ORONO, Maine — Fifty people gathered in Brownie’s Park on Sunday to view a new sculpture erected in honor of a special outdoorswoman.
Orono conservationist Sally Jacobs, a woman responsible for many miles of Maine trails, passed away in November 2012 after a battle with cancer. Her legacy includes the Orono Land Trust, the East Coast Sunrise Trail and other conservation and trail projects throughout Maine.
“She was an amazing gal,” said Sue Owen, who founded the Orono Land Trust with Jacobs in 1986. “The sculpture was perfect. The inscription is lovely. And it’s in a place where she had so much fun — there by the river.”
The granite sculpture, the work of Steuben artist Ray Carbone, is an abstract representation of a bird’s wing, symbolic of Jacob’s vibrant energy and knack for transforming her dreams into realities.
“Sally was just so remarkable and so inclusive,” said Alix Hopkins, who worked with Jacobs on a number of conservation and trail projects over the years.
After Jacobs passed away in 2012, Hopkins reached out to the many conservation and recreation organizations Jacobs had contributed to in her lifetime. After about a year of fundraising, Hopkins drew contributions from 40 different donors, raising $15,000 for the sculpture and its installation in the Orono park.
“We wanted to hold up the life of someone with such energy and dedication to let people know that anyone can just be interested in something and show up, and they can make a difference,” Hopkins said. “Sally was that person.”
Jacobs was the founding president of the Orono Land Trust, which today owns, protects or manages nearly 1,000 acres in Orono, Old Town and Veazie. She was also the founding president of the Sunrise Trail Coalition, the group responsible for creating the 85-mile multiuse Downeast Sunrise Trail, a span from Ellsworth to Calais. At the trail’s official opening celebration in 2010, Jacobs was presented a commemoration plaque signed by Gov. John Baldacci and other state officials.
“She wanted to make it possible for everybody to get as much enjoyment out of the outdoors as she did,” said Jacob’s daughter Stephanie Lull of Portland, “and it doesn’t matter how you do it, whether walking, running, biking, skiing or canoeing. Whatever mode of transportation, she was happy to do it.”
She was a camp counselor, swim instructor, gardener, canoeist and avid cyclist, according to her obituary, which appeared in the BDN. She also enjoyed cross-country skiing on local trails and ice skating on the Stillwater River, Sunkhaze Stream and Pushaw Lake.
The sculpture was placed by a public walking and biking trail not far from where Jacob’s family used to live in Orono.
“It’s the perfect spot,” said Lull. “It’s where we canoed and fished and swam and ice-skated … it’s just a really special spot for everyone in our family because we were there so often. It’s where she taught her grandchildren to swim.”
It’s also near the site where Jacobs saved a young man from drowning in the Penobscot River in 1987. In recognition of the brave act, the Orono Police and Fire departments presented her an award for her “heroism exhibited in saving a life.”
Jacobs recieved more than 25 awards for her work in her community, the state and the nation, including the Jefferson Award for Extraordinary Public Service in 1989, awarded by President Reagan at the White House; the National Park Service Conservation Hero Award in 2007; the State of Maine 2010 Leadership Award; and the first inaugural Mighty Women of Washington County Elder Award.
She also was recognized by the University of Maine, where she taught biochemistry for 35 years, and was awarded the Steve Gould Award for “outstanding service to the university and its ideals.”
People traveled from all over the state to attend the sculpture unveiling ceremony, during which the sculptor, Carbone, talked about the meaningful details of the sculpture and his process in making it. However, he stressed the significance and value of people interpreting the memorial for themselves.
“The sculpture is at an intersection, where walkers and bikers and people pushing strollers and runners and cross-country skiers and fishermen and picnickers meet,” Hopkins said. “It’s in this very quiet and protected place, so people can come upon it and be curious and go up and read it and be inspired.”
On the sculpture’s base is the following inscription: “In memory of Sally C. Jacobs, May 15, 1936-Nov. 12, 2012, with gratitude for her boundless energy to make a difference for future generations.”
After the unveiling, the group traveled to the Keith Anderson Community House for chili and cornbread, one of Jacob’s favorite meals.
“It was just wonderful to be surrounded with so many of my mom’s friends and so many people that she worked with over the years,” said Lull.
To learn about the Orono Land Trust, visit www.oronolandtrust.org. To learn about the Down East Sunrise Trail, visit www.sunrisetrail.org.