The 2009-2010 MCHP Community Teams
The participating communities for 2009-2010 are: Bangor, Biddeford, Blue Hill, Cumberland/North Yarmouth, Guilford, Hallowell, Lincoln, and Scarborough.
The Participating Communities for 2009-2010 are:
Bangor (Penobscot County): Team partners Bangor High School, Bangor Public Library, Bangor Museum and History Center, the Doughty and Cohen Middle Schools, and a local historian have chosen a wide variety of compelling topics of the many possibilities represented by the state’s third largest city. Pulled together by a narrative history titled "Bangor: Tidal River City," their exhibit topics include the Fire of 1911, the Brady Gang Incident, the Civil War, Early Railroads, and the 1940s.
Biddeford (York County): Students in Biddeford High School’s Project ASPIRE class have been working closely with the McArthur Public Library and Biddeford Historical Society throughout the year, learning every step of the MCHP process from scanning and digital photography to cataloging to research and writing. The team’s website will showcase Post-Revolutionary Biddeford, Artists and Inventions, Shipbuilding on the Saco River, The Civil War Era, and Women's Clubs.
Blue Hill (Hancock County) : Led by Blue Hill Historical Society, the Blue Hill team includes Blue Hill Public Library, Blue Hill Consolidated School, George Stevens Academy, the Bay School, and the Jonathan Fisher Memorial. As Blue Hill gears up to celebrate its 250th anniversary in 2012, the community is using the MCHP to focus in on Blue Hill in the Gilded Age, Shipbuilding and Sea-going, Jonathan Fisher (the town’s first minister and all-around Renaissance man), and the Blue Hill Fair.
Cumberland/North Yarmouth (Cumberland County) : This unique two-team partnership includes Prince Memorial Library, Cumberland Historical Society, North Yarmouth Historical Society, Skyline Farm, and Greely Middle School. Once a single entity, the now separately governed but neighboring towns of Cumberland and North Yarmouth share a school system, some local resources, and a main thoroughfare. Their website will highlight these common experiences in exhibit topics on Transportation/Route 9 and the Evolution of Schools. Meanwhile, topics on the Civil War, the Carnation Industry, Prince Memorial Library, and the History of Skyline Farm will highlight one town specifically.
Guilford (Piscataquis County) : The smallest community represented this year, and one of the most rural, Guilford is represented by team members Guilford Historical Society, Piscataquis Community Middle School, the Guilford Economic Development Board, the Town of Guilford, and the Guilford Memorial Library. Recognizing the long-term potential of the MCHP, the Guilford team is unique for its front-burner focus on the project as a way to promote civic pride and economic development. Exhibit topics will cover Industries: Mills and Manufacturing, Celebrations and Special Events, Memories of Historic Buildings, Guilford’s School System, and a Tribute to Veterans.
Hallowell (Kennebec County): The Hallowell Area Board of Trade heads up this project with the Hubbard Free Library, The Row House, Hall-Dale Middle School, the Vaughan Homestead Foundation, and the Hallowell Firemen's Association. Following on the heels of a successful Museum in the Streets exhibit, the Hallowell team will use the MCHP website as a larger, more expansive, more widely accessible base from which to draw information on the city’s central role in early Maine history. Topics include the Granite Industry, Disasters: Natural and Manmade, A Good Night's Sleep: The Hallowell House and Other Interesting Abodes, Hallowell's Contributions to Medicine, Weaving and Shoemaking, and Protect and Serve: Hallowell Fireman's Association.
Lincoln (Penobscot County): Mattanawcook Junior High School, in partnership with Lincoln Historical Society and Lincoln Memorial Library, is involving many of the 185 7th and 8th grade students in the project in one way or another. Both social studies and English/Language Arts classes are involved in the project. Exhibit topics include Main Street, The Paper Industry, Communication and Transportation, Founding Fathers and Early History, Wartime Lincoln, and Influential Institutions.
Scarborough (Cumberland County): Scarborough Public Library heads up a team whose members include Scarborough Historical Society and Scarborough Middle School. Recent work on the town's 350th anniversary extravaganza and publication of Scarborough at 350th: Linking the Past to the Present allowed the team to hit the ground running. Final topics to be covered on the website include the Marsh (Scarborough boasts the largest salt marsh in Maine), Notable People, Villages of Scarborough, Industries, Conflict/Abandonment/Resettlement, and Transportation.
For More Information
Larissa Vigue Picard, Community Partnership Coordinator, lvpicard@mainehistory.org, (207) 774-1822 x215, or (207) 653-9677.