Saturday, March 25, 2017

Wade Zahares - Artist - 2017 Teddy Roosevelt Days - July 21-23 - To Benefit the Narcissus Project

Wade Zahares: Fine Art and Illustration

       A bright red truck tools around the perimeter, while a white duck swoops in from the left, does a nose dive, then careens back towards the left and lands in a pond. The U.S. flag waves to the rhythm of the "wind".  The wispy smoke from the chimney sways as it swats at the mountains. The gold-colored weather vane, puzzled, shifts direction from south to west to south again as the flickering flames from the campfire seek relief from the heat. Click on the bright yellow home and the Gallery page opens. Click on the red cottage next to the pond, and the Studio page opens (the red cottage portrays Wade's studio :). Click on the red barn and the Store page opens. What a fun homepage! Wade's home page makes me smile as it draws me into his world of art. Click here to go to Wade's Facebook page.

        I am so very happy to announce that artist Wade Zahares will be participating in the 2017 Teddy Roosevelt Days weekend event. Wade has been commissioned to create an original work of art that depicts the Narcissus, in its full operating splendor, cruising down the tracks while the intrepid "father" of the Portland-Lewiston Interurban, W. S. Libbey, skillfully drives his 1908 Stanley Steamer, K 30-hp, Semi-Racer speeding alongside the undaunted interurban.

       Strong lines. Bold colors. Dazzling perspectives. All three distinguish Wade Zahares’ larger-than-life pastel paintings. Wade’s magical scenes pull readers in with their sweeping curves and unexpected angles, like an insect’s view of a garden or a bird's eye view of the Statue of Liberty. “I love creating a whole little world that doesn’t exist in everyday life,” he says.

       The 3rd Annual Teddy Roosevelt Days event will take place at Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, ME on the weekend of July 21-23, 2017. The schedule of guest presenters is now complete. As in previous years, the fundraising event to benefit the Narcissus project will kick off with a Friday activity that requires tickets to be purchased in advance for the limited-seating gala opening. The Friday activity will include the unveiling of Wade Zahares' original work of the Narcissus, a reception, trolley rides, a guided tour of the Narcissus, presentations, raffles, a silent auction, and Theodore Roosevelt-related items for sale. All proceeds benefit the restoration of the 1912 Portland-Lewiston Interurban, Narcissus. Saturday and Sunday activities are open to the public with the purchase of general admission tickets to the Museum. More details on the event will follow in the coming weeks. Tickets for the Friday gala opening will become available online early in May.

PWM 

       Wade works exclusively in pastels; he is drawn to the intimacy of the chalk and the ease with which he can blend colors. The magic happens in his studio, a converted shed just off his main house. The studio, equipped with 15-foot ceilings and a house gutter to catch all the pastel dust, is set on 5 1/2 acres of farmland in Lyman, Maine, just a few miles from the Kennebunk farm on which he grew up. When Wade needs a break, he goes for a drive to soak up the New England landscape—his biggest inspiration—or tends to his flowers, gardens, and fruit trees. Then he returns to his studio, refreshed and ready to make more magic.

Wade with Daisy at the farm in Lyman, Maine
Photo courtesy of DMZ

More details on Wade and his art will be in future posts to promote the Teddy Roosevelt Days event.


W. Scott Libbey's 1908 Stanley Steamer K 30-hp Semi-Racer at the
2014 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in California. The permanent home
of this very rare car is at the Seal Cove Auto Museum in
Mount Desert Island (MDI) in Maine.
A total of twenty-five of these cars were built in 1907 and 1908 combined.
Libbey's is one of only three factory-built K 30-hp Semi-Racer survivors.
Image courtesy of Seal Cove Auto Museum

W. Scott Libbey driving his 1908 Stanley Steamer K 30-hp
Semi-Racer. Mr. Libbey would drive his steamer while inspecting
excavation and construction work as his
Portland-Lewiston Interurban line was being built (1910-1914) This page is
from the large "Interurban" Scrapbook
made to  commemorate the employees of the

       Clyde Walker Pierce, Jr. reminisces driving his car while racing one of the high-speed interurbans of the Portland-Lewiston Interurban along the New Gloucester-Danville section of the line. Clyde Walker Pierce, Jr., 1915-2011 - this is an edited audio segment of an interview that was conducted by Clyde's daughter, Patricia Pierce Erikson in August 2008.

Racing the Interurban Audio Clip (Below)

       The sole surviving interurban from the PLI, No. 14, Narcissus, is now undergoing restoration at Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, ME. For more information on the restoration and the Portland-Lewiston Interurban, go to www.narcissus1912.blogspot.com

Theodore Roosevelt was a passenger on the Narcissus on August 18, 1914.

The Narcissus is listed in the National Register of Historic Places

This stretch of New Gloucester-Danville road parallels the PLI and is
where many a race between autos and interurbans took place.
Click Here: Clyde Walker Pierce Video

We are still in need of funds for creating the interpretation programs that will tell this fascinating 100+-year-old story of the Narcissus. For information on donation options, scroll down this post and find the one that best fits your position. Fund 816 to help with the restoration and Fund 817 (PLI Education-Interpretation programs ) should be noted when making a donation.

   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Click Here for the post that has the short virtual 3-D video of the digital model of the Narcissus, with components added to the file from earlier this year (the gold leaf file had not been added yet).
Restoration work continues on the Narcissus. The Narcissus is more than 110 years old now and has so many incredible stories to share. The restoration of this majestic icon of Maine's electric railway history is but one of those incredible stories.

     The Narcissus is featured in the national Gold Award-winning novel, Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride. The "Elegant Ride" is the Narcissus. Theodore Roosevelt was a passenger on the Narcissus on August 18, 1914, between Lewiston and Portland, Maine, while campaigning for the Progressive Party candidates.

Independent book publisher, Phil Morse, holding
the Gold Book Award Winner plaque for
 the Middle Reader category for The Eric
Hoffer Book Award. Congratulations to
award-winning Maine author,
Jean M. Flahive

Seashore Trolley Museum Promo Video 
     
     The paperback edition of Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride can be purchased online through the Seashore Trolley Museum's store website. Books purchased through the Museum's website directly benefit the Museum and the Narcissus project. 

Click Here to go to the Museum Store web page to order online

Click Here to go to the Amazon page to order the ebook or audiobook online

Paperback books are available at these local bookstores in Maine:
Center for Maine Crafts, West Gardiner Service Plaza
The Book Review, Falmouth
The Bookworm, Gorham
Nonesuch Books and More, South Portland
Thompson's Orchard, New Gloucester

Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride
by Jean M. Flahive
Illustrations by Amy J. Gagnon

Listen to a 2-minute, 30-second, Retail Audio Sample of the Audiobook 

     Millie Thayer is a headstrong farmer's daughter who chases her dreams in a way you would expect a little girl nicknamed "Spitfire" would-running full tilt and with her eyes on the stars. Dreaming of leaving the farm life, working in the city, and fighting for women's right to vote, Millie imagines flying away on a magic carpet. One day, that flying carpet shows up in the form of an electric trolley that cuts across her farm. A fortune-teller predicts that Millie's path will cross that of someone famous. Suddenly, she finds herself caught up in events that shake the nation, Maine, and her family. Despairing that her dreams may be shattered, Millie learns, in an unexpected way, that dreams can be shared.

A resource for teachers 

Companion curriculum State-standard-based units,

vocabulary, and reading activities for use in grades 3-8

are available online as downloadable resources through

Seashore Trolley Museum's website

www.trolleymuseum.org/elegantride/


Maine Historical Society has created eight companion lesson units in Social Studies and ELA that were inspired by Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride - These State-standard-based lesson plans for use in grades 6, 7, and 8 are easily adapted for use in grades 3-5.  Vocabulary and Reading activities for grades 3-8 along with the eight lesson plan units are available free and may be downloaded through Seashore Trolley Museum's website www.trolleymuseum.org/elegantride/
Go to the Teacher Resource Page in the pull-down for more details.

A 60-second intro to Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride by author, Jean Flahive
Click Here to watch the video on YouTube 

Award-winning author, Jean M. Flahive

    
Please Consider a Donation to the Narcissus Project to help us tell the incredible story of the Narcissus through the interpretation portion of the Narcissus Project.

     Here is an example of how donations to the Narcissus Project now will help with the interpretation portion of the project. The interpretation programming will include exhibits, displays, and education programming. In 2019, through generous donations to the Narcissus Project, we were able to conserve, replicate, and have high resolutions digital image files made of the original, 1910, 28.5-foot long, surveyor map of the elevation and grade of the 30-mile private right-of-way of the Portland, Gray, and Lewiston Railroad (Portland-Lewiston Interurban)  Click Here 

Thank You!

Theodore Roosevelt on the Narcissus when addressing
the crowd gathered in Gray, Maine on August 18, 1914.
Image courtesy of Gray Historical Society

The Narcissus as the Sabattus Lake Diner in Sabattus, Maine,
circa 1940. Photo by John Coughlin in the Kevin Farrell
Collection at Seashore Trolley Museum

L. Henri Vallee (right) and family members in the
Narcissus, when it was Vallee's summer camp in
Sabattus, Maine circa 1958. Photo courtesy Daniel Vallee

The Narcissus in the restoration shop in 2022 PWM

   Inside the Donald G. Curry Town House Restoration Shop, the Narcissus is in the midst of major work as we strive to complete its restoration. We are now planning the interpretation portion of the Narcissus Project. Donations to the Narcissus Project may be used in the future to help tell the incredible 100-plus-year-old story of the Narcissus. Your donation to the Narcissus is helping to make the dream of the project's success, a reality.

See below for Donation options -
It starts with YOU
Your Donation Matters
Make a Donation TODAY

Please Help the Narcissus. 
Donation Options to Help the Narcissus Project:

The New England Electric Railway Historical Society
is the 501c3 organization that owns and operates the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, ME, and the National Streetcar
The New England Electric Railway Historical Society registered with the IRS (EIN# 01-0244457) and was incorporated in Maine in 1941.

Check or Money Order ***** should be made payable to:
New England Electric Railway Historical Society
In the memo: for a donation to the Interpretation programming
please write: PLI Education Fund 817
For a donation to help with the restoration write: Narcissus Fund 816
Mail to: Seashore Trolley Museum
              P. O. Box A
              Kennebunkport, ME 04046

Credit Card ***** donations can be one-time donations or you
may choose to have a specific amount charged to your card
automatically on a monthly basis. Please contact the Museum bookkeeper, via email at finance@trolleymuseum.org or by phone, at 207-967-2800 ext. 3.

Online Donations - may be made by using a Credit Card: 
Click Here to make an online donation through the Museum's website - When at the Donation page: Fill in donor info, etc., when at "To which fund are you donating? Scroll down to "Other" and type in: 816 Narcissus, then continue filling in the required information.

Click Here for PayPal - to make an online donation: you can use email: finance@trolleymuseum.org and in the message box write:
For "Narcissus Fund 816" - if supporting the restoration
For "PLI Education Fund 817" - if supporting Interpretation programs

Donation of Securities ***** We also accept donations of
securities. You can contact the Museum bookkeeper, via email at finance@trolleymuseum.org or by phone, at 207-967-2800 ext. 3,
for brokerage account information for accepting donated securities.

BONUS ***** If you work for a company/corporation that will
"match" an employee's donation to an approved 501c3 non-profit
educational organization, please be sure to complete the necessary paperwork with your employer so that your donation is matched :)

Questions? ***** Please contact Narcissus project sponsor:
Phil Morse, narcissus@gmail.org or call 207-985-9723 - cell.

Thank You :)

Thank You for our Current Funding Partners
* 20th Century Electric Railway Foundation - 2020/2018 - Major Gift, 2017/2014 Matching Grants
Renaissance Charitable Foundation (LPCT) by Fiduciary Trust Charitable Giving Fund
Mass Bay RRE - 2018 Railroad Preservation Grant 
Thornton Academy (Saco, ME) - Staff & Alumni - Matching Grant Challenge 2014
New England Electric Railway Historical Society (Kennebunkport, ME) - Member Donations
Amherst Railway Society - 2015 Heritage Grant
National Railway Historical Society - 2016 & 2015 Heritage Preservation Grants
Enterprise Holding Foundation - 2015 Community Grant
Theodore Roosevelt Association - Member Donations
John Libby Family Association and Member Donations
* The Conley Family - In Memory of Scott Libbey 2018/2017/2016/2015
* The W. S. Libbey Family - Awalt, Conley, Graf, Holman, Libbey, McAvoy, McLaughlin, Meldrum, O'Halloran, Salto, - 2018/2017
* The Hughes Family 2017/2016/2010
New Gloucester Historical Society and Member Donations
Gray Historical Society and Member Donations
Gray Public Library Association - Pat Barter Speaker Series
* LogMein - Matching Employee Donation
* IBM - Matching Employee/Retiree Donations
* Fidelity Charitable Grant - Matching Employee Donations
* Richard E. Erwin Grant - 2017/2016

The Narcissus, with interior back-lit, stained glass windows is majestic.
Make a donation today to help restore the interior of this Maine gem.
Help Theodore Roosevelt's Maine Ride get back on track! Once restored,
you will be able to ride in luxury on this National Register Treasure at
Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine.
PWM photo

Please Consider Making a Donation to the project of the National Register of Historic Places member, Narcissus. We are currently raising funds to advance the restoration and to tell the incredible story of this Maine gem.

Various News stories during the summer of 2015 about the
Narcissus and its connection to Theodore Roosevelt. TR
was a passenger on the Narcissus on August 18, 1914.
Patricia Pierce Erikson photo

The Narcissus - July 31, 2015. Make a donation today.
Help Theodore Roosevelt's Maine Ride get back on track!
Once restored, you will be able to ride in luxury on this
National Historic Treasure at
Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine.

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