The report covers recent activities, events and concerns of the Maine Historical Society

Maine Historical Society

English

University of Maine

Maine History Volume 12 Number 3 Article 2 1-1-1973 News of the Society Maine Historical Society Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mainehistoryjournal  Part of the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Maine Historical Society, . "News of the Society." Maine History 12, 3 (1973): 101-110. https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mainehistoryjournal/vol12/iss3/2 This Reports, News, Announcements is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UMaine. It has been accepted for inclusion in Maine History by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UMaine. For more information, please contact um.library.technical.services@maine.edu. MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTERVolume 12, Number three___________________ Winter, 1973Published quarterly at 1+85 Congress Street Portland, Maine OUlllNEWS OF THE SOCIETYNominating Committee: The Committee to nominate candidates for vacancies on the Standing Committee occurring in June, 1973, has been appointed by President Ray. Committee members are : Mrs. William J. Murphy, Joel W. Eastman, John W. Hakola, Wendell P. Sargent, and Roger. C. Taylor.The Committee will nominate seven candidates to serve on the Standing Committee for three year terms. Members of the Society are invited to communicate their suggestions for candidates to the Nominating Committee at this time. Nominations may also be achieved by a petition of twenty or more members. In order to be placed on the official ballot, petitions must be sub­mitted to the Secretary of the Society no later than May 26, 1973.Members now serving on the Standing Committee whose terms are due to expire in June, 1973 are: Robert G. Albion, John W. Hakola, Donald L. Philbrick, Roger B. Ray, Earle G. Shettleworth, Jr., Herbert T. Silsby, II, and Samuel S. Silsby, Jr. All are eligible for reelection since none have served three consecutive terms, the maximum allowed under the 1969 Bylaws.Annual Meeting: The 151st Annual Meeting of the Society will be held on the campus of the University of Maine air Orono on Saturday, June sixteenth. The Society will be guest of the Bangor Historical Society and the University of Maine at Orono. Please mark your calendar with a bold red circle. Full particulars for the day will appear in the next issue of the Newsletter.Publications: In January of this year, the NewHampshire Publishing Company became exclusive distrib­utor for all publications of the Maine Historical Soci­ety. This far-reaching agreement, authorized by the Standing Committee last November, will allow the Soci­ety’s publications to reach a much wider audience than has been achieved up to this time.In addition, the New Hampshire Publishing Company and the Society have agreed to undertake a program of cooperative publication which will include new titles as well as reprints of worthwhile books on Maine his­tory and genealogy. The facsimile edition of Willis’ History of Portland published under a dual imprint last November, was the first instance of this new ven­ture .Scheduled for publication within the next two years are: The Letters of Thomas Gorges, edited by Robert E. Moody (see Newsletter, Vol. 12, No. lb) and a fresh, in-depth study of the Kennebeck Purchase Company by Gordon E. Kershaw. Scheduled for reprint are George Folsom's classic History of Saco and Bid­deford with a new introduction by Robert E. Moody, and a new paperback edition of Ronald F. Banks’ Maine Becomes a State, (The hardbound edition published by the Society with Wesleyan University Press for the State Sesquicentennial is exhausted) . Many other titles are under consideration, and the Society’s director and the Publications Committee welcome sug­gestions for reprints from the membership at any time.The New Hampshire Publishing Company and the Maine Historical Society are both vitally interested in fos­tering worthwhile regional books of high quality. Herein lies our hope for a long and valuable associa­tion.Christmas at the House: At the invitation of Greater Portland Landmarks, the Wadsworth-Longfellow House Committee opened the House for one week Just prior to Christmas; the first time this has been done in its long history. It was a heartening experiment in cooperation and encouraged the House Committee to make it an annual event.102Under the supervision of Registrar/Curator Han­nah Adams, the entire first floor was decorated in the late nineteenth-century manner. Members of the Longfellow Garden Club and the House Committee spent long hours getting everything just right, and even donated or loaned some of their own treasured posses­sions to properly set the scene. The charming, hand­crafted doll house and furniture, object of many ad­miring comments, was later given to the Society as a Christmas present by Mrs. Robert G. Albion.Ladies from Portland Landmarks and the House Com­mittee volunteered as Hostesses throughout the week, and choirs from several schools and churches sang in the courtyard each day.We salute the "Spirit of Christmas Past" which can engender such pleasant cooperation, and hope that many of you will be able to join us next season.Arts & Humanities Grant: In November, the Maine Historical Society received a matching grant of $1000 from the Maine State Commission on the Arts and the Humanities for the purpose of preserving the Library’s large scrapbook collection from total destruction bv making xerox copy. The $2000 generated will allow us to at least make a start on this $7000 project. Over many years, a card index has been maintained making the scrapbook collection one of the most prominent research tools in the Library, and one we simply can­not afford to lose. Many scrapbooks were assembled by some of Maine’s most prominent citizens and scholars and contain unique materials. Due to the self-destructing chemicals used in pulp-paper manu­facture, it has become the Library’s number one pri­ority preservation project. The preservation grants offered by the Maine State Commission on the Arts and the Humanities have been an immense help to this Society. In 1970-71 a grant was obtained for pre­serving Maine books, and in 1971-72 for the restoration of three historic Maine paintings.Franco-American genealogical materials: We would like to call attention to the fact that the Society Library has been acquiring great quantities of Canadian103genealogical material, particularly from Quebec Pro­vince. These materials include marriage records, reprints of notary records, etc. Mr. Reginald L. Olivier of Sanford, Maine, has kindly given us guid­ance in selecting from the mass of publications avail­able in Canada. One of the most useful books in this area was published by Mr. Olivier late last year en­titled, Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties^ Everton Publishers, Logan, Utah. This remarkable work con­tains 3,775 short biographies of the earliest pioneers in Canada.In addition, the Library has purchased materials associated with Franco-American history in the State of Maine, including twenty microfilm rolls of the newspaper La Justice de Biddeford^ 1896-1950^ recently filmed at the University of Maine at Orono; Maurice Violette’s French Canadians in Augusta; Alien's Migra­tion Fields of French Canadian Immigrants in New Eng­land (microfilm); Heinz Kloss' Les Droits Linguistiques des Franco-Americains aux Etats-Unis; and many other titles. Our motivation has not been to "jump on the band wagon" rather, it has been an effort to correct a grave deficiency in the Library's outstanding genea­logical and historical collections.NEW MEMBEESFROM MAINE Augusta: Arthur C. Ray Bath: Michael A. McMillen Bar Mills: Clifton F. Giles, Jr. Belfast: Mrs. Albert L. Crawford Biddeford: Mrs. Gertrude B. Weir Cape Elizabeth: John R. Connell, Mrs. V. Stroud Pyle, Mrs. Charles S. Vogler Cumberland Center: Mrs. Edwin G. Leighton Denmark: Sylvia MacDonald, Malcolm MacDonald Falmouth: Margaret Gauthier Falmouth Fore­side: Mrs. Paul Jones, Jr. Freeport: Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Samuel B. Griffith II Gorham: James D. Graffam, George L. Watson Lee: Gerald A. Burleigh Manchester: Kenneth Haskell North Bridgton: Mrs. Victoria A. Webster Portland: Lyman F. Brewer, Terry K. Dallaire, Mrs. Ralph Egers, Jr., Mrs. Clifton M. Hamm, Mr. & Mrs. E. Frederick Low, Jacqueline 0. Lunt, Thomas A. Martelle Preston Murphy, Mrs. Emma W. Scribner, Mrs. Ralph A.105Smith, Samuel S. Stoddard Rockport: Mrs. P. S. Gates, Jr. Sanford: Reginald L. Olivier South Freeport: Mary-Eliza Wengren South Harpswell: H. Franklin Williams South Portland: Frank W. Babbidge, Philip H. Carey, Michael J. Conroy, Roxie H. Insel Westbrook: Priscilla D. Waters Yarmouth: Mr. & Mrs. Albert A. Loder, Jr., H. M. Sterling.Other States CALIFORNIA St. Helena: Lewis P. Mansfield CONNECTICUT Greenwich: Shaw Mudge DELAWARE Wilmington: Edward S. Jordan MASSACHUSETTS Danvers: Kenneth L. Cobb Oakham: Charles S. Thurlow South­bridge: Arthur J. Kavanagh NEW HAMPSHIRE Portsmouth: Richard J. Hutchins Salem: Donald L. Banks PENNSYLVANIA Philadelphia: Richard P. Horwitz.LIFE MEMBERSMr. Bruce W. HazeltonCumberland Center* MaineMr. Joseph S. JonesSouth Portland* MaineCONTRIBUTORS TO THE150TH ANNIVERSARY FUNDMr. Arthur H. Benoit* FalmouthMr. William J. Dow* South PortlandMrs. Jesse A. Drew* West Falmouth* MassachusettsMrs. Josiah H. Drummond* PortlandMr. Harland Eastman* APO New YorkMr. Beniah C. Harding* ThomastonMr. Alan H. Hawkins* South PortlandMr. Herbert S. Hodsdon* StandishMr. Lewis P. Mansfield* St. Helena* CaliforniaMrs. Eric C. Patch* Quincy* MassachusettsMiss Margaret Payson* PortlandMrs. M. S. Peabody* FalmouthMrs. Mildred W. Pennell* PortlandMr. Donald L. Philbrick* PortlandMr. John B. Robinson* Oxford106Dr. Harry W. Rowe LewistonMr. Richard A. Savage East Brookfield Massachusetts Mr. Herbert . Silsby II* EllsworthMiss Elizabeth A. Taylor East VassalboroMr. Irving L. Vaughan^ GorhamMr. James B. Vickery > III3 BrewerDr. Roland G. Ware, Jr. 3 PortlandMr. Philip R. Webb^ PortlandMr. John W. White j AuburnThe 150th Anniversary Fund Committee has been extremely gratified with the response from the member­ship. By mid-February, H^5 members had contributed $15,976.92, nearly half of the amount needed to enable the Society to double its capacity for housing manu­scripts. Plans are progressing well with the architect, and it now looks as if it will be possible to gain 2,03^ linear feet of stack shelving which will accom­modate approximately 4,7^6 standard documents cases.107NEWS OF OTHER SOCIETIESAND INSTITUTIONSThe Maine State American Revolution Bicentennial Commission was formally established in February of last year when Governor Kenneth M. Curtis signed the en­abling legislation. The first meeting of the nine­teen member Commission was held on August, 1972.Naturally, the Commission has been very much in­volved with long-range, procedural planning. However, two concrete programs have been announced about which members of the Maine Historical Society will want to know.Maine Bicentennial Manuscript Competition: At its meeting in January the Commission approved what its Chairman, Dr. Ronald F. Banks, described as a "landmark agreement" with the New York publishing firm of W. W. Norton and Company.The agreement provides for the W. W. Norton Company and the Maine Bicentennial Commission to jointly sponsor a manuscript competition. Three categories of manuscripts have been established, cor­responding to the three themes of the national Bi­centennial: Heritage *76 manuscripts, focusing on an aspect of Maine's history; Festival f76^ focusing on contemporary Maine life; and Horizons r76^ manuscripts dealing with Maine's future. Manuscripts may be fiction or non-fiction and include edited as well as narrative manuscripts.The prize winning manuscript in each of the three categories, as determined by a panel of judges selected by W. W. Norton, will receive cash awards of $5,000 each. The best manuscript of the three prize winners will be designated Grand Prize winning entry and will receive an additional $2,500. Thus, the Grand Prize for the competition will be $7,500. Prizes will be granted as advances against publication royalties. It is expected that a May, 1975, deadline will be set for entries. Dr- Banks explained that the competition was similar to other national competitions such as the National Book Award, where prizes are awarded only if the quality of manuscripts justify such recognition. Dr. Banks feels that the amount of prize money is sufficient to attract fine talent in each of the three categories so that awards will be possible.This is not only a splendid opportunity for writers, but it is one which could result in works of great significance to Maine. By focusing on the pre­sent and future as well as the past, opportunity has been provided for works which deal seriously with contemporary problem areas as well as works suggesting the direction in which Maine should move in the future. Hopefully, these possibilities will produce efforts of quality that may prove to be classics because of their impact on public policy.Bicentennial Planning Grants: In July, 1972, a Federal Grant of $^5,000 was awarded to each of the fifty States in order to help get plans for a 1976 Bicentennial observance underway. In Maine, a portion of this money was set aside for Bicentennial Planning Grants to be made available to non-profit applicants representing educational or civic organizations. Applications for these grants may be submitted at any time.For complete Guidelines for either the Manuscript Competition or the Planning Grants a request for in­formation should be addressed to: Executive Secretary, Maine State Bicentennial Commission, State House, Augusta, Maine 0^330* The Commission will be publishing a Newsletter in the very near future, and one should write to the same address in order to be included on their mailing list.The American Indian Historical Society with headquarters in San Francisco has begun publication of a monthly newspaper called Wassaja: A National News­paper of Indian America. The first issue (January, 1973) gives promise that it will be truly national in scope, rather than concentrating solely on western Indian affairs.109The Maine Historical Society takes pleasure in announcing its Fourth Annual Prize Essay Contest in Maine History:PURPOSE To encourage the study of Maine History and to promote the publication of serious research efforts in the field.CRITERIA Originality, accuracy, and scholarship which shows an obvious use of source materials.ELIGIBILITY Open to members or non-members of the Society. Amateurs having a strong interest in Maine history as well as professional historians and students in higher education are invited to enter. Ineligible are members of the Staff and Standing Committee of the Society.MANUSCRIPTS No more than 5000 words in length, typewritten, double-spaced. Please submit manuscripts to: Director, Maine Historical Society, U85 Congress Street, Portland, Maine 01+111.Deadline: May 1, 1973AWARDS Announcement of the awards will be made at the Annual Meeting of the Society in June, 1973- First Prize: $100 and publication in the Newsletter. Two Honorable Mention Awards will consist of one year’s complimentary membership in the Society.

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