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LIVERMORE — Washburn-Norlands Foundation has welcomed four new members to its Board of Trustees, bringing the number of trustees to 12. The were unanimously voted in at the March 25 meeting for three-year terms.
The Washburn-Norlands Foundation Inc. oversees Norlands, the ancestral home of the Washburn family and a living history museum. Norlands is on the National Register of Historic Places.
“We welcome them and greatly appreciate their willingness to serve'” said Harry Simon, president of the board. “Each brings a unique set of skills and experience and will be a tremendous asset to Norlands as we move the organization into the future. We look forward to working with them.” Chandler Bluie, of Buckfield, an operations forester with American Forest Management, where he manages large tracts of forest for owners. Bluie said he is excited about the possibility of extending the trail system at Norlands and expanding the outdoor recreational uses of the property.
Colleen Fournier, of Leeds, assistant vice president, commercial loan officer for Androscoggin Bank, where she has worked since 2015. She was voted as Androscoggin Bank’s Officer of the Year for 2018. She said she became enamored with living history as a child growing up in Massachusetts through her visits to Plimoth Plantation, Old Ironsides and Old Sturbridge Village. She first volunteered for Norlands’ Civil War Living History Weekend in 2017. She said joining the Board combines her passion for business and civic engagement while helping to keep the history of Norlands alive.
Thad Gabryszewsk, of Biddeford, vice president of Lincoln Haney Engineering in Brunswick. He has served on several volunteer committees and looks forward to bringing his skills in fund raising, event planning, and organizational development to Norlands.
J. Tayloe Washburn, of Seattle, Wash., a retired land-use attorney and litigator. For 29 years, he worked for the Northwest regional law firm Foster Pepper LLC where he managed large public and private projects, such as runways, mass transit, and complex real estate developments. Wasburn has a family connection to the Norlands — he is the great-grandson of William Drew Washburn, who was born at Norlands in 1831.
William Drew served in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. He settled in Minneapolis where he got involved in lumbering and flour milling. He founded Pillsbury-Washburn Milling Company, which later became Pillsbury Company. Washburn said he is thrilled to be more involved with Norlands and will use his skills to reconnect other Washburn descendants to Norlands, organize a legacy giving program, and see the library at Norlands fully restored. Other board members are Mary Castonguay, owner, Castonguay Ayrshires LLC, Livermore; Jennifer Colby-Morse, personal care assistant, Dixfield; Jane Frost, artist and retired teacher, Richmond, Ron Kley, partner, Museum Research Services, Winthrop; David Leach, owner, D.L. Electric Inc., Waterville; Carolyn Lawson, laboratory instructor, Bates College, Lewiston; Garnett Rutherford, boiler operations manager, Hancock Lumber, Bethel; Harry Simon, retired owner,Simon Gallery, Rangeley.
Washburn-Norlands Living History Center preserves the heritage and traditions of rural life in Maine’s past, celebrates the achievements of Livermore’s Washburn family and uses living history methods to make values, activities, and issues of the past relevant to present and future generations. The 445-acre property includes the Washburn home, dating to 1867, with attached farmer’s cottage and barn, a gothic-style granite library, a Universalist meetinghouse, a one-room schoolhouse and an expanse of picturesque working farmland. Washburn-Norlands Living History Center is at 290 Norlands Road. For more information visit www.Norlands.org.
