Several of us have known Dennis for over 20 years. It is hard to
describe everything that makes up a person on a webpage, but here is
some information about Dennis anyway.
Independent filmmakers Richard Searls and Molly O'Neill have produced a
17 minute tape of excerpts from an interview with Dennis in prison on
22 March 2004. If all goes well, they plan to produce a quality,
independent film.
The 36 Megabyte video clip can be viewed with Apple's Quicktime (which
works on PCs or Macs) or other video viewing software. The file
is large, so this option is realistically only available for those
with broadband Internet connections. Click
here for video. Quicktime can be downloaded here.
If you want to see the entire video and want to see the VHS version,
contact Trial and Error about borrowing a copy. If you would like
just the audio from the clip, click here for the audio from the video clip. If you just
want to see Dennis' words, click here for the transcript
of the video.
From Carol
Waltman: "Dennis was into photography. He did all the photography for
the yearbook for three years of high school before his graduation with
the class of 1976. His grades were really good. He was a small guy
then, we called him 'mouse', because of his size." (phone call 2/9/03)
[Carol Levesque Waltman's husband, Jesse Waltman, moved to Madawaska,
and next door to the Dechaine's, in the early 1970's, when he was 11
years old. Jesse did not have a father and Dennis' mother had died and
they because natural friends. Carol Levesque came to know Dennis
Dechaine when, at age 15, she began dating Jesse, her future husband.
She has stood by both men ever since.]
From Human Sacrifice: "Teachers termed him quiet although he'd been
involved in the high school newspaper and yearbook, the winter carnival
and the Upward Bound Program. His IQ was reported as average but he was
usually among the top group of students, academically. Local police
said Dechaine was never involved in any of the incidents they'd
responded to over the years but he was 'always in the picture.' After
his father's death, one policeman said, Dechaine seemed to find trouble
more often - incidents like rock throwing. One former classmate
described him as 'a quiet kind of guy.' An underclassman said he 'hung
out with druggies.' Overall, the consensus was that Dennis Dechaine was
a quiet, mind-my-own-business kind of guy." (HS pp 84-85)
From Steve Young, Madawaska and adult friend In Madawaska, Steve was in
the class of 1973, and Dennis three years younger in the class of 1976:
"In the summer of 1977, we canoed the Allagash River from Long and
Umsaskis lakes down to Fort Kent. I never called him 'Mouse'".
"He came to visit me when I was at the University of Maine at Orono".
"Dennis was a lot of fun. Had a sense of humor. Friendly. Very nice.
Smile on his face most of the time." (phone conversation 12 February
2003)
"A memorable trip. I remmber, after a hard day of paddling on Umsaskis
and Long Lakes, sharing a can of B & M Baked Beans with Steve
Young.l To this day, I consider that one of the most delicious meals
ever." (Letter from Dennis, 22 February 2003)
