Maynard is Mourning the Loss of Steve Trumble, Fine Arts Theatre's Hero

This is a lengthy post. The last two paragraphs have information on how to be part of a mini memorial for Steve.

I considered Steve Trumble a friend. So when I heard of his passing I was deeply saddened. He was a businessman with a heart, who cared about the Maynard community and could see its potential. 

The first time I met Steve was when a group of concerned citizens wanted to meet with him to see if we could support him as he worked to renovate the theater. The building’s needs and technology upgrades were more than he had planned for.  He was hoping to have a Kickstarter to help get the theater digital projectors. I wanted him to be successful in Maynard, so I was honest with him. I said, “You can’t come in here wearing that fancy suit and asking Maynard’s citizens to give you money.” He looked a little taken aback and moved on to the next subject. Every now and then he would stop, look at me, and say, “You really don’t like my suit?” When the meeting was done he approached me and said, “I like you. I like your honesty. Here’s my card and my number.”

In the months that followed, as he began trying to repair the disaster that had been the Fine Arts Theater, I met him in town a couple of times and had lunch with him. My goal was to help him to get to know Maynard by having him be present in our downtown and by introducing him to as many people as possible. 

When the theater was coming along, he invited me to go in and see all the work he was doing. I remember how he told me that he didn’t really like the large paintings in the main theater. I told him that he couldn’t get rid of them--that they were iconic. Later, I was delighted when I learned that he had all the paintings restored. 

He was so proud of all the attention to detail that he put into the place. He loved the iridescent tiles he had chosen for the concession/ticket area and the red counter tops (I think red must have been his favorite color). He had carefully chosen the carpeting, which was reminiscent of art deco motifs. He made sure I noticed  the light hanging in the big display area (closer to where the Creamery now is). It always reminds me of a reel of film unwinding. He showed off the chevron-patterned bathrooms that were expanded to actually allow a person to close the stall door without having to climb onto a toilet. He always said that he knew he’d never make back what he put into it, but he loved knowing that he had made something really good here in our small town. 

Steve loved action movies and blockbuster hits, but when a group of Maynard residents approached him and told him that they thought the community might like something else, he listened. He began bringing in more family-oriented films and fewer action movies. From those meetings a group of movie lovers emerged and called themselves the Fans of Film at Fine Arts Theatre, and he supported their ideas. They wanted to take a couple of days out of each month to showcase Classic, Foreign, Documentary, Indie, and Art films. It proved to be successful and worthy of his support, and he never hesitated in thanking them for helping him move the theater in a direction that would bring the community in. 

Last year he opened Theatre Creamery, a longtime dream of his. My family happened to catch him on a day that they were in there starting to get decorations up. Resisting the urge to approach or hug him, I had to satisfy myself with just taking a picture of him. Unfortunately, I caught him just when he blinked. He loved the idea of families coming in for a movie and then being able to go get a sweet treat right afterward.

Steve was a willing supporter of local causes. Some years back, 6 Bridges Gallery was having an artistically-painted-chairs auction to help raise money for Maynard's public schools' arts program. I was involved in that and had an idea to raise more money by replacing the storytelling throne of Maynard children’s librarian, Mr. Marc. I asked Steve if he would be willing to match any donations that I could get from the public for the “purchasing” of the chair. Of course he said yes. It was a great success. When you can get back into the library (after COVID regulations are lifted), if you go to the children’s room and look at the chair, you’ll see that it has a little metal placard thanking Steve for his contribution.

Things Steve loved: Shaking hands firmly with people, calling everyone “hon.” He loved anything Coca-Cola (especially the good kind made with real sugar, which you can find at the Creamery), sports cars, white wine with a glass of ice on the side. He loved having annual Christmas parties for all of his employees, and he loved telling them what a good job they were doing. He was thrilled to welcome people to the theater, was a very generous tipper at restaurants, and loved to talk. (I love talking to people, too, so our conversations were often a bit of a wrestling match to see who could get their ideas out.) 

When the theater was in the process of trying to open, I sent a coloring page of the building's facade to as many people in town as possible. Adults and kids colored them and slid them under the door at the theater. Steve was deeply moved by the loving, supportive message and hung these little works of art in all the front windows.

With Steve’s passing, I’m trying to do something like the coloring pages again--a way for people to pay their condolences and show their gratitude in a public way, especially during this time of pandemic when we can’t gather for a funeral. I thought it might be beautiful to build a flower display around the entrance to the theater, so I reached out to Kathy Cormier, owner of The Flower Pot on Main Street. She advised that the cold temperatures would probably kill any flowers in short order and generously brainstormed with me about the kinds of things we might do instead. 

Kathy has generously hung a large grapevine wreath on one of the front doors to the theater. In a bag hanging nearby you will find index cards and a couple of markers. You can either fill one out right then and there and tie it tightly to the wreath, or take the card home and bring it back to tie it on when you are finished. Please help in sending messages of love and gratitude for Steve Trumble. He's not here to see them, but he would have loved them.