Springvale park honors late historical society member Stephen Eastman

Earlier this year, Harland Eastman, the president of the Sanford-Springvale Historical Society, described a breathtaking moment he experienced to me and the other members of the organization’s board of directors.

He was driving on Main Street, he said, and as he approached the historical museum in Springvale, he had a clear view of the southern broadside of the building – an image no one in the community had been provided for more than 140 years.

“It’s a fantastic view,” Eastman said.

A home built for a pharmacist – Charles H. Pierce – had blocked that vantage point ever since its construction in the 1880s. Back then, the museum next door had been the local town hall. During the latter part of the last century, a local dentist, Donald Warner, purchased the home once it passed out of the Pierce family. Warner operated his practice there.

At one point, however, the house stood vacant and even became a source of concern to Eastman and the Historical Society. What if the decrepit house caught fire, and the flames leaped to the museum, which was so close next door?

Thanks to a local benefactor, who wishes to remain anonymous, the historical society was able to purchase the vacant home. By February, it was gone. A crew led by a local developer needed just a few hours to knock it down.

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From the get-go, the Historical Society’s plan was to smooth out the newly purchased property, make it green, install some benches, and establish a new park in town – a place where the Historical Society could hold an occasional event, for example, or a spot where residents could just sit, relax and reflect.

In February, Eastman could not have known it at the time, but this new park, once completed, would be dedicated to his son, Stephen.

Stephen Eastman, a true gentleman to all who knew him, died in March, following a battle with cancer. Throughout his life, he showed tremendous dedication to the Historical Society and its museum, working alongside his father, Harland, and serving as a longtime board member and treasurer.

It was in that capacity that I got to know Stephen, who always brought positive energy, good humor, thoughtfulness and consideration, and strong, clear thinking to our board members. I had the good fortune of crossing paths with him only once outside our business with the Historical Society, when my wife, Valerie, and I saw him and Harland and the rest of their family at the Thai restaurant in Sanford one evening.

Thom Gagne, also a Historical Society board member, got to know Stephen a bit more personally, as they both shared a strong interest in motorcycles. In the Historical Society’s latest newsletter, Gagne paid tribute to Stephen.

“We went on one memorable ride together – he let me ride one of his classic motorcycles,” Gagne wrote. “I was totally amazed by his depth of knowledge about motorcycles and their restoration. Here was a guy, working in the world of high finance, and he was equally at ease using a sandblasting cabinet and painting a part to go on one of his project bikes.”

One winter, Gagne wrote, Stephen let him work on a vintage scooter in his barn – yet another moment of kindness and generosity from a man who was always kind and generous.

“He gave me a key to the barn and let me have full access to his well-equipped tool bench,” Gagne wrote. “He also let me borrow a trailer when I needed to go to New York to get a motorcycle.”

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And even more generosity and kindness:

“A couple of springs ago, I ran short on wood for my stove. He let me take all the wood I needed from his personal supply at his barn,” Gagne wrote.

Those are just some of the ways Stephen helped Gagne.

“If you were his friend, he made you feel special,” Gagne wrote. “He was a true gentleman. He had class and never bragged. He was incredibly intelligent but also down-to-earth. He respected everyone – and everyone respected him. Stephen was one of a kind. Our world was a much better place because of him.”

The Historical Society officially dedicated the Stephen Emery Eastman Memorial Park on a warm and sunny Saturday, Sept. 17. It was a nice ceremony, well attended by the Eastman family, friends, members of the historical society, and residents.

Stephen’s wife, Cristi, and nephew, Jake, both spoke at the ceremony, offering their favorite memories of him and sharing what they loved most about him. Sanford Mayor Anne Marie Mastraccio spoke too, providing the city’s official moment of dedication. Afterwards, people went inside the museum to socialize and enjoy refreshments from Above and Beyond Catering.

The park – which, by the way, surely has the greenest grass in town – has granite benches and new parking spaces along its outskirts, a welcome addition for anyone who has ever struggled to find a place to pull their car into when attending events at the museum.

Local developer Joe Sevigny designed the park and carried out its creation to completion. The local William Oscar Emery Trust, established to fund efforts to beautify Sanford-Springvale, funded the project.

“It’s a fabulous, wonderful approach to Springvale village,” Harland said this week. “So many people have said to me it is beautiful. I appreciate it.”

And, most importantly, the park has a bronze plaque affixed to a granite pillar. The plaque features an etched image of Stephen’s smiling face, along with words of dedication and appreciation.

You may have known Stephen yourself. Or, perhaps, you did not. But there is still an easy and certain way in which you could honor him, if you’d like.

If you visit the park, take a seat on one of those benches and give yourself a moment of silence. Use the silence to focus on someone you know in your life, who is either still with us or is long departed, and who always showed kindness, generosity, enthusiasm and wonderful humor to you and others.

In that moment, you will know the man whose visage graces the bronze plaque.

Shawn P. Sullivan is an award-winning columnist and is a reporter for the York County Coast Star. He can be reached at ssullivan@seacoastonline.com.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Springvale park honors late historical society member Stephen Eastman