Falmouth is about to participate in spending more than $20,000 and an undetermined amount of town and school staff time to “restore,” photograph and produce a multi-page booklet of an obscure “illustration” of the town most residents know nothing about and have never seen. All because a town employee became “curious” about who created it, when, and why.

The Falmouth Historical Society should have researched those questions. They have not and probably never will be answered. Nevertheless, the illustration is so important it must be restored, memorialized digitally, in print and re-framed. There is no reason to spend one cent on such an obscurity. A local business may donate a portion of the total cost if certain conditions are met. Astonishingly, the town is in more than $6,000 plus who knows how much staff time.

The cost of the project and Falmouth 300 could be put to a much better use. Those dollars should be sent to a reputable charitable organization to help relieve the human suffering of the innocent victims of hurricanes Harvey and Irma. That humanitarian gesture would be something the citizens of Falmouth could be proud of for the next 300 years.

The illustration will be hung in obscurity and Falmouth 300 will quickly be forgotten. They have no lasting value. Who cares about them? What difference do they make? Falmouth should scrap the illustration restoration and Falmouth 300 in favor of humanitarian compassion.

M. Roberts Hunt
Falmouth