It’s been a trying week in the Boothbay area, along with many other towns all over Maine, after a severe wind and rain storm devastated the state last Sunday night. Many weren’t prepared for the severity of it, and the havoc the storm would wreak.

Hundreds of thousands of Mainers woke up Monday morning to find they'd lost power. Trees were, and are still being, removed from power lines, and though power has been restored over much of the area, as of 5 p.m. Nov. 2, over 130,000 Mainers were still without power.

According the CMP website, at that time there were still over 2,600 outages in Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, East Boothbay, Southport and Edgecomb.

That's the bad news. The good news is a lot of people from those towns have joined forces and rallied in what many are calling an unprecedented show of community spirit.

Around noon Wednesday, Nov. 1, Melissa Neel of the Boothbay Harbor Country Club spoke with owner Paul Coulombe, who also owns the Boothbay Harbor Oceanside Golf Resort. He gave the go-ahead to open the 75 rooms at the resort that had been closed for the season, offering them at no cost to people and families without power.

In a phone interview, Coulombe said there may not be television, as cable had been turned off for the season, but there were king size beds, heat and hot water in every room. “There probably won’t be daily maid service, though.”

Within the hour, Neel, along with Holly Stover of the Boothbay Region Community Resource Council (BRCRC) and Boothbay Harbor Police Chief Bob Hasch had written an announcement, shared it with the Boothbay Register, and posted it on Facebook.

By 2:15 p.m., all the rooms were claimed. Along with the upscale rooms with all new beds and luxurious linens, a variety of snacks and beverages were made available. As power is restored, people are checking out and others are coming in.

Nick Scott and his wife Mandy spent two nights at Oceanside. “I’m practically speechless. To open up your business like this for residents to come in and use it is so thoughtful and generous. We’re so appreciative. This is arguably the nicest hotel room we’ve ever stayed in, and it was given to us.”

If that wasn’t enough to raise spirits in town, later that day Neel called Rachel Leeman, manager of Robinson’s Wharf. “I said, ‘You know, we should really be getting food to the community.’” Leeman called her sister, state representative and Rebuilding Together volunteer Stephanie Hawke, and the three got together and formulated a plan. Hawke said she knew there were still a lot of people without power, struggling to get through the days and nights, and a free lunch would be a welcome gift.

Coulombe was again beseeched, and by early Thursday morning, a group of around a dozen community members and country club employees had gathered at the country club. As word spread and a notice was posted on Hawke’s Facebook page, people started showing up to offer their help. Hawke said the response was quick and overwhelming.

By mid-morning  a team of around 25 volunteers had gathered around the front desk and kitchen at the country club, and others were coming and going, delivering the bagged up lunches all over Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, East Boothbay, Southport and Edgecomb.

For having been thrown together in such a short time, the effort was remarkably organized. Tammy Blackman and Doug Gimbel, with help from Alyssa Allen and Stover, were in charge of organizing routes and printing maps showing designated zones for each of the drivers to deliver the lunches.

Drivers went door-to-door, offering the free lunches that included ham and cheese sandwiches, fruit, pasta salad, chips and bottled water “For the people in the community who don’t know what’s going on because they don’t have power for phones, television or internet, they’re the ones we want to find,” Hawke said.

As of 2 p.m. Thursday, more than 500 lunches had been delivered. The food and the money for the food were donated by Rebuilding Together, Robinson’s Wharf, Hannaford, the Boothbay Harbor Country Club and many generous people.

At one point, two volunteers made a trip to Hannaford to re-stock. When they got to the checkout, a woman behind them asked why they had so much food in the carts. When they explained, she handed them her credit card to cover it. The bill came to around $600.

There’s a waiting list for rooms at Oceanside, but anyone with a special need is urged to call 633-4455.

Hasch sent a thank you memo to the Coulombe family, staff and management at the resort for planning, working and caring for their neighbors in need. Neel said along with all the volunteers involved who helped make everything possible, Coulombe’s generosity in donating food and the help of many of his employees played a big part in the effort.

“It was nice to see all the happy grateful faces,” Coulombe said. ”I’m glad we were able to help. I just wish we had more rooms.”

Beverages and snacks are still available at Oceanside for anyone needing a quick pick-me-up.

Lee Smith, 94, was in her home on Cross Point Road in Edgecomb when a free lunch was delivered. She said she was thrilled. “Thank you very much. I think this is a wonderful thing for people to do, and I appreciate it a great deal.”