Maine Memory Network

Franklin Pierce letter to G.F. Shepley, Washington, 1855

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1855 Location: Portland; Washington Media: Ink on paper

  view a full transcription

Wedding proposal, Fryeburg, ca. 1910

Contributed by: Fryeburg Historical Society Date: circa 1910 Media: Photographic Print from Glass Negative

Basset house, Summit, NJ, 1909

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: circa 1909 Location: Summit Client: Carroll Phillips Bassett Architect: John Calvin Stevens and John Howard Stevens Architects

We Saw Lindbergh!

Following his historic flight across the Atlantic in May 1927, aviator Charles Lindbergh commenced a tour across America, greeted by cheering crowds at every stop. He was a day late for his speaking engagement in Portland, due to foggy conditions. Elise Fellows White wrote in her diary about seeing Lindbergh and his plane.

Indians at the Centennial

Passamaquoddy Indians from Washington County traveled to Portland in 1920 to take part in the Maine Centennial Exposition. They set up an "Indian Village" at Deering Oaks Park.

Scarborough: They Called It Owascoag - Scarbrough Middle School

"… (MCHP) provides students with the opportunity to engage in learning that is authentic, place-based, and service-oriented."

Maine and the Civil War - Communities and the War

"… Community" reading and discussion programs, and engaged in other activities relating to the Civil War."

Paul Gagne: Living a life fully engaged in his community
by Biddeford Cultural & Heritage Center

A man with a wide range of skills and talents shares them for the benefit of his community

How Mom caught Dad
by Jane E. Woodman

How Ruth and Piney met in Wilton and started a life together

Wabanaki Studies: Stewarding Natural Resources

Grade Level: 3-5 Content Area: Science & Engineering, Social Studies
This lesson plan will introduce elementary-grade students to the concepts and importance of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and Indigenous Knowledge (IK), taught and understood through oral history to generations of Wabanaki people. Students will engage in discussions about how humans can be stewards of the local ecosystem, and how non-Native Maine citizens can listen to, learn from, and amplify the voices of Wabanaki neighbors to assist in the future of a sustainable environment. Students will learn about Wabanaki artists, teachers, and leaders from the past and present to help contextualize the concepts and ideas in this lesson, and learn about how Wabanaki youth are carrying tradition forward into the future.

Longfellow Studies: The Writer's Hour - "Footprints on the Sands of Time"

Grade Level: 3-5 Content Area: English Language Arts, Social Studies
These lessons will introduce the world-famous American writer and a selection of his work with a compelling historical fiction theme. Students take up the quest: Who was HWL and did his poetry leave footprints on the sands of time? They will "tour" his Cambridge home through young eyes, listen, and discuss poems from a writer’s viewpoint, and create their own poems inspired by Longfellow's works. The interdisciplinary approach utilizes critical thinking skills, living history, technology integration, maps, photos, books, and peer collaboration. The mission is to get students keenly interested in what makes a great writer by using Longfellow as a historic role model. The lessons are designed for students at varying reading levels. Slow learners engage in living history with Alice’s fascinating search through the historic Craigie house, while gifted and talented students may dramatize the virtual tour as a monologue. Constant discovery and exciting presentations keep the magic in lessons. Remember that, "the youthful mind must be interested in order to be instructed." Students will build strong writing skills encouraging them to leave their own "footprints on the sands of time."