By Wayne E. Rivet

Staff Writer

History and Memories of North Fryeburg, Maine and Fryeburg Harbor was a project Diane Jones knew in her heart she had to finish.

Diane first started collecting photographs and written histories when she moved into the 1896 Jones Homestead in Fryeburg in June 1969 when she married Edward W. Jones.

History was a passion for the couple.

Ed encouraged Diane to write a history of North Fryeburg. When Ed became ill, Diane decided writing and sharing her thoughts would be good medicine for her ailing husband. He needed something “positive,” and the project seemed to fit the bill.

Ed, however, failed to rebound. As his illness worsened, Diane put the book project aside. Ed passed away at their home on May 13, 2019.

Last fall, Diane decided to take another crack at writing, knowing Ed would be “so pleased” if she finished the project she had started.

The News posed the following questions to Diane Jones — a native of Fryeburg and a well-known historian, former Fryeburg selectman, life member of the Fryeburg Historical Society (she retired from FHS in December 2017) of which she was president, director and curator over a period of 31 years and a member of the Museums of the Bethel Historical Society — as part of the continuing “Worth A Browse” series profiling local authors.

BN. What lured you to writing? 

DJ. The loss of my husband, Edward, who lived his entire 80 years in North Fryeburg and loved it. He encouraged me to write a history of it.

BN. Do you schedule time to write or do you start when ideas strike you?

DJ. Longest writing session, seven hours… shortest, 1 hour.

BN. What was the “inspiration” behind this book?

DJ. My husband, Edward.

BN. Give a brief account of what the book is about. 

DJ. The book contains many vintage photographs of North Fryeburg and Fryeburg Harbor, histories of both, cemetery inscriptions of the four cemeteries in this area, a collection of diaries from 1917 to 1939 written by Gladys Pray, wife of Frank Pray, who lived in Fryeburg Harbor. The Jones family was very active in many aspects of North Fryeburg.

BN. Did you experience bumps in the road while writing, and how did you move forward? 

DJ. The biggest bump I experienced was the death of my husband Edward on May 13, 2019 to whom I was married 50 years and was with 54.

BN. How did you go about developing the story?

DJ. A collection of vintage photographs that I had collected over the years in my mother and father-in-law’s photo album. I read many histories during the 31 years I was director, curator, president, and on the board of directors of the Fryeburg Historical Society.

BN. What do you think readers will enjoy most reading this book? 

DJ. Its history and the vintage photographs.

BN. Any advice you received from others that positively affected your writing style or choice of genre?

DJ. I have a big following on Facebook and have had for many years of people who enjoy all the vintage photographs I share there.

BN. What is next? 

DJ. No idea.

I have my friend of 35 years, Randall H. Bennett of Bethel, Maine, to thank for encouraging me to take another look at the book four months after Edward passed away. Randy retired June 1 as the executive director of the Museums of the Bethel Historical Society and had been on staff there for 35 years. He’s written and published many books of his own over the years and he felt this book was one that should be published, as there had not been much written on the history of North Fryeburg and Fryeburg Harbor, Diane added.