Keywords: french
- Historical Items (728)
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- Online Exhibits (95)
- Site Pages (152)
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- Lesson Plans (2)
Online Exhibits
Your results include these online exhibits. You also can view all of the site's exhibits, view a timeline of selected events in Maine History, and learn how to create your own exhibit. See featured exhibits or create your own exhibit
Exhibit
Maine Through the Eyes of George W. French
George French, a native of Kezar Falls and graduate of Bates College, worked at several jobs before turning to photography as his career. He served for many years as photographer for the Maine Development Commission, taking pictures intended to promote both development and tourism.
Exhibit
From French Canadians to Franco-Americans
French Canadians who emigrated to the Lewiston-Auburn area faced discrimination as children and adults -- such as living in "Little Canada" tenements and being ridiculed for speaking French -- but also adapted to their new lives and sustained many cultural traditions.
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St-Jean-Baptiste Day -- June 24th -- in Lewiston-Auburn was a very public display of ethnic pride for nearly a century. Since about 1830, French Canadians had used St. John the Baptist's birthdate as a demonstration of French-Canadian nationalism.
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Like many cities in France, Lewiston and Auburn's skylines are dominated by a cathedral-like structure, St. Peter and Paul Church. Now designated a basilica by the Vatican, it stands as a symbol of French Catholic contributions to the State of Maine.
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In the early 1600s, French explorers and colonizers in the New World quickly adopted a Native American mode of transportation to get around during the harsh winter months: the snowshoe. Most Northern societies had some form of snowshoe, but the Native Americans turned it into a highly functional item. French settlers named snowshoes "raquettes" because they resembled the tennis racket then in use.
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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."
Exhibit
Father Rasles, the Indians and the English
Father Sebastien Rasle, a French Jesuit, ran a mission for Indians at Norridgewock and, many English settlers believed, encouraged Indian resistance to English settlement. He was killed in a raid on the mission in 1724 that resulted in the remaining Indians fleeing for Canada.
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The astronomical arrival of winter -- also known as the winter solstice -- marks the year's shortest day and the season of snow and cold. It usually arrives on December 21.
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Surgeon General Alonzo Garcelon
Alonzo Garcelon of Lewiston was a physician, politician, businessman, and civic leader when he became Maine's surgeon general during the Civil War, responsible for ensuring regiments had surgeons, for setting up a regimental hospital in Portland, and generally concerned with the well-being of Maine soldiers.
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The history of the region now known as Maine did not begin at statehood in 1820. What was Maine before it was a state? How did Maine separate from Massachusetts? How has the Maine we experience today been shaped by thousands of years of history?
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"We are growing to be somewhat cosmopolitan..." Waterville, 1911
Between 1870 and 1911, Waterville more than doubled in size, becoming a center of manufacturing, transportation, and the retail trade and offering a variety of entertainments for its residents.
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Immigration is one of the most debated topics in Maine. Controversy aside, immigration is also America's oldest tradition, and along with religious tolerance, what our nation was built upon. Since the first people--the Wabanaki--permitted Europeans to settle in the land now known as Maine, we have been a state of immigrants.
Exhibit
World Alpine Ski Racing in Maine
Sugarloaf -- a small ski area by European standards -- entered ski racing history in 1971 by hosting an event that was part of the World Cup Alpine Ski Championships. The "Tall Timber Classic," as the event was known, had a decidedly Maine flavor.
Exhibit
Music in Maine - Community Music
"… designated me a Master Artist in traditional French Canadian dance, providing the chance to pass the French dance traditions down to numerous…"
Exhibit
Music in Maine - Radio Cowboys and Country Music
"In Maine, French ballad traditions added unique sounds to the music. Starting in the 1930s, Maine embraced country and bluegrass music, with Bangor…"
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Music in Maine - Community and School Marching Bands
"… Band in 1907, at a time when preserving the French language in oral and written forms was important for passing cultural traditions to the next…"
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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.
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"MAKE Music makers include musicians, artists, and craftspeople who make instruments, write songs, and make music in the home and community settings."
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Music in Maine - Music in Maine
"Music in Maine Music is something we share as humans—non-verbal forms of storytelling and expressions of beauty and emotions through sound."
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Music in Maine - Longfellow Family Music
"Longfellow Family Music “Music is the universal language of humankind.” --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Outre Mer, 1835 Henry Wadsworth…"
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Music in Maine - Country Music
"Country Music Don Doane Katahdin Mountaineers, 1925 Courtesy of Bob Greene X Don Doane Sr.’s Katahdin Mountaineers, regarded as the first…"
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Music in Maine - Military Marching Bands
"Military Marching Bands View of Portland Light Infantry Muster, ca. 1803 The Portland Light Infantry Muster with a drummer and a horn player in…"
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Music in Maine - Rock and Roll, Punk, and Elvis
"Rock and Roll, Punk, and Elvis Dave Glovsky and Louis Armstrong, Old Orchard Beach, ca. 1955Maine Historical Society Rock and Roll Concerts in…"
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"HEAR The invention of recording machines opened up a world of choices for listening to music without leaving the home."