I am responding to the letter of Oct. 31 in the Kennebec Journal by Marilyn Stinson about the Monmouth Grange Building.

While the current owner of the building is the Theater at Monmouth, the structure is known as the Grange because of its history.

When the Theater at Monmouth purchased the building, I was president of the theater board.

The reason our bid was accepted had several key points.

One, the theater agreed that the Grange Building was to be maintained, keeping the architecture as intact as possible so that the picture of Main Street would not change.

The second item was our intent to make the building available, when possible, to the town.

While the major use of the Grange building will be as a theater rehearsal hall and a place to feed our summer company, it is exciting that we are able to create an emergency shelter for times of need.

We have been working with the Monmouth Fire Department to outfit the building with power and heat in the event that it is needed.

While ownership has changed, as Ms. Stinson so aptly put it, the Theater at Monmouth is interested in continuing the original mission of the Grange as a community service organization.

So, while the grant was obtained by the Theater at Monmouth, we will not be the only beneficiaries of the improvements in the Grange building.

The Grange organization may have moved on, but the building remains will continue the legacy of that original Grange.

I hope that the use of the name Grange in reference to this building will be honoring its legacy and all who have been involved.

David S. Heckman

Monmouth

Treasurer and past president

The Theater at Monmouth

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