Yesterday, we traveled to the Camden, Maine area. One good reason for doing so was the view of Penobscot Bay. A second reason was to dine by the sea. The third draw was to see the Lincolnville Historical Society’s SCHOOL HOUSE MUSEUM. If one were not looking for the place, it would be easy to drive past, as the building in situated a ways back from the road, on a slight hill, and between other buildings.
Above: Jim Cummings standing in front of Penobscot Bay, Maine.
The second floor of the museum holds some definite treasures. Letters for practicing the Palmer method of penmanship are situated lengthwise, along the top of the blackboard. They reminded me of my parochial school background and how we had to practice letters and were graded for our penmanship skills.
Three different types of Civil War bullets were displayed inside a glass case, along with some photos. A nightgown that was worn on a wedding night was surprising large and had long sleeves. A corset was mystifying. What a contraption! A large display panel described how families used to take a bath, once a week, and always on Saturday!
I was privileged to see three of their quilts, although they are not on display right now. One was an all-cotton Butterfly quilt in fabrics from the late 30s/early 40s, I’d hazard to guess. The quilt has sashings, and is tied.
The two other quilts were Crazy Quilts, one more fancy than the other (fabrics of velvet or velveteen, and fancy stitches). The second quilt had quite a story to it. The quilt belonged to an elderly gentleman of poor means who lost his life when his house burnt down around him, leaving only one item: a trunk with the Crazy Quilt inside. That quilt is slightly stained and has some torn pieces and shredded silks. The stitches were crudely rendered and could have been the work of a child. For some reason, the quilt was spared and now we can just speculate on its reason for having survived.
Among other items, the Museum has collected Native American artifacts, a canoe with hand-hewn paddles, Early Settler’s Tools, more than 5,000 Old Photos, and many pieces of ephemera including Genealogical documents, and town records including birth, death, and census logs.
We very much enjoyed visiting the Museum. It is open June to October, M-W-F and some Saturdays, 1-4 p.m. Admission is free. (207) 789-5445, e-mail: iNFO@LINCOLNVILLEHISTORY.ORG The building was built in 1892 and used as a school until 1948. A visit there was like a step back in time.
Patricia Cummings
