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'Alcohol Mary Road' It Will Remain

June 27, 2011 - Greenwood - The Hertell family “hold her sainted in their memories, and to have ‘Alcohol Mary’ associated with her is a desecration of memory,” Attorney Jennifer Kreckel told the Greenwood Board of Selectmen Tuesday evening.

But in the end, public opinion and practical considerations weighed more with the board than Hertell-family hagiography.

Kreckel spoke for Arthur Hertell, of Bethel, who was requesting the town change the name of Alcohol Mary Road, where his grandmother, also named Mary, lived.

The coincidence in names, coupled with the fact that the Hertell family once had a farm on nearby Richardson Hollow Road, has led to an erroneous belief among some people that the Hertells' ancestor was the Mary for whom the road was named.

As a result, Kreckel said, family members are forced to deal with often-demeaning telephone calls about their connection to the name.

'Unreasonable request'

Several of those family members were at Tuesday’s meeting to support the request, as were a dozen or so residents of Alcohol Mary Road, all of whom were opposed to any change in its name.

One, Amy Harren, told the board she has lived on the road for “about 15 years,” and has never encountered anyone offended by the name.

“The road name to me is woven into the fabric of Greenwood history, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of.

"Alcohol Mary Road to me embodies Maine’s independence and resilience,” Harren said, “during a time that was very difficult.”

She termed the request “unreasonable.”

Nancy Dewing, who with her husband, Andy, has live on Alcohol Mary Road since the 1970s, said she, too, was proud, of both the road name and the real individual behind it.

“I’m proud of someone who, while obviously we don’t know her last name, dealt with life the best way she could in a very difficult time. … She fed herself, she kept her independence, and she’s not the only one in this country or this town who produced alcohol.”

A Hertell family member retorted: “If it was their great-grandmother would they still like that name?”

“Yes,” several members of the audience immediately replied.

“It’s history,” said one.

“It’s not history to me;” the family member said, “it’s a disgrace.”

More than a name

On the practical side, residents at the meeting and in letters to the board, pointed out that changing the road name would necessitate changing far more than simply their mailing addresses – including deeds, mortgages, licenses, and a variety of other legal documents.

Even mapping and navigation software would need to be modified, Harren noted.

After 20 or so minutes of discussion, Selectman Arnie Jordan said: “I think from what we heard tonight, and the letters we’ve received, the overwhelming opinion is that we should keep the name as it is.”

Selectman Amy Chapman said she would probably view the request differently if a last name were associated with the road name, “but there are a lot of Marys; there are Marys in my family, and there are Marys in your families, I’m sure,” she said. “It was probably the most common name a century ago.”

Jordan, Chapman and Board Chair Fred Henderson voted to deny the request.

Michael Daniels, Bethel Citizen, June 2011


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