In this new monthly column, Anchor contributing writer Jeffrey Good speaks with people who make a life here. “First Person” will share their stories, in their words.
John Wright has lived in and around Harpswell for seven decades, raising a family and working as a sawyer, carpenter and, in recent years, artist. His home and gallery, WoodWright, are on Harpswell Neck.
I was born in Brunswick in 1954. My parents built a camp down on the shore on Harpswell Neck, and that led me to settle here as an adult. I was never much of a good student, so after one year of college, I found myself looking for work and an offer came from a family friend to learn carpentry.
It was a perfect fit. I could work with my hands and learn a skill. I advanced with that company, worked there 10 years. Every day is something different. Sometimes there are stumbles and you’ve got to tear something apart. But you’re problem-solving — and there’s always a reward.
For a time in the mid-1980s, I was a house husband taking care of two little ones under 3 and a 10-year-old. That was the toughest job I ever loved. The economy began to boom and I knew it was time for me to go back to work. That spring, 1985, I went out on my own. That’s when Harpswell really started to change, with a lot of new people coming to town and a lot of construction.
The pent-up demand kept me busy. People saw what I was doing, and that led to more. I do an honest day’s work and I charge reasonably for it. My work comes from word of mouth; I’ve never advertised. I’ve built about 20 houses or have participated in their construction in one way or another. Countless additions, renovations, working out on the islands in the bay sometimes. And I’ve worked on a couple of boats — anything to keep a roof over my head and the children fed.
My wife’s name is Gladys. Her nickname is Sam. I met her at the Brunswick Sears; she liked to say she was the token woman working in the tool department. Sam had an 8-year-old daughter, Erica, when we got married. We had two more children together, Joshua and Hannah. We were very busy. We raised three children very well. They’re out in the big world now. They have jobs. They’re secure. They have their own families. I think we did a good job.
It was 45 years this past October that we’ve been married. She was diagnosed with cognitive decline in 2014. She would not permit me to go to her appointments; she just wanted to keep it under the table. However, when the time came when she could no longer do the things that she used to do, I had to step in and say, “I need to be with you to do these things.” That was about the same time I was facing some cancer. I had melanoma that had spread. I’m free of cancer now, but it was a struggle to get myself through the cancer and care for her at the same time.
But I did it. Then COVID came. I stayed at home taking care of Sam for the first few months and then, in July of 2020, got a call that a nursing facility had an opening. My daughter Hannah came to help me. We packed the car up and the three of us drove there. We could not go in the building. The admission person came out and greeted us at the front door.
She brought Sam in, and I sat down in a chair with Hannah next to me, and I cried. It needed to be done, and Hannah held my hand. Because of COVID, it was about eight months before I could go in the building, be in the same room with Sam and give her a hug.
Her decline is ongoing. It’s a long, slow goodbye — ambiguous loss. I’ve been attending a dementia support group here, led by Elizabeth Davis and supported by Harpswell Aging at Home, which is a wonderful thing.
The woodwork I do now is something I always dreamed of. When Sam went into care, I had some free time, and COVID was such that even getting into somebody’s house to do work was difficult. So I just started creating. I met a friend who encouraged me to pursue my creativity, and that pushed me to set up a room in this house where I could have a gallery space so people could come in and see what I love to do.
Part of the force behind the creative side is that I have a sawmill. People used to come knock on my door saying, “Hey, I have a tree that just came down. Would you like it?” I also like collecting old furniture that I can repurpose or upscale.
I do some painting, and I do wood assemblage. It’s art that’ll hang on the wall. I have driftwood that I’ve assembled in frames. I have old clock cases that I found at a yard sale and I’ve installed various things in to make them mean something else. I’ve experimented with plaster on plywood to create a three-dimensional art form with wood elements in it.
I’ve been reading this book about a Scottish guy, a lot like myself, who loves wood. He talks about how trees in Scotland grow in such a harsh environment that they grow with character. That’s what I find with the resource we have here in Harpswell. I enjoy looking for the right piece of wood and letting it talk to me, bringing it out to a point of embellishment where people might say, “Wow, that’s beautiful.”
John Wright’s artworks will be on display in March at Skidompha Library in Damariscotta. His studio is open by appointment (207-837-1486 or woodwright660@gmail.com). He posts on Instagram at @mainewoodwright.
“First Person” narratives are lightly edited for clarity and length.
