Maine Memory Network

John Ford, movie director, ca. 1920

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: circa 1920 Media: Photographic print

New Brunswick offical, Maine Civil Defense director, 1955

Contributed by: National Archives at Boston Date: 1955-12-14 Media: Photographic print

Shed, State Pier, Portland, 1924

Owner in 1924: Port of Portland - Directors of Use: Shed - Freight

Assessor's Record, Office, State Pier, Portland, 1924

Owner in 1924: Port of Portland - Directors of Use: Office - Waiting - Store Rooms

Cummings house, Biddeford, ca. 1900

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: circa 1900 Location: Biddeford Client: A. L. T. Cummings Architect: John Calvin Stevens

Alexander Bower house and studio, Cape Elizabeth, 1922

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1922 Location: Cape Elizabeth Client: Alexander Bower Architect: John Calvin Stevens and John Howard Stevens Architects

Le Théâtre

Lewiston, Maine's second largest city, was long looked upon by many as a mill town with grimy smoke stacks, crowded tenements, low-paying jobs, sleazy clubs and little by way of refinement, except for Bates College. Yet, a noted Québec historian, Robert Rumilly, described it as "the French Athens of New England."

Civil Defense: Fear and Safety

In the 1950s and the 1960s, Maine's Civil Defense effort focused on preparedness for hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters and a more global concern, nuclear war. Civil Defense materials urged awareness, along with measures like storing food and other staple items and preparing underground or other shelters.

Historic Hallowell - Contact Us

"… the following people: Sumner "Sam" Webber, Hallowell Historian - Email Mark Blythe, Hubbard Free Library Director - Email or call (207) 622-6582"

Farmington: Franklin County's Shiretown - About Us

"… Intern Stephen Engle, Center for Community GIS, Director Jean Oplinger, Farmington Public Library, retired Library Director Theresa Overall…"

Sister Viola Lausier: Finance Director with a big heart
by Biddeford Cultural & Heritage Center

A life dedicated to applying financial and leadership expertise in the service of others.

Steve Smith - Maine Tech Coordinator's Perspective as MLTI began
by MlTI Stories of Impact Project

Steve remembers Governor Angus King floating the idea of MLTI with some Maine K-12 Tech Directors.

Longfellow Studies: An American Studies Approach to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12 Content Area: English Language Arts, Social Studies
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was truly a man of his time and of his nation; this native of Portland, Maine and graduate of Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine became an American icon. Lines from his poems intersperse our daily speech and the characters of his long narrative poems have become part of American myth. Longfellow's fame was international; scholars, politicians, heads-of-state and everyday people read and memorized his poems. Our goal is to show that just as Longfellow reacted to and participated in his times, so his poetry participated in shaping and defining American culture and literature. The following unit plan introduces and demonstrates an American Studies approach to the life and work of Longfellow. Because the collaborative work that forms the basis for this unit was partially responsible for leading the two of us to complete the American & New England Studies Masters program at University of Southern Maine, we returned there for a working definition of "American Studies approach" as it applies to the grade level classroom. Joe Conforti, who was director at the time we both went through the program, offered some useful clarifying comments and explanation. He reminded us that such a focus provides a holistic approach to the life and work of an author. It sets a work of literature in a broad cultural and historical context as well as in the context of the poet's life. The aim of an American Studies approach is to "broaden the context of a work to illuminate the American past" (Conforti) for your students. We have found this approach to have multiple benefits at the classroom and research level. It brings the poems and the poet alive for students and connects with other curricular work, especially social studies. When linked with a Maine history unit, it helps to place Portland and Maine in an historical and cultural context. It also provides an inviting atmosphere for the in-depth study of the mechanics of Longfellow's poetry. What follows is a set of lesson plans that form a unit of study. The biographical "anchor" that we have used for this unit is an out-of-print biography An American Bard: The story of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, by Ruth Langland Holberg, Thomas Y. Crowell & Company, c1963. Permission has been requested to make this work available as a downloadable file off this web page, but in the meantime, used copies are readily and cheaply available from various vendors. The poem we have chosen to demonstrate our approach is "Paul Revere's Ride." The worksheets were developed by Judy Donahue, the explanatory essays researched and written by the two of us, and our sources are cited below. We have also included a list of helpful links. When possible we have included helpful material in text format, or have supplied site links. Our complete unit includes other Longfellow poems with the same approach, but in the interest of time and space, they are not included. Please feel free to contact us with questions and comments.