One of the most time-honored traditions of towns that produce annual reports — the summation of a year's work for the sake of a municipality, and the projected costs to make it thrive in the coming year — is the dedication of that report to distinguished citizens.

It is a nomination kept secret up until the last minute, when the town reports have returned from the printer and are ready for distribution to the public. The Select Board discusses well before the town report is sent off to the press, and most manage to keep a lid on who the honorees will be. 

This year, they did well, and on May 30, a small group gathered in the conference room at the Rockport Town Office to announce to Richard Remsen and the family of James Annis about the dedication and in memoriam.

Remsen's wife, Shirley, had managed to steer Richard to the town office without a lot of suspicion on his part. Likewise, the Annis children drove Linda, Jim's wife, to the town office on a pretense. James Annis died less than a year ago to failing health, and the loss remains heavy for the family.

"Look at this!" said Remsen, when he walked into the conference room, and Rockport Select Board Chair Denise Munger presented a plaque to him. 

"Thank you for so much for all your support of the town," she said. "You are one of our favorite people in the town, and have worked so much with Legacy Rockport and the Ordinance Review Committee, just your knowledge of the town and the history of the Rockport."

Remsen  said, "The history is great and when you bring it up, people are interested. They just do not have that connection."

When Linda Annis arrived, surrounded by children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Munger welcomed them all.

"We are memorializing Jim in our annual report this year," she said. "Jim was an amazing contributor to the town in so many ways. His work on the Select Board, his work in so many ways."

"He loved it," said Linda Annis.

The dedication to Remsen and the in memoram declaration to Annis follow:

James “Jim” Annis

Jim was incredibly involved in town politics throughout his life, serving on the Rockport Select Board for many years (with a short break when he moved to Hope, where he served on the Hope Select Board). Jim also served on the Board of Directors of the Transfer Station, and was a member of the Rockport Masonic Lodge, the Kora Shriners, and the Rockland Elks Club.

Jim was continually active in his community, easily forming connections with others as he shared his quick wit, generosity, and his commonsense perspective. He could make a conversation with anyone he met, sometimes to the dismay of anyone who was waiting for him! 

Jim was an outdoors person who loved hunting, fishing, and helping make maple syrup with his good friends in the “Sugar Shack,” he enjoyed any type of outdoor work. Jim’s lawn was a thing of beauty, and his wood pile was always stacked perfectly. He was also the first to help anyone who needed a hand he could fix anything, would give anyone a ride anywhere, and helped his friends and family with anything they needed.

He was intelligent and took pleasure in learning new things, and he was always up for a spirited conversation or a good debate. His competitive side would come out when playing cribbage, and he was always up for a cold beer or a well-made gin and tonic. Jim was also known for his colorful expressions and sharp sense of humor. Of all the things he loved and devoted his time to (and there were many), his family and friends were always at the top of the list.

Jim attended Rockport High School and graduated in 1961. He was an exceptional athlete, leading his basketball team to the state tournament championship game and winning an award as the tournament MVP. After high school, Jim attended Maine Maritime Academy for a brief time, and then enlisted in the United States Navy, where he served for four years.

Jim worked as a cable splicer for the telephone company for over 30 years. Never one to sit idle, Jim continued to work after his retirement, for as long as he was physically able, at Goose River Golf Course and at the Camden-Rockport Transfer Station.

 The Town of Rockport is honored to dedicate the 2025 Annual Town Report to Richard Remsen.

Richard is an Artist and Rockport business owner, a visionary for big picture improvements in Rockport, including an advocate of the West Rockport village housing development known as Ingraham Corner, designed to bring a traditional neighborhood, with sidewalks and narrow roads to West Rockport.  He and his sister Kit’s husband, Richard Aroneau, used prominent town planners, Andrés Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, to develop the multi-page design for Ingraham Corner. 

In addition, he has been a long-time volunteer in activities and committees supporting Rockport, including as chair of the Ordinance Review Committee since 2004. He is also the founding member of Legacy Rockport and continues with Legacy Rockport as a board member. He served on the Town’s original Comprehensive Plan Committee, that developed the 2004 voter approved comprehensive plan, and is on the current Comprehensive Plan committee, that has finalized a Plan for voter approval in June.  Even when not on a committee, Richard attends public meetings and reaches out to other residents to bring his valued voice and experience to bear on the many issues that the Town is working on. 

Richard’s family of six children moved to Camden from Washington, D.C., when he was a child. He attended the local schools then went on to complete high school near his grandparents at St. Albans in D.C. He played football and was captain of the swimming team. Richard then studied at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and received his BFA in Sculpture at Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1974. As an Artist, Richard studied glass blowing with Dale Chihuly, Fritz Driesbach, Dan Dailey and apprenticed with Dominic Labino.  Richard returned to Rockport and established The Foundry, a sculpture studio specializing in bronze sculpture as well as blown and cast glass. The Foundry, located in an old blueberry processing building in West Rockport, has a versatile mix of tools and old technologies. The glass shop, one of the first hot glass studios in Maine, continues to be the catalyst of new designs. 

In 1982 he married Shirley Fowler, whose family generations spent summers in Ducktrap. They raised her sons, Justin and Benjamin Ford, and their own son, Isaac Remsen. Their time was filled with creativity, Shirley as a professional kitchen designer, while Richard had abundant foundry work, with marine castings and especially during the MBNA-era making numerous plaques and awards. Richard continues to use his foundry skills in making plaques for our memorial benches, parks, library donors, and many other dedications throughout town.

Richard helps manage over 100 acres acquired with family, including a farmhouse and barn, renting these over the years to Outward Bound staff and The Maine Photo Workshop. The photo workshops often used the barn and Foundry shop for classes, enjoying the ever-present patina of age. 

Together, Richard and Shirley love where they live, are tireless advocates for Rockport, have simplified responsibilities by selling the farmhouse and barn, and Shirley, recently retired, pulls Richard away on as many travel adventures as she can dream up.