Free benefit screening of "Bills Lumber" at
Williamsville Hall
October 25, 2025
7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
To benefit the Dead Mouse Fund
so that Fred Homer, Williamsville's own certified wildlife rehabilitator can feed rescued raptors without digging deeper into his own pocket. People can bring frozen non-poisoned dead mice, one per baggie, to donate. We'll have a cooler.
Should be fun! Congenial brothers, Everett and Alan Bills, plan to be there for their longtime friend, Fred. After the 45-minute movie all three octogenarians will take questions and tell stories. Theresa Maggio's Bills Lumber describes the history and last days of a beloved antique sawmill in Wardsboro and the Bills family that ran it. Earlier this year it played to SRO crowds all around Windham County, Vermont.
If you cannot come to the screening and want to deliver mice to Fred Homer, call him first. If you want to write a check, send to Fred Homer, P.O. Box 94, Williamsville, Vermont 05362.
From the "Vermont Journal" for a 2025 spring screening of Bills Lumber.:
"The 45-minute film by filmmaker Theresa Maggio chronicles the closing chapter of the Bills family's 86-year-old sawmill, built in 1936 by Melbourne Bills and operated for generations by his children and grandchildren. Audiences will meet Alan and Everett Bills, octogenarian brothers with deep roots in the region, and Debbie Bills Bauer, their niece and co-owner, as they bid farewell to a piece of Vermont history.
With heartfelt stories of fire, flood, and family, the film paints a vivid picture of life on "Bills Hill," where resilience and tradition shaped a way of life. Filmed during the summer and fall of 2023, Bills Lumber documents not only the mill's physical demolition, but also the emotional weight of closing a family chapter.
Already drawing sold-out audiences across the West River Valley, the film has been called a "gift" by viewers – lauded for its emotional resonance, humor, and historical significance.
Following the screening, Alan and Everett Bills will join the audience for a special Q&A session, offering firsthand insights into the stories behind the sawdust.
Don't miss this rare opportunity to honor a beloved Vermont legacy and hear directly from the men who lived it."
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