Before we get too far along into the new year, let’s spend a few moments considering some unfinished Wiscasset business from last year and years past. Maybe 2023 will be the year of taking care of business.

We’ll start on Main Street where I’m glad to see that reconstruction work is progressing on the Wawenock block. It was April 3, 2021, a sunny spring-like Saturday afternoon when I received a telephone call from Assistant Editor Susan Johns that the front facade of the historic building had suddenly collapsed. I arrived, camera in hand, a little after 3 p.m. to find hundreds of bricks on the sidewalk. It was a miracle no one was injured when the outer wall buckled and collapsed under its own weight. Moments later first responders had cordoned off the area which has remained closed to foot traffic since. Hopefully, the mild winter weather we’ve been experiencing continues so the reconstruction will be finished in time for the summer season. The three-story Wawenock building owned by the Doering family is home to several businesses. It was built with bricks made here in Wiscasset in 1858, which makes it 165 years old. After the reconstruction is finished maybe the Doerings could hold a ribbon cutting ceremony and rededication. Just a suggestion.

In the latter part of October, about 15 months after its familiar white wooden fence had been removed, a new fence went up around Wiscasset’s Ancient Cemetery on Federal Street. Still to come is the promised archway leading visitors into the historic burial grounds. The new entry was put off after bid prices ran over budget. Still to be addressed, what to do about some of the older stones which have fallen and broken over the years. Many of these have undergone multiple past repairs; other stones are weather-worn to the point where their inscriptions can barely be read. Rather than spend money on repairs, a sensible solution would be to replace the worst of them with new marble or granite headstones. This was done several years ago after a car crashed through the fence destroying two of the stones. This could be accomplished using monies taken from the town’s perpetual care account that was set aside to be used for maintenance and care of cemeteries.

It’s been 20 years since people have been able to walk out to White’s Island across two wooden footbridges. Just one bridge remains but is unsafe to use. Last year the town’s public works crew removed what was left of the footbridge closest to the shore leaving rows of rotting piling to mark its path. Wiscasset assumed ownership of the one-acre island in 2016 from Maine Coast Heritage Trust, a non-profit organization. The agreement stipulated the island be kept in its natural state and open to the public for daytime, low-impact recreational use. People are welcome to visit the island but can only get there safely by boat. As I wrote in a commentary last summer some residents would like to see the footbridges replaced; others want nothing done that would cost the town money. Over the years trees and grass have gradually covered most of the island; eventually the second bridge will fall victim to time and tide as Mother Nature reclaims its hold over the island.

Let’s turn our attention now to the town clock, an historic landmark that can no longer be relied on for the correct time of day. Worse off is the condition of the tower housing the clock. The four-sided clock, manufactured by the E. Howard & Co. of Roxbury, Massachusetts was a gift to Wiscasset in 1906 from Capt. William Henry Clark, a Civil War veteran who took part in the Battle of Bull Run. In 1993 it was removed from the tower and underwent an $18,000 restoration carried out by the Freeport-based Balzer Family Clock Works, a company specializing in the maintenance and repair of historic clocks. The town has kept up with routine care of the clock which up until a year or so ago had been operating fairly accurately; it currently appears to be running about 10 to 15 minutes fast.

Following a structural analysis in 2017 the clock tower underwent needed interior repairs in February 2018. The damage was caused by water leaking in from its copper-topped cupola. Camera in tow, I made the climb inside the tower the freezing Saturday morning Wiscasset builder Jason Putnam replaced one of the main support beams. Putnam by the way had volunteered his time to do the work. The outside of the tower needed caulking and painting then and has only gotten worse since. Nothing that I’m aware of has been done about the cupola. Five years ago a section of round, wooden molding fell off the clock face fronting Fort Hill Street and was never replaced. The building is privately owned, but as stated in its deed the townspeople assumed responsibility of maintaining the clock when they accepted it as a gift from Capt. Clark at a town meeting held in 1907. Back in the 1980s the town paid to have the tower removed and completely rebuilt. Because of the historical significance grant monies are available to help pay for the repairs needed for both the clock and tower should the select board want to pursue this option.

Phil Di Vece earned a B.A. in journalism studies from Colorado State University and an M.A. in journalism at University of South Florida. He is the author of three Wiscasset books and is a frequent news contributor to the Wiscasset Newspaper and Boothbay Register. He resides in Wiscasset. Contact him at pdivece@roadrunner.com