Maine Memory Network

Women's war work illustration, Portland, 1917

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1917 Media: Ink on paper

Phyllis Stinson, Swan's Island, ca. 1945

Contributed by: Swan's Island Historical Society Date: circa 1945 Location: Swan's Island Media: Photographic print

Working Women of the Old Port

Women at the turn of the 20th century were increasingly involved in paid work outside the home. For wage-earning women in the Old Port section of Portland, the jobs ranged from canning fish and vegetables to setting type. A study done in 1907 found many women did not earn living wages.

Writing Women

Published women authors with ties to Maine are too numerous to count. They have made their marks in all types of literature.

Portland Press Herald Glass Negative Collection - National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs

"From suffrage to the glass ceiling, the NFBPWC continues to empower and mentor professional women. Within a year of its formation in 1920, the…"

Strong, a Mussul Unsquit village - Prominent Women

"Prominent Women Text By: Strong School 7th and 8th Graders, 2011-2012 Julia Harris May poetry collection, 1903Farmington Public Library…"

The tradition of lobstering
by Sadie Samuels

I learned to fish from my Dad and will lobster the rest of my life

Working as a telephone operator in the 1940s
by Doris Tardy

Working as a telephone operator in 1946 was new and exciting, and challenging.

World War I and the U.S. Home Front

Grade Level: 9-12 Content Area: Social Studies
Learn about World War I using primary sources from Maine Memory Network and the Library of Congress.

Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride Companion Curriculum

Grade Level: 3-5, 6-8 Content Area: Social Studies
These lesson plans were developed by Maine Historical Society for the Seashore Trolley Museum as a companion curriculum for the historical fiction YA novel "Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride" by Jean. M. Flahive (2019). The novel tells the story of Millie Thayer, a young girl who dreams of leaving the family farm, working in the city, and fighting for women's suffrage. Millie's life begins to change when a "flying carpet" shows up in the form of an electric trolley that cuts across her farm and when a fortune-teller predicts that Millie's path will cross that of someone famous. Suddenly, Millie finds herself caught up in events that shake the nation, Maine, and her family. The lesson plans in this companion curriculum explore a variety of topics including the history of the trolley use in early 20th century Maine, farm and rural life at the turn of the century, the story of Theodore Roosevelt and his relationship with Maine, WWI, and the flu pandemic of 1918-1920.