Mourning Queen Elizabeth II through unique lawn displays
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Sep. 21—LEWISTON — At a house on Wellman Street, grief over the death of Queen Elizabeth II took the image of the flag of Great Britain in the falling rain. A smaller black flag, a symbol of mourning, flew beside it.
Langston Snodgrass, 81, raised the flags when the news of the monarch's passing broke Sept. 8 out of a feeling of love. "To me, she was a very good person, very committed to her role as queen. She was a selfless symbol of unity and of what Great Britain means to the world," Snodgrass said.
A retired professor, Snodgrass's Scottish heritage has sustained his personal connection to Great Britain and fueled his desire to express his feelings of solidarity out of respect to the queen and her 70-year legacy. A street sign from the London borough of Mayfair is proudly displayed by the front door, usurping the mailbox sitting on a deck chair.
In his home Monday, the decidedly English weather gave a cozy atmosphere where he sat with his husband, Tony Brown, an artist, and expressed his sorrow and hopes for the reign of King Charles III. Congested bookshelves and large paintings fought against any blank space on the walls, an aesthetic Snodgrass proudly declares as "Edwardian."
"(Charles) has lived through a lot, given his first marriage and now the death of his father and mother. He should be a more active and proactive leader and has been outspoken about the climate and social issues," Snodgrass said. "The queen was a unifying symbol for a diverse population that said 'This is who we are at our best.' The sovereigns hadn't been great until Elizabeth."
On Russell Street in Lewiston on Monday, Tiffanie Dodge added some corgis made of orange pool noodles to her "royal guard" skeleton on a Queen Victoria tableau she set up on her lawn.
Dodge decorates two skeletons in rotating themes throughout the year, and added the canine flourish in honor of Queen Elizabeth II.
Originally a studio artist, Dodge is now a nurse and uses the skeletons as a creative outlet to keep her neighbors entertained.
"I like to bring a little happiness to people," Dodge said.
