He is not a member of the Damariscotta First Baptist Church nor even a resident of Damariscotta, but Richard Cummings went the extra mile this week to raise money for the restoration of the Church steeple.
In two days, with only a quirky steeple-inspired hat and a five-gallon bucket to help collect money, Cummings raised nearly $1,139.27 in fives and tens, and spare change. To the casual observer, Cummings’ fervent desire to see the steeple raised before the end of summer is nothing less than astonishing. What could move a man that is not even a resident of Damariscotta, let alone a member of the Church to care so much?
Cummings’ relationship with the steeple is as deep rooted as it is poignant. He first grew to love the Church’s steeple when he was just eight years old. As a child Cummings would visit his Uncle Myron, honored steward of the Strong Funeral Home for 28 years, every fall for Thanksgiving. After the festive dinner, Cummings and the other kids in his family would run downtown to see a movie or play.
“As kid running around Damariscotta during Thanksgiving I began to really look at that steeple, and I loved it,” said Cummings.
The steeple began to hold an even deeper to Cummings decades later. A career military man, Cummings had just returned from his first tour of duty in Vietnam when he heard from the Red Cross of his father’s untimely death during a salmon fishing trip. Using the money he received from the Red Cross to attend his father’s funeral, Cummings bought a one-way ticket to Boston.
He arrived at Logan International Airport in the middle of a snowstorm with no means of getting to Maine. Wearing his Air Force uniform and carrying only a small duffle bag, Cummings hitchhiked his way up the coast to Damariscotta. Arriving downtown at 11:30 p.m. at night, Cummings was dropped off in a snow blanketed ghost town; no people in the streets, no cars on the road. The blizzard whirling all around him, Cummings dropped his bag and sat on a guardrail.
“I was feeling pretty, pretty low and then I turned around and there was the steeple lit up. What an inspiration that was. I never forgot that,” said Cummings.
The steeple continued to be an inspiration for Cumming throughout his battle with cancer. He would see the steeple everyday on his way to work as a teacher and advisor at Lincoln Academy.
Cummings was stirred to action after reading an article in The Lincoln County News last week detailing the necessary costs for completing the Damariscotta Steeple Project. The restoration committee requires $45,000 more to raise the steeple on top of the Church.
Most of the money is needed to rent a crane powerful enough to lift the steeple. There is only one such crane in Maine able to complete the task. The restoration committee has less than 10 days to come up with enough money to rent the vehicle. If the money cannot be raised, the steeple will remain on the ground until next summer.
Inspired to help the restoration committee raise enough money, Cummings and his wife made an outlandish hat topped with a foot high paper maché steeple to go along with a “Save the Steeple” shirt donated by Kim Fletcher of Pemaquid Vinyl.
Confident in his “Save the Steeple” uniform and armed with a five-gallon bucket, Cummings walked the Round Pond Parade route on the Fourth of July and remained in downtown Damariscotta nearly non-stop from Sunday afternoon through noon Tuesday soliciting donations.
“I had to soak my feet in salt water after that,” he said.
Both young and old opened their wallets to help restore the steeple.
“People donated beyond my wildest expectations, “said Cummings, “I want to extend my deep appreciation for the generosity of the people that I’ve met over the last few days.”
When asked if he believes enough money will be raised to restore the steeple this summer, Cummings showed unwavering confidence.
“I’m fully optimistic that’ll go up this summer, ” said Cummings, “I’d bet $100 to a jelly donut that it will.”
Donations made be sent to the Damariscotta Baptist Church Landmark Steeple Fund, Attn: Mitchell Wellman, The First National Bank of Damariscotta, PO Box 940, Damariscotta, 04543.
