Two neighbors in Gorham share way more than a property line. Living adjacent to one another on Church Street, they also happen to share a birthday, separated by 95 years.

Chuck Barr, a long-time Gorham resident and pillar of the community, celebrated his 95th birthday on Sept. 21, 2023, while his newest nextdoor neighbor, Taighe Foster, was born on that same day, just weeks ago.

True to his Irish heritage, baby Taighe appears to be sturdy and good natured like his dad, Keith, and shares his copper hair with his mom, Emily. Weighing 10 lbs 4 oz. and over 22 inches long, Taighe will soon be able to hold his own with his two older brothers, Ronan and Ivan aged 4 and 2.

Chuck Barr has lived in the same house for over 60 years, and now shares the home with his son, Jim and daughter-in-law, Cindy. The two families have become great friends and they all agree that they couldn’t ask for nicer neighbors.

One hopes that Taighe will live a life as full and interesting as Chuck Barr’s. At age 95, he is sharp, has a great, warm smile and a wicked sense of humor. To coin a phrase from Dr. Seuss, “Oh, the places he’ll go”…and “oh, the places he’s been.”

Chuck is a former engineer at S. D. Warren. An avid skier, in his own words, he never met a mountain he didn’t want to ski. He continued sailing into his 90’s, rode motorcycles, flew helicopters and fixed-wing planes. He once made a wintertime Coast Guard helicopter recovery of two hikers on Mt. Katahdin. He has travelled up and down the Amazon River. A Korean War Vet, he also served as a Volunteer Gorham Rescue team member. This is just a smattering of his life adventures, because Chuck didn’t want this article to be all about him.

Most importantly, baby Taighe and Chuck both seemed to greatly enjoy the snuggle, hopefully the first of many with their co-birthday next door neighbor.