Narcissus 1912 Renovation Project: April 2016

Saturday, April 30, 2016

Narcissus Restoration Update - Mahogany Sash Passenger Windows - 4-29-2016

One of two of the first completely restored original mahogany sash

passenger windows from the 1912 Narcissus. The original brass components

were placed in position, for this photo, and are not yet secured.

This beautiful restoration/repair/rebuild work on the mahogany sash windows

is being done by Seashore Trolley Museum member/volunteer

Jim MacKell. 4-25-2016 PWM

Click Here - to see more on the Beautiful Brass of the Narcissus

The historic 1912 Portland-Lewiston Interurban No. 14, Narcissus, entered the Town House Restoration Shop of the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine on May 20, 1015.

Upon entering the shop, the materials contained within the Narcissus were identified, assessed, inventoried, and in some cases, removed and stored for work at a later time. The Narcissus resides on tracks in the unheated portion of the shop. So, during the coldest months of the winter, smaller items that need restoration may receive the necessary attention either in the heated portion of the shop or in some cases, at a volunteer's home or at a contractor's place of business.

This Narcissus Project Blog post pertains to the mahogany sash and glass of the twenty-six passenger windows. Eighteen originals have survived in various conditions of disrepair. Restoration/repair/rebuilding began during the winter months (2015-16) at the woodworking shop at the home of Museum volunteer Jim MacKell.

Jim MacKell holding an original Narcissus passenger window sash with the

Narcissus Car No 14 and window opening number 25 are embedded. One

can determine which window opening by standing inside the Narcissus, and

while looking forward, towards the No. one end, start with the first window

opening on the front, on the right-hand side, and count the window opening.

Numbers #1 through # 13 are on the right from the No. 1 end to the No. 2 end.

Opening #14 is the first window opening on the left side at the No. 2 end.

So, with that system in mind, the above sash and mahogany window # 25

is next to # 26. They are the pair of windows at the smoking compartment

on the left side of the Narcissus, as you look towards the No. 1 end.

See the image below 4-25-2016 PWM

Here is an image of Narcissus taken from an advertisement. The first pair of

passenger windows seen on the left are #26 and #25. The ad is for

promoting the new patented trolley "shoe" to replace the traditional trolley

wheel that would conduct the electricity from the overhead wire to power

the various electric railways' vehicles. STM image.

One of the eighteen original mahogany sash windows from the Narcissus

while being assessed in 9-7-2015. Each of the surviving windows and sash

was in various stages of disrepair. Some of the lower horizontal "rails" will

not be salvageable. Some of the rails and stiles will have new mahogany

repairs spliced and blended with the original.

9-7-2015 PWM

Narcissus mahogany passenger window stile

in need of repair. 4-25-2016 PWM

The video below is the first in this post with Seashore Trolley Museum member/volunteer Jim MacKell explaining the steps he has taken as he restores/repairs/rebuilds the mahogany sash and windows for the Narcissus.

The video below is the second in this post with Seashore Trolley Museum member/volunteer Jim MacKell explaining the steps he has taken as he restores/repairs/rebuilds the mahogany sash and windows for the Narcissus.

Phil Morse holding a new mahogany window stile for Narcissus with the

radius curve cut clearly visible. 4-25-2016 PWM

Jim MacKell holding a restored Narcissus passenger sash showing the

radius curve and the two routers in the background to cut the

male-female curves. 4-25-2016 PWM

New mahogany rails and stiles will become one of the handful of

passenger windows that will replace missing windows in the Narcissus.

4-25-2016 PWM

The video below is the third in this post with Seashore Trolley Museum member/volunteer Jim MacKell explaining the steps he has taken as he restores/repairs/rebuilds the mahogany sash and windows for the Narcissus.

Jim MacKell inserts a brass screw to secure glazing to newly restored

Narcissus passenger sash window. 4-25-2016 PWM

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

Letterpress Books, Portland

Maine Historical Society Store, Portland

Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad, Portland

Morph Gallery & Emporium, Kennebunk

New Gloucester Historical Society, New Gloucester

Nonesuch Books and More, South Portland

Seashore Trolley Museum, Kennebunkport

Sherman's Maine Coast Book Shops, All Locations

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

Museum in Lowell (MA).

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

* Scarborough Historical Society - PRR/PLI

* LogMein - Matching Employee Donation

* IBM - Matching Employee/Retiree Donations

* Fidelity Charitable Grant - Matching Employee Donations

* Richard E. Erwin Grant - 2017/2016

* Seal Cove Auto Museum

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.

Friday, April 29, 2016

Theodore Roosevelt Maine Conservation Award Ceremony - Maine Woods Forever 4-15-2016

Breaux Higgins (R) accepts the Theodore Roosevelt Maine Conservation
Award from John Rust (L) of Maine Woods Forever.
Image courtesy of MWF

Maine Woods Forever announces winners of the 2016

"Teddy Roosevelt Maine Conservation Award"

For more information"

John Rust, chairman, Teddy Roosevelt Maine Conservation Award Committee

207-337-5858

Unity, Maine - Maine Woods Forever is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2016 "Teddy Roosevelt Maine Conservation Award" - a youth-oriented award created to recognize young people and youth groups whose efforts are in the spirit of Roosevelt's conservation ethic and achievements. The award recognizes what Maine's youth are doing to appreciate and conserve our forest heritage. It also encourages them to become future conservation leaders.

The 2016 awards were announced on April 15, 2016, at Maine Woods Forever's 33rd Roundtable event, held at Unity College's Center for the Performing Arts.

"The Teddy Roosevelt Maine Conservation Award honors today's young people and the legacy of America's most celebrated conservationist, President Theodore Roosevelt," notes John Rust, chairman of the award committee. "Many credit his rugged sojourns in Maine during the late 1800s with shaping his determination to conserve our natural world.

This year's awardees have clearly lived up to this ethic."

Awards were presented to:

1) Breaux Higgins, an Eagle Scout from Bar Harbor, was presented an award for an individual youth who has shown outstanding dedication, leadership, and strong and steady growth in exhibiting Maine's conservation ethic. One of is notable projects was to restore Bates Cairns at Acadia National Park and increase the public's awareness of their use and significance.

Bates Cairns are stone trail markers. They suffer from significant chronic vandalism because hikers may not fully understand their meaning. Park visitors (2.5 million in 2015-PWM) add or remove rocks from the cairns, build new ones pointing in different directions and even destroy them completely. This behavior is a safety issue because it leads hikers astray, a natural resource issue because rocks are taken from the already thin mountain soil, and an aesthetic issue as these man-made objects clutter the beautiful natural landscape.

Breaux partnered with the US National Park Service staff at Acadia for his Eagle Scout Service Project to offer a multidimensional service project to optimize the promotion of preservation and safety. Breaux developed a program to educate the public by raising awareness of the meaning of the Bates Cairns in Acadia and combined the simple message of the cairns with principles of Leave No Trace outdoor ethics. His message reached a substantial number of visitors and, more importantly, created a program that can be sustained by Park and volunteer staff.

Massabesic Middle School's 7th Grade Aroostook Team

accepts the Teddy Roosevelt Maine Conservation Award (front:

7th Team members Andrew Lawpaugh, Brenna Ramsdell;

back: John Rust of Maine Woods Forever. 7th-grade science

teacher, Patrick Parent).

Image courtesy of MWF

2) The Massabesic Middle School's 7th grade Aroostook Team was presented an award for outstanding achievement by a youth organization to recognize their many collaborations as citizen scientists to study and then educate the public about many environmental conditions concerning Maine's forests. These have included:

* The 2nd Annual Invasive Species Forum which reached over 100 community members and hundreds more of their peers;

* Collaborating with the Vital Signs Program as well as state entomologists and Forest Service employees to present their work;

* Contributing to Maine Project Learning Tree's biannual newsletter which reached over 1,200 educators and natural resource professionals throughout the State;

* Participating in Invasive Plant Patrol training and certification with Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program;

* Assisting the York County Soil and Water Conservation District with a survey of the state-endangered New England Cottontail;

* Surveying their hometowns for forest pests such as red pine scale (Matsucoccus Matsumura), hemlock wooly adelgid (Adelges Tsugae), and winter moth (Operophtera spp).

The award was accepted by 7th grade Aroostook Team students, Brenna Ramsdell, and Andrew Lawpaugh, both of Limerick, and their 7th-grade science teacher, Patrick Parent.

"Each year this group of about eighty 7th graders impact and influence others because they experience their natural world, its complexities, and its importance," said Pat Maloney, Coordinator of Maine Project Learning Tree. "They communicate their passions, their knowledge, and their appreciation of the Maine woods as a natural system in need of human understanding."

"The Aroostook Team's work will have lasting impacts beyond their graduation. The influence these students have had on the Vital Signs community of scientists, managers, educators, and fellow students is a testament to their dedication to Maine's forests." - Team Vital Signs (Christine Voyer, Molly Auclair, and Caroline Casals), Gulf of Maine Research Institute, Portland, Maine.

John Rust (L) of Maine Woods Forever, presenting the Theodore Roosevelt

Maine Conservation Award to the Rangeley Region Guides & Sportsmen's

Association represented by Sam Spaulding (R). Image courtesy of MWF

3) The Rangeley Region Guides & Sportsmen's Association was presented an award for outstanding achievement by a youth organization to recognize their Junior Guides Program which offers children ages 9 through 12, as well as graduate Junior Counselors (ages 13-18) an exceptional outdoor skills education and experience. Sam Spaulding accepted the award on behalf of the Rangeley Region Guides & Sportsmen's Association.

"This program has done an excellent job of educating, preserving, and protecting the future of our natural resources while sharing the rich outdoor traditions and history of the region," said Bill Pierce, Executive Director of the Outdoor Sporting Heritage Museum in Rangeley. "The program has had alumni return every year as Junior Counselors who volunteer and help indoctrinate new Jr. Guides. In a word....it has created LEADERS."

Pierce adds. "The children of Rangeley community, often from single-parent or overly-busy families that may not have otherwise had these experiences, have benefitted greatly. Parents have witnessed its lasting rewards highlighted in the sun-kissed faces and rousing stories of their now empowered and confident children."

Congratulations to all.

Maine Woods Forever

Maine Woods Forever is a nonprofit organization dedicated to celebrating and protecting the legacy of Maine's forests and woodlands. Maine Woods Forever was founded in 2004 to foster collaboration between the many people and organizations devoted to conserving our forests and woodlands for today and future generations. for further information, please visit:

www.mainewoodsforever.org and www.thoreauwabanaki.org

Additional Background About the "Teddy Roosevelt Conservation Award"

Award Criteria

The Teddy Roosevelt Maine Conservation Award is given to youths or youth organizations who demonstrate a commitment to Maine's forests and woodlands, and those accomplishments may include:

* Effectively working alone or with others in educating others on the importance of conserving Maine's forests and woodlands, large and small

* Outstanding contributions toward conserving Maine's forests and woodlands

* Leadership in local, regional, or statewide projects that increases awareness by the public at large of a significant issue relating to Maine's forests and woodlands

* Educating and increasing public awareness of the heritage of the Maine Woods.

* Improving the quality of life in Maine woods-dependent communities

* Fostering an increased appreciation of Maine woods resources

* Fostering stewardship of private forestland

* Fostering or supporting a conservation organization or foundation seeking to conserve large tracts of land and the indigenous wildlife

* Forming or fostering alliances between conservation organizations

* Making improvements in the quality of conservation and/or conservation education

Special attention is paid to unsung nominees who have achieved success not otherwise recognized. Weight is given to leadership qualities demonstrated by inspiring others to participate in or influence conservation and education practices.

Qualifications for the Award:

* Must involve activities within Maine

* Must be age 10 through High School (applicants older than 18 are acceptable if still attending High School) or youth organizations whose conservation projects primarily involve youths of these ages.

###

From the Narcissus 1912 Renovation Project Blogger - Phil Morse

I have attended each of the past two Maine Woods Forever Roundtable gatherings at Unity College in Unity, Maine. I have thoroughly enjoyed the setting of the meetings, the guest speakers, the opportunity to meet representatives of the various organizations in attendance, and the opportunity to make new friends. As a member of two nonprofit organizations that have direct connections to Theodore Roosevelt; the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine with its historic 1912 Portland-Lewiston Interurban No. 14, Narcissus, the luxurious high-speed interurban in which, Theodore Roosevelt was a passenger between Lewiston, ME, and Portland, ME on August 18, 1914, and also the New England Chapter of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (Oyster Bay, NY), I'm delighted with the Maine Woods Forever's annual presentation of their Theodore Roosevelt Maine Conservation Award.

The Narcissus 1912 Renovation Blog was started a year ago with the intent to share information relating to Theodore Roosevelt and his connections in Maine, his connection to the Narcissus, the restoration of the National Register of Historic Places, Narcissus, and its relationship to Maine's railway history.

Here are links you may find of interest:

Click Here - Theodore Roosevelt First Visited Maine as Young Teenager

Click Here - Theodore Roosevelt International Highway - Portland, Maine to Portland, Oregon

Click Here - Theodore Roosevelt's Bible Point in Island Falls, Maine

Click Here - Theodore Roosevelt Grieved in Dark Harbor, Maine

Click Here - Theodore Roosevelt Association and the Narcissus

Click Here - Theodore Roosevelt Artifacts in Maine - at Trolley Museum 8-5 through 8-7, 2016

Click Here - Great, great, great-granddaughter of Narcissus owner visits Trolley Museum

Click Here - Troy R. Bennett's Musical adaptation: ode' to The Grand Old Interurban

Click Here - Oral History - Clyde Walker Pierce, Jr reminisces his days during the trolleys of Maine

Click Here - Ninety Communities in Maine had Electric Railway Service - 57 Million Riders 1915

If you have any questions concerning the Narcissus Project and the Theodore Roosevelt connections in Maine, please contact me, Phil Morse, at p.morse31@gmail.com or call 207-985-9723 - cell.

Click Here - for the Narcissus Project Blog

Narcissus with several of the original ornate leaded stained glass windows

in place temporarily and back-lit for the Teddy Roosevelt Days

fundraising event at Seashore Trolley Museum, August 2015.

Patricia Pierce Erikson image

Narcissus interior - August 2015