Nobleboro Historical Society President Mary Sheldon (right) expresses gratitude to attendees of Nobleboro’s 19th annual AppleFest on Saturday, Oct. 5 as Dewey Meteer (left) hands her a bouquet of flowers. Sheldon was recognized for her nearly 20 years of service to the historical society during AppleFest. (Piper Pavelich photo)
Mary Sheldon, who has volunteered nearly two decades of her time to the Nobleboro Historical Society, is planning to take a step back from the role in December.
During the historical society’s 19th annual AppleFest on Saturday, Oct. 5, Sheldon was recognized by fellow volunteers for her contributions to the community, a gesture that left her emotional and filled with gratitude.
“It has been my pleasure doing this. I have lived in many places in the United States and my most favorite is Midcoast Maine and Nobleboro,” she said.
Sheldon said she will retire from her role as president of the historical society effective Tuesday, Dec. 31 but that she may stay in the role a bit longer if needed.
“I’m 80-and-a-half … In order to make this work, and to continue working, we have to get somebody in there,” she said. “We need to get people to take over. I mean, I was 50-something when I took over, so it’s time … I will certainly continue to volunteer, since nobody knows what it is that I’ve been doing for 19 years.”
Sheldon has been the president of the historical society since 2005, but history has not always been one of her passions, she said.
“I was a science major, I hated history. When I went to school, history would be memorizing names and dates and all that stuff, and it’s much more involved now, and, when you live in Nobleboro, it is history … That makes it more real, and George (Dow) was a wonderful teacher,” she said.
Sheldon said she got involved in the Nobleboro Historical Society because her late husband was a good friend of George Dow, a local historian who was a member of the Nobleboro Historical Society. He died in 2006.
Mary Sheldon, president of the Nobleboro Historical Society, addresses the crowd at Nobleboro’s 19th annual AppleFest the afternoon of Saturday, Oct. 5. Volunteers and historical society members recognized Sheldon for nearly two decades of service to the community. (Piper Pavelich photo)
“(Dow) needed someone to organize a meeting. I did a good job … He said, ‘You want to be president?’ I said, ‘No,’” she said.
After asking her two more times, Sheldon said she finally agreed to take on the role.
Along with volunteers from the historical society, she pioneered the return of AppleFest, a beloved community event that Dow started in the late 1970s. The event was revived in 2005 after a hiatus.
In addition to working with the Nobleboro Historical Society, Sheldon has devoted her time to numerous community organizations and causes over the nearly two decades she has been volunteering in the area.
“I’m an introvert, but meeting these people is just wonderful. It’s been fun,” she said.
Sheldon serves as a member of the Nobleboro Cemetery Committee, which works to maintain over 80 town cemeteries, and is on the Dunbar Cemetery Association. She is also the treasurer of the Nobleboro Democratic Committee.
Over the past two years, she has worked with the Nobleboro Democratic and Republican committees to plan their joint annual chili lunch, which raises funds for The Community Energy Fund of Lincoln County, an organization that helps those in need who do not qualify for state or federal heating assistance programs.
In 2020, Sheldon came up with an idea to encourage donations to the Damariscotta Mills Fish Ladder Restoration in George N. Weston’s name to mark his 100th birthday. He was a local historian who had lived in the Mills for 95 years at that point. He died in April 2023 at the age of 102.
During AppleFest in 2017, Sheldon was honored with Nobleboro’s Spirit of America Award for her volunteerism and dedication to the community.
