"I took this portrait of Joe on his last day of teaching—retiring after 38 years! I love the composition, because the vintage movie posters he displayed in his classroom are in the background.  Everyone knows that Joe loves that era.  And, because of that, it seemed appropriate to shoot his portrait in black and white."

Joe Foster was born at what was then a ten-bed hospital in Ellsworth, Maine, and grew up in Cherryfield. He first came to Kennebunk in 1969, when he was hired by Superintendent John Seekins as an English teacher at Kennebunk High School (KHS). Foster recalls a tough first year and that he even contemplated leaving to earn an MBA. By the end of his second year, however, he decided that teaching was truly his calling, and he remained at KHS until his retirement in 2007. Foster took a two-year leave of absence from 1972 to 1974 to earn his Master's degree in English from the University of Maine at Orono. He chaired the KHS English Department for 25 years (1982-2007), was the director of dramatics for 17 years, and served as president of the local teachers association. He helped to establish the Peer Helper program, as well as the school community substance awareness team called DART.

Increasingly recognized for his signature Downeast accent, Foster began doing radio and TV commercials in the early 1970s. He considered his forays into the world of entertainment “an amusing detour”—particularly his appearance in the 1987 Hollywood film Hot Pursuit starring John Cusack and Ben Stiller. Foster has served as a trustee of the Kennebunk Free Library, on the board of directors of Southern Maine Medical Center Visiting Nurses, as president of the Julie Foundation, and is currently a trustee at South Congregational Church. In 1999, he was named Citizen of the Year by the Kennebunk-Kennebunkport Chamber of Commerce. In retirement, Joe Foster remains popular as a toastmaster, working what he calls the “free dinner circuit.” He is a lover of old music and old cars and enjoys puttering in his garden, reading, or “contemplating exercise.” 

“Over the years, I’ve been blessed to be entrusted with the lifeblood of the Kennebunks—their sons and daughters. That privilege has given me a unique look at these communities and the changes that have occurred over the decades. Nothing strikes me more than the support, pride, and love that these towns shower upon their youth and what it says about the folks here, not only now but those parents of nearly forty years ago. I guess that in that way, the Kennebunks represent for me all that is good about small towns everywhere.”