HOPE — Two years ago on the evening of March 25, 2021, Connie Magivney lost her home, her cats, her belongings – life as she knew it – to a devastating fire. Hope, Camden and Lincolnville firefighters fought hard to save her home on the Camden Road in Hope, but the fire had spread quickly and with ferocity. 

Since then, Magivney and her son, Kenny, have been living in Brunswick in a mobile home, but the community of Hope wants her back home. She had been living in Hope at her home for approximately 20 years, and before that, her parents lived there.

“She misses Hope, and this is where she belongs,” said Emily Davis, who lives just up the road, at Hope Orchards. 

“She wants to return here,” said Hope Fire Chief Clarence Keller.

That is why the two have organized a $30,000 fundraiser, “Restore Connie’s Hope”, to get her house lot back into shape so that she can transport her new mobile home to Hope.

First, however, the property at 298 Camden Road needs site work, a slab laid for the home, and plumbing, septic and water systems upgraded.

The community already has responded, with some earthworks accomplished. The Dept. of Transportation left fill to spread over what fire ruins remained, and the lot has been cleared of debris. People have been leaving empty returnable bottles at the end of the driveway to supplement the fundraising.

The fire had wiped out Magivney’s home and cherished belongings. She had no insurance, and, “no means to recoup her loss,” said Keller.

“She was the innocent victim,” he said. 

He and Emily Davis are hoping that the community will reach into its pockets and help raise the $30,000 soon. There is work to do, but the project is not overwhelming, and already different contractors have offered to lend a hand. 

“In the spirit of Hope, let’s see if we can get Connie back onto her property,” said Keller.