A child prepares to enter the ball pit at the Rumpus Room in January 2019 after the business reopened until Heather Pelletier. Hannah LaClaire / The Times Record

Facebook screenshot

BRUNSWICK — A Brunswick business owner on Monday said she will comply with Gov. Janet Mills’ masking mandate, three days after she wrote in a Facebook post that she would defy the governor’s order, kicking off a social media firestorm and a police investigation. 

In a widely circulated post on Nov. 6, Heather Pelletier, owner of Brunswick’s The Rumpus Room, an indoor playground and activity space for children, wrote that she would “never require a guest to mask up” and that “it’s not reasonable to expect an 18-month old to wear a mask.”

“I’m choosing to put this out on a public platform solely because in the last six weeks I’ve gained more support from word of mouth that I don’t require masking,” she wrote. “There are more parents that feel the way I do than I realized. The isolation and lack of socialization of our children far outweighs any virus. My hopes and prayers are that no one will get sick while playing here but it’s unrealistic because germs are everywhere.”

Many supported Pelletier’s statement, thanking her for “standing up for our children,” as one commenter said, but others were angry and accused her of being “irresponsible and disgusting,” and putting the community at risk of an outbreak. Several commenters said they had reported the Rumpus Room to the police and state authorities. 

But Monday, Pelletier said in an interview that her words were misinterpreted. 

“I’m not an anti-masker, this was not a soapbox stance,” she said. “People wear masks at my establishment. I wear masks. I don’t know how it turned into this. I love my community.” 

Last week, in response to rising coronavirus cases, Mills released a new executive order that makes face coverings mandatory in all public places, even if physical distancing is possible. This order requires “operators of all indoor public settings” to post signs notifying entrants of the face mask rule.

The mandate also stipulates that these “operators”  may deny service or entry for non-compliance, something only certain types of businesses, like larger retail establishments, were responsible for under the previous restrictions. 

Pelletier said she has posted the required signs at the Rumpus Room, wears a mask and a face shield and sanitizes regularly. 

“I’ve never denied that I have not been strict or concerned with children and masks,” she said, but “(adult) guests are expected to wear masks… They have been since I reopened… I’ve never been OK with non-mask wearing but in the same sentiment, I’ve never been judgmental either.” 

Until the most recent mandate, she said she has assumed that an adult not wearing a mask has a reason for doing so, and that she has not questioned anyone about it. 

However,  with the new rules, she said she is unsure of what she will do if she runs into the situation again. 

“I haven’t been faced yet with having to ask someone to leave. I don’t know what I’ll do when someone walks in and is not wearing one,” she said. “I will cross that when it happens.”

According to Brunswick Police Chief Scott Stewart, the Police Department received numerous complaints about the business over the weekend, but after speaking to Pelletier, he considers the matter closed. 

“The owner was apologetic and said she was misunderstood,” Stewart said. “She didn’t intend on her post to be oppositional but she understood how it could have been taken that way. She agreed to comply, and that’s ultimately what we’re looking for.” 

Stewart said he does not believe it will be an issue moving forward. He added that arresting people for not wearing masks is “not what I signed up for,” but said the department will enforce the executive orders as they are sent down. The goal though is for voluntary compliance. 

The Maine CDC is not investigating any outbreaks related to the Rumpus Room. 

Pelletier wrote in a second Facebook post over the weekend that she was “heartbroken” and “completely embarrassed and humiliated” by the response to her Nov. 6 post. 

“I would take Covid every day all day over being such a hateful person,” she wrote, citing death threats, messages to the business wishing for one of her children to die, for her to go bankrupt, for her children to be taken away from her and more. 

Despite this, she said Monday was the busiest day the Rumpus Room has seen since it reopened in July. On average, she has only been seeing about three paying customers over the course of the five hours the business is open. Monday, there were about 18 people throughout the same time frame.

“I wish people knew this is not the Rumpus Room pre-pandemic,” and is a far cry from the bustling place it used to be, she said. 

Still, Pelletier is blown away by the backlash. 

“Rereading it, I realize what I said. There’s nothing I can do, I can’t take it down. Taking it down would make me look like a coward,” she said. “I tried to better articulate myself in the comment section, (but) maybe staying off social media would have been better.”

The controversy comes as Maine reports the highest number of new single-day cases since the pandemic began.

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported Monday morning 204 new cases on Sunday, for a total of 7,897 cases since March. There were no new deaths.

According to the Portland Press Herald, Maine’s seven-day average for new cases is now 160.9, a leap from just two weeks ago when the seven-day case average was 44.4. It was 31.9 a month ago.