Calendar uncovers a community's spirit

Men of Barre ready, willing, and able to help

Calendar sales have already raised $10,000 for Barre's library renovations. As befits a public-spirited project, the men shielded their privates with tools of their trade. (2009 BARRE CALENDAR COVER)

About 2,500 men live in Barre, and Suzanne Fullam persuaded 80 of them to take off their clothes.

The men posed for an all-male, all-nude 2009 calendar, which is being sold to raise money for the town's recently renovated Woods Memorial Library. She got the idea a few years ago, talking to a co-worker at the Barre Ambulance Service.

"Her son-in-law had been in one in Brattleboro, Vt.," Fullam said. "They raised quite a bit of money, and I just kept it in the back of my mind."

Nude community calendars are no innovation - "Calendar Girls," a 2003 comedy film based on the trend, documented a group of British women who posed nude to raise money for charity. But the possibilities for a pun in Barre's name make it the perfect place to photograph men willing to go the Full Monty for a good cause.

Fullam approached library administrators in January, she said, and they endorsed the project. Then, she tracked down models.

The first man she approached was her husband, Charlie, the 62-year-old captain of the ambulance service.

"I said 'You know, Charlie, everybody's going to be asking if you're going to be in it,' " she said. Charlie and several other EMTs grace the October page.

As befits a public-spirited project, the men shielded their privates with tools of their trade.

Barre Fire Chief Joseph Rogowski and nine other firefighters grace the March page. They posed on a ladder truck, with axes, hoses, and other equipment strategically placed.

His men "were more than willing to do it," Rogowski said. His wife, however, was less excited about his debut as a model.

"My wife wasn't too big on it, but that's life," he said.

The models - some as old as 90 - were portrayed in 14 photographs, on the cover and with each month from January 2009 to January 2010. Two-thirds of the calendars, which were unveiled last week and go for $20 each, have been sold so far, raising $10,000 for the library by Saturday night.

One photo depicts four members of the town historical society, wearing horse harnesses and pulling an antique carriage. Two passengers, also historical society members, wear top hats and nothing else.

Jim Caruso, 48, volunteered to be photographed at the Pine Ridge Ski Area, which he owned before he became a developer. He didn't expect to wind up in the calendar, though.

"At first, I kept saying 'yes,' but I didn't think they'd really do it," he said.

His wife, Dale, 51, said she was amused by the final product, especially the January page that features her husband.

"It was cute, it was very cute," she said. "And it was very tasteful."

Fullam said she has been asked repeatedly if she will produce an all-female calendar next year, but she doesn't think so.

"Women want to have their hair done, get their makeup," she said.

"Men just take off their pants."

Matt Collette can be reached at mpcollette@globe.com.