By James V. Horrigan
Staff Writer
Unlike “Scarborough at 350,” the much-anticipated coffee table book that showed up in stores two weeks earlier than expected, the arrival of Debbie Merrill’s equally-anticipated Scarborough 350th anniversary map has been delayed.
The map, which made its public debut at the polls on Tuesday, did so without additional copies for sale. Annalee Rosenblatt, chairman of the Scarborough 350th Anniversary Committee, was disappointed not to have had any on hand on Election Day, but made certain forms were available so any resident wishing to order one was able to do so.
“We really wanted to have some available for sale at the polls,” Rosenblatt said. Owing to the cost of production however, the maps are only being ordered in lots of 10.
She said they will definitely have some on hand at the Nov. 16 book launch party at Scarborough Downs, she said.
The map, a colorful collage of Merrill’s hand-drawn pencil illustrations over a silhouette of the town, is supplemented with historical, geographic and cultural facts and figures gathered by local historians and history enthusiasts Rodney Laughton, Tom Sesto, Floyd Hartford and Pat Dunn.
“These are not posters; they are archival prints. The ink is high quality,” said Merrill.
She acknowledged that the $50 cost is not inexpensive but said the map was not composed “for the lobbies of banks. This is for the teachers to be able to afford. We want the people who have lived in the town all their life who are now living on a pension to be able to buy one,” she said.
Merrill described the 18-inch-by-24-inch map as more like a story board than a road map.
“We have a long, colorful history that I kind of got addicted to because of the huge number of [historic] events.”
“I’m not a commercial artist; I’m not a graphic designer. This was for the town; it was my contribution,” said Merrill, who runs D&D Dirtwork, a local excavating firm.
“I think I’m basically kind of the free artist in town. When they want somebody to donate their time, they come to me,” Merrill said.
Her pro bono art includes work contributed to the Scarborough Historical Society, Scarborough Little League, the Scarborough public schools and St. Maximillian Kolbe Catholic Church.
“We design logos, basically, so that non-profits can hold fundraisers and make a profit. As we all know, if the art stinks you’re not going to sell anything. If the art is good then your fundraiser stands a chance,” Merrill said.
Merrill won’t venture a guess as to how many hours she spent working on the project.
“Good grief! We met for months, usually for a few hours at a time,” she said.
Has she stopped to consider that when the town’s 400th and 450th anniversaries roll around future historians may look at the map and appreciate her efforts?
“I didn’t do it for people to talk about Deb Merrill in 100 years. I did it for the people of Scarborough now,” she said.
Maps can be ordered through the Scarborough 350th Anniversary Committee Web site at www.scarborough.me.us/350thcelebration/store.html