Staff Writer
FORT FAIRFIELD – Comparing graduation to the Northern Maine potato farming culture seemed appropriate and poignant to Fort Fairfield’s Class of 2008 Valedictorian Hilary McNamee as she addressed her classmates before receiving their diplomas.
Potatoes plant deep roots, and, after plenty of water and sunshine, grow into a bountiful crop. McNamee asked her classmates to remember their past and gain from it.
“Fort Fairfield remains a farming community tied to its land and natural resources. From the soil we produce sustenance, through the winters we endure and in isolation we find inspiration in ourselves and comfort in our neighbors. From the generations who work the land and build homes and a town, we acquire our values,” she said.
McNamee explained how Fort Fairfield had made her and her fellow classmates who they were today sitting on the stage.
“Place is more than just a parcel of land with grass, trees, furrows or streets; it evolves into a series of traits, values and relationships that a group of people share. Forever embedded in my mind is the image of strong and capable hands, etched with tractor grease and field dirt; hands from the past and hands in this room that know intimately the reality of hard work.”
According to McNamee, these community members and her biathlon training taught her an essential life value.
“Hands like those have taught me my own life’s touchstone: nothing comes to us without our own individual version of plain old hard work – be it intellectual, emotional, physical or all put together,” she said.
McNamee’s evaluation of the Class of ’08, “We are products of this place and these people, and I think we are a pretty darn good crop. We will continue to make Fort Fairfield proud.”
Salutatorian Brittany Pelkey recounted all the events of childhood that had made their class like a family. “The Class of 2008 is a family. Evidence of this lies in the fact that we travel as a group wherever we go … We laugh with each other and at each other, when appropriate of course. I mean wouldn’t you think the president of NHS would know better than to microwave a metal bread tie. We cry with each other and for each other … We all share the excitement of finally completing our journey toward graduation, but we all acknowledge the swirling butterflies, which have taken up residence in our tummies as we imagine our new life when we walk out of these doors,” she said.
Athletic Director Tim Watt presented trophies to the class-chosen male and female ‘outstanding athlete’ who were Ryan Noyes and H. McNamee. The top 10 in academic achievers were also awarded plaques: Otis Edgecomb, Stacey McNamee, Cody Closson, Mary Sullivan, Graham Jenkins, Maryl Shaw, Pelkey and H. McNamee.
Scholarships were also awarded during the ceremony. Jenkins received a $78,000 ROTC Scholarship to cover all four years of his education at the University of Maine at Orono.
Superintendent Marc Gendron then announced the 2008 Wall of Fame honorees including Herrick Charles Kimball, M.D. (Class of 1918), George William Putnam, Jr. (Class of 1937) and John Gary Boyd (Class of 1947).
Gendron remarked, “It takes a village to raise a graduate,” and thanked the community and families for all they had done in helping the graduates to this point in their lives.
Fort Fairfield High School graduates included Alison Blaisdell, Katina Burby, Brooke Chasse, Ashley Churchill, Cody Closson, Otis Edgecomb, Beau Everett, Melissa Hanscome, Kristen Hebert, Kyra Hokinson, Katherine Holmes, Graham Jenkins, Candice Love, Melissa Maskell, Stephanie McIntosh, Ashley McNally, Hilary McNamee, Stacey McNamee, Ryan Noyes, Allyce Parmly, Brittany Pelkey, Joshua Ramos, Deborah Sanders, Heather Sappier, Maryl Shaw, Linda Sturgeon, Mary Sullivan and Shannon Towle.
Staff photo/Meridith Paterson
ALLISON BLAISDELL leans into the aisle to get a better look at the friends and family gathered in the Fort Fairfield High School gymnasium for the commencement exercises on June 8.
Staff photo/Meridith Paterson
OTIS EDGECOMB makes his way to the stage during the processional of the 2008 Fort Fairfield commencement exercises.
Staff photo/Meridith Paterson
CODY CLOSSON receives an academic award for being among the top 10 of Fort Fairfield’s graduating class of 2008. Mark Jenkins presents the awards.
Staff photo/Meridith Paterson
ASHLEY McNALLY receives her diploma from superintendent Marc Gendron at the Fort Fairfield High School 2008 commencement exercises on June 8.
