04/07/2026
Honoring a founder of Earthtides Pagan Network:
Remembering Fred Griffith – by Harper Meader
Fred was always one of the people you’d notice even in the fullest room. When we met, I had already noticed him and his wife Leigh, standing out while sitting in the middle of a full lecture auditorium at UMO. We were there for orientation into the student teacher phase of our education. Four rows behind me, a man maybe ten years older than most of the future teachers sat placidly with his wife Leigh, who was knitting something from a quilted bag overflowing with colorful yarn. Leigh was just about five feet tall. Fred was maybe six foot two (I never thought to ask) and very burly, with a full bushy beard. I thought they looked like Beorn on a date with a lady gnome, as adorable as you can imagine in homesteader outfits with pointed knitted hats.
Fred noticed me because of my Pagan-themed t-shirt. During a break he moved down next to me and struck up a conversation. We ended up exchanging phone numbers and, long story short, became fast friends. I was a solitary Pagan, unaware of any other option, but they changed that. Fred and Leigh, for decades, were at the forefront of just about any Pagan activity in the region, sometimes someone else’s idea, but very often theirs. They were among the founders of NAP, the National Alliance of Pantheists, Earthtides Pagan Network, which began as the Earthtides Newsletter, a large members-only annual conclave in the Catskills, Beltane on the Beach, and probably some other things I ought to recall. Together they solemnized many weddings. Fred never expected credit or thanks for any of this. The Griffiths have always been serious while not taking themselves too seriously. They were delighted to be referred to as our “High Priest and Low Priestess” because of their relative height, for example, and one of Fred’s favorite songs was The Coffee Hymn, best sung in solemn four-part harmony.
For at least a dozen years they hosted the first annual Pagan festival in Maine, Chicken Street Lammas. This, followed by all those other labors of love, was how a great many of the Maine Pagan old-timer generation found community. Sometime around 1990 they began reserving a booth for Pagan outreach and awareness at the Common Ground Fair, back when it was held at the Windsor Fairgrounds. For decades you could count on seeing Fred there, a genial bear of a man with a booming voice who loved to sing, laugh, share news, and meet people.
Personally, I am grateful for the example he set, his generosity, the many lessons I learned from him and the many good times we shared, songs we sang, stories we lived. My life has been larger, greater, and more filled with wonder because of Fred. Outside my little circle though, the gift of community that has blossomed and grown in Maine beyond all expectations is largely thanks to the Griffiths. Fred loved everyone in the community equally. He showed it by always seeing the best in us, always having an unforgettable bear hug for us, always ready to come together for a song in harmony or a horn of mead.
Fred was warm, kind, funny, wise, and tireless in his wish to share his love for Mother Earth. His adoration of his lady Leigh was a beautiful thing, an inspiration to the other husbands in the community. May he be remembered with love and warmth whenever the horn is passed as long as the Maine Pagan Community continues to thrive.
