One of the greatest compliments we received came through the mail in September, when a couple wrote to us: “Our favorite find was the amazing tour we took at the Eveleth-Crafts-Sheridan Historical House! When we paid our fee, we expected it would be a quick walk through. To our pleasant surprise, we were given an extensive tour of the property. Our guides really made the tour interesting and we learned so much from there. It really was a highlight to our visit.”
We had people who came and pored for hours over our stories about the settling of Rockwood and the many versions of the Mt. Kineo Hotel. The Lumberman’s Museum continues to be of particular interest and received many high marks for the show of logging and woodsmen’s equipment and the story of the industry by Bob Cowan.
The docents, led by Marlene Stevens, must be thanked for their passion about our region’s history and their thoroughly entertaining and informative tours. Each guide has their own way of telling the story of the Historical House and weaving in Moosehead’s culture and heritage.
We commonly heard how well people enjoyed their tour through the house and museums, no matter if they were in for the very first time or if they were professors visiting the area with a particular interest. The revolving display of a family history in the guest room continues to be of high interest – this year it was of the Marsh family of Greenville. Next year we’re working with the Maynards of Rockwood to celebrate their 100th anniversary in business as a family. The Maynards have some very unusual items to share and a great, long, wildly popular story to tell through many changing decades.
The Center for Moosehead History, often called the Community House, is home to The Moosehead Aviation Museum and Moosehead’s Native-American family stories, along with an important display of Indian artifacts and tools dating back thousands of years. Recent visits by archeologists say there are some very fine pieces.
Chris Sockalexis, the Penobscot Nation Tribal Historical Preservation Officer, discussed the oral traditions of the Penobscot Nation during the 12th Annual Thoreau-Wabanaki Trail Festival, with a focus on the stories of the Moosehead Lake Region. An Archeologist, he also spoke about tools made from Kineo rhyolite and demonstrated the art of flint napping, Penobscot drumming and songs. The audience was captivated by his voice during the songs.
Moosehead’s Native American presence has always been strong and we hope to further tell the stories of those families in the East Cove exhibit that will continue to evolve. Toward that end, we are forming a partnership with the Penobscot Nation, which has ties to many of the Moosehead families who lived here.
This year two new exhibits proved popular: Tracing Thoreau’s Trail: East Cove to Katahdin and The People of the Dawn: Moosehead’s Native American Families. Both of these were introduced during the 12th Annual Thoreau-Wabanaki Trail Festival in July.
The 1920s series of photographs by Dexter professional photographer Bert Lincoln Call, re-printed by internationally recognized photographer Todd Watt, were solidly appreciated by visitors throughout the summer, both for their beauty in their own right and, very likely, because of the universal recognition of nature essayist Henry David Thoreau’s name. That exhibit was on special loan only for the season, courtesy of curator Frank Spizuoco, and closes this month. Next year we will bring back the fantastic large canvas prints telling the story of our logging heritage. One of the most popular ones that drew many comments hangs on the door of the entrance. It shows thousands of cords of pulpwood that completely surrounds an island on Moosehead Lake.
All About Moose, with Moose Biologist Lee Kantar of the Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and Going Solo: Women in the Outdoors, with Jen Searles Dumont and Alexandra Bennett drew full houses and a lot of great questions.