WEST BRATTLEBORO — Last September, we, along with Ned's brothers and sisters-in-law, had a custom-made bench installed on our land at the corner of Bonnyvale and Miller roads in West Brattleboro.
The bench was meant as a memorial to our late mother, who took great delight in the view from that spot in her failing years. It was also intended to give pleasure to the numerous people, many of whom we've never met, who admire that same view while walking, biking, painting, photographing, or just stopping by.
Over the past six months, we've been pleased to see a variety of people use the bench, some repeatedly. Mom would have loved to know this.
When family and friends dedicated it in September, we surrounded it with daffodil bulbs, knowing that everyone would take great joy as they sat on the bench surrounded by spring flowers.
A bit after 6 p.m. on Sunday, April 1 - yes, April Fool's Day - our neighbors saw two men steal the bench and drive off with it in a dark-colored, we think blue, Chevy pickup with a pipe rack.
We regard that corner as a community resource. Meg, and her parents before her, have kept it open and undeveloped for over half a century, specifically so others could share in the view from it. We feel very lucky to be able to be the stewards of a valued spot.
While we're livid about the theft of this memorial to one of the most giving people in recent memory, we also resent how two greedy individuals have robbed many in our community of part of the pleasure they've been able to take from their visits to this little corner of Brattleboro.
The bench is made of a semicircular section of white pine, is about 8 feet long, and sits on two cradles of wood. All three pieces were taken.
If you've seen or heard of the bench since April 1 and would like to help it get home, the incident number for the Brattleboro Police Department is #2380.
If this letter is your first hint that there might be a rather nice view on Bonnyvale Road, a bit shy of 2 miles south of Route 9, feel free to stop by and judge for yourself.