May 2014
Issue #45
May Hours
 
Museum & Store
Monday - Saturday, 10am - 5pm

Brown Library
Tuesday - Saturday, 10am - 4pm

Wadsworth-Longfellow House
Tours daily, on the hour:
12pm - 5pm, with the last tour departing at 4pm.
Exhibitions

Closing on May 26:
 

Museum

This Rebellion: Maine and the Civil War  

      

Lecture Hall Gallery

From Slavery to Maine 

 

Showcase Gallery

Civil War Memorial Wall

Spotlight On

 

Joyce Mongeau,  

Wadsworth-Longfellow House Guide  


Joyce Mongeau, who began as a volunteer docent last summer, is delighted to join the MHS staff this season as a Guide. She is a native Mainer who "went away" for college and then returned with her husband to raise their three children. 

Joyce has a Marketing Degree from Bentley College, an MBA from Clark University, and, most recently, obtained her PHD (Portland's History Docents certificate!) last spring.  She is an amateur photographer and is passionate about Portland, the historic preservation efforts throughout Maine, and the role of tourism in our local economy. 

Joyce looks forward to welcoming visitors to the Wadsworth-Longfellow House this season and collaborating with MHS colleagues to enhance the visibility of this historic home and museum for years to come!  She also has a special place in her heart for Henry's favorite sibling, Anne Longfellow Pierce.

Better Than Ever

 

 

You can take advantage of Maine Historical Society's new membership benefits today!

Become a member and receive free or discounted admission to programs and lectures, guest passes to the MHS campus with a Contributor level membership or higher, and free admission and discounts to hundreds of other museums with a Friend level membership or higher.

Don't miss out: Join today!

 

MHS Annual Trip

 

October 29 - November 9, 2014 

 

The Magic of the France's Loire Valley and Bordeaux's Chateaux and Vineyards! 

 


With seven days on the Garonne, Dordogne, and Gironde Rivers aboard Uniworld's River Royale!  

 

This MHS trip is very popular and space is limited. Book your reservation now to insure you have a spot. 

  

Download the program flyer here.

 

Contact us for information and reservations: 

* Eric Baxter, Maine Historical Society Trustee, 207-780-6998

 

* Dana Widen, AAA Group Travel Coordinator, 207-780-6957

 

From $7,346 per person/ double occupancy.

 


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Historical Image: Railroad Blood Drive Car, 1952
MMN #17837
While the Red Cross encourages blood donations anytime to keep supplies robust, in times of higher need the organization makes a special plea or uses creative marketing strategies. That was the case in Houlton on this day in 1952 when the Red Cross joined up with the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad to draw donors' blood in a train car. One hundred pints were collected.


View this image online.  

News

Announcing the 192nd MHS Annual Meeting, Earle G. Shettleworth, Jr. to Give Keynote Presentation

Save the date: Saturday, June 7, 9:00am - 1:00pm.
Elephants on Parade, Congress Street, late 19th century. Courtesy of Earle G. Shettleworth, Jr.

Join Maine Historical Society for an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at our new Collections Management Center at 1000 Riverside Street, Portland. This building will transform our ability to preserve and manage the collections that are at the center of our work and will free important new public spaces in our museum and library. We want to share the exciting unveiling of the remodeled building with every one of you.

The meeting will feature a keynote presentation by renowned state historian Earle G. Shettleworth: A Changing Cityscape, Late 19th Century Photographs of the Congress Street Corridor by Philip Greely Brown. A box lunch will be served. The afternoon portion of the program includes tours that explore the growth of Portland in the 20th century.

Registration is $25 for members and $30 for non-members.
Buy your tickets online here.

Invitations and election ballots will be mailed to MHS members in May.


Wadsworth-Longfellow House & Garden Open
The Wadsworth-Longfellow House opened for the 2014 season on Thursday, May 1. Tours of the House are offered daily. Call for tour times, 207-774-1822. The Garden, tucked behind the House and Brown Library, is a perfect respite from the bustle of the city, and is open during business hours. 


New Museum Exhibition Opens June 26
Home: The Wadsworth-Longfellow House and the Emergence of Portland
opens to MHS members on June 26, and to the public on June 27.
Morton Block and Longfellow House MMN# 11155
The Wadsworth-Longfellow House has been a consistent feature of Portland's changing landscape since 1786, the year Peleg Wadsworth built the house and his young family began to call it "home." For more than 100 years, the house sheltered two large families while the city of Portland developed from a small town on the Maine frontier to the vibrant commercial city we see today.

The Home exhibition explores how crucial events affected the Wadsworth and Longfellow families and the house they lived in. Artifacts, documents, photographs, and other historical materials will be on exhibit.


Last Days of Civil War Exhibitions, Programs

If you haven't seen This Rebellion: Maine and the Civil War and From Slavery to Maine, our current museum exhibitions, this month is your last chance. The exhibitions and the Civil War Memorial Wall close on May 26.  

 

Public programs relating to the Civil War wrap up this month with the following talks:  

 


Maine History Day a Success 

More than 250 middle and high school students from all over Maine participated in Maine National History Day (MNHD) this year, which took place on Saturday, April 12. That's an increase over last year, despite the major transition from an Augusta locale to the University of Maine campus in Orono, which took over host duties this year from the Maine State Archives.

Read more in this blog post about the overwhelming success of this year's competition--and its value in history education--by MHS Director of Education & Interpretation Larissa Vigue Picard. 

From the Collections
Grant's Department Store
 
  
A new collection (Coll. 2725) is a trip down memory lane for anyone who remembers the old W. T. Grant Department Store in Portland, located on Congress Street, or for anyone who remembers department stores in any downtown location.

Continue reading this blog post by MHS Volunteer Emily Gendrolis.

May Programs & Events
Please note that public programs now carry a fee. MHS members receive free or discounted admission.

Click on the event date links for details

  

Lecture: African Americans & the U.S. Government During and After the Civil War  

Speaker: Chandra Manning, Associate Professor of History, Georgetown University 

Reserve your space here.    

In partnership with Maine Humanities Council 

Civil War Legacies in Maine: Statewide Civil War Symposium 

Reserve your space here.      

 

Tuesday, May 13, 12:00pm
"We respect the flag, but...": Opposition to the Civil War in Down East Maine 

Speaker: Timothy F. Garrity, Executive Director, Mount Desert Island Historical Society
Hist Gen
Visit New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston on May 15! 

Reserve your space here.  

 

Genealogy Research Trip to Boston 

Reserve your space here.  

    

Tuesday, May 20, 12:00pm
History and Memory in the Artwork of Daniel Minter, a Talk and Freedom Trail Walk  

Speaker: Daniel Minter, Portland artist and Freedom Trail founding director

Reserve your space here.  

Join MHS for this delicious fundraiser on Tuesday May 27

Elsmere BBQ & Wood Grill is hosting a benefit night in support of Maine Historical Society's popular Vintage Baseball games in June. Elsmere will donate a portion of its proceeds for every dinner they serve up that night! We'll have fun and games that night and plenty of prizes, so mark your calendar for May 27 at Elsmere, 448 Cottage Rd in South Portland.

 

Funds raised that night will cover MHS' costs of hosting our Vintage Baseball event on Saturday, June 21 from 11am - 5pm, so that we can continue to offer free admission! The Dirigo Vintage Base Ball Club of Augusta and the Presumpscot Base Ball Club of Westbrook will take on the Essex Base Ball Organization of Essex, Massachusetts, playing competitive games by rules and customs of the 19th century. Between games, the players will host a one-hour clinic for kids, teaching them about baseball in that era, with an opportunity for kids to run the bases and interact with the players. Location: Southern Maine Community College's baseball field on Fort Road in South Portland.

MHS will hold a Maine Memory Network Contributing Partner (CP) Conference on Thursday, May 22, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Current, new, and prospective MMN CPs are invited.

In addition to learning the latest about MMN content and tools, the agenda includes presentations by Tom Rieger, Director of Imaging Services, Northeast Document Conservation Center, on the latest trends in digital preservation, and by attorney Charles Bacall, Verrill Dana LLP, on copyright issues.

Breakout sessions on digital photography and building CP websites, talks from current CPs, and discussion forums round out the day. Cost and registration details online.

Museum Store

Classic Books Back in Print    

 

 

 

Check out wonderful classics back in print by Maine authors Louise Dickinson Rich, Lew Dietz, Robert Tristram Coffin, Kenneth Roberts and others!

       

 

Available at our Museum Store and our online store.
MHS members always receive a 10% discount!
Maine Historical Society  489 Congress Street  Portland, ME 04101 (207) 774-1822

MHS e-Connection is your online source for news and events at MHS, e-mailed monthly.