Windham rabbit keeper shares expertise at Fryeburg Fair

By Rachel Andrews Damon
Special to The Windham Eagle

If you love rabbits, and what’s not to love, then be sure to check out Fryeburg Fair’s Rabbit Barn. It’s been run by long-time rabbit expert Marie Bishop of Windham.

Long-time rabbit expert Marie Bishop of Windham leads 
Fryeburg Fair’s Rabbit Barn and the retired teacher has
been keeping rabbits since she was in her 20s. The fair's
Rabbit Barn is a showcase for rabbit breeders and 
people who keep rabbits for a hobby. 
SUBMITTED PHOTO  

The Bishops started as rabbit exhibitors at the Fryeburg Fair, and back then Marie volunteered to work in the building because she wanted to oversee her rabbits’ care. Today, Marie has a group of equally dedicated crew mem­bers that work hard in the building during the Fryeburg Fair and all of them love rabbits.

Rabbit Barn activity starts at 6:45 a.m. each day during the fair with crew and exhibitors cleaning rabbit cages, feeding and general caretaking. They’ve got many breeds to name just a few: Ango­ras, Lops, Flemish Giants, Chinchillas, Silver Fox, New Zealands, and Dwarf Hotots.

Now in her 70s, Marie moved to Maine from Peabody, Massachusetts, in 1977. As a child, her family vacationed in Maine. She attended Salem State University for teaching.

“I loved Maine, so I moved here. I ended up meeting my husband, Ted, from Sweden, Maine, in 1977 and we married in 1978.” The Bishops have three children, Jarrod, Holly, and Daniel, and now have five grandchildren. They are “very active grandparents. Since her retire­ment from teaching, Marie has remained very busy not just with rabbits. Besides those responsibilities, she is a member of a cribbage club, a knitter, a board gamer with a group in town, and works out at the local gym.

She was a career teacher and retired in 2013 from Sebago Ele­mentary School specializing in the intervention of students that may not qualify for special programs.

“It was a wonderful school and a great job. I loved it,” Marie said.

Growing up, Marie had always wanted to be a farmer and got her first rabbits in her 20s. As a young couple, the Bishops lived in Na­ples, had three children, but later moved to Bridgton and then Denmark where they raised chickens, sheep and rabbits.

“We raised chickens and rabbits for food and sheep for wool. We built hutches, had a small egg business and a garden,” she said. “Times were very, very tough and we needed to be self-sufficient. We didn’t have much money at all. When my son, Jarrod, was about 11, he wanted to get rabbits. So, we started with another generation of rabbit raisers!”

And they’ve had a variety of breeds and numbers of rabbits since then.

Marie is proud of the Rabbit Barn at the Fryeburg Fair.

“Our building is a livestock showcase. It’s for education,” she said. “That’s what we do. I love the people I work with and the exhibitors because they’re all dif­ferent in their areas of expertise. They all raise rabbits for different reasons.”

Marie says the Rabbit Barn at Fryeburg emphasizes healthy and quality animals and feels fortunate to have highly skilled folks involved. “We have Rebecca Azer. She’s an amazing farmer and raises them for meat and knows her genetics and loves to educate people. We have Chris Gurney and Chris Mageles on our staff. They both show rabbits. Chris Mageles also shows nation­ally. She has won top awards at the national American Rabbit Breeders Association (“ARBA”) convention. My best friend, Liz Kenaley, was my assistant, and she was fabulous, but she passed away in 2024 and is terribly missed. We have several other breeders who volunteer at the barn including Angela and Richard Lavoie, Reggie Smith and Erynn Wakem.”

Marie says rabbits are fascinating.

“Well, they’re diverse. They are great pets, can be shown as a competitive hobby, for 4H projects, for show and for fibers, and meat,” she said. “You can have them in a small area, as well as in a city. They’re easy to take care of. We al­ways advise people to have cages. But you can let them run in your house. They do chew, however, so the cages are important when you’re away. Rabbits eat food pellets, which you purchase, and basically hay and water. You can give them small treats if you wish – a little carrot, apple, teaspoon of old fashioned oatmeal. But people think they eat lots of vegetables. That’s not great for them.”

Marie says her favorites are her Dwarf Hotot breed. They’re white with black around their eyes. Marie won the top senior doe in the Dwarf Hotot breed at the 2018 national ARBA convention. She won Best in Show awards with her Californian breed a few years ago. Marie attends other rabbit shows with colleagues and recently attended a large show in Spencer, Massachusetts. In the past, Marie has displayed rabbits at other fairs in Maine including Common Ground. She also raises Polish rabbits.

Marie says she loves having fairgoers stop in to appreciate the different breeds and get to know the varieties, pat a few and ask ques­tions.

“People love to show us photos of their rabbits or tell stories about the ones they had as a child. People like to pat the rabbits and many non-rabbit owners ask us how long they live. On average it’s 7 to 8 years. They don’t really have a long natural life. Rabbits can get sicknesses and have teeth issues so monitoring their health is very important.”

She strongly suggests that people don’t stick their fingers in cages at the fair as the animals might take a bite thinking it’s a carrot.

“Find someone with an apron on and most of the time they can take a rabbit out for visiting and patting,” she said.

Marie always acknowledges the people that work in the Rabbit Barn.

“I have two assistants. Sarah Strange, who does the bulk of the work 13 hours a day!, along with her husband, Jaysen, and their children, Cas­sidy, Joel and Timmy and Jaysen’s parents, Joel and Lisa Strange. Cassidy, age 16, and Timmy, age 12, both did rabbit pre­sentations for the public last year. They were very well received,” Marie said. “Natasha Berry is my second assistant and is exceptional and there’s Chris Gurney, Chris Magellis, Rebecca Azer, Angela and Rich­ard Lavoie. They are all very appreciated. Re­becca’s girls sometimes come in to help. Reggie Smith is now 86 and has been involved at the Fryeburg Fair’s rabbit barn since long ago, before I arrived. Erin Wakeham and Liz’s boyfriend, Carey Hyde, well, we can’t do it without these dedicated and wonderful rabbit advocates and professionals.” <

Plummer to seek return to Maine State Senate

By Ed Pierce

A familiar face has thrown his hat in the ring to succeed Bill Diamond in representing Windham in the Maine State Senate.

Republican Gary Plummer has announced his intention to campaign for Windham’s District 26 Senate seat this fall to replace incumbent Democrat Sen. Bill Diamond, who is term limited. Plummer has extensive experience serving in the Maine Legislature, including as a state representative and a state senator.

Former State Rep. and State Sen. Gary Plummer, a Republican,
will seek Windham's District 26 State Senate seat this fall, in
an election to replace Sen. Bill Diamond, who is term limited.
SUBMITTED PHOTO   

“A year ago, I didn’t want to run, I’m retired,” Plummer said. “My wife told me I needed to run for Maine Senate. I can bring something there, which is experience. I know the system and I know the people. Deciding to run has been a slow process for me, but I can do it and I’m in it to win.”

A 1964 graduate of Windham High School, Plummer says he first became interested in politics while attending Dirigo Boys State as a high school junior in 1963. After graduation, he went on to earn a degree in education from Gorham State Teachers College and spent 13 years teaching in Standish before joining Manchester School as an elementary school teacher in 1982.

Plummer was asked by his former biology teacher at Windham High, Bob Hunt, to help serve on a committee examining if Windham should establish its own police force in the mid-1970s and it gave him insight into the workings of town government.

That knowledge expanded further when a referendum converting Windham government to the Council-Town Manager system was passed by voters. Hunt suggested to Plummer that he should run for town council, and he was elected to a council seat in November 1974.

“I loved being a town councilor,” Plummer said. “I liked building and creating the town government we know today. I cast the deciding vote breaking a 3-3 tie to create the Windham Police Department. But after serving eight years on the council things became more routine and the excitement of doing something new started to go away.”

He then ran for Cumberland County Commission and was elected for several four-year terms as a county commissioner.

“It was an enjoyable experience, and I learned a great deal about public safety,” Plummer said. “During my time as a commissioner, we helped transition the position of corrections officer to a career rather than just be a stepping stone to other law enforcement positions.”

His friend, State Rep. David Tobin of Windham, informed Plummer that he would not be running for re-election and Plummer, who had retired as a teacher by then, campaigned and won election as State Representative for Windham in 2004, serving eight years in that role before running and serving one term as Windham’s state senator from 2012 to 2014.

“It was an honor I never took lightly,” Plummer said. “It was a steep learning curve at first. Going from dealing with issues in town government to the politics in Augusta was challenging. My first term was an eye-opening experience. I didn’t expect everything to be so political. But I learned to work with people to get things done.”

Plummer says his willingness to work with others to accomplish legislation that benefits the residents of Windham and everyone in Maine is needed in Augusta and having someone with experience is critical right now.

“I can work with just about everyone,” Plummer said.

District 26 has been redrawn by the Maine Legislature and now encompasses Casco, Frye Island, Windham, Raymond, and now a portion of Westbrook. Currently no other challengers have stepped forward to run for the Republican nomination for the state senate seat, but if there is, a primary election will be conducted in June.

He lives in Windham with his wife Betty in a home his grandparents built on land they bought in 1910. His first wife died and between them, he and Betty have four children, five grandchildren and a great-grandchild.

His interests include antique automobiles and Plummer is the proud owner of 1965 Ford Mustang and a 1949 Ford F-150 pickup truck, close to the one he learned to drive on as a teen in his father’s hayfield.

“I like just about anything regarding history,” he said. “I volunteer with the Windham Historical Society and helped to establish the Neighbors Helping Neighbors Program.”

Plummer said that he has spoken with Diamond about continuing to champion child welfare issues in the state and if elected, he would also focus on resolving domestic violence issues in Maine.

“A lot needs to be done,” he said. “I am also looking to help address the drug issues in our state and making sure the right individuals are chosen to serve as school resource officers.” <