BROOKSVILLE, Maine — A Cape Rosier resident was stunned to discover that thieves had recently stolen an upright piano from a former church in Brooksville.
“Who would steal an old piano from a church?” asked Ned Hildreth, who looks after the old Methodist Church building, which he believes was built around 1910 and last hosted services at the very end of the 20th century.
Hildreth, who is also a volunteer firefighter for Brooksville, lives with his wife, May-Helen, less than a half mile from the church building located on Cape Rosier Road near the entrance of the Fresh Pond Trail of Holbrook Island Sanctuary.
At the beginning of this year, the couple went over to the church to pick up some donated returnable bottles at a nearby fire department bin and ring the steeple bell.
“We like to ring it a couple times a year around New Year’s and the Fourth of July,” Hildreth said. But when they stepped into the church’s nave, they were shocked to see that the old upright piano once used for services had been stolen.
“They just picked it up and walked out the front door with it,” Hildreth said. “It had to have been more than one person that did this.”
After the theft, the roller wheels of the piano were lying on the floor next to its dusty rectangular outline indicating where it stood for more than 20 years. There were no drag marks on the floor.
“What really bothers me is they took the communion plate, too,” Hildreth added, pointing to the empty table where the silver alloy plate and cover once sat.
Since there was no snow on the ground at the time of the heist, there were no footprints to detect.
“They just walked right in because the front door didn’t have a lock on it,” Hildreth said. “It does now,” he added, pointing to a new hasp and padlock he installed.
Hildreth, 72, who has been living in Cape Rosier for almost two decades on land first owned by his late father, took it upon himself to care for the church building because he was the youngest man in the immediate neighborhood.
“I’m not religious, but I’ve always been interested in history,” Hildreth said. He explained that the church building, which is in good condition, was built with local funding, much of it coming from summer residents. However, he added that the local Smith, Gray and Perry families were longtime pillars of the congregation.
Hildreth, in his unofficial caretaker capacity, has tried to inform the Conference of the United Methodist Church of the theft but has not received a response. He contacted the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office to file a report, which is being handled by Deputy Rob Morang.
Hildreth noted that the piano is not an antique or of great value, and is not the sort of item that’s easy to resell.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office.
This story appears through a media partnership with the Penobscot Bay Press.
