GRAY–Oh, if Henry Pennell could see Gray now!
If alive, Pennell, the mythic namesake of the 134-year-old Pennell Institute, would surely jump at the opportunity presented to town residents on Saturday, July 24 to tour the newly renovated Pennell Institute, the new home for Gray’s town offices.
Pennell, who was born in Danville but later moved to downtown Gray and served in the Legislature, loved his adopted town so dearly that he built a much-needed high school over a 10-year period in the 1870s.
More than 100 years later, a new generation of carpenters, masons, roofers and landscapers have now salvaged and transformed the two sections (one built in 1876, the other in 1954) of the once-decaying Pennell Institute into town offices and meeting space.
On July 24, about a year after renovations commenced, townspeople will get a chance to tour the new building, and if rumor is to be believed, they could even meet Henry Pennell himself, although celebration organizer Don Hutchings, also a member of the Town Office Building Committee which oversaw the project, isn’t getting too specific on Pennell’s magical reappearance.
“I guess you’ll just have to show up and see what I’m talking about,” said Hutchings, who is proud to see Pennell’s building back to daily use.
“This is one of Gray’s most historic buildings, and it’s great the townspeople saw fit to save it back in November 2008,” Hutchings said, referring to the referendum whereby voters approved the $2.4 million restoration.
Hutchings hopes everyone in town will attend what is likely to be a day to remember. In addition to the music and tasty food offerings such as popcorn and root beer floats and chicken barbecue put on by the First Congregational Church of Gray, many celebratory events are scheduled for Pennell’s big opening day.
Starting at noon, music will fill the air surrounding the Pennell and Newbegin Gym area off Route 100 and won’t stop until fireworks at dusk. (Residents can park at Gray Plaza for free shuttle service to and from Pennell. No parking on site.) In between, town residents will get to submit letters for a time capsule (residents are encouraged to record and submit family histories on paper, Hutchings said) and pose for a town-wide photograph at 3 p.m. with local photographer Nathan Tsukroff, who will take the historic shot from atop a Gray Fire Department ladder truck. The photo will later be displayed inside the new town offices.
Then, shortly before 4 p.m., a small ceremony will lower the American flag at the current town office marking the ceremonial “passing of the torch” as Hutchings describes it, from the old town office on Route 26 to the new location at Pennell. A small group of town officials will then walk over to Pennell with the flag and raise it anew with musical accompaniment.
Residents are advised to stay at Pennell so they don’t miss the hoisting as well as the presentation of two plaques commemorating the rededication of the building as well as the work of those involved.
After the flag-raising ceremony, speakers including Town Manager Deb Cabana, Pennell Alumni Association President Everett Doughty, state Rep. Sue Austin, School Board Chairman Alan Rich and Town Council Chairman Peter Gellerson will offer perspective on the rededication of the renovation project. The Master of Ceremonies will be longtime state Rep. Donnie Carroll.
A lot of work
The $2.4 million renovation of Pennell was approved by Gray voters in November 2008, and work began on the conceptual redesign in the spring of 2009 by a 10-member Town Office Building Committee, chaired by Ralph Wink. Through each step of the project, right up to the expected end of construction Friday, July 16, the building committee was involved in every aspect of design and construction, Wink said.
“This project involved a lot of volunteers,” said Council Chairman Pete Gellerson. “The members of the Town Office Building Committee worked tirelessly. This is the biggest thing that’s happened in Gray for 100 years. Hopefully people will attend.”
Wink, who volunteered about 2,000 hours into the restoration project, according to Hutchings and Gellerson, said residents who attend the public unveiling will be pleased with the committee’s hard work.
“It’s a fairly big project for a community of our size, it was also a lot of fun. I’m very excited for people to finally be able to go in and see it. I think they’ll like what they see,” Wink said.
Wink, a retired director of engineering at Portland Pipeline Corporation, said the project came in on budget and on time, which he said is thanks to cooperation between all members of the design and construction teams. Bucksport architectural firm Lewis & Malm as well as general contractor Zachau Construction, based in Freeport, worked together with the building committee early in the process to discuss potential construction techniques and strategies to make sure “they were all on the same page” and within budget, Wink said. That cooperation saved time and money, added building committee member Tina Martell.
“It was three-legged,” Martell said. “The architect, construction manager and the town together developed a plan for the renovation. We had the budget up front, and the approach we used allowed everyone a chance to buy into it.”
A masonry worker cuts granite curbing in front of the Pennell Institute in Gray earlier this week. Gray will be moving its town offices to the newly renovated site throughout the month of August.
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