The beautifully decorated 63 Washington Street hosted a joyous Open House on December 15, complete with angelic voices raised in song, a bevy of holiday taste treats, and plenty of hope and good will for Mid-Coast Recovery Coalition’s fundraising campaign to complete the purchase of the property and operate Camden’s historic property as a much-needed recovery residence for women in recovery.  

Numerous businesses and individuals contributed to the community event, and on behalf of the Mid-Coast Recovery Coalition (MCRC) board, I’d like to thank the civic-minded owners and staff at Megunticook Market, Fresh Off the Farm, Hannaford’s, Boynton & McKay, The New Natural, Lowes, Home Depot, Warner Graphics, and Adventure Advertising, along with the amazing Kim Murphy and her singers from Camden Hills High School and also the equally sublime singers of VoXX—Voice of Twenty, who filled the Victorian house’s parlor with beautiful Christmas music.

We also thank artists and designers June Kincade, Russell Spera, and Lara Laffan, who generously donated their work. Merry Christmas and Thank You to the many donors who brought checks and the volunteers who cooked and baked goodies for the occasion.  

Many readers know that 63 Washington Street’s history of service to women traces far back in Camden history. However, few know the name “Emma C. Knight,” the leader of a group of twelve local women who went before a justice of the peace in 1886 to formally organize for the purpose of establishing a home for elderly women. Twelve years later Sixty-three Washington opened, beginning a tradition of service to women in need that MCRC hopes to continue.   

Women in that era lived with social restrictions that we no longer accept. Those twelve brave women may have faced opposition just because they were women or because some people preferred to locate the facility elsewhere. I suspect that those founding women wanted the residents and staff of 63 Washington Street to be good neighbors, just as we do now. I told a number of people at the Open House about Emma Knight and about my hope to name the rooms in 63 Washington after each of those twelve women if and when the building becomes a recovery residence for women. They liked the idea. But we have a ways to go. Please visit midcoastrecovery.org. On behalf of MCRC, I thank you all for your continued support.   

Ned Bachus, Mid-Coast Recovery Coalition board member, lives in Camden