Maine Memory Network

Whittier daughters, Brunswick, ca. 1905

Contributed by: Pejepscot History Center Date: circa 1905 Location: Brunswick Media: Photograph, Print

Frank Whittier, Brunswick, ca. 1917

Contributed by: Pejepscot History Center Date: circa 1917 Location: Brunswick Media: Photograph, Print

Cottage, Whittier Street, Portland, 1924

Owner in 1924: Angie A. Small Use: Cottage

13 Whittier Street, Portland, 1924

Owner in 1924: Fred D. Hinckley Use: Garage - Stable

Alterations to Kimball Block, Portland, 1903-1925

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1903–1925 Location: Portland Client: Eastman Bros. & Bancroft Architect: John P. Thomas

How Sweet It Is

Desserts have always been a special treat. For centuries, Mainers have enjoyed something sweet as a nice conclusion to a meal or celebrate a special occasion. But many things have changed over the years: how cooks learn to make desserts, what foods and tools were available, what was important to people.

The Advent of Green Acre, A Baha'i Center of Learning

The Green Acre Baha'i School began as Green Acre Conferences, established by Sarah Jane Farmer in Eliot. She later became part of the Baha'i Faith and hosted speakers and programs that promoted peace. In 1912, the leader of the Baha'i Faith, 'Abdu'l-Baha, visited Green Acre, where hundreds saw him speak.

John Martin: Expert Observer - Intro: pages 72-120

"Thompson Mr. Farris Mel Andrews John D. Lander Henry A. Wood O. W. Davis Jr. Ernst Sjostedt R. Eugene Whittier E. C. Sweet J. W. Chapman"

Pejepscot Historical Society

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Longfellow Studies: The Birth of An American Hero in "Paul Revere's Ride"

Grade Level: 9-12 Content Area: English Language Arts, Social Studies
The period of American history just prior to the Civil War required a mythology that would celebrate the strength of the individual, while fostering a sense of Nationalism. Longfellow saw Nationalism as a driving force, particularly important during this period and set out in his poem, "Paul Revere's Ride" to arm the people with the necessary ideology to face the oncoming hardships. "Paul Revere's Ride" was perfectly suited for such an age and is responsible for embedding in the American consciousness a sense of the cultural identity that was born during this defining period in American History. It is Longfellow's interpretation and not the actual event that became what Dana Gioia terms "a timeless emblem of American courage and independence." Gioia credits the poem's perseverance to the ease of the poem's presentation and subject matter. "Paul Revere's Ride" takes a complicated historical incident embedded in the politics of Revolutionary America and retells it with narrative clarity, emotional power, and masterful pacing,"(2). Although there have been several movements to debunk "Paul Revere's Ride," due to its lack of historical accuracy, the poem has remained very much alive in our national consciousness. Warren Harding, president during the fashionable reign of debunk criticism, perhaps said it best when he remarked, "An iconoclastic American said there never was a ride by Paul Revere. Somebody made the ride, and stirred the minutemen in the colonies to fight the battle of Lexington, which was the beginning of independence in the new Republic of America. I love the story of Paul Revere, whether he rode or not" (Fischer 337). Thus, "despite every well-intentioned effort to correct it historically, Revere's story is for all practical purposes the one Longfellow created for him," (Calhoun 261). It was what Paul Revere's Ride came to symbolize that was important, not the actual details of the ride itself.