In gratitude for her community building and outreach, the Sippican Historical Society (SHS) recognized Wendy Bidstrup with the 2024 Award for Distinguished Community Service. SHS honored Bidstrup at their Annual Meeting and commemorated her work with a new coral maple tree planted near the Elizabeth Taber statue in Marion’s Bicentennial Park.
Arriving in Marion in the 1960s, Bidstrup dutifully took on the volunteer responsibilities of a “faculty wife.” The Wells College graduate majored in art history and also volunteered at the newly formed Marion Art Center, serving on the exhibition committee and president before becoming its Executive Director for 25 years.
Of her time at the Marion Art Center, Wendy says, “It was magic – I loved it. Good things happened all the time.”
Bidstrup became the leading expert on the work of Cecil Clark Davis (1877 – 1955), whose portraits once provided inspiration for students at Tabor Academy and currently grace the walls of the Marion Art Center, private homes, the Sippican Historical Society and the Marion Music Hall. Thanks to her meticulous research, she wrote a biography and cataloged Clark’s more than 500 portraits.
Since retiring, Bidstrup has volunteered at the Sippican Historical Society, joined the Marion Garden Group and enjoys helping with various Marion projects. Bidstrup wrote and presented a lecture about Elizabeth Taber for several Marion organizations and in 2020 contributed her knowledge to the Elizabeth Taber Statue project.
Inside the SHS Museum, Bidstrup’s name appears with others who received the award since its inception in 1999. You can read more about Bidstrup and other award winners at sippicanhistoricalsociety.org/about/annual-awards/.