BOWDOINHAM

Brian Smith has poured his energy into Bowdoinham — so much so he was honored with the town’s 2018 Spirit of America award.

His contributions in recent years are undeniable: Starting a community farm cart, creating a community garden and making the last push for funding needed to complete the long-gestating skatepark.

The award was a chance for the community to say “thank you” to Smith.

“He is not only able to identify a particular need in our community, but then he devotes time and energy to finding solutions,” said Select Board Chairman Peter “Tony” Lewis. “Finally, he follows through and makes sure those solutions take root and come to fruition.”

Smith is proud of the trio of projects, saying “they mean something.”

“They’re pretty special,” Smith said.

After selling his surveying business about four years ago and working part-time for another three years, Smith began to have more time on his hands. Opting to find new ways to stay busy, the community farm cart was conceived.

“I always wanted to have a place where local people could by local produce,” said Smith. “You had all these farmers in town and you couldn’t buy local produce.

“You had to got to the farmers market,” he added, “but it was limited.”

Smith reached out to Kennebec Estuary Land Trust with his idea and was connected with local farmers Bethany Allen and Eric Ferguson of Harvest Tide Organics. After an initial meeting, they agreed that if Smith provided the cart, Harvest Tide would provide the fresh produce.

“I wasn’t looking to make money at it, but I realized it had to be run as a business,” said Smith. “We worked out an arrangement where they told me the price to sell it for. I kept about 30 percent and gave them the rest.”

A careful planner, Smith realized a farm stand may be more complicated in facing different regulations as a solid structure. So, he built a cart with a small, movable wooden frame and canvas covering; Smith operated the cart on land he owned near his Main Street residence.

A testament to his dedication to its success, during the first summer of its operation, Smith set up his lawn chair next to the cart each weekday waiting for the initial customers. He operated it for about three hours a day, seeing his vision come to life first-hand.

“I got to meet a lot of people that first year,” Smith said. “It was fun, but it was time-consuming and took a lot work.

“It didn’t make a whole lot of money,” he added, “but people were starting to stop.”

The cart sold about $4,000 worth of vegetables its first summer. But Smith was spending a lot of time in the evenings working on the cart, so he and Harvest Tide made the decision to operate the cart on an honor system in its second season.

It’s worked well, and the farm stand still relies on residents to pay for what they take.

“We listed prices,” said Smith. “If you overpaid, make up for it the next day.

“We had no problem with people taking stuff,” Smith joked. “I’m sure somebody probably took an extra strawberry or something, but no big deal. It still works on the honor system.”

After turning over the farm stand operation to Harvest Tide, Smith turned his attention to a new project — a community garden. Working with the Bowdoinham Community Development Initiative, a nonprofit that supports local business, Smith went to work planning the garden after the group consistently heard feedback that was something residents wanted.

Part of his property had already been used as a garden by Bowdoinham Estates’ residents. When the man who primarily worked on the garden passed away last summer, Smith decided to honor him by creating “Perry’s Garden,” for use by the community.

“I didn’t know how you set it up, I went online and checked how other towns do it,” he said. “I wanted to make it really simple.”

Smith discovered more than just how to set up a community garden — he found a way to fund the project. Using Seed Money, a crowdfunding website for gardens, he raised $1,400 to start the garden project. The money is administered by Bowdoinham Community Development Initiative, with funds doled out for the garden’s needed upkeep.

Much like the farm stand project, the garden received Smith’s personal touch. He tilled the land, divided it into plots and built a shed for equipment storage. Smith also fixed a discarded park bench to add to the garden, an amenity he personally enjoys to watch and interact with residents working on their plots.

“I grew up on a farm in upstate New York,” he said. “This stuff after I retired was getting back to my roots.

“I like to see people growing stuff and I’m glad people are taking advantage of it,” Smith added.

Though he’s quick to share credit with the many people with whom he’s worked to get the projects done, it’s Smith’s ability to plan and see a project to completion that has been an asset to Bowdoinham.

His business connections have helped, too. Smith used those to help secure the last $10,000 to finish the long-awaited skatepark project in town.

That was another project for which he was passionate, as the avid skater it honors had a deep personal connection for his family.

“My wife was a teacher in Bowdoinham for 25 years,” he said. “She had Matthew Parker in the fifth grade. It meant a lot to her.”

His resume of service may have earned him the Spirit of America award, but it’s clear Smith has the spirit of Bowdoinham firmly in mind.

chris@timesrecord.com