(Photo: President Bowen, Erik Hayward and Justin Lamontagne)
On July 31, we were delighted by Erik K. Hayward, Vice President of Libra Foundation (Libra), a major private philanthropic grant-making institution headquartered in Maine. Erik told us about the various parts of Libra that we do not know much about.
Elizabeth Noyce, founder of Libra, was born in Auburn, Massachusetts. She was a 1951 graduate of Tufts University. In the early 1950s, she met Robert Noyce who was working on a PhD at MIT, which is close to Tufts. In 1953, they married and Robert Noyce continued on to receive his PhD in 1953. He later became general manager of Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel Corporation.
Elizabeth and Robert moved to California, with Robert working first for Shockley Semiconductor and then leaving Shockley in 1957 to start Fairchild Semiconductor. Robert Noyce and Texas Instruments' Jack Kilby are credited with inventing the integrated circuit. In 1968, Robert Noyce and Gordon E. Moore started Intel Corporation in Mountain View California. Intel became a huge financial success; it developed the first commercially available dynamic RAM, the first EPROM, and the first commercially available microprocessor. Robert Noyce became extremely wealthy.
While in California, the couple had four children, but Elizabeth loved New England, so the family acquired a 50-acre coastal summer home in Bremen, Maine. Elizabeth and the children would summer there and Robert would visit during the summer, as he continued working at Intel.
The marriage ended in divorce and Elizabeth took up residence at ther Maine summer home. First she came to Maine to heal, and stayed to return the favor. She started giving to her community library and a golf course. Then she started giving to different organizations all over the state. Erik told us that Elizabeth was once frustrated at not getting a return call from her banker and upon complaining to her attorney, Owen Wells, about this, Owen suggested she open her own bank, which she did...called Maine Bank & Trust. Elizabeth was given account number 1 for her account at the bank. She, like many others in Maine, wanted a local bank responsive to local needs. This is the reason the bank has been so successful. When Maine’s banks were caught in the merger fever, local businesses had trouble getting loans, and so her bank stepped in with money to loan. The bank has merged twice and is now called People's United.
Another key investment of Libra was Pineland Farms. The farm first opened in 1908 as the Maine School for the Feeble Minded, an institution intended to house patients with mental illness and epilepsy. The land was acquired with the purchase of six farms in the area. Supporters of the institution claimed that although the farm did generate revenue, it also had therapeutic value and would keep the poor and unfortunate employed while doing them good. Over time the mission changed and Pineland's facilities deteriorated. Quality care for its residents was largely abandoned. Due to worsening conditions and allegations of abusive treatment, Pineland was closed in 1976. Upon its close, the campus had approximately 1600 acres and 28 buildings. Much of the area was used for farming purposes, and to satisfy needs of the employees and residents.
In 2000, the farm was purchased by Libra and they heavily renovated the property, adding businesses, and recreational trails and areas. Today, Pineland encompasses approximately 5000 acres and is used primarily as a public recreation area. The trail system at Pineland is 15.5 miles long. Libra Foundation renovated much of Pineland's area into cross-country ski trails, which are used for trail running, mountain biking, cyclo-cross, and orienteering events. A horse-breeding program is run at the Equestrian Center at Pineland Farms. The property is also used to host corporate meetings, retreats, weddings, picnics, etc.
With Pineland Farms, Betty realized she liked investing in businesses, and continued to make strategic investments where the money would create new opportunities for people of Maine. Pineland Farms Natural Meats, Inc. produces and markets natural beef throughout the eastern United States under the "Wolfe's Neck Farm" label. All the beef is free of hormones and antibiotics and is produced from local farmers devoted to humanely raised, safe, clean and stress-free animals.
Nearly twenty years ago a group of 4th generation Maine potato farmers had a vision that would create jobs, business opportunities, and a brighter future for the young people of Aroostook County. In 1997 they built a new state-of-the-art potato processing facility that transformed the thousands of acres of potatoes grown in the region from a commodity to a refrigerated ready-to-cook product. The brand, then called Naturally Potatoes, started with cut potatoes. With an investment Libra, within 2 years, the company added a line of mashed potatoes, which were in higher demand. In 2004, a national potato processing business expressed interest in entering the refrigerated potato market and bought Naturally Potatoes. Five years later Libra, and others bought the company back and incorporated as Pineland Farms Potato Company, Inc. (PFPC), which has been growing steadily ever since. In addition to contracting processing potatoes from many family-owned farms, PFPC purchased farming operation in 2012. In an effort to diversify the company’s product offerings, PFPC purchased from Libra in 2013, the Pineland Farms Creamery, which produces a line of award-winning cheeses. Pineland Farms Creamery says that they have created a flavor, texture, depth and complexity that one must experience to appreciate. The cheese’s unique and handcrafted quality starts with an exceptional key ingredient: the freshest milk possible. The Creamery is just a stone’s throw from its barns, where the internationally renowned herd of Pineland Farms’ Holstein cows grazes happily on hundreds of acres of rich grasslands. The premier cheese maker approaches his craft as an art form, using centuries-old techniques with meticulous care. State-of-the-art equipment and technology ensures the highest level of food safety and purity, from milk delivery to cheese packaging. The creamery produces 850,000 pounds of award-winning cheese, making it the largest producer of cheese in Maine.
Betty Noyce died from emphysema on September 18, 1996, aged 65, at her Bremen home in Lincoln County, Maine. Luckily for Maine, her legacy lives on with the Libra Foundation. One clear legacy is the Maine Winter Sports Center, created to sustain active communities in rural Maine, and skiing is at the heart of their mission. The center includes two world-class venues in Aroostook County, and along with competitive ski programs, it provides affordable recreational programs to 140 communities across the state. It has all been made possible largely by Libra Foundation. In February of 2014, the Foundation notified the Maine Winter Sports Center it would end programmatic funding as of April 30. During its 15 years supporting the Center, Libra has invested between $33-$34 million for skiing enjoyment.
To say the least, the list of businesses helped by Libra is impressive.
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