A $1 million gift from Jack Keigwin, a 1959 Bates College graduate, and his wife, Beverly, has funded a major environmental restoration project and new granite amphitheater on the Bates College campus in Lewiston, Maine.
Keigwin is president of F.H. French Co., Inc., of Lincoln, a designer of commercial and industrial properties.
The Keigwins’ gift has made possible the redesign and landscaping of Lake Andrews, as well as restoring the ecology of the 2.2-acre campus pond, which has emerged as the central feature of the landscape and architecture.
The new amphitheater, hand built by a local craftsman, is named in memory of Jack Keigwin’s aunt, Florence Keigwin, while the new walkway around the pond memorializes Beverly Keigwin’s mother, Marjorie Burgoyne.
“The Keigwins’ generosity recognizes the importance of aesthetic appeal and contemplative zones in the residential life of a liberal-arts college,” said Bates President Donald W. Harward. “Their longtime partnership in ensuring the aesthetic qualities of the Bates campus by crafting spaces of appeal and interest is deeply appreciated.”
Jack Keigwin called the Lake Andrews area on the school’s campus a place for “respite and rejuvenation.”
“It is a place to gather and to celebrate, a place for recreation – for the soul and mind,” he said.
The project construction, which began last May, is expected to be completed this spring. It will coincide with the 40th reunion year of Jack Keigwin’s class at Bates.
