ROCKLAND, Maine — Both sides are gearing up for another battle over whether the city should allow a local restaurant to use a strip of a town square that is named after two Rockland men who died in World War I.
This time, the American Legion and the Rockland Parks Commission have entered the debate.
At the center of the issue is the downtown square at the intersection of Main Street and Park Drive. The square contains a marker memorializing the two Rockland residents who died in World War I — Lt. Albert Holbrook and Pvt. Arthur Winslow.
Six or seven years ago, the owner of Brass Compass, a Main Street restaurant located adjacent to the square, asked to set up tables and chairs outside her restaurant. The City Council earlier had agreed to allow restaurants on Main Street to have tables and chairs outside during business hours in the summer.
Since then, however, Holbrook’s niece Katherine Gaye Best has argued against the city allowing a section of the square to be used for commercial purposes. Best’s 92-year-old mother, Roberta Best, Holbrook’s sister, supports the placement of a more substantial monument at the square.
A drawing of a proposed monument also was submitted to the council.
Best is renewing her opposition to the lease this year and presented the city Wednesday with a petition signed by nearly 30 downtown business members and other Rockland residents.
Best stated that the restaurant’s use of the park “is an insult to the other businesses in town and to the memory of all veterans. This park is much more valuable than that and for a variety of reasons.”
The city grants the Brass Compass the right to place 10 tables and chairs along a 12-foot strip adjacent to the restaurant. The city charges $25 per table, with the tables only allowed May 1 through Oct. 1, according to City Clerk Stuart Sylvester.
Lynn Archer, owner of the Brass Compass, said the use of the narrow strip does nothing to take away from the square but instead makes it more appealing. She said before she opened the Brass Compass 10 years ago, the park was not maintained and was filled with litter. She said she cleans the square.
“This is enjoyed by thousands of people in the summer,” Archer said, including people with dogs or wheelchairs who enjoy eating outside.
Mayor Brian Harden said he has mixed feelings about the city allowing the use of the property. Harden has supported the measure in past years.
“I like seeing people outside eating,” Harden said, noting it adds a vitality to the city.
He said he was concerned about the use of public property by a private business.
The City Council will discuss the matter at its meeting set for 6:30 p.m. Monday at City Hall.
Carol Maines, chairwoman of the parks commission, said the group is discussing the matter but has yet to take a stand.
Michael Phillips, the second vice commander of the Holbrook-Merritt-Winslow American Legion Post in Rockland, wrote a letter to the council urging it to stop the use of the land by a private enterprise.
Archer said that in addition to making the square more attractive, her use of the property creates jobs and that should be considered during this economic downturn.
Sure seems narrow-minded to think that the memory of two American Heroes should prohibit a restaurant from making a profit. After all, the town is getting over $1.63 per day for the placing of the ten tables. Maybe some Nail Salon could set up a few stations at the cemetery for that killer hair and nail style for $2.00 a day. At that rate, you could order a coffee every other day at the restaurant. Maine, Open for Business!
It’s nice eating in that little park, and it does make Rockland seem a little livelier. I don’t believe that using a bit of the park that way is disrespectful to veterans, and I am one.
Memorials share public spaces with citizens all over our country and the world. Renting some public space to restaurants for outdoor dining is also common throughout our country and the world.
Imagine how much more use the park on the other side of the intersection would get if there were some nice trees growing there. While it contains a memorial too, it is much larger in size.
Trees are great for dogs, but they don’t make a lively, viable town. For that you need people and to get people, you need a destination such as outdoor dining which will give them an opportunity to enjoy an area and not just walk through it.
And opening up to the outdoors should not just be in that park, but all along the main street with other eating and shopping opportunities!
I disagree with you on the trees. They are an amenity that would add to people’s enjoyment of the space that Weinand is referring to.
I’ve eaten lunch at one of those tables…a few times. And I never even knew that there was a monument there, or that it was a “park.” I do think it’s a lovely little spot. But, if the restaurant doesn’t own the land, which I always assumed they did, I’m not sure it’s right for them to use it for that. Maybe they could lease the land during those months, maybe the city ought to make it available to bid on, or lease, for any proprietor? Maybe the Brass Compass could “sponsor” the park, and maintain it? It does seem that they shouldn’t be able to use the public space exclusively to make a profit at the expense of others without the opportunity to use it as well…
It is a very narrow space that the Brass Compass is allowed to use. If Best is so concerned about desecration of a memorial area, the large memorial across the street is often strewn with litter. She might well clean it up. Certainly, the city should.
That outdoor strip of tables is the first thing people see when they turn down Maine Street, and one of the few things that make the street appealing at all. It brings life to the street.
As to other businesses objecting? It is not the fault of the Brass Compass that there is adjacent space which otherwise, as noted, is either filled with litter or is empty and lifeless.
The entire square is named after these veterans. How can this not be sufficent honor? Best has gone way too far.
Ideally, the entire park would be filled with cart vendors, as well as Brass Compass patrons.
I’m a veteran, I’m ok with it.
But maybe the town would find it fitting to use what little money they charge for this to directly care for the memorial? I’m not sure they should profit from renting out space on a memorial.
I agree completely!
I see no issues with them using the small portion near their building.. especially if they put forth the effort to clean and maintain the area.. I think that’s a great trade-off.. the buisness can seat more patrons, and the small “corner” gets cleaned on a regular basis.
I guess then they also want to complain about the “santa shack” in the winter, and “anti-war” protestors that hang out on that corner too…
Shame on all of us. First for letting the park be strewn with litter. That can be taken care of by the post or the VFW, make an egale project for a boy scout. Second for allowing it to be used for profit as a “Lunch counter” with tables. Some one once said that you can judge a society by the way it treats its vets. Don’t belittle these men’s sacrfice just because it happened nine decades ago. If not for them and men and women like them, we might not be here today. Please don’t drag “JOBS” into this, it just serves to insult their memories. I’m a vet and I’m not ok with it!
It’s a public park. A public park named after the two veterans. The plaque was only added a few years ago. To have any specific reason to be in that otherwise lifeless park, is the only way that anyone would notice or read the plaque. My father would want people dancing if he had a memorial named after him. But then again, he would say, “I was only one,” and would have refused anything but a memorial to all who served.
I have to agree; it’s a public park, NOT a cemetery. I feel for the families, but the fact that the restaurant has been picking-up the litter and maintaining the area speaks volumes.
Even if it was a cemetery. Cemeteries used to be very popular areas to have picnics and play. Not in any manner that disrespects the gravestones, but simply because it’s a well maintained plot that is open to the public.
well lets see one vet is ok with it and you are not,im a vet and im ok with it,so we win 2 to 1.
Win? Didn’t know it was a contest. If you think it’s a win, it must be so. Just glad I’m not on your team. Semper Fidelis is a way of life, not just a saying.
What does semper fidelis have to do with people enjoying a park? If you are so worried about the park why weren’t you down there cleaning it up? Just what the world needs another grumpy old man!
Not a Marine are you? What makes you think I’m old? Grumpy yes.
Make that 3 to 1 as one who lost his brother after Vietnam.Thanks for your service.
Who is belittling them?There’s no talk of moving or obscuring the memorial nor anything about the time frame.Maybe now a parent will bring their child to visit something they didn’t know existed before now-whether they eat there or not.
Rockland spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on economic development without much effect except to build brick crosswalks and speed humps.
Here Brass Compass is helping bring business to the streets and paying the town for the privilege. It looks very much like a European street cafe…quite nice. Yet they are being attacked.
Rockland should stop chasing away cruise ships and chasing away people who want to bring business to the town, unless they want empty streets again.
Actually, Main Street has been much improved by the work on the sidewalks, which includes new spaces for trees and traffic calming measures making it much more pedestrian friendly.
The new Master Plan for Crockett’s Point (the Tillson Avenue peninsula) will be a further improvement when it is developed.
No. It hasn’t. And, it isn’t. And the Crockett’s Point proposal is an insult to a true working waterfront, (as opposed to The Island Institute’s play on those words).
It is not a speed bump it is a “traffic calming device”.
Gerald is correct the sidewalks are nice, but millions have been spent on downtown improvements and the roads all over the City are terrible. Every manhole cover in town is sinking into the pavement and the roads are so rough it forces people to walk so they don’t tear up their automobiles. Maybe that is there master plan – make the roads so terrible folks will use the sidewalks!
Actually, most of the money spent on the revitalization of Rockland was from grants or outside sources, not taxpayers. I would also argue that most of the bad roads in town (Main St, Union St, Park St, Old County Rd) are not maintained by Rockland but are maintained by either the state or the county. In fact Maine DOT has plans to pave route 1 north and south through Rockland this summer.
“Actually, most of the money spent on the revitalization of Rockland was from grants or outside sources, not taxpayers. ”
When you say “not tax payers” are you referring just to the citizens of Rockland, or all of us in the USA?
I don’t know the situation in Rockland, but I highly doubt some group, or “outside sources” just decided” to send their money to rockland. My Guess would be it was ALL TAX PAYER MONEY.
Rockland’s downtown improvement has had a tremendous positive effect on local businesses. Rockland is a great example of a community and its businesses working together to create a destination that garners national praise. If you don’t believe me take a walk down Main Street in 1992 and tell me if you see a difference.
Also, I don’t think the city government is completely opposed to the Brass Compass using that park for seating. It’s really a small coalition of citizens that oppose it.
I don’t think Lt. Albert Holbrook and Pvt. Arthur Winslow would mind at all if people ate there.And if the place wasn’t even clean untill thjis lady opened her place then whats the fuss about.?
Continue outdoor seating.
Those 2 men died so that there would BE a public square to eat in. I doubt they would mind.
It’s nice that the town gave these two guys a memorial. But there’s no point in having it if people can’t use the space to enjoy the freedom that these guys supposedly died for – I can’t imagine a better tribute to their sacrifice.
I agree with you but the exercise of that freedom has to be done in a respectful manner on the site of a memorial. I think this is the tough part because now the exercise of this freedom becomes a subjective decision. For instance, holding a banner for a political candidate might be fine but holding a banner proclaiming XYZ restaurant wants your business may not be OK. What about eating a meal on the site vs urinating behind the tree’s. What about having a beer, a joint, or simply sleeping on a bench? Again, I think having a meal is fine but perhaps there are inappropriate uses which should not be allowed. So now you must think of this from the town’s point of view. Sooner or later someone is going to criticize them for allowing people to eat on the site of a memorial. They’ll have to answer to the people for that. Tough decision indeed!
First time in a long while I’ve agreed with a politician. Let the people eat in the square, but do not lease any part of it to any restaurant. That way folks who can not afford the summer people prices of the Brass Compass can eat their snack-shop sandwiches there.
The Brass Compass is a very moderately priced restaurant, one that is frequented year round by locals. These townspeople enjoy the lovely and clean outdoor setting that Archer has created and enhanced. Perhaps you have not been there to see for yourself what you are opining on here.
The best comparison, for those of you in the Bangor area, is to think of the Brass Compass as being most-like the Coach House in Brewer. The same menu, the same food styles, the same decor, the same price range, the same customer base. Even the wood panels inside are essentially the same. I visit both on a fairly regular basis. Most meals are in the $6-$10 range, salads, sandwiches, hot meals, and of course seafood in the $10-$15 range mostly. The one thing that the Brass Compass does better than the Coach House is service. Over the years, I’ve watched the service at the Coach House slip (and to be honest, the quality of their food.) But I can tell you, Rockland is a bit of a “foodie” town, and the quality of food at Brass Compass is excellent for the price point. If it weren’t so crowded, I might go more often (a tribute to their success, I’d say…)
Maybe the business can put up a donation jar for the VFW/USO?The old adage”leave it better than you found it”seems to apply.I lost my brother as a result of Vietnam and he would want a playground or a park for people to enjoy the freedom that he gave his life for.I see no disrespect.
Archer is correct; this site was an eyesore, not a monument. Whoever prevails, please keep this area clean! The tiny, stunted tree that died there looked terrible until it was at long last removed. And the LOVE statue–was that in honor of the vets??
Wasn’t the LOVE sculpture in honor of the Farnsworth or was it Indiana Jones! How much were they charged by the City to place it there?
The $25.00 Lynn Archer pays to the city of Rockland for each table should be going to a fund for Veteran Memorials. It would be interesting to see where the $$ does go.
Thank you Lynn Archer for keeping the area lovely to look at as we turn the corner at Main Street.
I’m a retired military disabled vet. Should I ever be blessed with a marker, feel free to eat, dance, laugh and find joy in your freedom to do so. Preserving freedom was worth the price.
Tnx for all who reply. Mimmie Eiesenhower once asked in a national radio address the following:
Am I worth dying for?
Soldiers since the 1770″s have said yes. We fight for people we don’t even know sometimes. I may not know you all, but you get to speak. Go figure. Eat, dance take the kids with you. let them play and laugh. Perhaps the city or business can point out how the place came to be, or how their ability to argue over this came to be. let it go.
a wonderfull outlook on life you made my day thank you !!!!!!
It is the Bests’ who are dishonoring these servicemen with their petty maneuvering. I would like to see a list of the merchants who supported their mean spirited action. I will avoid their shops when I am next in Rockland.
Lynn Archer is a fine hardworking woman who has made that space a lovely one and has added much to Rockland. The council should support her and this absurd harassment should finally end this year.
Lynn is correct, the park is a much more appealing place than it was in the past. A monument to Lt. Holbrook and Pvt. Winslow can have a place with Honor a lot better with the existing use, and would actually be seen and read by many. This much better Honors those than the druggies and trash hanging out there in the past.
I am surprised the folks at the Legion have sobered up enough to write a letter!
People will complain about anything these days…
Why are there always a small group of people that are opposed to everything that anyone wants to do in a town? If it was something that would degrade or ruin an area that would be different. This outdoor eating idea, seems to be a very pleasant thing that many would enjoy in the summer. In a way, a “picnic in a park.”
The BDN can suggest this might be an insult to veterans but they want to talk insult to veterans
they should of went with this story. We got a problem here folks , eh?
http://www.democracynow.org/2012/3/29/killed_at_home_white_plains_ny
March 29, 2012
Killed at Home: White Plains, NY Police Called Out on Medical Alert Shoot Dead Black Veteran, 68
As the Trayvon Martin
case draws national attention, we look at another fatal shooting of an
African-American male that has received far less scrutiny. Kenneth
Chamberlain, Sr., a 68-year-old African-American Marine veteran, was
fatally shot in November by White Plains, NY, police who responded to a
false alarm from his medical alert pendant. The officers broke down
Chamberlain’s door, tasered him, and then shot him dead. Audio of the
entire incident was recorded by the medical alert device in
Chamberlain’s apartment. We’re joined by family attorneys and
Chamberlain’s son, Kenneth Chamberlain, Jr., who struggles through tears
to recount his father’s final moments, including the way police
officers mocked his father’s past as a marine. “For them to look at my
father that way, (with) no regard for his life, every morning I think
about it,” he says. [includes rush transcript]
If she keeps up the area and keeps it clean how is this disrespectful? The people that are eating there get to enjoy the park. Why doesn’t the city of Rockland take the fee it charges the Brass Compass and donate it to the American Legion or an organization like that that can use the money to keep the park looking even better, purchase some American Flags and such!
a busness’s profit doesn’t matter to me. The Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor charges fees. So what. Memorials involve reflection, not life frozen in time. Ihope folks celebrate freedom without critisism of motive.
When did the Arizona Memorial star charging fees? I have been to this Memorial had paid nothing?
The USS Arizona Memorial is free. There is no entrance fee or activity fee. Free
tickets for the program are issued on a first come, first-served basis at the
front desk in the visitor center
I am a veteran and it really steams me up when some one makes an assumption “all veterans” agree or disagree with what ever is bothering them. If the Sqaure was named after me I would ask the resturant to name a sandwich after me and have a toast to all veterans every day at 12 noon. These guys would probably roll over in their graves if they knew the legacy they left behind was a couple of whiney self absolved relatives.
Yes. Yes. Yes.
I am a local, I am a vet as well. Brass Compass is very moderately priced with excellent food. The park? No one knew it was a park until Lynn wanted to add some tables. The space? It’s a whopping 10 feet across and has NO bearing on the park itself. It does not interfere with people coming and going, and it certainly does not interfere with anything else going on in the park.
There is no reason why Gaye should be starting this again and I am hard pressed to believe that she has 30 downtown business in agreement with her. Seeing as I am a downtown business owner and I never saw this petition. I also am a member of the Downtown Association and we are fully in support of Lynn and what she wants to do.
Let her use the park as long as she maintains the cleaning and use the $25 per table charge to buy a permanent Monument for the deceased soldiers. I believe using the park this way would also bring attention of the two men who died for us. Especially with tourist.
No. Why should the two WWI soldiers have their own monument. Best’s agenda is absolutely selfish.
Most Veteran Parks I see are usually empty and only get used during Memorial Day, 4th of July and Veteran’s Day. By letting people use it everyday will help people to remember what these 2 guys died for instead of just remembering 3 days out of the year. BTW I am a Navy Vet 1981-1986
If Ms. Best is so concerned about the park, why did she leave it to someone else to clean up?
hey I say move the tables out and let the drunks and scumbags take it back over. THat really looks good for rockland, and the memorial.
hey I say move the tables out and let the drunks and scumbags take it back over. THat really looks good for rockland, and the memorial.
Traditionally the death of a loved one is honored two-fold. A funeral to
grieve loss and say goodbye, and a wake (or something similar) to celebrate the greatness of a life known and
loved. I agree that the best way to honor these soldiers as a community is to celebrate life and what better way than with food and drink…but also consider that monuments for those who lost family or friends to war are frequently a place for remembrance and for mourning. Who would want to reflect on a deeply personal loss while being watched by a group of strangers eating lunch, laughing and talking? The seating is seasonal and isn’t allowed during veterans day but why not support both ways of honoring these brave men by choosing a particular day or few days to keep tables out – say, on the soldier’s birthdays, or some other significant time? An explanatory plaque could be displayed, or the monument modified if needed. As young men and women begin to come home from the Middle East, we should all honor in some way, the fact that the freedom we enjoy carries a heavy price that most of us have not had to pay.
It is not their gravesite. The family members can quietly visit the plaque from October through May. The square is not a cemetary; it just feel like one, except that cemetaries always seem to have so much life in them.
First off, to call this street corner a “park” is a bit of a stretch. It’s about 20ft by 20ft. This complaint rears it’s ugly head each year when Lynne goes to renew her license. Any downtown business grumblings have been from other food purveyors that were not fortunate enough to be in a location that affords outdoor dining. Give Lynne her license and be done with it. Her outdoor tables in no way impeded on this “park”.
This is a joke. That corner was full of litter, and the drug crowd would hand around there all the time. I dont think many people even knew there was a memorial there.
As I understand it, the Brass Compass owns the space were the tables are, so are not folks just ‘walking in the park’ to get to the tables, I’m a veteran and all for it, most people didn’t even know it was a monument before the Brass Compass started the outdoor tables. After years of living in the dark Rockland seems to be seeing the light, don’t stop now, maybe they should close off a few side streets for tourist commerce with out traffic. Ohh Rockland moved the DAR Civil War monument and no one complained!
As a veteran, even I have to ask… What’s the harm?? There are so many real issues to be dealt with. This is not an insult to veterans. We all have shed blood, sweat, and tears to protect, preserve, and defend the rights granted under the Constitution, where is the desecration of these Vet’s memory. I’m not seeing it…