ANDROSCOGGIN HISTORY

ELECTION OF OFFICERS

At our annual meeting on May 22, 2001, the following were elected as officers of the Androscoggin Historical Society for 2001-2002:

President: A. B. (Bob) Palmer Jr

Vice President: David C. Young

Executive Secretary: Michael C. Lord

Recording Secretary: Mary M. Riley

Membership Secretary: Bruce Hall

Treasurer: Susan F. Sturgis

Newsletter Editor: Douglas I. Hodgkin

Attorney: Richard L. Trafton

Past President: Leslie Eastman

New members of the board of directors are Alma Palmer, Barbara Randall, Vernon Seguin, and Lois F. Rousseau. We re-elected the following directors: Leslie Eastman, Natalie G. Foye, Franklin Goss, Bernice Hodgkin, Edward Hodgkin, Douglas I. Hodgkin, Warren B. Randall, Norman E. Rose, Gordon. V. Windle. Leon Norris joins Geneva A. Kirk and Leslie H. Wight as honorary directors.

We thank Alma Palmer for her care and attention to detail during about 8½ years as Membership Secretary. We are pleased that she continues as a director.

FLORENCE P. GREMLEY

1903-2001

Florence Pennell Gremley, 97, a life member and honorary director of our Society, died March 27, 2001. She became a member of our board in 1975. A graduate of Edward Little High School and Bates College, she was an active member of the community, including High Street Congregational Church, the Women’s Hospital Association of Central Maine Medical Center, Auburn Public Library, YWCA, and Stanton Bird Club. She traveled extensively through-out the world.

Her attorneys have informed us that she left us $10,000 in her will. We are most grateful for her generous gift.

ROBERT PURINGTON:

DEDICATED VOLUNTEER

One of our members, Robert Purington, deserves recognition for the many hours of service he has contributed to the Society for more than a year. He has worked on many aspects of our museum and library holdings. He has sorted the large number of postcards in our collection. One large project has been the location in our files of all our historical photographs, which he has placed in archival quality polyethylene bags. Several times when a mailing needed to be sent out, including the newsletter, both he and his wife, Denise, have folded, stapled, and affixed the address labels and stamps. We thank Robert and Denise for their dedicated service.

INTERNS WORK ON MAP PROJECT

We have had two interns from the Service Learning Center at Bates College. They were Kristen Lefebvre, graduating senior of Bedford, Massachusetts; and Sara Montrone, sophomore of Rutland, Vermont. They were a great help with our map collection during the month of May, Bates’s Short Term. They cleaned out our map case (very much needed), and they placed the maps between sheets of archival quality Mylar-D or into archival quality storage tubes. We thank Kristen and Sara for their work. We have now nearly completed the map and photograph work needed under the grant given under the New Century Preservation Grant Program, a project of the Maine State Archives and the Maine State Museum.

CULTURAL RESOURCES DIRECTORY

Our executive secretary, Michael Lord, has compiled a directory of cultural resources entitled Cultural Resources of Androscoggin County, Maine & Starting a Non-Profit Corporation in Maine. We thank Central Maine Technical College for printing it for us. It is on sale at the Society for $2.00 plus sales tax.

THE FRANK H. JONES DIARY

The Society owns a diary written by Frank H. Jones, of North Auburn, Maine, in 1877. Apparently, he was young and unmarried at the time. According to the Lewiston and Auburn Directory, 1878-79, he was employed as a shoemaker. If a reader is able to provide more information about him, please contact us. Here are some selections:

Jan. 6 I came up to the Villag to night on th stage fore .40 cts and stoped to the reform meeting and came home with Clint

Jan. 15 I paid board bill $6.75

Jan. 16 I paid for hare cut and sundries .20

Jan. 21 I went to church this fore noon. and up on the hill to a reform meeting this after noon

Feb. 6 Clint, Lilly, Flora and I went over to north Turner to a dance had a good time Expense .45 got smashed up some

Feb. 7 Went to a dance in the Club room Expense $.80

Feb. 26 Bot a hat of Ed– Bonney for $2.75

Mar. 3 I hired $10.00 of Hollis Rich for 9 days for 25 cts

Mar. 5 I went to Briteons to a ball Expense $8.00

Mar. 13 Changed boarding places from Oscar Baileys to John Elleses [Bailey was a farmer in North Auburn and John H. Ellis was a shoemaker in North Auburn.]

Mar. 17 I went up home to night had Mr. Elleses team

Mar. 18 Came back to No– Auburn to Night brot my trunk back Mr Childs rode up and back with me Snowed and blowed all day

Mar. 20 Went up to West Auburn to a Dramatic entertainment Expense .30

Apr. 1 I have been to Church twice to day

Apr. 8 I went up to Turner to see Laura and her Husband Had Mr Elesses Hors & Gig

May 12 I went down to the City this mornning. Paid for . . . Revolver 13.00 [and] Cartridges .50 Started for Vermont at one o clock Ticket to Portland and return 1.60 . . . .

May 13 . . . I started for Waitsfield at 8. . found the folks all well

May 26 I arived in Auburn 20 m. past 6 A.M. Paid Hackman to carry me from Gran trunk depot to mane central .50

May 31 Fred Cutler and I went up home to Turner to night got measured for a pr of pants

June 20 Loafing is the order of the day Went to see a game of base ball on the hill.

June 21 I went up to Turner and Ctre with Leon Jonson Called on H. M. Smith to see bout a job

July 4 I stoped in No Auburn to day and had a dull time of it

July 10 Received $43.00 Paid bord 12.50

July 12 Father and aunt Goanney came down and took dinner with me I let him have $25.00 16.38 of which to pay for fruit trees.

July 26 Paid for set of fiddle strings .50

Aug. 14 Rec $40.00 Paid board 15.00 for Trunk 6.50 Fiddle bot 3.75

Oct. 11 I carried Etta Preston up to Turner Ctre to a dance and had a good time Expense ticket for dancing 75 Supper 75 room 75 Stabling horse 25 horse hire 1.50 [total] 4.00

Oct. 23 Paid for bay rum .20 cts

Nov. 23 I went down to the city this fore noon and stoped untill tuesday night with cousin O. T. Philips

Nov. 24 Suell and I went to a Theatre Expense $1.00

Dec. 13 Came back to No. Aub. to day Old job plaid out I’m to try a new one Tried the Machine a little

Dec. 17 Mr Ellis and Wife gon visiting Take my meals up to W. D. C. untill saturday morning

SENATOR FRYE AND LIVERMORE

United States Senator William P. Frye, along with former Vice President Hannibal Hamlin, was one of the speakers on August 5, 1885, at the dedication of the library at The Norlands, the home of the Washburn family in Livermore. He was introduced as connected to Livermore through the marriage of his daughter (Helen) to a “son of Livermore,” Wallace H. White, Sr. Senator Frye opened his address as follows:

I was invited up here as a spectator, without the slightest intimation that I should play a part, and I could not tell why I was asked to speak, till you just disclosed the secret. It is because I begat a daughter, and she by her charms secured a Livermore boy as her husband, and they having been married eight years, have had six children. [Laughter and applause.]

I always have had a liking for Livermore. I was brought up to believe there was no place on the earth like Livermore. The first office I ever held was associated with Livermore. I was Register of Probate for Androscoggin county, while Ruel Washburn was Judge. He was so honest that he collected a dollar here and a dollar there for a client and put each collection aside in a separate envelope and kept it till it was called for. He would not even indulge his eyes in the sight of his client’s money. He collected a claim for a widow, once, and she didn’t come for the money for eight years. When she called for the cash, he produced the bills from their hiding place, and every dollar was a broken [failed] bank’s bill! [Laughter] He was one of Nature’s noblemen.

ACQUISITIONS

The following are items that we have acquired during the past few months:

· Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce, Visitors & Relocation Guide.

· Papers relating to the history and 175^th Anniversary of the High Street Congregational Church in Auburn, donated by their historian, Douglas I. Hodgkin.

· Philip Joseph Currier, Ancestry of Philip Joseph Currier, donated by author.

· Lewiston Historical Commission, Historic Lewiston: Bales to Bedspreads. Also available for sale at the Society for $5.00 plus tax.

· R. A. Douglas-Lithgow, Native American Place Names of Maine, New Hampshire & Vermont, reprint.

· Albert S. Foley, S. J., Bishop Healy: Beloved Outcaste, donated by Douglas I. Hodgkin.

· Androscoggin County Government donated a Register of Opticians for this county from 1909 to 1951.

· Adding machine donated by Androscoggin County Government.

· William C. Hiss, SHILOH - Frank W. Sandford and the Kingdom: 1893-1948, a doctoral dissertation, Tufts University, 1978; reprint from UMI Dissertation Services.

· Ethan Miller, et al., of Bates College, Weaving the Landscape: A Natural History of East Turner Along the Androscoggin, May, 1998.

· M. R. Montgomery, In Search of L. L. Bean.

· James S. Leamon, Revolution Downeast.

· Townsend Ludington, Marsden Hartley: The Biography of an American Artist.

· Carleton E. & Sue G. Fisher, Soldiers, Sailors, and Patriots of the Revolutionary War – Maine.

· History of the Ashlar Lodge, No. 105, F. & A.M., Lewiston, Maine, 1860-1894.

· Mesannie Wilkins & Mina Titus Sawyer, Last of the Saddle Tramps.

· Farmer’s Account Book of R. S. Leavitt of Leeds Center, Maine, ca. 1880's, donated by Patricia Theberge.

· Ledger of S. T. Allen & Co., 1855-1931, donated by Elliott Epstein.

· Ledger of S. D. Thomas, 1872, donated by Elliott Epstein.

· Letters “from the future” from the students of Miss Brown’s class at Webster Grammar School, ca. 1920, donated by Carol E. Beyna and her husband.

· Coastal Community Action Program of Rockland, Maine, Knox County Arts & Cultural Directory, 2000.

· A copy of The Prohibitionist newspaper dated October 26, 1882, from Lewiston, Maine, donated by Robert Pacios.

· Douglas I. Hodgkin, comp., Records of Lewiston, Maine, Volume I, Town Records Prior to 1852, donated by the compiler.

· Rosalind Magnuson, Quiet, Well Kept, For Sensible People: The Development of Kennebunk Beach from 1860-1930, signed by author.

· Arthur Haines and Thomas F. Vining, Flora of Maine – A Manual for Identification of Native and Naturalized Vascular Plants of Maine (with Addenda).

· Marlene Alma Hinkley Groves, comp., Index to Wheeler & Wheeler’s History of Brunswick, Topsham & Harpswell, Maine.

· Joseph Crook Anderson II, ed., Maine Families in 1790, Volume 7.

· Carleton E. Fisher, comp., Supplement to Soldiers, Sailors, and Patriots of the Revolutionary War – Maine.

· Joan and David Sisson, Descendants of Richard and Mary Sisson – Ten Generations from 1608.

· Philip Joseph Currier, Currier Family Records of U.S.A. and Canada, Vols. 1-3.

· D. B. Wight, The Androscoggin River Valley – Gateway to the White Mountains, donated by George Foster.

· Picture of the founders of Knapp Shoe Company, several “Cushionaire News” newsletters from that company, and newspaper articles about it, donated by George Foster.

· Marius B. Peladeau, Chansonetta – The Life and Photographs of Chansonetta Stanley Emmons, 1858-1937.

· Maine Department of Economic and Community Development, Maine Made - America’s Best, A Buyer’s Guide to Quality Maine Made Products 1999-2000.

Correction: Alexis Frye, author of the geography book noted in the acquisitions in the February newsletter, was the nephew, not the son, of William P. Frye.

REMEMBER AHS IN YOUR WILL

Please remember the Androscoggin Historical Society in your will! Here’s how – Simply include the following in your will: “I devise to the Androscoggin Historical Society, 2 Turner Street, Auburn, Maine 04210-5978, $_______, in cash for its general purposes.” Did you know that a devise such as this could reduce your estate taxes? This Society is exempt from federal taxes. If you or your lawyer need more information, please contact us.

ELKS BUILDING DEMOLISHED

As those of you who live in the Lewiston-Auburn area know, the Sun-Journal has demolished the Elks Building for a parking lot. One of our members sent the story published in our February newsletter to The Maine Times, which published a story about the matter in their March 8-14 edition.

GOINGS-ON AT THE SOCIETY

by Michael Lord, Executive Secretary

We have completed our Clearing Legal Title Project. Debra Chadbourne had sent out Deed of Gift letters with SASEs to those who had donated items over the last twenty-five years so that they might sign a Deed of Gift form for our files. We placed an advertisement with the Lewiston Sun-Journal (December 22 & 29, 2000) to clear our legal title for donations older than twenty-five years as per Maine State law. Persons can no longer claim title to the things listed in our advertisement as the 65-day waiting period after the second notice has passed. We have also instituted a Deed of Gift policy for new acquisitions. These procedures are in accord with generally accepted modern museum practice, Maine State law, and the recommendations of Ms. Deborah Smith, our Museum Assessment Program (I) assessor. We have submitted our final report to the Davis Family Foundation, the grantors of the $12,500 that paid Debra Chadbourne’s salary for this project. We thank them yet again for their generosity.

On Thursday, March 22, 2001, a group of ten educators/administrators from Armenia visited us. They were in Maine on a cultural exchange organized by Project Harmony. This Vermont based group organizes US/former USSR exchanges for students and professionals. They have a branch office at 145 Lisbon Street #309 in Lewiston, and www.projectharmony.org is their website. Two interpreters and two persons from their local office also visited. Their visit was a great deal of fun all around.

The Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce has graciously donated a Non-Profit Organization membership to us for the year 2001. We thank them for their kind gift of a year’s membership and a plaque.

Our Fiscal Year 2000-2001 statistics are as follows: telephone calls, 858; museum visits, 285; library visits, 347; letters, 1217; meeting notices sent, 529+; meeting attendance, 220; business meeting attendance, 20+; newsletters sent, 432+; balloon festival attendance, 39+; annual dinner attendance, 45.

DONATIONS

We have received corporate donations totaling $800 for 2001 from the following businesses:

Mechanics Savings Bank, Auburn, Maine

Laskoff & Associates, attorneys, Lewiston

Custom Masonry Inc. of Wales, Maine

The Cote Corporation (Crane & Rigging), Auburn

Maine Thread / Lewiston Rubber & Supply, Lew.

Chapman Trucking, Auburn

Please patronize them if you need the type of services that they provide. We thank them all for their continued kindness in giving.

NEW MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY

Our new membership secretary is Bruce Hall. Please direct all membership related correspondence, such as renewals, to him at 389 College Street, Lewiston, ME 04240. Have you renewed this year?