Shortly after the Civil War, a dream came true for a little girl from Tory Hill, as a train rumbled down the tracks between Portland and Boston.
Disappointed that she couldn’t get a ticket to see British author Charles Dickens in a Portland performance in the 1860s, the girl was given a consolation gift. Her mother treated the dejected girl with a trip to Boston.
To the girl’s unexpected delight, Dickens boarded the same train. And the world-famed author allowed the young admirer to join him on the ride. It was so memorable that the girl, who grew up to become author Kate Douglas Wiggin, later wrote about it in “A Child’s Journey with Dickens.”
“She felt naughty about leaving her seat,” said Carla Turner, president of the Dorcas Society, which is a charitable organization Wiggin founded in 1897.
This summer, the great-great grandson of Dickens, Gerald Charles Dickens of England, memorializes the train ride. He’ll honor Wiggin and local townspeople with three performances in July in the Tory Hill church, as Buxton celebrates its annual fair. “It’s going to be a lot of fun,” said Beverly Atkinson, who helps organize Buxton Community Day.
Portraying his famous forbear, Gerald Dickens’ will present “A Sentimental Journey with Dickens,” opening with “Dickens is Coming” at 7 p.m. on July 21. Then, he’ll pay a tribute to Wiggin at 2 p.m. in a Saturday matinee on July 22 with “A Child’s Journey With Dickens,” and his finale at 7 p.m. on July 22 will be “A Christmas Carol.”
Gerald Dickens visited Quillcote when he performed at Tory Hill in the winter four years ago. “His performance was the highlight of the year,” Turner said. “He has quite an extraordinary stage presence.”
Turner described Dickens’ descendent as an actor, one of England’s best. “He’s a nice guy, very personable and fun to be with,” Turner said.
Beverly Atkinson agreed, recalled an amusing anecdote after Thanksgiving last year. She and her husband, Richard “Sandy” Atkinson, who own the historic Royal Brewster mansion, traveled to a resort in the White Mountains to see a Gerald Dickens performance.
During a social hour there, Beverly Atkinson accidentally spilled a glass of milk in Dickens’ top hat and over his clothes. “He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry,” she said.
But, he put his top hat on her head. “Take a picture of this,” she said he told her husband.
The performances here mark the last on a tour of the United States by Gerald Dickens. Proceeds from his appearances at Tory Hill will benefit the church’s restoration fund, Salmon Falls Library and South Buxton Cemetery along with the historical and Dorcas societies.
For more information or for reservations for “A Sentimental Journey with Dickens,” call Beverly Atkinson at 929-6495.
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