LEWISTON — Charlie Hewitt doesn’t mince words. He says what’s on his mind.

For the past two weeks his mind has been with the people of Lewiston, where he grew up and where he still has conversations with people he knows.

“I was asked last night, ‘How can I remain hopeful in this time?'” he said Wednesday in the lobby of Central Maine Medical Center on Main Street. “And, you know, I just dug down and I said, I know what it is. When I get up tomorrow morning and I open my door and I walk the first step out of the future, I’m not carrying the next day with me. Hopeful means I’m going forward, despite anything else.”

Hopeful, the sculpture, the sign, the inspiration created by Hewitt in 2019 seen in cities across Maine and up and down the East Coast, has been a focus for many Mainers seeking solace in the aftermath of the mass shooting in Lewiston on Oct. 25. Now, Hewitt is gifting one of his studio creations to the hospital that took in and cared for all but one of the shooting victims.

“It’s not about my art, but it’s a metaphor of life,” Hewitt said. “Now, this Hopeful project, this Hopeful message is interesting to me because it’s survival. It’s got patina. It’s a survivor. It’s gone through COVID. It went through a very difficult presidential election cycle. Now it’s in the midst of this horrible tragedy. And I’m impressed with it and proud of it because I think one thing that’s going on as we go through all these changes in these times of insecurity … the Hopeful signs remain steadfast and present.”

Hewitt’s gift is to honor the medical professionals, first responders and volunteers who worked tirelessly to care for the people of Lewiston and Auburn in one of the darkest times for the community in recent memory.

In addition to driving the Hopeful sign to CMMC to drop it off, Hewitt was in the last-minute chaos Wednesday of helping to organize a fundraiser for Lewiston at Thompson’s Point in Portland, with Chris Thompson who grew up in Lewiston-Auburn.

Hewitt said the sign will stay at the hospital as long as it is needed, noting that three survivors remained hospitalized there.

“So, we’re not through (this) until everyone’s home. Until everyone’s home, then we start, we build it in that future.”

The brightly colored Hopeful signs are made in Lewiston by Phil Bolduc and his team at Neokraft Signs, something Hewitt likes to brag about.

“I’m proud that the piece was made by Neokraft Signs here in Lewiston … It’s nice for me to know that I can impart that message to everybody, that this is where things get made, they get made right, they’re made by decent, fun-loving, honest people.”

As Hewitt remembers what it was like growing up in Lewiston, he said there’s a shared message for the community that doesn’t seem to change. “These are tough people, these are gritty people,” he said.

“When I was here as a young man, my family worked in shoe shops, the mills, in roofing, in siding, steeplejacks,” he said. “It wasn’t about being envied; it was about being admired. I admire the people of Lewiston, Maine, because they will get through this. They’ll find some message in it, they’ll find solace sooner or later.”

Looking ahead and staying hopeful is Charlie Hewitt’s message to Lewiston, with one simple piece of advice: “I’d tell them to be who they are.”

He said the people of Lewiston are unpretentious, grounded by a common bond.

“We know where we came from … because we know who our ancestors are,” Hewitt said. “We know our grandparents and our parents; we know what they did and the struggles they went through. But then on Friday night, the dancing, the singing, the French music, the culture, it just came alive. And all of it, with all that week’s work and the fear was forgotten for a weekend. We went back to work on Monday, diligent, strong, caring about community, caring about work, caring about their religion.”

The trifecta Hewitt calls it. Family, work and the church.

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