Dear Editor:

Jake Day’s Christmas gift to our communities, his Christmas Windows, has endured for almost 80 years due to the generosity and efforts of many. For almost 40 years, Jake displayed his creations at his family homestead on Bristol Road in Damariscotta where people came from far and wide to stand on egg crates and peer into Jake’s magical world of bears, castles, cabins, skaters and more.

After Jake’s passing, the windows were donated to the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland. For several summers they were displayed in their gardens. After many months in the sun, they needed repair. Thankfully, a curator fell in love with Jake’s mystical windows and expertly restored them. Soon after their restoration, the Museum agreed to return them to Damariscotta.

When the windows arrived back in Damariscotta Chris Roberts and a select committee were determined to display them again. Chris’ Boy Scout troop-built boxes with plexiglass fronts to protect and display them. Soon it became a family affair with Chris, Paula and their sons, John and Allen, promoting, delivering and storing them.

First, we displayed back in the Day homestead’s windows where they remained for many years. The guest book documented visitors from all over the country.

When a new location was needed, Dirk and Ann Poole kindly hosted the windows for several seasons at “Milling Around” and the Chamber of Commerce office in Newcastle.

For the last three years, the First National Bank in Damariscotta has enthusiastically allowed us to display them in the windows of the Old Massasoit Fire Station. We are so pleased that this location has proven to be accessible and more protected from the elements.

So, if you’ve peeked into Jake Day’s scenes it’s because we live in a community where people value art and local history. The Day families wish to express our gratitude to the Farnsworth’s restorer, the Boy Scouts, the Roberts and Poole families and the First National Bank. Because of you, Jake’s Christmas gift of 80 years ago keeps giving!

To honor Pap’s memory and work, Donations to Lincoln Academy’s Maurice Jake Day Art scholarship are always welcomed.

Lincoln Academy Development Office

81 Academy Hill Road

Newcastle, ME 04553

The Day families