Dear Readers,

Last weekend, Ruth Farrin stood on the side of the road not far from Hannaford’s market, holding a bright pink hand-lettered sign that said “Save St. Andrews.”

You might know Ruth Farrin. She has lived in Boothbay all her life. If you know Bradley Road, the shortcut to the dump for East Boothbay residents, you can see Ruth’s home. It is a yellow trailer up on a hill flanking an eclectic display of folk art.

Shortly after noon, on a sunny Sunday, she stood silently by a road sign pointing the way to St. Andrews Hospital, waving her bright banner.

When a dozen other protesters yelled and joked with honking motorists, Ruth just smiled.

When motorists yelled back at the protesters, Ruth just smiled.

When other protesters thanked her for participating, Ruth just smiled some more.

It is not that Ruth has nothing to say about Lincoln County Healthcare’s decision to shutter the St. Andrews Hospital emergency room. Far from it. She is not a shy person. She was a silent protester because she no longer speaks.

A year or so ago, she had a bout with cancer. She is not the only member of her family to be visited by that insidious disease. It settled in her throat. In order to save her life doctors removed her voice box. She now communicates using a metal battery-powered device that she places on her throat. 

Her voice is now a series of buzzes, but if you get her going on St. Andrews and listen real close, she will explain her views. “I don’t know what they were thinking,” she said. “St. Andrews has always been there. It is a nice hospital and there was always someone there when you need help.”

Over on Southport Island, Phillips Smith agrees with Ruth Farrin. Recently, when he quietly talked with friends about the closure, he opined about the hospital and its importance to the community. Smith is a big believer and supporter of Boothbay and the community. He has showed it through his longtime leadership on the region’s Student Aid Fund and the YMCA. 

The community’s need for a local hospital was an intellectual exercise for him. Smith is an intellectual man, as befits the retired headmaster of a prestigious private prep school, On Friday, his intellectual exercise turned into a real world event.

That was the day Smith decided to repair his flagpole. As he was bringing it down, something broke and the pole came crashing down on his forehead, peeling back a layer of skin on his pate. If you know anything about head wounds, they bleed a lot.

There were a couple of guys helping him take down the pole and one of them administered first aid until fire rescue workers Gerry Gamage and Adam Harkins arrived, helping him until the ambulance got there. Then they loaded him in the back of the vehicle. A few minutes later, he was in the St. Andrews emergency room where Dr. Steve Cook and his nurses took over. Thankfully, in part due to their good work, Smith is up and around today. “They were just fabulous,” he said.

The point of telling these stories is to demonstrate, once again, how important St. Andrews Hospital is to our community. Ruth Farrin and Phil Smith both know that first hand.

Our towns’ elected leaders say they are trying to figure a way to keep our hospital open. Others are working behind the scenes to help and the cause has attracted some national attention. In town, the hospital is the number one topic of conversation.

Some folks say this community is getting geared up to fight the decision. Is it worth a scrap? Will the community win this battle? No one knows, but few believe it is a done deal.

In the words of Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra: “It ain’t over till it’s over.