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Notes from the Director
In December, students from King Middle School in Portland visited Wired!, our current museum exhibit, as part of a learning expedition. The students are in the midst of an in-depth study of electricity, and their teacher has charged them with creating a device that captures and uses natural energy. One of the great aspects of the exhibit--and history itself--is how interdisciplinary it is: not only does the exhibit consider how electricity changed Maine, but it explores energy, technology, geography, and much more. King Middle School has a national reputation for its "deep learning" model, and their creative approach to learning was featured on PBS's News Hour last week. You can view the segment here.
If you haven't explored Wired!, I hope you'll get a chance to do so. Read on for some great programs on topics related to the exhibit.
Best,
Steve Bromage
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Current Exhibits
Museum
Wired! How Electricity Came to Maine
Showcase Gallery
Local History/ Local Schools student artwork
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Winter Hours
Museum & Museum Store: Monday-Saturday, 10am-5pm; closed Sundays
Brown Library: Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-4pm
Wadsworth-Longfellow House: Closed for the season; re-opens in May.
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Save the Date!
MHS Annual Gala
The Mad Hatter Affair
May 4, 2013
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Maine Facts & TriviaMainers are credited with many fine inventions. A few winter items we're sure you can't do without hail from Maine! Q: What important tool--essential to all year-round Mainers--was invented by Don A. Sargent of Bangor? A: The snowplow. Q: What device was invented by John Alby Spencer of Island Falls? A: The thermostat. Q: What did Chester Greenwood, from Farmington, invent? A: Earmuffs. After all, necessity is the mother of all invention! These excerpts are from Maine Trivia, a book by humorist John McDonald.
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As an MHS Member, you'll enjoy great benefits, including free admission to our museum, store and program discounts, access to our Research Library, and much more. Learn about membership perks online.
Friend level members and above receive free admission and other reciprocal benefits at more than 600 museums nationwide.
Become a member today!
Buy memberships online, or call us at 207-774-1822. |
Leave a Legacy
at MHS Through a Planned Gift
Other gifts, such as Charitable Gift Annuities, can provide you (and an additional person if you choose) with income for life. The remaining balance supports the work of MHS.
Interested in learning more about gift planning and making a difference? Please contact the Development Office at 207-774-1822 x231. Thank you.
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Featured Sponsors
We are grateful for the foundations and organizations who help us achieve our mission and goals. We'd like to thank those who provided grants in December and January.
BHA Foundation Fund - Curatorial and Exhibit support
Elsie A. Brown Fund - Civil War exhibit
Libra Foundation - General operating support
LL Bean - General operating support
Maine Community Foundation - General operating support
Margaret Burnham Charitable Trust - Public Programs
Phineas W. Sprague Foundation - Curatorial support
The Alfred M. Senter Fund - Maine Memory Network
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New Online Exhibit:
The World's Largest Oxen
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Mt. Katahdin and Granger, ca. 1906 MMN #66214
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If the Guinness World Records existed at the turn of the 20th century, a rather formidable twosome from Stetson surely would have had an entry. Named for the two largest things in Maine at the time, Mt. Katahdin and Granger (the latter representing Maine's prominent agricultural Grange), were known as the Largest Oxen in the World. Unable to do farm work because of their size, they visited fairs and agricultural events around the Northeast.
The new grant-funded exhibit, written by Stetson Historical Society member Julie Brownie, recounts how owner A. S. Rand bred the pair, the special arrangements made to exercise them, several high-profile exhibitions, and an explanation of how oxen were typically used in 19th century New England.
Visit this exhibit online.
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MHS News
Before our exhibit Wired! How Electricity Came to Maine winds down--it closes on May 26--a series of public programs will enlighten audiences on a variety of related topics. The highlight of these is a talk on March 28 at 7:00pm by University of Tennessee Distinguished Professor of Humanities Ernest Freeberg on his new book, Age of Edison: Electric Light and the Invention of Modern America, which will be published in late February. Dr. Freeberg, whose two previous books won awards between them, will share his research on the inventor and his Menlo Park laboratory, the history of electric light in general, and how that technology shaped American culture. Additional programs in the Wired! series include: February 12, 12:00pm: Salt Water Mills in Portland? Tidal Energy's Not a New Idea (With maritime historian Bud Warren) April 4, 7:00pm: Off and On the Grid (With former Maine State Poet Laureate Baron Wormser) April 25, 6:30pm: Electrifying Maine: The CMP Experience (With a panel of current and former CMP employees) May 9, 7:00pm: Energy Crisis Decade: 1973-1983 (With Colby College Professor of Science, Technology, and Society Leonard Reich) For information on all these programs, visit our Programs and Events page. |
February Programs
Click on the program titles for details
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From the Collections
Valentines
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MMN #4137
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The holiday of love and romance is upon us--will you be making or sending any valentines? Manuscript Collection 2041 is filled with artistic and poetic inspiration. This collection of 19th and 20th century cards includes comic valentines (also known as penny dreadfuls, as they sold for a penny), handmade valentines, fringed valentines popular in the 1880s, postcards, mechanical valentines (also known as sentimental movables, trick valentines, or novel valentines), all of which were written or received by people in Maine. Many examples can be seen in the Maine Memory exhibit Valentines. If you aren't the DIY type, you can send these by clicking the envelope icon on Maine Memory and adding your own message to that special someone.
For those interested in whimsy, or looking for creative encouragement, you may enjoy this acrostic poem (the first letter of each line spells out the recipient's name) written to George H. Knight of Portland in 1848:
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MMN #4138
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Generous Knight! A nature true Each one owns to be your due Open brow and manly face Radiant with nature's grace Genius bless thee from her store Earth her choicest blessing know Kingly power we wield today None own mandate may gainsay I, therefore of my sovereign will Guided by the hearts fond thrill Hold you by this queenly sign To be my faithful Valentine
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Travel with MHS
We would like to invite you to join us, along with other historical societies, on a very special Civil War cruise this spring! As America commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, the epic conflict that gave America, as Abraham Lincoln put it, "a new birth of freedom," we have designed a one-of-a-kind itinerary to cities and battlefields that resonate with all students of the Civil War. Visit us online for details and to register, or download the trip brochure here.
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MHS Annual Trip 14-day Splendors of Italy: Rome, Tuscany, Venice, and the Po River October 13 - 27, 2013 
Experience the wonders of Italy as Maine Historical Society cruises for 14 days on Uniworld's River Countess through Italy.
NEW! Select an option: Take the 14-day excursion that explores the beauty and magic of Rome and the Chianti region of Tuscany, followed by seven days of sailing from Venice to the heart of Italy along the Po River or meet the group in Venice and take only the Po River Cruise portion of the trip.
SPECIAL INCENTIVES
Book and deposit by February 15, 2013 and save $150 per person.* Past Uniworld customers save an additional $100 per person.
*Price is per person, cruise/tour only based on double occupancy in a category 5 stateroom. Escort dependent on a minimum of 25 passengers. Ship's Registry: Netherlands. *Discount of $150 per person valid for new reservations booked and deposited by February 15, 2013.
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Museum Store
Preserve your Family History
Need help organizing and caring for your family's photos, papers, letters, and ephemera? Winter is a great time to tackle family history projects, and we've got two terrific books that can help you get started.
Preserving Your Personal Collections: Books, Documents, Photographs and Digital Files, by Brian J. Baird, $12.50.
Preserving Your Family Photographs, by Maureen A. Taylor, $24.95
Both books are sold at our Museum Store and online store.
Visit us at 489 Congress Street in Portland, call us at 207-774-1822 ext. 208, or visit our online store.
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