SOUTH PORTLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY
South Portland Historical Society
PO Box 2623
South Portland, Maine 04116-2623
Meetings
3rd Wednesday of the Month
Contact
Linda Eastman, President
799-3937
BELOW IS THE SP HISTORICAL SOCIETY
SUMMER 2006 NEWSLETTER
(posted with permission)
# # # # # # #
South Portland Historical Society
Highlights of 2006 Late
Spring and Summer Plans and Activities
The
following slate of names was presented to membership at the May 18th
Annual Meeting of the South Portland Historical Society.
President ……………..Linda Eastman
V President…………
Mike Eastman
Secretary ……………. Susan Mooney
Treasurer……………. Tim Carr
Historian ……………..Kathy DiPhilippo
Curator ……………… Mary Anne Wallace
At Large …………….. Sharyn
Dawson, Ralph Baxter,
David Mishkin, Craig Skelton, Marian Peterson
The Secretary cast one
ballot in favor of the recommended slate of officers.
*****************************************
WONDERFUL
NEWS!
Since we last communicated
by newsletter, the society has made some incredible moves, literally and
figuratively! After a lot of
huffing and puffing, all documents and ephemera were moved to the new office
area in the basement of City Hall. It
quickly became apparent that there was no room in the small area to accommodate
the larger items – nor was there enough space for volunteers to be able to
work.
Linda asked Acting City
Manager Jim Gailey to meet with her and discuss the situation.
During their conversation, Jim suggested that they look at the Electrical
Building, which sits within the city’s Mill Creek
Park. A visit to the building showed that it had great potential to
serve as the Society’s new headquarters.
The SPHS Board of Directors attended a City Council Workshop in early
July and was delighted to hear favorable support for the Society to occupy the
Electrical Building by all City Councilors.
And now the hard work
begins! An Occupancy Permit
requires a lot of hard work for the Society.
Meeting with key city people, looking for grant money, submitting plans,
cleaning, etc. will require many hours of hard, and sometimes dirty, work.
The goal is to meet the requirements for occupancy and open the building
to the public in the spring of 2007. We
will keep you updated as to our progress. And
will you give some thought as to how you might assist us with the gargantuan
task ahead? Give Linda a call
(799-3937) if you could be called on for some help.
In the meantime, the
Society’s office is open for business on the lower floor of City Hall. It
will be opened this summer and fall from 1 – 3 PM on Saturdays.
Here is how to locate the office: Enter
by way of the door in the back of City Hall.
Once you enter the building, take the elevator to B level (basement),
exit the elevator, turn left, then
a right and follow the hall down to the office.
******************************************
A
GREAT LOSS
The city, as well as the Society, recently lost a treasured
friend and supporter. Rosella
Loveitt died on June 26, 2006, leaving behind a legacy that will never be
matched in our lifetime. Loved and
respected city-wide for her passion for local history as well as her avid
support of area sports, Rosella was truly a legend in her time. The Society will
be forever grateful for her vital part in founding the South Portland Historical
Society in 1964. Donations made to
the Society in her name will be used in a manner to honor her contributions.
RECENT
DONATIONS
The Society continues to add
to its collection. Following is a
sampling of recent donations and additions to our holdings:
-
a ticket to the Grand Horse Fair at Rigby Park in August 1894
-
an 1826 Maine Register
-
scrapbooks containing clippings of Pleasantdale news in the 1920s and
‘30s
-
New
England Keel, newspaper from July 1944
-
an 1866 Portland Directory
-
the 3-volume set of The Family
Jordan
-
Genealogy
of the Cushing Family by Lemuel
Cushing
-
Seven volumes of Maine Families in
1790
-
Journals containing the minutes of the Knightville Volunteer Hose Co. 4
-
Booklet summarizing the minutes of the Thornton Heights Improvement
Society, as well as other Thornton Heights historical trivia, compiled by
Society member Elford Messer
-
1 quart milk bottle from the Howard F. Cotton dairy, South Portland
*****************************************************************
THE MANY VILLAGES…
The Society’s book, The
Many Villages of South Portland, Maine, is being very well received by the
public. You may purchase your copy
by contacting either Kathy (kathy@barrenhillbooks.com,
767-3268) or Linda (799-3937, meastma2@maine.rr.com).
You
may also obtain a copy at the City
Clerk’s office in City Hall or by dropping into the Society office (downstairs
at City Hall) on Saturday afternoons, 1 – 3 PM. Books are also for sale at Nonesuch Books in Mill Creek.
********************************************************
T-SHIRTS
Folks were pleased with the
Society t-shirt. The quality is excellent and the Society will sell them at cost
to members. In order to
benefit from the lower price, we will need an order of 36 shirts to place
another order. The color is medium
blue with navy blue logo. Sizes are
s, m, l, xl and xxl. Price is
$7.50. Give Linda a call if you
would like one and she will place the order when the magic number of 36 is
reached!
*******************************************************************
GRANTS
Historian Kathy DiPhilippo
sought and received monies in the form of grants from the Maine Historical
Records Advisory Board via funds from the National Historical Publications and
Records Commission. The grant
monies will allow for the purchase of a dehumidifier as well as allow for the
proper preservation of a donation of nitrate negatives of South Portland images
circa 1900.
*******************************************************************
IT’S
TIME FOR YOUR MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL – NEW
– Membership Incentives!!
We are counting on your
continued support for the membership year 2006/2007. Our major funding comes from membership support from
wonderful people like you!! If
you have not done so already, please renew now so we can save on mailing out
separate renewal reminders. Membership
dues are due on September 1st.
Send your renewal to the South Portland Historical Society, PO Box 2623,
South Portland, Maine 04116. You may use the renewal form attached at the end of this
newsletter. While supplies last, we
are offering our new Society tote bags as a
gift with your membership at the $25 level and above.
******************************************************************
MONTHLY
MEETINGS
Monthly meetings of the SPHS
are held on the 3rd Wednesday of the month in the Lower Conference
Room in City Hall. Meetings begin
at 5:45 PM and usually are an hour and a half long. While the Board of Directors is charged with the management
of the Society, all members are most welcome to attend meetings.
GUEST
LECTURES AND SILENT AUCTION
The Society’s fundraiser
for the coming year will be an exciting one.
We will be holding a special Afternoon
with the South Portland Historical Society on Saturday, January 12th,
2007, at the South Portland Community Center. Featured will be guest lecturers
David Mishkin (photograph preservation) and Kathy Amoroso
(genealogy). The event will
also act as the finale for our first Silent Auction. We are currently seeking
items for the auction. Do you have
a talent (or know someone who does?) or would you make a monetary donation to
allow for a purchase? One 85-year
old member is donating a hand-made quilt. Another
member has crocheted an afghan. Mike
Eastman is working on finishing a piece of furniture. Area businesses will be solicited for donations…… and we
are hoping the membership will lend a hand with both donations and physical
assistance. Watch for more
information on this affair. And be
sure to contact any board member for information, donation or assistance.
*******************************************************************
ART
IN THE PARK AND ELECTION DAY
For the first time, the
Society organized its presence at Art in the Park to raise funds for our
organization. Working in two-hour shifts, Society volunteers manned a display
table and sold 17 books, 6 shirts, and signed up 9 new members to the Society.
We will be making a similar appearance at the polls on Election Day in
November, as we have done successfully for the past two elections.
Please call Linda or Kathy if you can help.
This is a great way for the Society to get out in the public’s eye.
Each time we have had volunteers appear in public, we have signed up new
members and received donations of historic items which might otherwise not have
been preserved.
*******************************************************************
SPECIAL
THANKS
Moving the large items from
the museum on Braeburn to the Electrical Building was very hard work.
Volunteers had to be recruited for the heavy display cases…..and the
move was made in the late afternoon of the hottest and most humid day of the
summer. Special thanks to Mark
Reuscher, Steve Hayworth, Ed &
Kathy DiPhilippo, Craig Skelton, Mike Eastman and Tim Carr.
They all deserve medals for that deed!!!
*******************************************************************
MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL
Name _______________________________________________________________
Address
______________________________________________________________
City/State/Zip _________________________________________________________
Phone
_________________________
Email
________________________________
MEMBERSHIP
CATEGORIES
(Circle
your support choice)
Contributor
$10-$49***
Friend
$50-$99
Supporter $100-$199
1898 Club
$200 and up
***For a
membership donation of $25 or above, receive a free Society tote bag, while
supplies last.