Last holiday season, Main Street on Vinalhaven was missing much of its Christmas spirit–lights in storefronts were scarce, wreaths on telephone poles had vanished, and the popular Santa house at the end of town had gone AWOL. After that bleak display, a group of people gathered who had one thing in common: They gave a s***. Thus was born the group WEGAS.
“People were complaining after the holidays last year where nothing got done,” said Angie Olson, co-founder of WEGAS and owner of local business Island Home. “There was a lack of community spirit. Things we remembered that made occasions special, we didn’t want to lose that.”
After discussing the lack of town spirit with lifelong resident Lee Osgood, Olson decided they should “stop bitching and just do something about it.”
So Olson and Osgood founded WEGAS (We Give A S***), a small group of island community members including small business owners, teachers and lobstermen.
“We didn’t know what to name the group,” Olson said. Someone suggested the offbeat name to her since “we all meet because we give a s*** about things slipping through the cracks.” Although the group’s name seems irreverent, the members are sincere and dedicated in their mission to restore island tradition.
“If you lose tradition, you’ve lost everything,” Osgood said. Olson added that letting the town’s customs fall by the wayside would be “losing what makes us any different from any other place.”
WEGAS meets every month at Trickerville Sandwich Shop to figure out ways to “bring island spirit and traditions back to Vinalhaven,” according to Olson.
Member Doris O’Hearn believes the reason Vinalhaven’s traditions began to fade is the lack of time people have to help make them happen. “So many women have to work that used to volunteer,” she said. “People have two-income households now, so if everyone has to work, no one’s around to volunteer their time.”
WEGAS’ first community project was an Adopt-A-Flag program through the Galen Cole Family Foundation of Bangor. Co-chairs of the project Jeannie Conway and Alan Barker Sr. headed fundraising efforts to purchase about 65 American flags in honor of veterans with Vinalhaven connections. The flags now adorn telephone poles throughout town.
The group’s next goal is to help decorate Main Street again at Christmas time. WEGAS members are currently fundraising to buy 10 large LED snowflake lights, which cost $319 each, to fasten to telephone poles throughout the village area of town. WEGAS also plans to string Christmas lights and decorate trees throughout Main Street.
Making sure the Santa house at the end of Main Street is set up for the holiday season is another goal. Olson believes not having that key decoration “pushed everybody off the edge.” A few of Santa’s Helpers are already lined up to help answer children’s letters this Christmas.
In order to raise the money needed for the lights, WEGAS sold hamburgers, hotdogs, lemonade and Christmas cookies during the Independence Day celebration, raising $1,275, and held a Bingo game last month headed by Ethel Jones and Lil Parker, which raised $786.
WEGAS joined forces with the Vinalhaven Jerry Michael Community Enrichment Fund “because they have the same goals to encourage community spirit,” Olson said. WEGAS also helps with that group’s community projects, like The Great American Millrace Duck Race in July, where people can purchase plastic ducks for $5 each in hopes that theirs are first across a finish line in Carver’s Pond. Another duck race was held August 14 to help close the funding gap for Christmas lights, which raised $1630 to be split between the two groups.
“We don’t want Vinalhaven memories lost,” O’Hearn said. “We want to revive the memories.”
If you “give a s***”, tax deductable donations can be sent to The Jerry Michael Community Enrichment Fund (specify Christmas Lights), and WEGAS is always looking for new members who care about island tradition.
Claire Carter is a Vinalhaven resident and is participating in The Working Waterfront’s student writers program.