Lincoln County, as we all know, is a wonderful place to live. While it is unfortunately true that professional opportunities are scarce for people in the prime of their careers, it is the perfect setting for growing up and for growing old.
The latter has no doubt helped Lincoln County earn its title as the oldest county in one of the oldest states in the nation.
A downside of having a community consisting of so many members enjoying their Golden Years is that we tend to lose friends and neighbors with alarming frequency.
Our community took one on the chin last week with the passing of Judy Doe, of Newcastle. This week we lose another local hero with the death of Damariscotta Lake Watershed Association’s former executive, Al Railsback.
In each case, their passing is not necessarily a surprise to their families and friends, but it is still a loss for their respective families and in a very real way, a loss for us, the community at large. In their separate ways, they each played pivotal roles in their adopted communities.
Doe was known for her tireless advocacy for animals, her bedrock presence in the family business on Mills Road in Newcastle, and her volunteer service to the town in one capacity or another over the years.
Railsback, a one-time science teacher, retired to Maine and spent the rest of his life fashioning a towering legacy by advancing the mission of the Damariscotta Lake Watershed Association which will serve to protect Railsback’s beloved lake for future generations, as he hoped.
In very real ways, their activism helped shape the communities we enjoy today.
We feel keenly the loss of our friends because they gave us a piece of themselves, living their lives the way they did. If their passing leaves us feeling a little poorer today, it is only because of what they gave to us, makes us much richer in the long run.
