LIBERTY, Maine — Bud Steeves loved the town of Liberty and over the years served many roles in the community to get things done and help his neighbors.
So when the 56-year-old first selectman died suddenly of a heart attack right after going home from a board meeting at the end of July, townspeople wanted to repay Steeves’ love, service and friendship by completing a building project that was special to him. For many years, the automotive mechanic by trade had wanted to construct a not-for-profit garage at his home, where people could come use the lift, benefit from his expertise and work on their vehicles. He had only gotten as far as framing the large structure before his death.
“It was his lifelong dream,” Tammy Reynolds, the Liberty road commissioner, said this week of the garage project. “We’ve had two building bees so far, with over 100 volunteers. We were able to sheathe the roof and sheathe the entire building. It was a huge community effort by everybody in this town.”
She said the two building bees were held the weekend of Aug. 15 and 16, when the thermometer crept up past 90 degrees and the humidity was palpable. Nevertheless, the crew of willing workers — spanning ages 9 to 80-plus — clambered over the building’s soaring, two-story-plus frame, pounding nails and taking care of business to help Steeves’ widow, Melinda.
“It’s very overwhelming,” Melinda Steeves said Wednesday. “Everyone says if there’s anything I can do for you — and they really, really mean it. It’s so nice to know. You lose someone and you feel very vulnerable. But this community makes me feel safer.”
Reynolds said people from all different walks of life came to help, many of whom didn’t know one another beforehand but were unified in their mission.
“We want to get it done,” she said. “We want to get his dream come true for his wife.”
One thing the volunteer labor force had in common was an affection for Steeves, who worked at Belmont Boatworks and who was survived by daughters Clara, Cassidy, Cady and Carolyn, a granddaughter, Elise, and a grandson, Lucas. In addition to his serving as first selectman, Steeves was a volunteer firefighter and ambulance driver and previously had been the town clerk for 10 years.
His in-depth understanding of Liberty was irreplaceable, Reynolds said, especially after the town office burned in a fire in 1998, destroying years of records.
“To me, he was my book of knowledge,” she said. “We lost our town office, but he had all that information in his head. You could call and ask him about a real estate transaction or the town roads. He had an answer to everything — a nonbiased answer. He had the facts, very much so.”
Additionally, he was just a stand-up citizen, she said.
“Any public dinners for anything, he always went and participated. Anybody in need, he helped,” Reynolds said. “I would say he made an impact on the community.
“Bud was well known in our town for not being afraid to speak his mind at the town meeting,” she said, adding, “I don’t believe he had an enemy.”
She said she thinks it will take two more community building bees to finish Bud Steeves’ garage. The next is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 6, and the last will be held Sunday, Sept. 13. She hopes for a good turnout, and that people will come when they can and do what they can.
“Some people only came for two hours. Some came for 12,” she said. “Last time, we had a lot of people that just pulled in and dropped off food and left. Some people dropped off money and left. Everybody in the community did something.”
Melinda Steeves said all that remains is getting the metal roof on the building and making it weather-tight. She doesn’t at present have any intention of getting the lift for the garage, and is not quite sure what she’ll do with all that space, but she is glad to get it done.
“I just wanted to finish his project,” she said. “I’m so appreciative of everyone in the town, and everyone that’s helped out. It truly is something that I could not do on my own.”
For more information about the building bees to finish Bud Steeves’ garage in Liberty, call Tammy Reynolds at 589-4780.