Beal’s Hospitality House open house on Sept. 28

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    AUGUSTA — When Lois Worcester of Kingsbury Plantation was state president of the American Legion Auxiliary in 2000, one of the highlights of her tour of duty was the opening of Beals Hospitality House on the grounds of the U.S.V.A. Hospital at Togus.
    “I was the first president of the Beals House board of directors,” Worcester said. “Even though I’m not on the board anymore, it’s still my highest priority.”

    On Sunday, Sept. 28, the public is invited to tour Beals Hospitality House from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., a home away from home for the families of veterans who are hospitalized at Togus.
    The nonprofit home has three bedrooms, including one handicapped-accessible unit, a shared living room and kitchen and laundry facilities on site.
    The purpose of the open house is to “let people know that it’s available,” Worcester explained. “The only eligibility requirement is that you must have an immediate family member at Togus.”
    Funds to renovate and furnish Beals Hospitality House were raised by the state’s veterans’ organizations and auxiliaries and each group has a representative on the 14-member board of directors. The bylaws were modeled after the Ronald McDonald House which offers accommodations to families of hospitalized children.
    Worcester recalled that she traveled all over the state during her term as state auxiliary president and talked to many spouses of disabled veterans. “I didn’t realize until then how many older ladies don’t drive anymore,” Worcester said. “So if their husband is at Togus, they have to rely on a family member to drive them there and then spend money on a motel room. If you’re coming down to Augusta from Fort Kent or Calais, that’s quite a trip.”
    Worcester’s husband, Alton, served 21 years in the Air Force and passed away in 2003.
    The Beals Hospitality House is named after Horace Beal, the wealthy granite merchant who owned the property where the Togus complex was built. The federal government bought the property in 1866 after a high-end resort built by Beal failed to attract enough revenue to keep it open. It became the nation’s first Veterans’ Administration hospital.
    The house, which is still owned by Togus, was once a doctor’s quarters, Worcester said. “But we (the board of directors) own all the contents,” she added.
    More information about the home is online at www.bealshouse.org.