To the Editor:

Friends of the Gingerbread House were discouraged to hear of last weekend’s vandalism at Norway’s landmark Gingerbread House, which has been undergoing rehabilitation for the past decade. At some point over the weekend, rocks were thrown through three of the newly restored windows, totally destroying two of them and damaging the top pane in the third window.

Six rocks were found inside the house amongst the broken glass, so the perpetrator stood below the windows for some time, repeatedly throwing rocks. As a member of the Board of Norway Landmarks Preservation Society (AKA Friends of the Gingerbread House), I want to express my sadness that this pointless destruction targeted a project that has been a source of pride for the people in the area.

The Gingerbread House is a landmark on Norway’s Main St. It was moved to its new location ten years ago and its exterior has been almost completely rehabilitated with the support of the community. While the project has received a few grants, the majority of its support has come from community donations.

Recently a newly constructed porch was painted and the Friends of the Gingerbread House committee was looking optimistically at the completion of the last few projects in finishing the exterior. The damaged windows were among those most recently restored and repair will involve removing the windows, reglazing, and repainting.

The glass in two of the windows was original to the house and will now need to be replaced with a newer variety. A small grant had provided funds to match community support for the window restoration. Cost of the repairs will come from the group’s treasury. The Norway Police Dept. has been notified and will patrol the area more frequently.

We all can hope that this will be the end of this type of vandalism targeting the Gingerbread House or any of the properties which so many people have worked so long to protect and preserve.

Joan Beal

Norway