"Mary Gray Ward Dorr." Acadia's lloms 2020. Friends of Acadia Website friendsofacadia crlacadia-mons-2020/ 020 Xfinity Connect Happy Mother_s Day from FOA_Printout HAPPY : Mother's, May! Dear Friends, connect.xfinity.com/appsuite/v=7.10.0-29.20200507.032520/print.html?print_158904724145 2/4 020 Xfinity Connect Happy Mother_s Day from FOA_Printout Tomorrow is Mother's Day! A few weeks ago, we put a call out in our E-News and on social media for your stories of special memories with mom or a maternal figure in Acadia National Park. We received many responses via Instagram, Facebook, and email. There were stories of first visits, multi-generational traditions in the park, and even a mother who was influential in the initial founding of Acadia. Click the link below for a collection of our favorite stories of mothers whose lives and those of their families were influenced by this special place. https://friendsofacadia.org/acadia-moms-2020, Are you still looking for the perfect gift for a special mom in your life? You can now make a tribute gift to FOA in her honor, and she will be sent a personalized e-card instantly-just in time for Mother's Day. Preserving and protecting the place you both love is a great gift for any Acadia loving mom! Click the button below to send a card. Mother's Send a Card ://connect.xfinity.com/appsuite/v=7.10.0-29.20200507.032520/print.html?print_1589047241459 3/4 8. The memoirs of George B. Dorr contain few remarks about the character of his parents. It is clear, however, that throughout his life both were deeply loved and willingly incorporated into his character. Each had "a delightful gift of narrative. What they told of lived my mother had a wonderful gift of description and drew a wide circle of younger folks about her always." Unlike George and her husband, Mary was impatient of reason and argument, reliant on intuition alone for "her artistic strain was strong." Death weighed heavily on her, having claimed her fiancé, father, and four of her seven siblings before her 40th birthday. Following George's Harvard graduation, Dorr and his parents had traveled for four years (1874-1878) throughout Europe; their compatibility also evidenced by the fact that they slept under the same roof for forty years. Back in Manhattan, in 1876 typhus claimed the life of her eldest, William. In London, Lady Rosalind Howard-a widely traveled political activist-invited bereaved Mary and George into her Palace Green residence and mothered both for weeks. Much later, Mary tried to persuade her dear friend Rosalind to visit their new Oldfarm residence: "Scenery as you will scarcely find surpassed the world around. Delightful people, charming and representative. We have sailing, yachting, mountain climbing, rocks, and shore and quite enough roughness and primitiveness of a new settlement to give your twelve boys and girls all the outings they can devise." Friends and acquaintances described Mary as intense, "a heart-to-hearter." Her reputation as a matchmaking hostess in both Boston and Bar Harbor was reinforced by her domineering spirit and much-discussed minor indiscretions. The Bar Harbor Village Improvement Association obituary lauded this founding member for her "bountiful" hospitality and her "uncommon skill in helping the hurt of life's battle with a sympathy which was as true as it wastender." 9. Dorr's private feelings about Mary are mirrored in his response to her death. Immediately afterward, this distraught sole surviving member of the Dorr family turned repeatedly to her lifelong friend, the renowned poet and social activist Julia Ward Howe. Her advice: "George, I love to go over the past with you, but you must not dwell on it too much. The future is before you; you must think of it." For the next four decades, he boldly embraced her imperative by championing from his parent's home the creation of Acadia National Park. - Ronald H. Epp March Dear of the National Park Service Acadia National 5/5/2020 Xfinity Connect George Dorr_s Mother Printout Julia Walker Thomas 5/5/2020 4:49 PM George Dorr's Mother To eppster2@comcast.net Hi Ron, Friends of Acadia is compiling stories of mothers who loved Acadia. Stephanie and Lisa thought you might wanted to submit a few paragraphs about George's mother. Sorry for the late notice--the deadline is Thursday at 9 am. Julia 5/7/2020 Xfinity Connect Re_Mary Dorr Printout R. W. Holibaugh 5/7/2020 6:42 AM Re: Mary Dorr To RONALD EPP Hello, Ron! Thanks very much for sharing your current thinking and writing about GBD's mother, Mary. This offers a brief, but intriguing glimpse into a life that refreshes and further enriches our knowledge of the Dorr family by the introduction of her intuitive and artistic sensibilities. It makes more understandable perhaps the relationships that she had with the Howard's and he had with Julia Ward Howe. Congratulations yet again on creating this additional component to our understanding of these fascinating people. Stay diligent and safe on your trip to Ludlow. Please let me know when you return to Farmington. Hugs, -R On Wed, May 6, 2020 at 9:57 PM RONALD EPP < eppster2@comcast.net> wrote: Ralph, Just sent off a brief profile of Gorge Dorr's mother requested of me yesterday by the Friends of Acadia. Since Mother's Day is around the corner, I suspect that their request for this is related though all they state is that they are compiling "stories of mothers who loved Acadia." Opaque yet again. See attachment. Thursday I take the bold step and drive up to Ludlow MA to sign off on my 2019 tax returns. Only one stop at the office of my accountant. Stay safe. Hugs, 5/7/2020 Xfinity Connect Re Mother_s Day Acadia Printout RONALD EPP 5/7/2020 4:57 PM Re: Mother's Day & Acadia To Jack Russell Jack, I appreciated the intensity of the essay you posted on Facebook about your mother. Well done ! I was much taken by your wordsmanship, describing yourself as " a tubby two-year old" who later "got my tired bones home by dinner." Julia Thomas emailed me Tuesday evening and said FOA was compiling stories about mothers who loved Acadia--and could I put together a couple of paragraphs on Ms. Dorr. NO reference to rapidly approaching Mother's Day, though I assumed something was in the works. Here is the essay I sent them, significantly toning down the more severe traits in her character for I wrote it as I thought George would want it. Onward! Ron Ronald H. Epp, Ph.D. 7 Peachtree Terrace Farmington, CT 06032 603-491-1760 eppster2@comcast.net On May 5, 2020 at 11:19 AM Jack Russell wrote: Thanks, Ron. Understood. Dianna and Becky have already responded to my firm message from last night. I'll send them a constructive response. We'll see. O,