These charming ladies all rode on the interurbans of
Portland-Lewiston Interurban when they were young girls
growing up in Gray, Maine. Two nonagenarians and one
centenarian. The interview took place on Saturday
morning, June 23, 2018, at the Gray Historical
Society. PWM photo.
With the ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the completed restoration of the 1912 Portland-Lewiston Interurban, No. 14, Narcissus, set for the fall of 2021 at the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, plans to create the interpretation portion of the Narcissus project are a high priority. And no planning is more important than working to identify individuals to tell us, first-hand, what their experiences were growing up in a community that had the services of the interurbans of the PLI.
The PLI ceased operations on June 28, 1933, eighty-five years ago! During our spring series of public presentations in communities along the PLI, starting in Lewiston (Public Library), then on to West Falmouth (West Falmouth Baptist Church), and ending in West Cumberland (Recreation Hall), many attendees had a personal interest in the interurban line. The right-of-way that the interurbans operated on may have gone through their property, they may have had a family member who worked for the PLI, or they might have had an interest in learning more about their local history.
This renewed interest in the Portland-Lewiston Interurban, especially in the communities that it served, has generated opportunities to collect first-hand accounts from individuals who were riding the interurbans and for families to share some photographs and hand-me-down accounts, for PLI-related stories.
The first of what we hope are many interviews to collect and record these accounts that took place at the Gray Historical Society on Saturday, June 23, 2018, at 10 am. Organized by the Gray Historical Society's President, Donald Whitney, three residents of Gray made themselves available for interviews. Last summer, Don had brought his aunt Elizabeth to visit the Narcissus at the Trolley Museum. Elizabeth grew up in South Gray. The PLI tracks were built through her family's farm, the Whitney Farm. That visit last year led us to connect with Don this spring to discuss the possibility of interviewing Elizabeth. As it turned out, we hit the trifecta!
Don was able to make arrangements to have his Aunt Elizabeth and two peers join Elizabeth to be interviewed. Pictured above, L-R: Miriam Bisbee, Charlotte Verrill Frost, and Elizabeth Whitney Megquier. The ladies had family members and some family friends in attendance during the interview. An audio version of the interview was recorded and will be transcribed for the collection of the Gray Historical Society and the Seashore Trolley Museum.
Jean Flahive was present and introduced to the ladies and the others in attendance. Jean, an award-winning Maine author, is researching a new book she is writing. The book will be an early reader's historical fiction chapter book about the Portland-Lewiston Interurban and will feature a young girl from Gray as the main character. The book will be released in time for Maine's Bicentennial in 2020. Proceeds from book sales will benefit Narcissus.
Stay tuned for more details as we continue to collect stories and information.
Click Here for the post on Clyde Walker Pierce, Jr. recalls "Racing" the High-Speed Interurbans
Click Here for the post on Clyde Walker Pierce, Jr. recalls "Racing" the High-Speed Interurbans
In the meantime, make plans to visit the Trolley Museum for the 4th Annual Teddy Roosevelt Days event.
A Fundraising Event to Benefit 1912 Portland-Lewiston Interurban,
No. 14, Narcissus. Theodore Roosevelt was a passenger on the
Narcissus on August 18, 1914. The three-day event is hosted by
Seashore Trolley Museum.
Seashore Trolley Museum.
2018 Teddy Roosevelt Days
a three-day event being held
at
Seashore Trolley Museum
Kennebunkport, Maine
July 20, 21, & 22
A Benefit Event For the Narcissus Project
The Friday Katahdin Expedition is SOLD OUT!
4th Annual Teddy Roosevelt Days Event at Seashore
As in previous years, the fundraising event will benefit the Narcissus Project and 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 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 and companion interpretation programs (Exhibits & Education Program Development) of the 1912 Portland-Lewiston Interurban, No. 14, Narcissus.
Saturday and Sunday activities are open to the public with the purchase of general admission tickets to the Museum.
Tickets for the Friday gala opening are now available to purchase online.
Tickets are $30 each. Click Here to Order Tickets Online. Sold Out
Full Schedule for the Weekend Event:
FMI contact p.morse31@gmail.com
Following the close of last year's Teddy Days opening night
gala activities, the early evening trolley ride was aboard
The Mount Katahdin Expedition
Friday Opening, July 20th, 2017 - 3pm-8pm Sold Out
Tickets to the Expedition are $30. Click Here to Order Tickets Online. Sold Out
(Each ticket includes an all-day Friday (July 20, 2018), a general admission ticket to Seashore Trolley Museum, access to a meet & greet reception with light refreshments, two drink tickets (beer/wine), one raffle ticket, and a silent auction bidder #)
Friday Opening Schedule - Prepaid tickets required for this opening activity: Sold Out
(Each ticket includes an all-day Friday (July 20, 2018), a general admission ticket to Seashore Trolley Museum, access to a meet & greet reception with light refreshments, two drink tickets (beer/wine), one raffle ticket, and a silent auction bidder #)
Friday Opening Schedule - Prepaid tickets required for this opening activity: Sold Out
3 pm Guest arrival, check-in, silent auction preview
4 pm Vintage Trolley Ride to Riverside Barn and walk to Town House Shop for Tour of
Narcissus (currently under renovation) with Project Manager Phil Morse
5:30 pm Reception at Exhibit Gallery, Visitor's Center with light refreshments (beer & wine) and silent auction (rare TR-related books, glass art, etc.) bidding ongoing
6 pm Welcome & Opening Remarks: Mr. Phil Morse, Narcissus Project Manager, Seashore Trolley Museum - Introduction of each guest speaker
* Presentation: Ms. Sheila Libby Alexander, Board Member, Skyline Farm, and Carriage Museum, North Yarmouth, ME - History of Skyline Farm & Carriage Museum, How the Libby Sleigh was acquired, and comments on the restoration of the art on the Sleigh by Conservator Nina Roth Wells.
* Presentation: Ms. Donna Davidge, Owner of Sewall House Yoga Retreat, History of her great-grandparents' National Historic Registry home and the William Sewall, Theodore Roosevelt family's lifelong friendship.
7:15 pm Raffle, Silent Auction closes
7:45 pm Vintage Historic Trolley Car exclusive trolley ride along Seashore Trolley Museum's Heritage Main Line
Tickets for the Mount Katahdin Expedition are $30. Click Here to Order Tickets Online
Seating is limited for the Friday opening, Sold Out
Following the close of last year's Teddy Days opening night
gala activities, the early evening trolley ride was aboard
the beautifully restored 1901 CT Co. No. 303.
PWM photo
PWM photo
This Narcissus Blog post has details on both guest speakers below:
Donna Davidge from the Sewall House Yoga Retreat and
Sheila Libby Alexander from Skyline Farm & Carriage Museum
Speaker bio
Donna Davidge
Keenly interested in health and exploration, Donna (Amrita) Davidge is a highly experienced 500 E-RYT yoga teacher. She received her Master's in Nutrition in the late 70s, then acted and modeled (living in Europe from 1982-85) from the mid-80s into the early 90s. In 1985, Donna discovered Kundalini Yoga in New York City when she was practicing and studying this form as a powerful tool for healing and personal growth. Her teacher, Ravi Singh, encouraged her to begin teaching within a year. Pursuing yoga avidly, she became certified by 3HO and Yoga Alliance. She has been a full-time yoga and meditation teacher ever since and can be found in NYC during the winter months when she’s not at Sewall House. She has taught tens of thousands of hours in New York City in groups and privately, as well as in workshops in the Northeast, Canada, Italy, and Costa Rica. Her first yoga teacher was Yogi Bhajan, who gave her the spiritual name Amrita (nectar) in the late 80s. She has studied Ashtanga with Eddie Stern since 1999, Dharma Mittra since 1999, and Iyengar with Genny Kapuler since 2004. She views yoga as a way to grow from within and study the physical and emotional marks our lives have made on us. Her teacher, Yogi Bhajan, said happiness is our birthright, so she explores ways to serve her students in a manner that can aid them in finding health and happiness in their own lives. Sewall House offered its first Yoga Teacher Training by request in 2009, with a small group of committed students.
Donna Davidge from the Sewall House Yoga Retreat and
Sheila Libby Alexander from Skyline Farm & Carriage Museum
Speaker bio
Donna Davidge
Keenly interested in health and exploration, Donna (Amrita) Davidge is a highly experienced 500 E-RYT yoga teacher. She received her Master's in Nutrition in the late 70s, then acted and modeled (living in Europe from 1982-85) from the mid-80s into the early 90s. In 1985, Donna discovered Kundalini Yoga in New York City when she was practicing and studying this form as a powerful tool for healing and personal growth. Her teacher, Ravi Singh, encouraged her to begin teaching within a year. Pursuing yoga avidly, she became certified by 3HO and Yoga Alliance. She has been a full-time yoga and meditation teacher ever since and can be found in NYC during the winter months when she’s not at Sewall House. She has taught tens of thousands of hours in New York City in groups and privately, as well as in workshops in the Northeast, Canada, Italy, and Costa Rica. Her first yoga teacher was Yogi Bhajan, who gave her the spiritual name Amrita (nectar) in the late 80s. She has studied Ashtanga with Eddie Stern since 1999, Dharma Mittra since 1999, and Iyengar with Genny Kapuler since 2004. She views yoga as a way to grow from within and study the physical and emotional marks our lives have made on us. Her teacher, Yogi Bhajan, said happiness is our birthright, so she explores ways to serve her students in a manner that can aid them in finding health and happiness in their own lives. Sewall House offered its first Yoga Teacher Training by request in 2009, with a small group of committed students.
The Sewall House & Yoga Retreat in Island Falls, ME
Ms. Davidge purchased the Sewall House in 1997 to keep the
home in her family, and to keep the legacy of her
great-grandfather's (William W. Sewall) life and love of
nature alive. PWM
Theodore Roosevelt, William Windgate Sewall, and Wilmot Dow,
ca March 1879, somewhere in the Island Falls area
TRC 520.12.-016 Houghton Library, Harvard University
Speaker bio:
Sheila Libby Alexander
Sheila Libby Alexander
A Maine native from Yarmouth originally had paternal Libby family relatives' Maine land in 1637. A friend of Dorothy Plummer donated the Libby Family Sleigh to Skyline Farm when Ken Sowles was putting the Carriage Museum together in North Yarmouth. A graduate of the University of Maine with a degree in History, with a Master's Degree in Library Sciences from Simmons College. Retired from a 36-year career at the Portland Public Library. Have been on the Board at Skyline for several years and, in fact, learned to ride there as a kid when Skyline was a riding stable, and I'm still happily riding almost every day.
The John Libby Family sleigh is seen here in a photo courtesy of
Skyline Farm and Carriage Museum in North Yarmouth,
Maine. The Libby Sleigh will be on display at Seashore
Trolley Museum during the 2018 Teddy Roosevelt Days
event to benefit the Narcissus on the weekend of
July 20-22, 2018
1) The John Libby Family Sleigh. John Libby was an early settler (the 1630s) in the Black Point area of Scarborough, Maine. W. S. Libbey, the builder of the Portland-Lewiston Interurban, is a descendant of John Libby (as is this blogger :) This sleigh is described as an "Early Painted Sleigh." The original artwork on the back exterior panel is exquisite. Ms. Alexander's presentation will include a description of the conservation of the beautifully painted scene on the back of the Libby Family Sleigh.
2) A wagon from the late 1800s. Theodore Roosevelt visited Maine several times before his New England tour as President in 1902. His early visits to Maine included using horse-drawn transportation of the day. A passenger in a Stagecoach from Dexter to Greenville in 1872. Several trips in a wagon while visiting Island Falls in the company of Maine's William Sewall and William's nephew, Wilmot Dow, during guided expeditions in the Maine woods in the summers of 1878 and 1879. Also, as a passenger in sleighs during his February 1879 visit to Island Falls. He escorted his future wife in a pony-drawn buggy while they were visiting Mount Desert Island in 1880. As President, he was a rider in an open landau carriage pulled by horses in Portland during his August 1902 visit. You will learn more of these details over the weekend :)
95 The Lane
North Yarmouth, ME 04097
A UNIQUE PLACE WHERE HISTORY AND NATURE ARE JOINED FOR LEARNING AND RECREATION
"Skyline Farm is a fabulous example of how historic preservation, land preservation, and adaptive reuse can come together to create a wonderful community resource." - Hillary Bassett, the Executive Director of Greater Portland Landmarks
At Skyline Farm & Carriage Museum PWM
At Skyline Farm &
Carriage Museum PWM
At Skyline Farm & Carriage Museum PWM
Click Here to go to the Museum Store web page to order online
Paperback books are available at these local bookstores:
Androscoggin Historical Society, Lewiston
Cumberland Historical Society, Cumberland
Eliot Historical Society, Eliot
Gray Historical Society, Gray
Kennebec Historical Society, Augusta
Letterpress Books, Portland
Maine Historical Society Store, Portland
Morph Gallery & Emporium, Kennebunk
New Gloucester Historical Society, New Gloucester
Print: A Bookstore, Portland
Roosevelt Campobello International Park, Welshpool, NB, Canada
Seashore Trolley Museum, Kennebunkport
Sherman's Maine Coast Book Shops, All Locations
Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, Medora, ND
Thompson's Orchard, New Gloucester
Winthrop, Maine Historical Society, Winthrop
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We continue the restoration work on the 1912 Narcissus, the only surviving high-speed, luxury interurban coach of the Portland-Lewiston Interurban.
Click Here: Narcissus Restoration-Related Posts
More than a century old, the stately "Elegant Ride," Narcissus, is a gem. This shimmering precious stone of Maine transportation history is brilliantly resplendent as it emanates so many elements of history, including time, places, people, and events, that it was coupled to, that when just a smattering of its seemingly innumerable stories are shared, the contents first captivate, fascinate, then generate interest to learn more 🙋. The majestic Narcissus is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Please consider joining the epic journey to complete the Narcissus Project by donating today!
Click Here: Donation Options
The restoration of this majestic icon of Maine's electric railway history is but one in a series of captivating stories containing an abundance of incredible coalition narratives.
Click Here: History-Related Posts - Narcissus and Portland-Lewiston Interurban
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.
Click Here: Bookstores and Businesses promoting the Narcissus Project
Independent book publisher, Phil Morse, holding
Gold Book Award Winner plaque for
Middle Reader category for The Eric
Hoffer Book Award. Congratulations to
award-winning Maine author,
Jean M. Flahive
