CHEBEAGUE — When Martha Komlosy Hamilton walked into the Chebeague Island Hall on March 2, an enthusiastic crowd of more than 150 family and friends greeted her with best wishes for her 90th birthday.
Hamilton has earned the respect and admiration of generations of Chebeaguers. The phrase “professional volunteer” is an apt description for this Renaissance woman who has shared her time and talents with the Chebeague community since childhood.
Hamilton’s artistic talents are evident on painted signs and printed posters all over the island. She has introduced generations of islanders to art through the school’s Art Goes to School program. Her design for a Town of Chebeague seal was chosen from over 25 submissions. For decades her drawings graced the cover of Chebeague’s monthly newsletter, The Calendar.
Hamilton is currently the curator of the Chebeague Historical Society’s upcoming exhibit, “Decorative and Useful: The Crafts of Chebeague.” She shares her musical talents by performing with the Whalers, a local singing group, and the Methodist Church choir. Any time a play is performed on the island, Hamilton is the first to sign on, is quick to share her extensive costume collection, and can be counted on the paint the scenery.
She currently serves on the boards of numerous island organizations and is an active member of the Ladies Aid. In addition to working at the school, Hamilton worked at the golf club and post office until recently.
“Of all of my accomplishments I am most proud of founding the Chebeague Island Library,” she said. Her vision took the institution from one room in the Chebeague Island School in the 1960s to a brand new, centrally located facility, built in 1990. She served as librarian for 35 years.
Hamilton first visited Chebeague when she was six months old. Her family’s connection to the island began in the early 1900s during Chebeague’s golden age of tourism.
Her father, a trained artist, spent a few winters on the island prior to World War I. Hamilton’s grandmother bought an island farmhouse and later her parents did the same. By the time she was born, the Komlosy family was well known on the island for their artistic, theatrical and musical talents.
Near the end of the Depression, Hamilton and her family moved to Chebeague year-round.
“Moving to Chebeague was the best thing that ever happened to me and my family,” she recalled. “Attending the school on the island helped make us feel part of the community. We knew our neighbors but we didn’t know the people on the West End [of the island] until we went to school. The school was the center of the community in those day,” she said.
“I was a senior when we moved to Chebeague and was in a class of nine. The islanders treated me as they treated my classmates. I was touched when I received graduation cards and gifts from Chebeaguers I didn’t know. I felt accepted!”
The family was embraced by the community, Hamilton believes, because it was struggling financially “and everyone knew it. We didn’t have any more than any of the other island families.”
World War II began during her first winter on the island. Chebeague’s strategic location in Casco Bay meant barracks were constructed at several locations on the island and soldiers were everywhere.
“All of the island boys went away to war, but then we came to know soldiers from all over the country. It was exciting! My family entertained soldiers at home, and we became involved in the community. We joined organizations and helped in the war effort,” she recalled. “I helped found the PTA and the Island Council.”
Shortly after graduating, Hamilton was asked to substitute teach at the school.
“I had no training but continued subbing for many years” she said. “I worked in Henry Bowen’s store and then my family bought it. I became a justice of the peace at 21 and have married more than 60 couples over the years.”
After the war, she married returning soldier and native islander Floyd Hamilton. Since then, she has supported just about every island cause and served on a myriad of organizational boards.
Her only regret, she said, “is that my father died so young. There is much he could have taught me about art.”
Though she loves the island, she has travelled to Japan, the British Isles and several other European countries.
“It doesn’t seem real that I am actually that old,” she said of being 90. “I worry a lot when I look at the obituary page and see that most of the people are younger than me. I guess I am on borrowed time, but I still have a lot to do.”
Hamilton and her friend, Kitty, have taken to exploring Chebeague’s old cart roads. Do they worry something might happen while they are deep in the woods?
“No, we don’t worry,” she said, citing the essence of island living. “If we don’t come back after a while we know Ed Doughty at the store will tell folks where to look. We always tell him where we are going.”