Dear Readers,

Not long after Paul Coulombe bought the Kenniston Hill Inn as part of his plans to expand the Boothbay Harbor Country Club, Susan Brackett started having trouble sleeping.

The idea that the lovely historic Georgian structure was to be demolished bothered her so much so much she woke up nights thinking about how to save it.

Brackett, a partner in the Boothbay Harbor Framers & Gallery and a passionate volunteer at the Opera House, had heard all the “grumbles” from folks who said they didn't want the historic (1797) building to go away.

As she listened to the complainers, she decided to act.

“I am not part of the grumble,” she said. “That doesn't accomplish anything. I wanted to do more than say 'they should.' I wanted to do something.”

Finally, she decided that moving it was a lot better than taking it to the dump.

So, Brackett rolled up her sleeves and got to work. She started calling friends and friends of friends. She wrote letters to her favorite newspapers, the Boothbay Register and Wiscasset Newspaper. That triggered additional talk about the inn and its importance to the community. And some folks started to listen.

Coulombe told her she could have the inn, but said she would have to move it. She got the word to George McEvoy at the Railway Village. George said if she moved it, they would find a place for it at the village.

She enlisted the help of the Boothbay Civic Association and they agreed to help and accept any donations from those who believed in what she was doing. Katharine Roth, a distant relative of the Kenniston family, promised to match any donation up to $25,000.

Meanwhile, Brackett talked to contractors who move houses. The most recent quote to move the whole house is $65,000. That figure does not include the price of moving utility wires.

So far, she has raised around $57,000 and says there may be more checks in the mail.

“It is important to save historic buildings,” she said. “After all, people spend thousands to travel to Europe and to New England to look at old buildings. But the Kenniston Inn is more than a building. It has touched so many lives.”

She talked about David Kenniston, the man who built the inn. He was a volunteer who took care of Boothbay Common and helped out with other civic projects. He operated an inn that played host to lots of visitors. Later it was also the location of several stores. In the 1920s, when they built the golf course, it served as the clubhouse and later, the residence of the Teel family, the course owners.

For the last 50 years or so, it has been a B&B under various owners.

While Brackett is pleased with her efforts to raise money, she knows her project is facing a deadline. The golf course contractor, Knickerbocker Group, wants to begin construction on the new clubhouse and entrance around the end of October.

In addition, she knows she can't just truck the Inn to the Railway Village and drop it in the parking lot. The village will have to figure out where to put it, put it on a foundation and restore it. She knows that means she has fundraising chores in the future.

And that is not a problem for her as she believes in what she is doing.

Susan Brackett is working in the best tradition of the hundreds of of our community volunteers, from those who wash dishes at church suppers, clean cars to help fund school projects all the way up to those who sponsor major, high-dollar projects.

She is raising money to save the Kenniston Hill Inn because she says it is the right thing to do.

And our community is better off because of her efforts.

Won’t you give her a hand?

Those interested in saving the building and helping with the move are urged to send a tax-deductible check made out to the: BCA, Move Kenniston Hill Inn Account, c/o Deb Todte P.O. Box 375. Boothbay, ME 04537. Contributions may also be dropped off at Boothbay Harbor Framers Gallery in The Meadow Mall. Please contact Susan Brackett at 207-633-3966 with questions or a pledge amount. Checks will not be cashed unless sufficient funds are raised to cover the move.