Thoughts from the Week in Maine
The picture above was sketched by Twitter/X user @rico_w and shared with the caption, “18 new stars join the North Star over Maine tonight. #LewistonME. See original post here.
I know people open their emails from me on Sunday mornings for content on the economy, real estate, and other things in the financial world, but there was really only one topic of note from where I write in Maine this week, and that was the horrific shooting deaths of 18 people at the hands of a lone gunman with obvious serious mental health issues who is now dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot. It would feel callous of me to write about anything else this week nor do I really want to, so I thought I would share a few reflections and images and then we will regroup with regular content next week.
One Big Small Town
Maine is a state of 1.3 million people, but to those of us who live here it really feels like one big small town. Everyone is connected in one way or another. People often keep to themselves, but at the same time neighbors (in both the direct and broader sense) watch out for one another. My great grandfather had a sawmill on the banks of the Mattawamkeag River over 100 years ago, and he and his millworkers mostly tended to their own shop, but when his mill had a fire the neighboring mill owner and all of his workers stepped in to help. That was just the values of the Maine woods, which carry through to this day: strong independence, but with a spirit of mutual care.
When things happen in Maine, it seems to impact everyone and everyone pulls together. When a big winter storm hits, we all hunker down. When one of our own makes it big on the national stage, we are all proud. And when tragedy strikes, everyone is drawn together in grief but also in care and support.
To be sure, Maine has never experienced anything like what happened on Wednesday. This was one of the deadliest mass shootings in recent American history, a period of time marked by, sadly, numerous mass shootings. And that is why life effectively stopped here in Maine for the past several days in the horror of the moment and also during the subsequent 48-hour manhunt. It was like Maine was collectively holding its breath waiting for the search for the gunman to be over and also waiting to hear the names and stories of those who were killed.
Lewiston, Maine, is a particularly unique community marked by a true blue collar ethic and a brand of independence and togetherness that is particularly rugged. Lewiston is an authentic place full of genuine people, the kind you’d like to have as your own neighbors and friends. The faces of those 18 people who lost their lives resonate so deeply because they are so regular….so Maine. They include a bowling coach and his wife, a sign language interpreter as well as several other members of the Maine deaf community, a freshman in high school and his dad, a pipe fitter, an umpire, bar and bowling alley staff, among others. They were fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, children and friends.
What Comes Next
It will take the Lewiston community and the broader Maine community a long time to recover. In some ways it will be impossible, and the wounds from this tragedy will never really heal. Our family was impacted in its own way as so many Maine families were: my wife’s cousin, who is a youth bowler, and his mother were in the bowling alley at the time of the shooting. On a random Wednesday night in October that is exactly where you would want a kid like that to be, participating in youth bowling night. They are at least okay physically having made it out of the bowling alley safely, but are perhaps mentally scarred for life. The initial communication from fellow family members suggests three of their companions that night were killed, which were the bowling coach Robert Violette and the father and son bowlers, Bill and Aaron Young.
How to Give
The Maine Community Foundation, which in the interest of full disclosure I am proud to serve as a board member of, has established a fund to help both the victims of the tragedy and their families and to support efforts to rebuild and heal. 100% of every dollar donated will be given to those affected. If you are interested in donating, you can do so online at the following link, which also includes details of where you can mail a donation: https://www.mainecf.org/initiatives-impact/lewiston-auburn-area-response-fund/
Parting Thoughts and Images from the Week
In closing, here are some additional snippets and images from the week that I found to be particularly moving:
The Bangor Daily News has some good stories and happy memories of those who died that they assembled from speaking with family and friends. Read more here.
The Bangor Daily News also has a story about a bowling alley employee who may have saved the lives of a dozen or more youth bowlers and who is now going through a series of surgeries having been shot multiple times. Read more here.
Dr. Nirav Shah, the widely respected and highly regarded former director of the Maine CDC who communitated so regularly and effectively with the state during the COVID-19 pandemic, shared a thread on X (formerly Twitter) honoring Joshua Seal, who was a sign language interpreter who was a fixture at Maine CDC press conferences during the pandemic. Check it out here.
For some reason this photo of the Boston Celtics’ Jason Tatum wearing Maine Celtics gear on Friday night was really impactful. I think it was the strangeness of knowing that what was happening in Maine was a national story but also that so many people cared and wanted to do something to help even if it was something as simple as wearing a shirt in recognition and in honor of those who were in pain or grieving.
An image from St. Matthews Church in Lisbon, a mile from where the body of the shooter was eventually found. Photo by Emily Bader of The Maine Monitor.
Finally, on a more lighthearted note, Stephen Colbert shared thoughts on Maine in his monologue Thursday evening:
My own prayers go out to all those victims and their families. Whether impacted physically or mentally or through grief and trauma, I hope that all can begin the long process of healing.
To the regular readers of The Sunday Morning Post, thank you for indulging me this post today. I’ll see you next week for more regular content. Have a nice week, everybody.