Never too old to learn new tunes
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Observer photo/Mike Lange |
By Mike Lange
Staff Writer
DOVER-FOXCROFT — It was one of several rainy Mondays in Dover-Foxcroft lately, but the mood was bright in the United Methodist Church classroom.
Alden Bent, the “most advanced” student at North Country Strings Music Studio, was taking violin lessons from instructor Susan Ramsey. “It was a lucky day when I met her,” said Bent, 91, with a smile.
Ramsey said the feeling was mutual. “He’s an inspiration to me and as well as many younger, less-talented students,” said the teacher.
Bent is well-known in the community as the former owner and operator of the Western Auto Store, which later became Dover-Foxcroft True Value Hardware.
An avid bicycle fan, he still fixes and repairs old bikes and sells them on occasion from his home across from Foxcroft Academy.
He even fixed Ramsey’s bike once. “The brakes were frozen and he had the spare parts to fix it,” Ramsey said. But he also insisted on delivering it to her which required bringing it up a flight of stairs. “He’s unbelievable at times,” she said.
Bent’s journey to Dover-Foxcroft began in a roundabout way. A native of Nova Scotia, he had planned to settle in New York in order to work in one of the state hospitals.
“I didn’t have a sponsor there,” he said. “So we came to Maine where Pansy’s (his wife) uncle lived.” He eventually got a job at Western Auto and stayed put. “So I never did make it to New York,” he joked.
So how did he get interested in the violin? “I took one as a trade-in for a TV set,” Bent said. “Over the years, I took some lessons from Fernald Richards; and later, Lila Cobb in North Dexter and Jim Brown from Abbot.”
Bent has also loaned violins to the Dexter and Guilford school systems. “A little girl from Guilford called me once and thanked me,” he recalled. “She said she would have never been able to take lessons if it hadn’t been for me.”
Ramsey, who is also music director of the church, describes Bent as a “treasure trove of great, old music. He brings in sheet music all the time for our lessons.”
She and her “most advanced student” will perform a duet at the Sunday, June 21 services.
Bent has also played with the Monson Jammers and sits in at Wednesday jam sessions at the Milo American Legion hall.
“I think I’ve been taking lessons on and off for about 40 years,” he quipped. “But these are the most fun of all.”