2021 - New Exhibit in Morrison Hill Station

Reece Saunders was the graphics art designer for the new 2021

exhibit panel in 1915 Morrison Hill Station at Seashore Trolley

Museum. Reece, a Thornton Academy class of 2017 alum, 

graduated this month (May 2021) from the University of

Southern Maine, where he was a Technology Management

major with a minor in Digital Design. PWM image.

     A new exhibit was installed in the 1915 Portland-Lewiston Interurban Station from West Cumberland, Maine. The Morrison Hill Station has been at the Seashore Trolley Museum for more than 25 years. It was donated to the Museum by Dick Budd, owner of Budd's Gulf in West Cumberland. The PLI waiting station had been deteriorating in the backyard of the Gulf station for many years. Once at Seashore, the historic and only known surviving waiting station from the PLI was restored and placed on the opposite side of the mainline tracks as a crossing at Riverside Carhouse. 

In 1992, when the Morrison Hill Station first

arrived at Seashore Trolley Museum. 

Image from the 1992 NEERHS annual report

Click Here: for the post on Morrison Hill station arriving at the Seashore Trolley Museum

Newly refurbished and installed before the opening

day of public operations. The Morrison Hill Station sign in place was a happy sight to behold.

Jim Mackell image

April 2021 image of Morrison Hill Station, the day the new

exhibit panel was installed, but before the

installation of the Morrison Hill sign.  PWM image

The new exhibit panel, before the installation of the other

exhibit materials. The panel provides a plethora of

information that visitors may peruse. In general, the

multi-award-winning historical fiction novel Teddy Roosevelt,

Millie, and the Elegant Ride, by Maine author Jean Flahive,

featuring 1912 Narcissus as the "Elegant Ride." Images

and descriptions on the right provide historical content on the

Portland-Lewiston Interurban, the Narcissus, and directs

visitors to visit the Museum gift shop. 

The exhibit includes a vintage

field phone similar to the one in the Narcissus that would be

used to contact the dispatcher

during an emergency. PWM

There are exhibit materials to

the left of the large panel. PWM

There are exhibit materials on the

right of the large panel. PWM

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Click Here: For the list of links to Theodore Roosevelt Maine Heritage Trail Posts in Easy Order to View

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

Historical Novel Society Magazine Book Review

Award-winning historical fiction novel, Teddy Roosevelt, Millie,

and the Elegant Ride, by Maine author Jean Flahive, features the Narcissus as the "Elegant Ride." The original 1912 Narcissus

of the renowned Portland-Lewiston Interurban

is currently under restoration at the Seashore Trolley Museum in

Kennebunkport, Maine.

Click here to visit the Historical Novel Society Magazine review in the May 2021 issue.

To learn more about the Historical Novel Society Magazine, visit

www.historicalnovelsociety.org

"Jean Flahive's Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride, intricately furnished, with insight into Presidential elections, the sufftage movements, the U.S. entry into Work War I, the Spanish Flu pandemic, and even the Camp Fire Girls organization. A perfect match for teachers and libraians searching for identifiable characters in teaching history. Middle-grade students and adults alike will enjoy the interview format as 96-year-old Millie shares young Millie's captivating account of this event-filled decade in American history. Buy a ticket and enjoy an "elegant ride" with "Mr. Teddy" and Millie on the "Narcissus!" By Reviewer: Dorothy Morgan Schwab - Historical Novel Society - May 2021

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

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Click Here: For the list of links to Theodore Roosevelt Maine Heritage Trail Posts in Easy Order to View

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

PLI Zoom Presentation Leads to PLI Inter-Urban Hard Cider

Thank yous to Beth and Mark at Vic and Whits on Main Street,

Saco, for locating a few cases of Inter-Urban hard cider.

The refreshingly tasty hard cider was first produced in 2020 by

Norumbega Cidery in New Gloucester, Maine. The cans of hard

cider have a background map of a portion of New Gloucester and

a brief history of the Portland-Lewiston Interurban Railroad.

      On Wednesday, February 17, at 4 pm, this blogger, Phil Morse, joined award-winning Maine author, Jean Flahive, as the guest presenter for the University of Southern Maine's Senior College Zoom program, Food for Thought, through their Lewiston-Auburn site. 

     Seventy pre-registered to attend the Zoom program that would have Lewiston-Auburn Senior College host, Judy Hierstein, first introduce Jean to speak on how it came about that she became the author of the multi-award-winning young adult historical fiction novel, Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride. Jean would then spend a few minutes discussing the main historical events that the novel presents, with the Portland-Lewiston Interurban and its fleet of high-speed, luxury electric interurban trolley coaches as a common thread throughout Jean's heartfelt story.

Award-winning Maine author, Jean Flahive, and Seashore

Trolley Museum member Phil Morse was the guest

presenters during the Lewiston Auburn Senior College

Zoom at 4 pm EST on Wednesday, February 17.

     Phil was introduced to the fifty Zoom guests who signed in to join the presentation. Phil is a thirty-year member at Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine, and is the volunteer project sponsor overseeing the restoration of the National Register of Historic Places member, 1912, Portland-Lewiston Interurban coach No. 14, Narcissus. Phil provided the narration for a slide presentation on the history of the renowned Portland-Lewiston Interurban (1910-1933) and on the current restoration of the only surviving coach from the high-speed electric interurban system, the Narcissus.

The Narcissus IS the "Elegant Ride" featured in Jean Flahive's award-winning young adult historical fiction novel, Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride.

Click here to go to the link to watch the recorded Zoom Presentation of the PLI

     The Zoom presentation was recorded. Within a few hours after the presentation concluded, the link to the Zoom presentation was released.  I received an email during the evening, a few nights later, from Tom Blake. Tom is the curator for the New Gloucester Historical Society. Tom and his wife, Shelley, and many in the extended Blake family, and others at the Historical Society, have been very supportive of the Narcissus project for many years. Tom's email spoke to him and Shelley, having received the link to the Zoom presentation. Tom mentioned that the two of them enjoyed watching the presentation while enjoying one of their favorite local adult refreshments. Tom attached a photo of a can of the refreshment. The image was of a can of Inter-Urban Hard Cider by Norumbega Cidery in New Gloucester, Maine.

The Inter-Urban hard cider made in New Gloucester,

Maine at the Norumbega Cidery.

     My first reaction to seeing the name, Inter-Urban, was one of puzzlement. I had not heard of this Inter-Urban hard cider. Then I read the text on one side of the can.

The cans have a brief history of the

Portland-Lewiston Interurban Railroad.

      As I read the brief history of the Portland-Lewiston Interurban, the historic electric interurban that the Narcissus operated on from 1914 until its closure in 1933, I became energized to learn more about the cidery in New Gloucester and how this blend and its naming came to be. In his email, Tom had suggested that perhaps the Inter-Urban hard cider could become the "official" hard cider for the Narcissus:) I replied to Tom and asked him to introduce me through email to the owner of the Norumbega Cidery.

The cans of Inter-Urban hard cider have a background map

of a portion of New Gloucester.

     Tom was able to connect me to the owner of the Norumbega Cidery, Noah Fralich. Noah grew up in New Gloucester and became familiar with the Portland-Lewiston Interurban, and over the years, has explored sections of the right-of-way that remain today. 

The refreshing, tasty hard cider was first

produced in 2020 by Norumbega Cidery in

New Gloucester, Maine. This iced mug filled

with Inter-Urban hard cider was my very first

taste of a hard cider of any blend. And indeed, it

is a tasty, refreshing beverage. I thoroughly

enjoyed it!

     Noah explained that he had wanted to try a blend of cider and spruce and that he chose the name based on the Portland-Lewiston Interurban, its right-of-way being a local landmark, and his fond memories of spending time over the years investigating and utilizing the right-of-way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Click Here: For the list of links to Theodore Roosevelt Maine Heritage Trail Posts in Easy Order to View

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 first 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

Gold Book Award Winner plaque for

 Middle Reader category for The Eric

Hoffer Book Award. Congratulations to

award-winning Maine author,

Jean M. Flahive

Narcissus Seat Patterns - First Castings

Many of the castings are for seat components to build the first

reversible seat for the Narcissus. PWM

     Ernie Eaton is the Restoration Project Manager for the Narcissus in the Restoration Shop at Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport (ME). On Friday, February 26 (2021), Ernie picked up the first set of seat castings for the reversible seats that will be installed in the Narcissus. Working with Ernie, the staff at Enterprise Foundry in Lewiston (ME) first made the patterns for the metal seat components to be cast from. The Enterprise castings shown above will next require some further machining, and for those components that need holes drilled, that process will follow.

     Only one set of seat castings is done initially. Basically, as a test set. This set will be used to assemble a working seat, where it is easy to maneuver, a working reversible seat. Any and every adjustment or modification that is made to any component is identified, and specifications are identified and recorded. Then, once the assembled seat is working well and properly, the foundry will be notified of any adjustments needed to any and all cast seat components. The foundry will then make the necessary modifications needed, if any, and once done, they will receive the approval to move forward and process all of the seat casting sets of components for the remaining nineteen seats for the Narcissus.

     The original blog post describing the process of identifying the proper seats and manufacturer, and the components needed to reproduce the 20 seats, was in the post titled, Perhaps you should have a seat first.

The reversible seats in the Narcissus were identified.

Click Here to see the post with a 35-second virtual 3-D video rendering of Narcissus 

The patterns of the two halves that were made to cast the seat base are both below.

                                       

           

Below is the new casting of the first seat base cast from the two pattern halves.

Other patterns and castings

                                       

                

                  

                                     

                                

                             

                  

                                                                

Interior of 1912, Laconia Car Company-built, Portland-Lewiston Interurban,

No. 10, Arbutus. Laconia built cars nos. 10, 12, 14, and 16. This is the

same interior as the Narcissus. Wason built Nos.

18, 20, and 22. There are a few minor differences between the Laconia-built

interurbans and the Wason-built interurbans. The position of the seat handles on

the seat-back, and the shape of the handles are two of the slight differences

that help to identify which manufacturer built a particular car. This image has

the viewer peering down the aisle towards the number one end of the Arbutus.

We know this because the walls, on either side of the doorway, have no windows,

so the doorway will lead the passengers to the smoking compartment, which is

located at the number one end of the interurbans.

Image from Seashore Trolley Museum 

First casting of one of the seat handles. PWM

One of the items that is included in this group of castings

is one to replace the item seen in the image above. PWM

Here is one unbroken original that was used as the template to

make the casting. PWM

The new casting. PWM

Another view of the new casting. PWM

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Click Here: For the list of links to Theodore Roosevelt Maine Heritage Trail Posts in Easy Order to View

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 first 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

Gold Book Award Winner plaque for

 Middle Reader category for The Eric

Hoffer Book Award. Congratulations to

award-winning Maine author,

Jean M. Flahive

Rosemary E. Davis (1924- 2011 ) Oral History May 2001

Rosemary E. Davis (1924-2011) during an oral history

recording session at Atria Senior Living in Kennebunk,

ME on March 20, 2001.

On March 20, 2001, Seashore Trolley Museum volunteers, Edward (Ed) Dooks and Phil Morse visited

Rosemary E. Davis, at her Atria residence in Kennebunk, Maine. The purpose of the visit was to record oral history recollections from Rosemary from when she was growing up in Biddeford, Maine, early in the 20th century.  Here are portions of the transcript from the recording that were transcribed by Susan Blaisdell.

A resource for teachers 

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, images, and descriptions in support of research using the primary source from the collection of an oral history recording of Rosemary E. Davis in 2001 when she was 77 years old.

Transcript segments from (the) March 20, 2001 interview recorded at Atria Senior Living in Kennebunk, ME:

Rosemary Davis: My name is Rosemary E. Davis, and I was born on March 6, 1924. 
I was born on Pool Road, Biddeford, that’s just beyond where the Westbrook Skating Rink
used to be.

Phil Morse:  So, you had some experience riding in trolley cars?

Rosemary Davis: Oh, yes.  We had to walk a mile to town and then we’d take the trolley
car to Old Orchard and ride around the loop - up around...up Elm Street and around Five
Points and down Alfred Street...and get off at Pool Street and walk home.

The "Loop" Rosemary mentions is seen here on the

map of the Biddeford and Saco Railroad.  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"

Phil Morse:  Now, why would you ride the trolley?

Rosemary Davis: Well, if we were going to Old Orchard we would get on the trolley car.

A postcard showing several open trolley cars lined up in

Old Orchard Beach. PWM

[1:33]

Phil Morse:  What was there in Old Orchard that was such an attraction for you?

Rosemary Davis: Oh, the merry-go-round, the pier, everything in Old Orchard.

Postcard of the pier at Old Orchard Beach. PWM

Phil Morse  Well, for some folks, of course, they hear Old Orchard, but they don’t know
what was at Old Orchard, so maybe you can just tell a story… I mean to walk a mile to
catch a trolley to go to Old Orchard?

Rosemary: Oh, we walked a mile to do anything that was uptown!  Just to go shopping
or the grocery store, or anything like that.

[1:54]

Phil Morse:  So, for you to spend, probably from Biddeford to Old Orchard, a nickel.
How much time would you spend in Old Orchard?

Rosemary Davis: We’d have an hour or so before the trolley car came back, and then
we’d get on and ride back home again.

[2:12]

Phil Morse:  So, what would you do during that hour or so?

Rosemary Davis: Oh, walk out on the pier and look out at the different things and go
on the merry-go-round - not the roller coaster though.  I never liked the roller coaster. 

Biddeford and Saco Railroad purchased several cars from

the Portland Railroad in the mid-1930s. Open car no. 246

was a former Portland Railroad car, seen here in Old

Orchard Beach. O.R. Cummings Collection

[2:26]

Phil Morse: The merry-go-round.  What was the merry-go-round like?

Rosemary Davis: Well, the horses went up and down, up and down.  Oh yeah, that’s right,
I forgot, they used to put the little rings and have the rings come down, and if you caught
one, then you could ride free the next time.

[3:30]

Phil Morse:  Was it an open car trolley or a closed one?

Rosemary Davis: They had open ones and closed ones.

[4:03]

Phil Morse:  We are building these educational stories, hearing from people who actually rode trolleys, and kind of the life and times of that era and what people did.  Today, just think of people on Pool Street in Biddeford and you said you probably had to walk a mile to town to catch a trolley to go to Old Orchard Beach.  Somebody growing up in the last 30 or 40 years would go “Why would they do that?”  So that’s what we’re trying to capture.

Rosemary Davis: Well, I used to walk a mile to go to school.. up to the Washington Street School and I used to go home at lunchtime and back again!  We had an hour and a half for lunch, and I used to walk home and back again at lunchtime.

[4:49]

Phil Morse  So, now tell us the story about how you used to go to Old Orchard Beach.

Rosemary Davis: Sigh, I can’t remember…

[5:01]

Phil Morse:  Well, would you go by yourself or would you be with your brothers and sisters?

Rosemary Davis: Oh, my sisters and I used to go.  I had six sisters, and three or four of us would go at a time together.  We would go down there and go on the different things.  Not too many things because we didn’t have that much money to spend always, but you could go on the merry-go-round for a nickel then.  

[5:36]

Ed Dooks:  What else did you do while in Old Orchard?

Rosemary Davis: Oh, we’d walk out on the pier and get an ice cream cone.

Ed Dooks:  Did you ever go swimming?

Rosemary Davis: I didn’t, no.  If we wanted to go swimming, we went to Fortunes Rocks, down our way. 
Fortunes Rocks Beach.

[5:51]

Ed Dooks:  Did you walk to that also?

Rosemary Davis: Oh no.  No, that was almost 10 miles down to Fortunes Rocks.

Ed Dooks:  How did you get there?

Rosemary Davis: Well, we had a car.  We’d get down there once in a while.
 
[6:09]

Ed Dooks:  We’re interested in stories about trolley cars.  What kind of stories can you tell us about trolley cars and adventures you may have had?  Even if you’re repeating something you may have already said.

Phil Morse:  You had an uncle (who) was an operator?

Rosemary Davis: Yes, and he used to take us…

[6:26]

Phil Morse:  Tell us about that.  What’s your uncle’s name?

Rosemary Davis: My uncle’s name was Franklin Spofford.  He has a granddaughter (who) works here too.

Ed Dooks:  How would you spell his last name?

Rosemary Davis: S P O F F O R D

[6:44]

Ed Dooks:  And what did he do on the.. did he work for the Biddeford & Saco Railroad?

Rosemary Davis: He ran the trolley cars between Biddeford, Saco, and Old Orchard, and if he’d see us uptown he’d say “Come on, get on” and we’d get on and he’d put his hand over the thing.  So, we used to get on and he’d ride us around and let us off at our street again.  So, we had a good ride for nothing!  Perhaps I shouldn’t tell that story.

[7:23]

Ed Dooks:  I don’t think he has to worry about it now.

Rosemary Davis: Not now.

[7:26]

Ed Dooks: So, where would you meet him?  When you rode around, where would you go?

Rosemary Davis: Usually we were on Main Street in Biddeford when he’d see us, and he’d go down through Saco and Old Orchard and then come back the Old Orchard Road and on to Route One and then go Route One up to Five Points and back around Alfred Street and then leave us off at Pool Street and we’d go home.

Postcard of Main Street, Biddeford, with an open car.

[8:01]

Ed Dooks:  How long would that trip take you?

Rosemary Davis: Oh, a good half-hour anyway, or longer.

[8:13]

Ed Dooks:  What did he have to do…  As you went with him on this trip, what would he be doing with the car, or what would you observe him doing with the car, interacting with passengers, and so forth?

Rosemary Davis: I don’t remember…

[ 8:38]

Ed Dooks:  You’d stay...on the car the entire time with him, would you not?

Rosemary Davis: All the way around, yes.  Of course, they were on (the) tracks.  Those cars were on (the) tracks.  Trolley tracks.

[8:52]

Phil Morse:  Now when he got up to Old Orchard, did he turn the car around, or did he drive it somewhere to turn it around?

Rosemary Davis: No.  I think he’d go to Old Orchard, and it seems to me, they went over and they came back up the Old Orchard Road onto Route One.

[9:13]

Phil Morse:  At the end of the tracks in Old Orchard, right by the railroad tracks, isn’t that where it would stop?  The trolley would stop right by the railroad tracks.

Rosemary Davis: Yes, I think they did.

[9:24]  

Phil Morse:  And, that was a dead-end for the trolleys.  And yet, they drove in one way and then they came out the other way, so how did they do that?

Rosemary Davis: Seems like somehow or other the thing did turn around, but I don’t remember how.

[9:40]

Phil Morse:  Now, your uncle, he operated, did he also collect the money from the folks...or was there another, like a conductor on the car as well?

Rosemary Davis: No, there was a machine that you put your money into when you got on.

[9:54]

Ed Dooks:  So, he had one of the closed cars.  He didn’t have an open car?

Rosemary Davis: He sometimes had the open ones, and sometimes he was on the closed ones.

[10:02] 

Ed Dooks  Did he like one better than the other?

Rosemary Davis: I don’t know.  I liked the open one better myself.

Ed Dooks:  Why?

Rosemary Davis: Oh, I don’t know... it was just kind of breezy and you didn’t feel closed in at all.  I liked those.

Kelley's turnout on Old Orchard Road, Saco, was a regular
meeting point for Biddeford-Old Orchard trips. Circa 1935

[10:15]

Ed Dooks:  When would you ride them?

Rosemary Davis: In the summertime.

[10:20]

Phil Morse:  Did you ever go out to Old Orchard for the fireworks, when they had fireworks out there?  Go out by trolley and watch the fireworks, and then come home by a trolley?

Rosemary Davis: No, we didn’t need to because our house on Pool Street was almost in a straight line with Old Orchard and we could watch the fireworks from our upstairs windows.

[10:44]  

Ed Dooks:  Apparently everybody in Saco did that!

Rosemary Davis: We lived in Biddeford.  We could see them probably better than they did when they were down in Old Orchard.  It was just a short way.  See, we lived on the river, the Saco River, and it was just down this way and Old Orchard was right there.  We weren’t too far from Old Orchard but if you were going to go there, you had to go uptown and around and down to get across the bridge.

[11:13]

Phil Morse:  Did you ever visit any family members by a trolley?  Walk into town and catch a trolley to go visit any aunts...or uncles, or grandparents?

Rosemary Davis: No.

[11:20]

Phil Morse:  Did you ever have any family come to visit you from out of town or out of state that came by a trolley?

Rosemary Davis: No.  My relatives, most of them, lived in Goodwin’s Mills.  The trolley didn’t go there.  

[11:34]

Ed Dooks:  Did you ever use the trolley to go down to, say, like York Beach or another…

Rosemary Davis: No.

Ed Dooks:  So, you just stayed around the Biddeford and Saco area?

Rosemary Davis: And Old Orchard…

[11:46]

Phil Morse:  You might come around down Alfred Street and then, well actually down Elm Street, and then come down Main Street, right by City Hall.  The Atlantic Shoreline used to come...the trolley tracks used to come...in right by the City Hall and met up with the Biddeford-Saco.  Did you ever see a streetcar by City Hall that wasn’t on the Biddeford-Saco line but came in by the side of City Hall?

Postcard of the city hall on the corner of Main and Adams Street.

The trolley car on the left is on Admas Street and is a trolley car

from the Atlantic Shore Railway. Passengers would use these

trolleys to travel south from Biddeford to Kennebunkport,

Kennebunk, Sanford, Wells, York, South Berwick (ME), and Dover,

New Hampshire, Kittery (ME), and Portsmouth, NH.

Rosemary Davis: I don’t remember that.  Maybe that was before my time.

[12:14]

Phil Morse:  It might very well have been.  I just thought perhaps...

Ed Dooks:  What kind of traffic would the trolley cars encounter on the streets then?  Was there a lot of cars?

Rosemary Davis: Horse and buggy.  [Chuckle] Oh, there were some horse(s) and buggies, and there were automobiles then too.  Some people came to town with their horse and buggy then.

[12:35]

Ed Dooks:  Did they get in the way of the trolley cars or...?

Rosemary Davis: No, not that I know of.

Ed Dooks:  So, if you were riding along… did you ride the opens out to Old Orchard?

Rosemary Davis: I did sometimes.

Ed Dooks:  Let’s say, let’s imagine.  Let’s step back and we’re riding in an open trolley car to Old Orchard.  What would be some of the things you’d see along the way?

Rosemary Davis: That was a long time ago.  

Ed Dooks:  Do you remember those?  Take your time.

[13:06]

Phil Morse:  Well, if you came around the corner from Main Street, Saco by the big white church that burned down last year.

Rosemary Davis: You’d go down Ferry, down that road.

Phil Morse:  Down Beech Street, you’d have to go under the railroad.

Rosemary Davis: Under the railroad bridge, yeah.  And then, I don’t remember exactly which way we went.  But then they’d come back, up the Old Orchard Road and when they’d get to Beech Street in Saco, they’d come straight Elm Street to Biddeford and around the Five Points and back down.  Then we’d usually get out at Pool Street when they came back down Alfred Street.  Is that clear as mud?

[13:57]

Ed Dooks:  He understands it better than I do because I don’t live around here.  I think I know what you’re talking about though.

Phil Morse:  Did you ever encounter, when you were on the car going under the railroad bridge on Beech Street, on Ferry Road, any problems with automobiles or that the trolley would have to slow right down to go under the bridge or anything?  If there was a lot of rain, any big puddles that you’d have to go through?

Car 31 in 1939, shortly before retiring to Seashore Trolley

Museum, just squeezing under the B & M RR overpass

at Beach Street in Saco. Image from O.R. Cummings' 1989

Car 31 was saved in 1939 by the founders of the

Seashore Trolley Museum. In 1999, to commemorate

the saving of Car 31, it returned to Saco,  Biddeford,

and Old Orchard Beach in 1999. 

Car 31 is listed in the National Register of Historic Places

and is designated as a Save America's Treasures Project.

Rosemary Davis: No, I don’t remember that too much.

[14:21]

Phil Morse:  When you would come back from Old Orchard, did you ever notice when the car might stop halfway picking up people that might have picked blueberries at halfway, that might have had buckets of blueberries?

Old no. 10 at Halfway in Old Orchard Circa 1939.
O. R. Cummings Collection

Rosemary Davis: I wasn’t… I didn’t pay attention I guess.

[14:39]

Phil Morse:  I am saying things that might trigger a thought, a memory, or something… and a lightbulb goes off, and you say “Oh yeah, you know what, I remember the time when.”  So that’s why I toss little things out to see if it triggers a memory like your uncle picking you up and giving you a free favor... you and your sisters.

Rosemary Davis: I shouldn’t probably tell that story.

[15:00]  

Ed Dooks:  That’s a good one.  That happened a lot in those days.  That’s kind of the thing we’re looking for.  It’s people’s experiences and it’s interesting that a lot of the people we’ve talked to just used the trolley cars and never really thought about it.  They were just there.

Rosemary Davis: Well, for us it wasn’t that they were just there.  We had to walk a mile to get up to town to take the trolley cars.

[15:39]

Phil Morse:  Do you have any other anecdotes or any particular stories or thoughts about the trolley cars that you’d like to share?

Rosemary Davis: I wasn’t very old when they had those trolley cars.  I mean, I rode them.  I remember riding on them and my uncle motioning for us to get on and things like that but I don’t remember other things too special about it.  

[16:04]

Phil Morse:   Did you ever notice if they had any whistles or bells?

Rosemary Davis: I don’t remember that either.

[16:10]

Phil Morse:  Going to Old Orchard, after they went under the bridge, on Ferry Road.  Of course, the car barn was off to the left-hand side.  You go under the bridge, up the hill a little bit, and around the corner, and the car barn is on the left-hand side.

Rosemary Davis: Yup

Phil Morse:  Oftentimes we see photographs of lots of trolleys and barns in kind of rough shape.  (Did you) ever see any activity at the car barns when trolleys were being moved around or cars being pulled out? 

Rosemary Davis: Not that I remember.  I guess I’m not very…

[16:41]

Ed Dooks:  You’re doing great!  You gave us that nice little story about your uncle picking you up.  You used to do that for pleasure.  Those are things...that are very useful.  It gives a flavor of what it was like to live in those times and ride the trolley.

Rosemary Davis: I guess we were kind of … we used to stand in front of the Ligget’s store… no, it wasn’t Ligget’s.

[17:05]

Phil Morse:  The pharmacy?

Rosemary Davis: Yes, it used to be on Main Street.  We used to stand there just hoping he’d come along and pick us up.  And he quite often did if the car wasn’t too full.  If the car had a lot of people on it, he wouldn’t.  But if he didn’t have many people, then he’d pick us up and give us a ride around.

 Car 31 and its three sister open cars arrived in Saco in

June 1900. Image from the O. R. Cummings Collection

In 1939, Car 31 was the first trolley acquired by the founders of

Seashore Trolley Museum. Below, you can watch/listen to a

personal  interview of the leader of those early members, Ted

Santarelli, and his accounting of saving Car 31.

Click Here to go to the YouTube video

Ed Dooks:  That’s nice.

Rosemary Davis: We liked it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Click Here: For the list of links to Theodore Roosevelt Maine Heritage Trail Posts in Easy Order to View

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 first 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

Gold Book Award Winner plaque for

 Middle Reader category for The Eric

Hoffer Book Award. Congratulations to

award-winning Maine author,

Jean M. Flahive