind-numbing cruelties.” 

Our Candle Vigil

What pain is there when too much has been ground

Into the heart as if a dagger speared

Would cause to suffer wild screaming sounds

’Til eyes are left to grieve alone in tears?

What prayer verse could have been keeping guard

Where people work and prosper next to each

Among their kin and friends from yard to yard

And ask to only practice what they preach?

These shocking deaths for whom we now do bear

A witness to when love is lost to hate

Does rob us all of playfulness and cheer

Until the burden heals its own weight.

Tonight our candle vigil air is filled

With light that reaches far into the hills.

 

Friday, November 3, 2023

Windham shows support for Maine community suffering from tragedy

By Matt Pascarella

After Maine’s deadliest mass shooting rocked the community of Lewiston and the country, all over the nation people have tried to comfort the town. Closer to home, RSU 14 Grounds Coordinator Michael DiDonato wanted to show support from one community to another in the wake of these horrific events. Windham High School’s stadium athletic field, where many sports take place and the Windham community spends much of its time cheering on our various teams, “LEWISTON” is stenciled across the mid-field.

Windham Grounds Coordinator Michael DiDonato
stenciled 'LEWISTON' in the midfield of Windham
High School's stadium athletic field after the mass
shooting that took place on Wednesday, Oct. 25. 
DiDonato finished the stencil on Friday, Oct. 27 in
support of Lewiston from one community to another.
PHOTO BY EUGENE GALLANT  
“I was hoping, as I am sure many were, that a tragedy like this would never happen in the state of Maine,” said DiDonato. “Now that it has, it is more important than ever to show support to those affected. We all want to help but may feel helpless in what to do, so I thought this could be a way Windham as a community could show their support for our neighbors.”

The stencil was made with a robot called a Turf Tank, which is a new device that DiDonato has used since August of this year. Using the Turf Tank, it took him about 30 minutes to stencil “LEWISTON” in the middle of the field, it then took another hour for DiDonato to fill it in with blue paint and white trim. The stencil was completed on Friday, Oct. 27.

“Our district’s amazing grounds crew, led by Mike DiDonato, shows how we stand together,” said Windham resident Krista White Gerrity. Their tribute to the Lewiston tragedy, shared by so many people, helped to strengthen our support. Bad things aren’t supposed to happen here. After this week, the world knows Maine, but for all the wrong reasons. The light during this tragedy is the love that flows through our communities. The support we have for each other is stronger than ever.”

In past years, DiDonato has paid tribute by stenciling the varsity letters of Windham’s senior athletes on the field, he also honored beloved former WHS administrator Deb McAfee when she was diagnosed with cancer. DiDonato says he thinks it’s important to recognize Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, so he always does the pink ribbons as well as pink paint on some of the fields during October.

After stenciling “LEWISTON” on the WHS athletic field, DiDonato then posted his work to Facebook, with the caption “we are one” and his post received an outpouring of support and positive comments.

According to DiDonato, while Maine is a large state, it’s a small community and he says that when one part of the state is affected, it affects all of us.

“I think it was a nice gesture on Mike’s behalf to do this,” said RSU 14 Athletic Director Rich Drummond. “It’s a very sad and tragic situation and it’s a sign of support for that community during a very tough time. It’s nice that we have helped garner support in our community for the Lewiston/Auburn area.”

The “LEWISTON” lettering will be left up for the remainder of the fall sports season. DiDonato will repaint it and it should hold over until the spring season.

“I was very proud and honored to be a part of such a great community,” said Windham resident Dick Drapeau. “Maine is a very small town. We were all affected by what happened in Lewiston that day. Well done Windham High School … what an exceptional thing to do.”

Upon seeing DiDonato’s work, many surrounding Maine communities including Gorham High School, Gorham Youth Football, and South Portland have reached out to him to show their support for Lewiston on their fields.

“When I first saw “LEWISTON” on our home athletic field it gave me a great sense of pride to be part of this community,” said Windham resident Maureen Flaherty Janvrin. “I have always felt a strong sense of community within Windham but every tragedy we experience we come together and show support in every way; this exemplifies what our community represents. As a community I know we all hold our loved ones a little closer and tighter; we will continue to support the Lewiston community as they begin to process grief and healing.” <