Maine Memory Network

Letter during influenza pandemic to Annie Cromwell Blake from daughter Alice, Jonesport, 1919

Contributed by: An individual through Westport Island History Committee Date: 1919-01-09 Location: Westport Island; Jonesport; Kelley Point; Beals Island Media: Ink on paper

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Teddy bear in pandemic mask, Brunswick, 2020

Courtesy of Tilly Laskey, an individual partner Date: 2020-04-24 Location: Brunswick Media: Digital image

Begin Again: reckoning with intolerance in Maine

BEGIN AGAIN explores Maine's historic role, going back 528 years, in crisis that brought about the pandemic, social and economic inequities, and the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020.

Selections from the Collections

Maine Historical Society staff come across unique and unforgettable items in our collections every day. While it's difficult to choose favorites from a dynamic collection, this exhibit features memorable highlights as selected by members of the MHS staff.

Mercy Hospital - 100 Years of Mercy Hospital

"… greatest health crisis in the city's history, the pandemic known as the Spanish Influenza. This emergency, along with limited proper hospital…"

Mercy Hospital - Portland Hospitals Before Mercy

"None of these facilities, however, proved sufficient to cope with the great Influenza Pandemic of 1918-1919."

Two-minute Tale of the Pandemic
by Nancy Creighton Collins

What everyday life was like during the beginning of the pandemic.

Pandemic ruminations and the death of Rose Cleveland
by Tilly Laskey

Correlations between the 1918 and 2020 Pandemics

Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride Companion Curriculum

Grade Level: 3-5, 6-8 Content Area: Social Studies
These lesson plans were developed by Maine Historical Society for the Seashore Trolley Museum as a companion curriculum for the historical fiction YA novel "Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride" by Jean. M. Flahive (2019). The novel tells the story of Millie Thayer, a young girl who dreams of leaving the family farm, working in the city, and fighting for women's suffrage. Millie's life begins to change when a "flying carpet" shows up in the form of an electric trolley that cuts across her farm and when a fortune-teller predicts that Millie's path will cross that of someone famous. Suddenly, Millie finds herself caught up in events that shake the nation, Maine, and her family. The lesson plans in this companion curriculum explore a variety of topics including the history of the trolley use in early 20th century Maine, farm and rural life at the turn of the century, the story of Theodore Roosevelt and his relationship with Maine, WWI, and the flu pandemic of 1918-1920.