Maine Memory Network

Free Will Baptist Society of Saco and Biddeford pew subscriptions, 1839

Contributed by: McArthur Public Library Date: 1839-05-18 Location: Saco; Biddeford Media: Ink on paper

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Littleton Free Baptist Church, ca. 1920

Contributed by: Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum Date: circa 1920 Location: Littleton Media: Postcard

20 Free Street, Portland, 1924

Owner in 1924: Joseph M Tolford Use: Storehouse

18 Free Street, Portland, 1924

Owner in 1924: J.B. Brown & Sons Use: Wholesale Auto Supply

John B. Curtis Free Public Library, Bradford, 1913

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1913 Location: Bradford Client: unknown Architect: John Calvin Stevens and John Howard Stevens Architects

Brick Building for Geo. C. Frye, Free & Oak Sts., Portland, 1912-1913

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1912–1913 Location: Portland; Portland Client: George C. Frye Architect: Frederick A. Tompson

Student Exhibit: Can You Help Our Free Skowhegan Public Library?

The Skowhegan Free Public Library was built in 1889 with money donated by Abner Coburn and the town of Skowhegan. Mr. Coburn left $30,000 in his will towards the building of the library. In 2005, for the library to fully keep up with their programs need to make some renovations. These changes would allow for more use of technology, more room for children's programs, and provide handicap accessibility.

Reuben Ruby: Hackman, Activist

Reuben Ruby of Portland operated a hack in the city, using his work to earn a living and to help carry out his activist interests, especially abolition and the Underground Railroad.

Bath's Historic Downtown - The Patten Free Library

"Patten Free Library, Bath, 1978Patten Free Library The Patten Free Library, located at 33 Summer Street in Bath, Maine, is architecturally unique."

Patten Free Library

View collections, facts, and contact information for this Contributing Partner.

Somali Bantu farmers put down roots in Maine
by Muhidin D. Libah

Running the Somali Bantu Community Association and finding food security in Maine

Vegetarians and Zoonosis
by Avery Yale Kamila

Colds, influenza, tuberculosis, measles, smallpox, plague and COVID-19 group under zoonotic diseases

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.

Longfellow Studies: "Christmas Bells"

Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12 Content Area: English Language Arts, Social Studies
The words of this poem are more commonly known as the lyrics to a popular Christmas Carol of the same title. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote "Christmas Bells" in December of 1863 as the Civil War raged. It expresses his perpetual optimism and hope for the future of mankind. The poem's lively rhythm, simple rhyme and upbeat refrain have assured its popularity through the years.