Maine Memory Network

Through the winter months, the Portland Evening Express ran a section titled “Along the Snow Trail,” which featured ski news and advertisements from around the New England region. This photograph of Mt. Washington in New Hampshire appeared in the paper on December 15, 1936.

Many historians credit Norman Libby of Bridgton, ME in 1905 as the first person to ski Mt. Washington. However, there are alternative theories, crediting a German physician named Dr. Wiskott (in 1899) or the Dartmouth Outing Club in 1913. Regardless, skiers have hit the slopes of Mt. Washington for over 100 years.

Wyman Lake in Moscow, ME was created in 1929 when Central Maine Power dammed the Kennebec River between Pleasant Ridge Plantation and Moscow. It is one of Somerset County’s beloved summer destinations, known for its clear water and great fishing.

The 13-mile long, man-made lake was named for Walter Scott Wyman, then president of Central Maine Power. During Wyman’s tenure, CMP vastly expanded its hydroelectric ventures.

The complex geographic features of Merrymeeting Bay lend to the beauty of this aerial photograph. Not technically a bay by definition (more like an inland delta or estuary), the origin of the name Merrymeeting is also quite complicated. During the 18th Century, a series of names for the bay appear in English records, including Nassouac and Chisapek. The more prevalent Wabanaki name for the body of water appeared in Perepole’s 1793 deposition, where he referred to the bay as Quabacook.
The English name Merrymeeting, is said to reference the convergence of five rivers which create this unique landscape in the heart of Sagadahoc County. Other theories include references to colonial meeting places, joyous parties, or rendezvous points for surveying teams.

On December 6, 1934, the New England Grain Company on Hobson’s Wharf in Portland caught fire. The photographers from the Portland Press Herald/Portland Evening Express team quickly mobilized and flew high above the fire, capturing real time images of the disaster and the local response. Fire crews doused the fire from both land and sea, while spectators can be seen along the street, as well as in their own boats out in the harbor.

This view of Boothbay Harbor highlights the working waterfront and the town’s iconic footbridge. Erected in 1901, the footbridge was one of many turn-of-the-century initiatives to build upon the vitality of Boothbay Harbor’s economy. It greatly reduced travel time between the east and west sides of the harbor. The working waterfront’s success greatly influenced the decision to separate from the town of Boothbay in 1889 and continues to be one of the driving forces in Maine’s maritime economy.

A view of Boothbay Harbor, looking south-east, highlights the harbor from a different vantage point. At the far right, several tall-masted schooners (including one without its masts) are docked or afloat in Mill Cove. Boothbay Harbor’s love of tall ships continues, and is evident with Windjammer Days, an annual summer event honoring the magnificent sailing ships.

A local designation for a part of Kennebunkport, Cape Arundel was established as a resort community within a larger community. Land development flourished along Ocean Drive, the road in the foreground, which runs from the Colony Hotel to Walker’s Point. Hotels and summer homes graced the cape, flanked by the small bit of land to the left, known as Old Fort Point.

The “Old Fort” was a War of 1812-era fortress, the remains of which no longer exist. Local legend credits an infamous “summer person” with destroying the last of the fort, along with an adjacent colonial-era graveyard. The point is now home to St. Ann’s Episcopal Church.

Keegan, a village in Van Buren, was home to a successful lumbermill along the St. John River in the first half of the 20th century. Initially owned and operated by the St. John Lumber Company, it was operated by the Madawaska Company when it caught fire in 1930.

This image may be of the Madawaska Company mill or the rebuilt mill after the 1930 fire. The two structures closest to the river appear in good condition, and may lend to the post-fire era, although the mill was less than 30 years old when it burned in 1930.

In this photograph looking southwest, major components include the open-spaced Eastern Promenade across the foreground, as well as the working waterfront and railroad, which extended from the Eastern Prom to beyond the "Million Dollar Bridge" in the background. Congress Street, the major thoroughfare on the right, dissected the city.

While Portland was an obvious focal point for Gannett’s newspapers, the aerial photographs within the collection highlight numerous towns and cities across Maine.

On July 25, 1936, contestants competed in the Evening Express-Chevrolet Motor Company soap box derby on Park Avenue in Portland, Maine. Approximately 16,000 spectators attended the race.

Earle Hudson of Tolman Street, Westbrook, emerged as champion. He won a trip and entrance into the National Soap Box Derby in Akron, Ohio later that summer.

Many other prizes were given to winners in several categories, including: fastest time, best-looking car, best upholstery job, and the best breaking system. Five heat winners were given 30-minute rides in the Gannett Publishing Company's speedy Stinson monoplane.

In March of 1936, New England experienced extreme rainfall, resulting in one of the worst floods on record for the region. The Saco River was particularly effected.

Gannett Newspapers issued a special edition pictorial review of the disaster featuring images from their own photographers, as well as those of the Kennebec Journal. Aerial photography enhanced the public’s ability to witness the devastation caused by this iconic flood.

The winged Pegasus logo for Mobil Oil, or in this instance, Mobilgas, wasthe perfect symbol to greet aerial photographers on a near-by blimp. Traditionally called air-ships, blimps came into commercial use in the 1930s. A select number of airships were leased to various companies as a unique way of advertising.

Portland Press Herald/Portland Evening Express photographers captured this image of the Mobilgas blimp as it cruised above Portland. A noted feature of this photograph is the Bramhall Reservoir at the lower left-center. Built in 1869 near Vaughan and Brackett Streets, it held water pumped from Sebago Lake for the city of Portland. The reservoir ceased operation in 1964. It was paved over to make way for an expanded Maine Medical Center.

The equipment used to capture aerial images included a large format camera, like the one pictured here. This camera was created by Fairchild Aviation Corporation, also known as Fairchild Aircraft Manufacturing Company. Their Pegasus logo and initials ‘FA’ can be seen on the side of the camera. Fairchild Aviation secured a government contract in 1935 to track soil erosion using aerial photography. The photographer is dressed the part, complete with an aviation jacket, helmet and goggles.

The condition of this glass negative demonstrates the fragility of the format. It also speaks to the complexity of capturing images on glass while in an airplane. Initially, Gannett’s photographers used photographic plates as their medium of choice. Also known as glass negatives or glass plate negatives, the medium was falling out-of-favor by the Guy Gannett-era. Plastic film was widely available, less fragile and less expensive by the 1920s, but Gannett photographers continued to shoot on glass. While less-portable, and more cumbersome, the photographic quality of the glass plate is superior, resulting in crisp, sharper images.

The Portland Flying Service, a monoplane charter airline, specialized in aerial photography. In 1935, it joined a handful of other air services at the newly formed Portland airport. About this time, aerial photography saw an increase in popularity, not only for geographic surveys, but in the case of Guy Gannett and his newspapers, to highlight local interest stories and document celebrations and events.

The Portland Flying Service lasted until 1943, likely effected by the second World War. After the war, a later iteration of the business was based in Scarborough on Pleasant Hill Rd. It continued through the 1960s.