Maine Memory Network

Waldoboro Fire Department's 175 Years

While the town of Waldoboro was chartered in 1773, it began organized fire protection in 1838 with a volunteer fire department and a hand pump fire engine, the Water Witch.

The Kotzschmar Memorial Organ

A fire and two men whose lives were entwined for more than 50 years resulted in what is now considered to be "the Jewel of Portland" -- the Austin organ that was given to the city of Portland in 1912.

Dressing Up, Standing Out, Fitting In

Adorning oneself to look one's "best" has varied over time, gender, economic class, and by event. Adornments suggest one's sense of identity and one's intent to stand out or fit in.

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Drinking: Elegance and Debauchery

"… in a respectable house was not the business for me to start as a young man desiring the best wishes of the best people." - John Martin X…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - A Call to Temperance

"… Metta Victoria Fuller, 1853 X Rum, Fire Water published in Ahiamihewintuhangan: The Prayer Song, 1858 Collections of Maine Historical…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Society Copes

""Vanilla fooled me for a few days. In came a shipment of five gross of vanilla extract. I asked what was the idea in tying up money in that quantity…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Politics and Enforcement

"… ppoverty, and I do not see how Christ can forgive me." Murphy soon became a powerful voice for temperance."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - 1620 to 1820: New England's Great Secret

"… of Captain Thomas Wannerton, "who drank to me a pint of kill-devil Rhum at a draught." Aside from that historic toast, Josselyn recorded some of…"

Home: The Wadsworth-Longfellow House and Portland - The Longfellow Era: 1807-1901

"Lucia Wadsworth (1783-1864) Lucia Wadsworth was the sister of Zilpah Longfellow. She remained single and lived most of her life in the house."

Music in Maine - Bluegrass Music

"In 1995, Al Hawkes spearheaded a group of bluegrass music enthusiasts to create the member driven organization, Bluegrass Music Association of Maine…"

Navy Firefighting School, Little Chebeague Island

Little Chebeague Island in Casco Bay was home to recreational facilities and a firefighting school for WWII sailors. The school was part of a Navy effort to have non-firefighting personnel knowledgeable in dealing with shipboard fires.

Music in Maine - Community and School Marching Bands

"He worked and lived on Sugar Island, harvesting fire wood for the Penobscot Communities on Olamon and Indian Islands."

Most Inconvenient Storm

A Portland newspaper wrote about an ice storm of January 28, 1886 saying, "The city of Portland was visited yesterday by the most inconvenient storm of the season."

Home: The Longfellow House & the Emergence of Portland

The Wadsworth-Longfellow house is the oldest building on the Portland peninsula, the first historic site in Maine, a National Historic Landmark, home to three generations of Wadsworth and Longfellow family members -- including the boyhood home of the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The history of the house and its inhabitants provide a unique view of the growth and changes of Portland -- as well as of the immediate surroundings of the home.

Rum, Riot, and Reform - 1820 to 1865: Temperance and the Maine Law

"… threatened in 1855 when he ordered the militia to fire on civilians as they descended upon Portland's City Hall, looking for a stash of liquor they…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Bootleggers vs. Police

"… Society/Maine Today Media X Coast Guards Fire Truck with Bullets on Brunswick Road Portland Evening Express, October 16, 1934 Even after…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Neal Dow

"… by the mob and after a warning, the militia fired into the crowd, wounding several and killing John Robbins of Deer Isle."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Why Study the History of Drinking?

"Having outlawed its use in this country in 1920 and repealed that law 13 years later, Americans continue to debate its pleasures and costs."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - 1865 to 1919: The Drys Gain New Adherents and Leaders

"Kineo in the east to Mt. Shasta in the west, from the pine forests in the north to the palmetto groves in the south."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Overview & Introduction

"Maine was at the center of alcohol reform in America, especially in the 19th century. Its legislation and its leaders help set the national agenda…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Business as Usual

"After Maine went dry in 1851, it was illegal to drink, possess, or sell alcohol but manufacturing remained legal until a stricter law was added to…"

Laboring in Maine

Workers in Maine have labored in factories, on farms, in the woods, on the water, among other locales. Many of Maine's occupations have been determined by the state's climate and geographical features.

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Quenching the Thirst

"… in Cambridge, Massachusetts by then; had he lived in his family home in Portland, his order would have been illegal."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Temperance Membership

"… Woman's Christian Temperance Union was founded in Cleveland in December of 1874. Sons of Temperance certificate for John Gunnelsen…"