Upcoming Events at the Maine Historical Society
These programs are made possible through membership and support of Shipyard Brewing Company, H.M. Payson & Co., the BHA Foundation, Preti Flaherty Beliveau & Pachios, the Elsie A. Brown Fund, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
May Programs
Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History
Friday, May 9, 7:00 pm
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Harvard University
Join us for a special evening to celebrate the publication of Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s acclaimed new book. “They didn’t ask to be remembered,” Ulrich wrote in 1976 about the pious women of colonial New England. And then she added a phrase that has since gained widespread currency: “Well-behaved women seldom make history.” Today those words appear almost everywhere—on T-shirts, mugs, bumper stickers, plaques, greeting cards, and more. But what do they really mean? In this talk and her engrossing new book, Laurel Ulrich goes far beyond the slogan she inadvertently created and explores what it means to make history. Laurel Thatcher Ulrich is currently 300th Anniversary University Professor at Harvard. Her book A Midwife’s Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812 won the Pulitzer Prize in History, the Bancroft Prize, and other awards.
Location to be Determined
FREE
Art, Objects, and Culture in Maine
Symposium: Agreeable Situations at 21
Saturday, May 10, 09:00 am – 3:30 pm
Please join us for a day-long symposium that celebrates the anniversary of Agreeable Situations: Society, Commerce, and Art in Southern Maine, 1780-1830. The program will explore the significance of this landmark book, and consider key issues in the study of material culture today. Speakers include nationally-known scholars, curators, and students working on Maine subjects. AGREEABLE SITUATIONS AT 21 is being organized by the Maine Historical Society in conjunction with the original collaborating institutions: The Brick Store Museum, Saco Museum, and Old York Historical Society.
By considering objects in conjunction with historical essays, the book provides an essential foundation for understanding Maine material culture and the state's role in early American life and culture. In his Winterthur Portfolio review (winter 1989), Ian Quimby found it an "impressive accomplishment...an example to be emulated." A key text and point of reference, it has happily been pulled from bookshelves by students, curators, scholars, and the public ever since. Read more and download the flyer.
Registration: $65; $55 MHS Members
Early-Bird Rate: $55; $45 MHS Members. For early-bird rate, your registration must be received by 5pm, Friday, April 25.
The Portland Sea Dogs: Celebrating 15 Years
Tuesday, May 13, 12:00 pm
Charlie Eshbach, President/General Manager, Portland Sea Dogs
Join us to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Portland Sea Dogs, and the publication of a new history of the team. Since the team’s arrival in 1994, the Portland Sea Dogs have captured the hearts and loyalty of people throughout southern Maine. More than five million fans have visited Hadlock Field since the Sea Dogs began playing there. In 2006, the Sea Dogs celebrated a landmark victory when they won their first Eastern League title. For the fans, players, and Sea Dog staff, Hadlock Field has become their own “field of dreams,” and a place where dreams really can come true. FREE
Genealogy Research Trip to Boston
Thursday, May 15, 07:30 am – 7:30 pm
Join us for a day of genealogical research at the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) and Massachusetts State Archives at Columbia Point. NEHGS, which was established in 1845, boasts a collection of more than 200,000 genealogical and historical volumes, over one million manuscripts, as well as census records, vital records, deeds, probates, military records, plus the latest resources in print, microtext, and CD-Rom. The Massachusetts State Archives includes Massachusetts vital records (1841-1910), 19th century passenger lists for the port of Boston, census records, state military and judicial records, Plymouth Colony records and papers pertaining to the early settlement of Maine. Individuals who would like to take the MHS bus to Boston for a day of sightseeing but who do not plan to do research are welcome. Registration required. $40.* Members $35.* *Does not include admission to NEHGS Library (NEHGS Admission: NEHGS Members: Free; non-NEHGS members: $15).
Naked in the Woods: Joseph Knowles and the Legacy of Frontier Fakery
Thursday, May 29, 7:00 pm
Jim Motavalli, Author
Join us to hear the fascinating story of Joseph Knowles—aka Nature Man, the Maine Tarzan, and/or the American Adam—the subject of Motavelli’s remarkable new book. From August to October 1913, 43-year-old Knowles went alone, naked and without supplies, into the Maine woods, vowing to live for two months by his own devices. The stunt, sponsored by the Boston Post, generated publicity for Knowles and increased readership for the newspaper, but later proved to be a hoax, one of several examples of nature fakery in the early 20th century that Motavalli explores in his entertaining and illuminating book. Motavalli is a journalist, author, and the editor of E Magazine, a national environmental journal. FREE
July Programs
In Partnership with Portland Public Library…
Treasures in Your Attic: Old and Rare Books
Thursday, July 10, 2:00 pm
Kenneth Gloss, The Brattle Book Shop, Boston
Kenneth Gloss, proprietor of The Brattle Book Shop in Boston, will discuss the joy of the hunt for rare and antique books. His talk will include many examples of interesting finds and numerous anecdotes about the books, authors, collectors and other unique personalities that populate the rare book world. Mr. Gloss will also appraise books for program attendees after the public presentation. The Brattle Book Shop is one of America's oldest, largest, and best-loved antiquarian book shops. Gloss appears regularly as an appraiser on the PBS series Antiques Road Show and is often a guest on New England Cable News' "Good Morning Live."
FREE
Set Sail on the Schooner Wendameen
Saturday, July 26, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm
Historian Jim Millinger
Join the Maine Historical Society for a sail on Casco Bay on board the historic Maine schooner Wendameen. Jim Millinger, MHS Trustee, former Casco Bay Lines skipper, and now a Portland Harbor historian, will be our host, and will talk about Portland Harbor's past and present. The 88-foot Wendameen, designed by John Alden, one of America's most celebrated yacht designers, was built in East Boothbay in 1912. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Help the crew raise the sail, take a turn at the wheel, or just relax and enjoy the talk and the scenery.
Space limited. Registration required. Fee: $40; members: $35.
South American Cruise
CRUISE - Castles on the Rhine and Moselle: October 9 - October 21, 2008
Join us on a 12-day/11-night trip on Uniworld Grand River Cruise's Ambassador cruise ship. This voyage visits the ports of Cologne, Koblenz, Rudesheim, Speyer, Strasbourg, Breisach, and Basel, followed by an extra day in Lucerne before flying home from Zurich. Get Details.
Exhibits
Gifts from Gluskabe: Maine Indian Artforms from the Hudson Museum
February 14 through June 1, 2008
Presented by the Maine Historical Society in collaboration with the Hudson Museum, University of Maine, Orono
The native people of Maine have legends that tell how the Creator made Gluskabe who then made the people and taught them how to use the natural resources of their world, especially trees and plants. He showed them how to weave baskets, build birchbark containers and canoes, and carve. These traditions were central to the survival of the Native People of Maine; they continue as living traditions today.
This exhibit has been organized to showcase the rich and diverse collections of the Hudson Museum and to explore and celebrate the craft traditions of Maine's Micmac, Maliseet, Passamaquoddy, and Penobscot tribes. (Included with Museum Admission.) More info.
Maine Memory Network
Offers online access to numerous Web–based exhibits and a constantly growing collection of nearly 12,000 historical documents, images, and objects contributed by more than 180 organizations around Maine. New exhibits added regularly. www.mainememory.net
Registration
All events, unless otherwise noted, are held at the Maine Historical Society. Click here for Directions or Parking.
For more information or to sign up for any of the events listed below, call (207) 774–1822 or email info@mainehistory.org. Support our efforts and become a member today.