Maine Memory Network

L.A. Weaver store, post office and grange hall, Hope, ca. 1900

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: circa 1900 Location: Hope Media: Photographic print

Hope, ca. 1890

Contributed by: Aroostook County Historical and Art Museum Date: circa 1890 Location: Hope Media: Photographic print

20-22 Orchard Street, Portland, 1924

Owner in 1924: Hope E. Fletcher Use: Dwelling - Single family

Fake/Haberman residence elevations, Hope, 2016-2017

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 2016–2017 Location: Hope Clients: Margaret Haberman; Landon Fake Architect: Carol A. Wilson; Carol A. Wilson, Architect

Receiving Tomb for Mount Hope Cemetery, Lewiston, 1894

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1894 Location: Lewiston Client: unknown Architect: George M. Coombs

Student Exhibit: Save the Skowhegan Grange & Granges in General

A brief history of the Grange in Skowhegan, its importance to community history, and a plea to save it from destruction.

Popham Colony

George Popham and a group of fellow Englishmen arrived at the mouth of the Kennebec River, hoping to trade with Native Americans, find gold and other valuable minerals, and discover a Northwest passage. In 18 months, the fledgling colony was gone.

John Martin: Expert Observer - Martin-Raynes-Stevens Family Trees

"Mt. Hope Cemetery, Bangor John, Clara Cary, and Mabelle Martin X Martin's Journal and his three Scrapbooks passed from his son, John Martin…"

John Martin: Expert Observer - Part 1, pages 000-26

"… railroad accident, Chicago 1849 Bangor accident Soldiers Monument, Mount Hope Monument dedication Bangor Cornet Band Jesse Freemont candidacy"

My Africa Book and living in Portland
by Titi de Baccarat

My art is about being an immigrant in the US, my pain, fear, uncertainty, and hope for my future

I'm fortunate to live in Livermore Falls
by Kenny Jacques

I've seen a lot of changes in Livermore Falls, and hope we will reinvent again soon.

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.

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.