Letter to the Editor

To the Honorable Members of the Gray Town Council and residents of Gray: I am writing to commend the Town of Gray for your support of a wonderful Historical Society. The society has been of incalculable help to me in my quest for information about my ancestors - many of whom resided in Gray during the 19th century.

I am an active duty physician in the U.S. Army and recently became interested in genealogy. Throughout the year of my 2006 deployment to Afghanistan the study of genealogy was a welcome diversion from the difficult tasks that filled most of my day. Since many of Gray's records, as well as the Cumberland County probate files, have been lost to fire and the ages, the presence of a robust, helpful and organized Historical Society has been a key factor in helping me to learn about the many early citizens of Gray who populate my family tree.

While I was deployed, Ms. Knapp and the volunteer staff of the Gray Historical Society gave freely of much time and effort to locate and gather data that would have otherwise been impossible for me to obtain. Consequently, a visit to the Gray Historical Society was high on my list when I returned from my deployment.

I returned from Afghanistan last February and visited Gray in June. I was truly impressed by the quality, quantity and organization of the Historical Society's collection and archives in the Pennell Building. My questions were handled promptly and professionally. I was guided to a computer where I could look-up Gray cemetery internments and files of information were placed at my disposal.

As I meandered through the extensive collections on display in the Pennell building I even discovered a photo of one of my ancestors. I was also impressed by the fairly large crowd of local citizens (from Gray and surrounding towns) that were visiting the collections on the day I was present.

I came away with a much wider and more extensive appreciation of the history of your wonderful town than I ever expected. Gray's Historical Society stands out among small town historical societies in New England. The commitment and dedication of the volunteers, the setting in the historic Pennell Building and the space allotted to the Society speaks volumes about your town's awareness of its stature in the present, promise for its future and pride in its past. I hope and trust that the commitment of your town to this gem of an institution will continue unabated. Very respectfully,

Thomas W. Frank, MD

Colonel, Medical Corps

Chief, Department of Medicine

William Beaumont Army Medical Center, El Paso, Texas

Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

Cliff Foster probably isn't the ideal person to judge the accomplishments of a town council that was chaired by his own son, so let me add a few things he omitted in his letter of November 30.

Under Gary Foster, Andrew Upham and Skip Crane, the Gray Town Council:

• Ignored a voter mandate on Pennell and restarted a disastrous lawsuit

• Falsely accused community volunteers of ethical violations

• Rejected qualified committee applicants because of their political opinions

• Fired or provoked the resignations of a record number of Gray's professional staff

• Drained the town's financial reserves and worsened its fiscal health

• Incompetently micromanaged municipal operations

• Wrongly destroyed public documents and made access to public information more difficult for all but a select few.

I believe that the Foster-era council will be remembered for its arrogance, divisiveness, abuse and incompetence. With a record like that, I'd try to blame my critics, too. Paul Proudian, Gray