For most people, the Thorndike village center is a place to pass through while on the way to somewhere else.
It’s also a place that on the surface, at least, seems to live more in the past than the present. The cluster of derelict buildings close to the center of town used to be a thriving Pontiac dealership. The once-proud Harvest Moon Grange No. 57 building is now charterless and abandoned. Unused railroad tracks show where the trains used to roll through town.
The list doesn’t stop there, either. In days past, there was a creamery, an inn, a general store and even a theater in the town that counts a population of 766 people, according to the U.S. Census’s 2015 population estimate. It’s not so much that Thorndike used to have a lot more people — it counted more than 1,000 residents just once, in 1850 — but it used to have a lot more going on. These days, while there are some bright spots in town, such as the ongoing revival of the Farwell Mill complex, it can seem like the empty buildings in Thorndike outnumber the ones that are in use. When asked what he thought about a description of Thorndike as a “ghost-town in the making,” one farmer from neighboring Unity took it one step further.
“It’s already made,” Kari Hulva said.
But the way things have been doesn’t have to be the way they always will be. A small but growing group of Thorndike residents want their community to be more vibrant. And in the name of helping the town thrive, they have been doing yeoman’s work to make that happen. In October, the first annual Haunted Thorndike Halloween event brought more than 1,000 people to town to enjoy trick-or-treating and family-friendly scares. Lead organizer and relative Thorndike newcomer Zoey Bond is hoping that a similar number of folks will come to the first annual Merry & Bright holiday event, to be held on Friday, Dec. 8, in downtown Thorndike.
Highlights of the event will include carriage rides around town, live music, a story walk, a tree display, a gingerbread house competition, a 12 days of Christmas scavenger hunt, carolers and more.
This Tuesday, Bond and other volunteers were busy setting up a fresh-cut 16-foot Christmas tree that was donated by a local family. The tree, in the heart of town, was the hub of activity, chatter and laughter as people climbed a ladder to drape strings of lights and place a homemade star. It seemed like the good feeling followed the volunteers after they finished working into the warmth of Bond’s nearby store, the Heirloom House, a good omen of things to come.
“It’s bringing the community together,” longtime resident and volunteer firefighter Clyde Rolerson said of the new Thorndike Community Action Committee.
A lot of the committee’s forward motion begins with Bond, who started it — and a lot of other things — when she and her family moved to Thorndike from Ohio a little over a year ago. They came because Bond’s husband, Chris Bond, was hired to be the manager of Unity College’s McKay Farm and Research Station in Thorndike. But moving to Maine had been a longtime dream of Zoey Bond, 38.
“I’ve wanted to live here for a long time,” she said. “I think it’s the access to all the aspects of nature.”
In Thorndike, the family found that easy proximity to nature. But they also found something more: a little town, somewhat scruffy around the edges, but with a big heart and big possibilities.
“I love the potential, but it’s more than that,” Zoey Bond said. “I love the potential that already exists here. You don’t have to go far to find someone with a flippin’ good idea. There’s so much here — we just need to make it shiny and polish it up.”
In Maine, though, it can at times be hard for newcomers with good ideas. Famously, Mainers are not always welcoming to “people from away,” especially those who want to change the way things have always been. Zoey Bond found that out when she first moved to Thorndike and took her two young sons to play in the small park by Hall Brook. They were disappointed when they discovered that the lone swingset there was missing its swings. Zoey Bond then set out to change that. Her efforts to spruce up the park were initially met with some scrutiny and pushback.
“We just did it anyway,” she said. “I had to toughen up, but once people start experiencing what we can do, they want to be a part of it. … And even if it’s different than what we’ve always done, it’s OK. It can still be great.”
Bond, who years ago worked in corporate retail, opened up the Heirloom House on June 2 of this year in the location of the former Garden Variety shop. She’s filled the cozy space with wares made by artisans from around the state and the country. There are candles, kitchen goods, note cards, jewelry, body products, locally made lingerie and more, as well as a coffee lounge with free Wi-Fi, which already has become a meeting place for local folks. The lounge is a place where the members of the Thorndike Action Committee meet to plot their next steps. So far, in addition to the holiday events and the improvements to the town park, the group is working on projects that include making upgrades to the village center and starting a community library.
The group’s efforts, as well as Bond’s, are starting to make a difference, locals say.
“I think it’s wonderful to have a girl like her who has a good outlook,” Rolerson said of Zoey Bond. “She’s a wonderful person. I’m glad she stopped here.”
Derek Davis, a lifelong Thorndike resident who owns Davis Dirt Works and who also was helping to put up the Christmas tree, agreed.
“It’s a small town. We’re pretty close-knit. Zoey moved to town, and she’s knitting it a little bit tighter,” he said.
Davis has young children and said he especially enjoys having local festivities for the kids to enjoy. Previously, to go trick-or-treating or to attend a special Christmas event, the family had to travel to places like Waterville, Belfast or Bangor.
“Being able to do something with them here in town, that’s great,” he said.
Bond has even bigger dreams she hopes to help turn into reality.
“We want people to start living their lives in Thorndike again,” she said. “We went them to shop here and eat here and get their hair cut here.”
Rolerson replied, smiling.
“Give Zoey a chance, and she’ll get the town going again,” he said.
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