closed a photo essay
TRANSCRIPT
CLOSED
a photo essayby Mark Roman
& Lisa Savage
Summer 2010
CLOSED ' . . What wasnt gettingfundedwhileU S taxeswent ' . . What wasnt gettingfundedwhileU S taxeswent
?tosupport militaryactionsaround theglobe ?tosupport militaryactionsaround theglobe
. Schoolsinsmall communitiesall overMaine Many -1 . ' servedK children Oftentheschool sreadingtest . scoreswerehigher thanthedistrict or stateaverage
Inall casesparentsandchildrenwept and fought to , keep their neighborhoodschool onlyclosed for lack
. $200 ,000 ofmoneytooperateit per year inthecase , . 5 ofCornville Maine About minutesof thewar in
.Afghanistan
. Studentsveryoftenreport likingsmall classesbetter Their familiesfeel thesamewayabout thelittle
. communityschoolsfor theprimarygrades Closings . nearlyalwaysresult inalongbusridefor small kids
, School closingscreateoppositionfromcitizensof thesurroundingarea and theyrepresent .anopportunitytopoint out whereall themoneyisgoing Themissingdollarsfromschool Themissingdollarsfromschool
.budgetsarecrumbscomparedwith theoutlayfor war anddestruction .budgetsarecrumbscomparedwith theoutlayfor war anddestruction
,Whentheyfoundout weweredocumentingclosedschoolsinMaine . local peopletoldusabout other recentlyclosedabandonedplaces
, . Here& previouspage aformer shoefactoryinPittsfield “ ” .The Personnel signonthedoormakesmefeel sad
. Cornvillewaswherewestarted’ I tsthelocal schoolwhere
alot of littlekids .that weloveused togo
Theywereveryproudof their school , .and thefact that theirmomwent there too
A friend toldusabout thisschool .closingnear hishouse
Thebrightlycoloredplayground . lookednew
Theparentsbuilt it and thenthekids , .werebusedaway leavingit behind
“WELCOME TO OUR SCHOOL. ALL VISITORS PLEASE CHECK IN AT THE OFFICE.”
The town of Monson is a destination for through hikers on the Appalachian Trail. The town turned its closed school into a community center. The bell will remain, a silent witness to the building's history.
Rural elementary schools often function as community centers where book fairs, scout meetings & voting occur.
The towns are just as cash strapped as the school districts are. So a town getting back a building to take care of puts additional strain on the town budget and local taxes, which school budgets depend on more and more as state and federal subsidies shrink.
“I think it's a shame to put kindergarteners on a bus for 45
minutes each way.”
Isaac Crabtree, who lives across the street from
the former Monson Elementary.
. .Goodbyelittleschools Youwill bemissed
. TheEmpireGrill wasalandmark inSkowhegan I t wasstyledbyfilmmakersasalocationfor theHBOmovie“ ” , EmpireFalls withPaul Newman ahard luckstoryset incentral MainebasedonthePuliitzer Prizewinningnovel
. .byRichardRusso Thevintageboothsand theneonsignweresoldbytheownerswhentheywent out ofbusiness
, ’ Closedbusinesses areinadif ferent categorythanschoolsbecauseitsoftenassumed that theownersdidsomething, , . wrong or at least unskillful tomakethebusinessfail
, Closedbusinessesmeanthekindofpainthat comesfromonedayhavingajoband thenext daybeingout ofwork .worryingabout how topaytherent
’ . ’ Whenaschool closesitsnot thesameasabusinessfailing I t wasntmeant tobeaprofit, .center but insteadaplacewheresocietyinvestsin itself
, .Whenthat fails it createsanuneasyfeelingthat something iswrongat adeeper level
, .Ofcoursesomepeoplelosetheir jobswhenschoolsclose too
’ “ ” School childrendont losetheir job but theybecomecommuterswhoget bused toamore .distant townwheretheyattendabigger school
This closed store was infamous because the bankrupt owners and their vendor had a dispute that led to a lot of food sitting inside while the closed store filled with rats.
June 13, 2010 Waterville Morning Sentinel by Amy Calder, Staff Writer
OLD STORE OVERRUN BY RATS: Candy-eating rodents entrenchedAt former China Village General Store
CHINA -- It's going to take at least a month to rid the former China Village General Store of dozens of rats living in and around the Main Street building, according to officials.
The rats are feeding off candy bars, boxes of cereal and other food left inside the store, which closed in February 2009, Code Enforcement Officer Scott Pierz said.
The town took action after neighbors and people visiting the nearby post office on Main Street saw rats around the building and called the town office to complain, Town Manager Dan L'Heureux said.
"They were rightfully concerned about the health, welfare and safety of the area," L'Heureux said.
Pierz said no one realized there were rats in the building before the complaints. When the store closed last year, paper was taped to the windows and recently, the glue of the tape dried up and the paper came off...
. Another closedneighborhoodstoreinrural Pittsfield , . I t still hadapayphoneoutside asdid theclosedstoreinChina
.I wonderedhow far peoplehad togotobuymilkor bread
This awesome toy store just closed after years of good times in the affluent college town of Brunswick. The owner told us it was never the same after a nearby navy base closed. They had just repositioned themselves in the market when the recession hit. In the U.S. we are taught to equate military bases with prosperity.
It's not just Maine.
Google “school closing vote” and this is the first page of hits:
“Board delays school closing vote,” New Pittsburgh Courier, 7/30/10“Hundreds protest school closings vote in New York City,” 7online.com, 1/27/10“School closing was neither fair, nor transparent,” Fairfax County, VA, 7/20/10“Court Rejects Union Bid To Block School Closings,” cbs2chicago.com, 2/23/10“Memorial School closing vote unanimous,” Reminder Online, Western Mass., 4/5/10
CLOSED aphotoessay
:Dedicated tothepeopleof
FairfieldBurnhamPittsfieldSkowheganCornvilleStarksPalmyraEmbdenMonson
China&,Waterville
Maine FormoreinformationonhowMaineis
usinglocal resolutionstospark , conversationsincommunities visit
. .bringourwardollarshomeorg
Join us in action!codepink.org/bringourwar$$home/
Lisa SavageCODEPINK Maine Local [email protected] (cell)
Mark RomanBring Our War $$ Home [email protected]