O. R. Cummings on the cover of May-June 2013 "Dispatch"
Newsletter of the New England Electric Railway
Historical Society (the NEERHS). The NEERHS is
the 501c3 organization that owns and operates the Seashore Trolley
Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine and the
National Streetcar Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts.
This Narcissus blog has released nearly one hundred posts in the past two years and many of them have utilized information or materials from publications or photos from O. R. Cummings. O. R. passed away early in 2013. Over nearly twenty years, he was always willing to respond to my many requests for details on a particular electric vehicle or railway. He wrote letters of support for grant applications and was very happy to be able to ride on the 1906 electric locomotive, Atlantic Shore Line No. 100, during its ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the completion of its restoration in September 2009. O. R. so wanted to see the Narcissus completely restored to operating condition. I am very grateful to O. R. for his gifts of published works and the vast collection of electric railway materials he donated to the NEERHS Library. Thank you, O. R.
The May-June 2013 issue of the Dispatch included the obituary for O. R. Cummings:
Seashore's Historian Emeritus, Osmund Richard Cummings passed away on Tuesday, January 15, 2013, in Manchester, NH. The son of Orrin E. and Mary (Audley) J. Cummings, he was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts on May 15, 1923, and lived there and in nearby Manchester, NH the greater part of his life.
Known to almost no one as Osmund, too few as "Dick", and to most as simply "O.R.," O.R. Cummings was THE historian of electric railways in New England. O. R. was a longtime Seashore member, serving as Trustee, Chairman of the Board, Historian, and Historian Emeritus.
Seashore published a number of O.R.'s books, including Trolleys to York Beach and Atlantic Shore Trolleys, and others from Maine and other parts of northern New England. Like Ira Swett on the West Coast, O. R. was OUR High Priest of Electric Traction and justly proud of the more than 100 books and articles to which he attached his name. These remain his remarkable legacy. O. R.'s best-known works were his five-volume series on the Massachusetts Northeastern Street Railway and a six-volume compendium, Streetcars of Boston.
O. R. was a 1940 graduate of Amesbury High School, attended Bates College for two years, and was graduated from the Bentley School of Accounting and Finance, now Bentley College, in 1948.
Cummings served in the U. S. Coast Guard for three years during World War II and in the U. S. Navy for nearly a year during the Korean Conflict.
He worked in the newspaper business for many years, starting with the Newburyport Daily News as a reporter from 1948-1956. At this, he joined the newsroom staff of the Manchester Union Leader. He was a copy editor when he retired in January 1987.
O. R. also belonged to the 470 Railroad Club of Portland, Maine; Mass. Bay Division, Railroad Enthusiasts; the Boston & Maine Historical Society, Central Electric Railfans Association; the Shore Line Interurban Historical Society; the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum; the Manchester Historic Association; and the Boston Street Railway Association for which he authored two books and a number of articles.
Cummings was one of the last of the real "old-timers," who remembered and rode some of the iconic New England trolley systems including Eastern Mass., Boston Elevated, Portland-Lewiston Interurban, and Androscoggin & Kennebec. As such, he could write as an eyewitness, something very few can now claim. His recollection of traction history was legendary and talking with him about his many adventures was an extraordinary experience and a real treat.
A high point of his life came near the end, in November 2012, when he went on an Honor Flight New England-sponsored trip with 24 other veterans to tour the World War II Memorial, the Iwo Jima Monument, the Air Force, and Navy monuments, and other Washington, D. C. sites.
The Society was privileged to have had O. R. as an active member for so many years and we will sorely miss him. His nearest relatives are three first cousins, and to them, we offer our most sincere and deepest condolences.
________________________
Two stalwarts of the Seashore Trolley Museum for decades, Lester H.
Stephenson, Jr. (L) and O. R. Cummings (seated) enjoying a moment in the
Connecticut Car Company No. 1160 in 2009.
PWM photo
Patricia Pierce Erikson (L) with O.R. Cummings during the ribbon-cutting
ceremony of the newly restored, 1906 Atlantic Shore Line electric
locomotive No. 100, at Seashore Trolley Museum in September 2009.
PPE photo
O.R. Cummings being assisted into the cab of ASL-100 prior to its inaugural
mainline trip during the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the newly restored,
1906 Atlantic Shore Line electric locomotive No. 100.
PPE photo at Seashore Trolley Museum in September 2009.
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!
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
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
* 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
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
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