Shortly after noon on August 12, Freddie Luke stood alone holding a sign urging motorists to honk if they supported St. Andrews Hospital. An hour later, when her protest ended, a dozen others had joined her, waving to motorists and handing out handmade hearts.

The group stood on a sidewalk not far from the Boothbay Harbor Hannaford supermarket, next to a road sign pointing the way to the hospital. They got hundreds of honks and waves of support.

“I want this to be a positive message. It might make a difference,” said Luke, an East Boothbay resident who once worked at the Boothbay Harbor hospital. A recent decision by St. Andrews' management has the ER slated for closure in April 2013. This will cost St. Andrews its hospital license and 50 people their jobs.

Luke said she organized the protest on her own. She does not represent a group or a committee. She made her signs out of leftover cardboard and cut out the red hearts from construction paper sitting at her kitchen table.

Her unorganized, unofficial demonstration was the first outward community activity protesting the decision to close the St. Andrews Hospital’s emergency room. St. Andrews and Damariscotta’s Miles Memorial Hospital make up Lincoln County Healthcare, an arm of the nine-hospital group MaineHealth, which gave final approval the closure.

The Lincoln County Healthcare board said the decision was made to ensure quality healthcare and was not driven by financial considerations.

Tom Nickerson, a volunteer firefighter and semi-professional Boston Red Sox fan, joined Luke’s protest. “I have been here all my life. It is a shame,” he said, holding a sign that read “No St. Andrews means more Miles.” He explained the slogan referred to the 20 miles or so that Boothbay area patients will have to travel to reach the Miles emergency room if St. Andrews closes.

Lobsterman Craig Sproul joined the protest late. He said he came down after cheering on the U.S. basketball team, which won the Olympic Gold medal. “It is a damn shame,” he said, adding that he believes it was a financial decision.

“Maybe they ought to close the fire stations too and let the fire engines come down here from Damariscotta,” Sproul said.

“I am deaf and Miles is too,” said 80-ish-year-old Bob Horne, who has lived in Boothbay for 60 years. “I was the tennis pro on Squirrel Island and stayed,” he laughed. He said he joined the protest because he loves St. Andrews and its workers. They saved his life after a heart attack.

Luke said she chose the hearts for the symbol of the protest because they symbolize the hospital’s mission.

Marissa Carmolli brought her children to the event. She said the heart is emblazoned on the back of the St. Andrews Hospital identification badges. She worked at St. Andrews for 18 years managing the labs. She proudly wore a St. Andrews Hospital ball cap. “It is a community hospital. We loved serving our patients, our community members. It made a difference in everybody’s life,” she said.

Longtime computer business owner Tom Hagan stood urging on the honkers as he explained he was mad about the way Lincoln County Healthcare announced the decision. He feels the community should have been given more input and preparation before the decision was final. “The board chairs of LCH and MaineHealth should resign for what they did,” he said.

“I live on Back Narrows, near the location of the original Boothbay YMCA. You know when they first said they wanted to build a YMCA, the organization said no. They said we were too small a community to support a YMCA community center. Now look at that,” Hagan said, pointing up the street at the Boothbay Region YMCA, featuring a new aquatic center, tennis and basketball courts and community meeting rooms. “That parking lot is full every day.”

“There is a lot of money in this community. Maybe someone will step up (for the hospital),” Hagan said.

Luke said another protest will be held next Sunday, Aug. 19, at noon at the same location on Route 27 near the Boothbay Harbor Hannaford. “Maybe we will protest at the dump too,” she said.