So I have had to struggle all these months with a very pressing and personal question: What do I do with Frank's collection of Civil War books? He had a fair number when I met him. But he also was a life-long user of libraries, so he had read far more Civil War books than he owned. And once my family knew about his love for anything Civil War, he was given many more through the 10 years.
As a 20-year member of the 20th Maine Co. B regiment of re-enactors, all of Frank's colleagues also had every Civil War book ever published. When he was dying, he said several times that he wanted his buddies to have his books. Some of them visited toward the end, and Frank always asked them to take away some books. But they were polite and declined.
Two of the members of the 20th Maine group, Kathy Upton and Cara Sawyer, are both librarians at the Cherryfield Library. They joined up as civilian women in September 2009, when they and the Cherryfield Historical Society organized "Living History Day" in the town. The 20th Maine was invited, and Frank took part, I remember.
In a few days, Frank's Civil War collection will have a new home at the Cherryfield Library. I knew I just needed time to figure out the right thing to do.
Cherryfield is also home to Peter Duston, a dear friend who appreciates Civil War history, too. Peter is the one who played Taps on his bugle at Frank's military service in Augusta on March 27. And Peter knows Cherryfield's own Civil War history by heart, because twin brothers from Cherryfield who served are buried in the town's cemetery. And on May 19, members of the 20th Maine are returning to Cherryfield for a re-dedication of the graves of those special Civil War soldiers.
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