The people of Buckfield won’t be welcoming the Hells Angels motorcycle club anytime soon.
During the annual town meeting Tuesday, voters overwhelmingly decided against handing over nearly 14 acres and close to a million dollars to the outlaws.
It was an offer the town couldn’t refuse.
Lifelong Buckfield resident James Jordan died on March 16, 2024, and in death, he offered the town his nearly 14-acre property on Depot Street, along with $850,000 and additional funds for scholarships.
But that gift came with a catch: If voters chose to turn down the gift, the land and the money would go to the nearest Hells Angels chapter.
On Tuesday, voters faced six questions on the meeting warrant related to Jordan’s offer of land and money.
Article 30 asked voters whether the town should accept a 2-acre parcel of Jordan’s Depot Street property for the town’s rescue unit to use for training. Residents voted 274-37 to accept the offer. There were six blank ballots.
Article 31 asked voters whether the town should accept the remaining acreage of Jordan’s Depot Street property to provide a recreational area. Residents voted 277-35 to accept the offer. There were five blank ballots.
Jordan’s estate will provide $850,000 to maintain that property.
Article 32 asked voters whether the town should accept $50,000 from Jordan’s estate to establish the Fred and Mae Cooper Memorial Scholarship Fund for students whose families are residents of Buckfield and are in their third-year of college or university. Residents voted 266-23 to accept the offer. There were 28 blank ballots.
Article 33 asked voters whether the town should accept $50,000 from Jordan’s estate to establish the Sarah Jordan Memorial Scholarship Fund for students whose families are residents of Buckfield and are in their third-year of college or university. Residents voted 264-23 to accept the offer. There were 30 blank ballots
Article 34 asked voters whether the town should accept $100,000 from his estate to establish the Carl and Beulah Jordan Memorial Scholarship Fund for students whose families are residents of Buckfield and are in their third-year of college or university. Residents voted 266-21 to accept the offer. There were 30 blank ballots.
Article 35 asked voters whether to accept $20,000 from Jordan’s estate to fund an annual trip to Portland Head Light in Cape Elizabeth for older adults living in Buckfield. Residents voted 256-32 to accept the offer. There were 29 blank ballots.
Had voters rejected the scholarship and trip money, it would have been added to the sum given to the Hells Angels.
What might puzzle some is Jordan’s apparent lack of connections to the notorious motorcycle gang. Jordan was born on Aug. 25, 1943. He graduated from Buckfield High School and went on to work as a traveling salesman, driver of antique cars between Maine and Texas, and a manager at International Paper, according to his obituary.
His parents, Carl and Beulah Jordan, gave him the Depot Street property in July 1983, according to the Oxford County Registry of Deeds.
A friend told the Sun Journal earlier this year that the whole thing was probably a joke, a way to make sure Buckfield accepted Jordan’s gift.
It wasn’t immediately clear what Hells Angel chapter is closest to Buckfield. Carleton Spencer, who died in 2006, formed the club’s first Maine chapter in Canaan.
Before forming that chapter, Spencer was a member of the Saracens Motorcycle Club in Turner. In 2001, the U.S. Department of Justice described that club as an outlaw motorcycle gang, which allegedly was allied with and subservient to the Hells Angels. It has been implicated in drug trafficking and other crimes. There was a shooting near its clubhouse in 2010.
Police searched the Saracens’ clubhouse last spring as part of an ongoing investigation, ABC affiliate WMTW reported.
The Saracens has touted its charity work and even holding community dinners to support the Lewiston Food Bank, according to the TV station.