POWNAL – From August 2011 to May 2012, Pownal lost five people who had done much for the town through a 100-year span.

William “Bill” DeWitt, Carl “Sam” Mason, Edna Snow Menchen, Marion Knight Reed and Frank Knight lived, or their families had lived, on Pownal’s Hodsdon Road for generations. While some had moved from Pownal, they still maintained close ties with the town and were major contributors to the Pownal Scenic and Historical Society since its founding in 1970. They and their families were interrelated, participated in town government, belonged to area churches, attended local schools and operated early businesses in the granite and lumber industries.

In honor of these five residents, the Pownal Scenic and Historical Society is presenting a special program looking back at their lives and their contributions on Sunday, Nov. 4, at 2 p.m. in Mallett Hall.

Donna Boyles, the president of the historical society, and her husband Jim Boyles, the organization’s treasurer, have put together the program, a slide show narrated by Donna Boyles.

Jim Boyles said the reason behind the program was a simple one.

“These five individuals we all thought were exceptional died with one year (of each other),” he said, adding that any one of the five would have been worthy of a tribute. “Each of these five could have had a story on their own.”

Donna Boyles said that normally, the society honors significant contributors to the town with a mention in its annual publication, but the loss of so many significant people warranted a larger tribute, she said.

“This year, when I looked back I said, ‘Oh my goodness, there are five (significant people who died).’ The population of our town is 1,500 and when you think about the size of the town and you think about the loss of five people of this significance, this to me was a huge loss.”

The first of the five residents to die was DeWitt, in August 2011 at the age of 71, the youngest of the five honorees.

“His was a tragic loss,” Donna Boyles said. “He was still vital, he was still working for the town.”

One of DeWitt’s biggest contributions to Pownal was his work on putting an addition on Mallett Hall to house the town’s offices, Donna Boyles said. DeWitt chaired the Town Hall Addition Committee from 1990-2002, and during that time, helped raise more than $200,000 for the addition and modernizing the building. In 1999, he received the Governor’s Service Award for his dedication to serving his community, and the town honored him by naming the DeWitt room in Mallett Hall in his honor.

Then, in February of this year, Mason died at the age of 97. Donna Boyles said Mason and his wife Marjorie, who died in 1982, did a lot for the Pownal Scenic and Historical Society, which Marjorie Mason founded in 1970.

“Carl continued to support the society for the last 42 years,” Donna Boyles said.

She said one of the significant projects that Mason worked on was the reacquisition and restoration of the town’s 1878 hearse. Mason funded the two-year restoration for the hearse, which is now stored in the original hearse house next to the cemetery located across from Mallett Hall.

In March, Snow Menchen died at the age of 94. Donna Boyles said she was an honorary life member of the historical society and she served the town for 27 years in various positions as town clerk (1975-2002), deputy tax collector (1978-1990), deputy treasurer (1974-1990), tax collector (1990-2001) and treasurer (1990-1995).

“Her contributions to the society over 42 years were huge,” Donna Boyles said.

Snow Menchen’s time serving the town harkened back to a simpler time, even though that lasted until 2002. As Mallett Hall did not have the facilities to run the town clerk’s office, until the addition was completed in 2002, Snow Menchen ran that office out of a room in her home.

“We would go to her home for all of our licenses, to pay our bills,” Donna Boyles said. “And that didn’t change until 2002.”

Then, in May, the final two residents being honored died within two days of each other. Reed died at the age of 90 and Knight died at 103.

Reed was an honorary life member of the society, who came from a family with deep roots in Pownal, Donna Boyles said.

Knight had roots in Pownal that stretched back to the town’s founding over 200 years ago, but he might be best known for something in Yarmouth. Starting in 1956, Knight was the tree warden in Yarmouth, and he was the caretaker for “Herbie,” which was thought to be the oldest and largest of its kind in New England until disease forced it to be cut down in January 2010.

Jim Boyles and his wife Donna Boyles, both officers in the Pownal Scenic and Historical Society, show a poster for a program on Sunday that will honor five residents.