Remembering the mausoleum of Sir Harry Oakes

To the Editor;

I was excited to see you had an article on Sir Harry Oakes in the Piscataquis Observer. When I was a teenager living on East Dover Road, my house was directly across the road from the lot where they were building his mausoleum. We watched with interest when they built the foundation. Then came the big trucks from St. Johnsbury, Vermont with the beautiful stone. When it was completed we watched as they brought his remains and those of his wife and son. Somewhere I have pictures of myself taken sitting on the foundation and later standing in the doorway of the completed tomb.

I married and moved away but when I was home visiting my folks I always made a visit to the beautifully landscaped lot across the road. After my parents died and the house was sold I visited the area less frequently. Last year when my son and I paid a visit to the family plots in the cemetery of course we made a stop at Sir Harry’s. What a big disappointment! The trees on either side of the walkway had grown together to block the entrance. 

I hope that your article will call attention to the mausoleum and someone will take responsibility for bringing it back to the beautiful place it once was. I think it is owed to his memory and those of his brother Louis and sister Mertice to maintain the mausoleum and grounds. The cemeteries adjacent to it are beautifully maintained. 

Helen Hussey Deag 

Durham, Connecticut