On May 19, 2001, Seashore Trolley Museum volunteers, Edward (Ed) Dooks and Phil Morse visited
Rose A. (Goulet) Lange, at her Atria residence in Kennebunk, Maine. The purpose of the visit was to record oral history recollections from Rose from when she was growing up in Biddeford, Maine, early in the 20th century.
A Resource for Educators and Students
Maine Historical Society has created companion lesson plans inspired by Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride - These State-standard-based lesson plans are for classroom use in grades 6, 7, and 8. The lesson plans and companion vocabulary and reading activities are available as free downloads through the Seashore Trolley Museum's website at www.trolleymuseum.org/elegantride/ or Click Here.
The eight Social Studies/ELA units were also uploaded to the Maine Memory Network and are available with other statewide lesson plans for Grades K-12.
The audiobook is now available Click HERE to go to the Audible page. The eBook is available Here
This blog post was created specifically to support the new lesson plan titled:
* Then and Now: Life in Maine
Objectives:
* Students will practice the skills involved in analyzing primary sources.
* Students will be able to describe life on an early 20th-century Maine family farm and how life has changed in Maine since the early 1900s.
* Students will be able to describe the differences between attending school in the early 20th century and attending school today.
This post is to provide supplemental information and descriptions in support of research using the primary source from the collection of an oral history recording of Rose M. (Goulet) Lange in 2001 when she was 93 years old.
Here is an image the a map of the Biddeford and Saco Railroad.
Rose mentions the train station in Biddeford which is shown on the map.
Also, the other locations Rose mentions where the trolleys operated.
The 8 miles of track had a loop that started on Main Street at the corner of
Alfred Street traveled up Main Street and turn left on Elm
Street. Heading south on Elm Street to Five Points
and then left onto Alfred Street. North on Alfred to Main.
The tracks crossed the bridge and went up York Hill
to Maine Street, Saco then turned right onto Beach Street.
Travel under the railroad overpass and then pass the
trolley carbarn on the left and then turn left onto
Old Orchard Road and past the Biddeford & Saco
Golf club on the right on the way to Halfway
the intersection at Saco Avenue. Turn right onto
Saco Ave and head towards Old Orchard Beach.
It would cost a nickel to travel around the loop.
It would cost a nickel to travel from Maine Street
in Biddeford to Halfway. And it would cost a nickel
to travel from Halfway to Old Orchard Beach.
Map from the 1956 publication by O. R. Cummings,
"The Biddeford and Saco Railroad"
Edward Dooks and Phil Morse, volunteers from Seashore Trolley Kennebunkport, Maine, interviewed Rose M. (Goulet) Lange on May 19, 2001, while Mrs. Lange was living at the Atria Kennebunk facility at 1 Penny Lane in Kennebunk, Maine. Rose was born on January 13, 1908, in Biddeford, Maine, on Pearson Lane. She and her family later lived on PollStreet (Biddeford) near where the Westbrook skating rink was located. Her father, Joseph Goulet, was a Biddeford Police officer, beginning in 1916, and died early in the morning of Tuesday, June 15, 1920, when he was struck by an automobile after stepping off a trolley car on Main Street in Biddeford, by Atkinson Furniture.
During the interview with Rose, she recites many stories of what life was like in the Biddeford/Saco/OOb area when she was young and later when she was older. Rose began working in the mills in Biddeford when she was 14 years old.
Below is the recorded interview.
Interview conducted at Atria Kennebunk, 1 Penny Lane, Kennebunk, ME on May 19, 2001.
Rose's father was a Biddeford police officer and died early on Tuesday morning, June 15, 1920, when Rose was only 12 years old. Rose's story of the automobile that struck her father is different from what the local newspaper reported.
June 18, 1920, Biddeford Weekly Journal newspaper (thank you to McArthur Libray for having the newspaper available online) story of Rose's father being struck by an automobile. He would die shortly after at the Webber Hospital.
Old no. 10 at Halfway in Old Orchard Circa 1939.
O. R. Cummings Collection
O. R. Cummings Collection
A postcard showing several open trolley cars lined up in
Old Orchard Beach. PWM
Postcard of the pier at Old Orchard Beach. PWM
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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
Being 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 captivates, fascinates, then generates, 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 making a donation 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 of 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
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
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