Check out our newsletter here or read below: Newsletter spring 2019
BREWER HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
“Today’s news is tomorrow’s history”
| Spring 2019 |
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FOLLOW THE BREWER HISTORICAL SOCIETY AT OUR WEBSITE : brewerhistoricalsociety.org FACEBOOK: Brewer Historical Society ONTACT US AT: brewerhistoricalsociety@gmail.com T.C. Hanna , editor (989-2245) (FOLLOW BREWER HISTORY ON FACEBOOK: “You knew you grew up in Brewer Maine when….”) |
The Brewer Historical Society would like to thank the following corporate sponsors and supporters
Camden National Bank
City of Brewer
Brewer Federal Credit Union
Brewer High School Air Force Junior ROTC
Brewer Parks and Recreation
Creative Print Services (Ray Curran)
Northern Light Health
Joseph Ferris, Esq.
Getchell Brothers Inc.
Gold Star Cleaners
Green Thumb Lawn Service
Kiwanis
Marsh Property Management
People’s United Bank
Rand / Rand Dentistry
TradeWinds Convenience Store
| FRIENDS OF CHAMBERLAIN FREEDOM PARK
Gifford Electric Cross Insurance Allen / Freeman / McDonnell Insurance Machias Savings Bank Marsh Property Management Brewer Federal Credit Union (Thank you for your support of Chamberlain Freedom Park and the Brewer Historical Society) |
| The Brewer Historical Society newsletter is copied using the facilities at Northern Light Health. Thank you to Northern Light Health and their staff.) |
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| “Life is lived in the present but understood through the past.” …….Kierkegaard
If you enjoy “Facebook”, be sure to “Like” us on the new Brewer Historical Society “Facebook” page. It keeps you up to date on events, photos, meetings history and links. Brittany Goetting is administering the “Facebook” page as well as monitoring the website. Contact Brittany at: williamsburg6590@gmail.com if you have any questions or suggestions |
| Brewer Historical Society Membership meetings are held the second Tuesday of the month at 7PM at the First Methodist Church (40 South Main Street in Brewer). The August meeting is a pot-luck supper at the church at 5:30. Please call Charlotte Thompson at 989-6165 for more information
Brewer Historical Society Board meetings are held the last Monday of each month at the Resource Center (199 Wilson Street) at 6PM. There are positions available on the Board and your input is very much appreciated.
Brewer Historical Membership The renewal date is April 1. If you are a new member since August 2018, your dues have been paid through 2019. If you are presently an honorary member because of listing your home on the Brewer Register of Historic Places or a courtesy member because of being a speaker in 2018, please consider becoming an active member. Dues Active individual………………….$20 Active family…………………… $30 Lifetime………………………… $200 Corporate ………………………. .$100 Please send a check made out to Brewer Historical Society. You can mail your check to Brewer Historical Society, PO Box 602, Brewer, ME 04412. You can also pay at membership meetings For more information please contact TC Hanna at 989-2245 PLEASE DON’T FORGET TO SEND YOUR DUES ! |
Board Members and Officers
President:
Vice President
Treasurer Position is open
Recording Secretary
Corresponding Secretary
Accessions and Archives
Board Members
Brewer City Liaison City Councilor Thomas Morelli
We are looking for a Treasurer. Please contact Charlotte Thompson at 989-6165 if you would be interested
Committees
Accessions and Archives:
Refreshments:
Maintenance:
Education:
Program:
Membership
Communication
Please contact Charlotte Thompson at 989-6165 if you would be interested in participating on one of these committees.
Benefit Supper and Silent Auction for Phyllis Bishop
March 30, 2019, a Benefit Bean Supper and Silent Auction was held for Phyllis Bishop who lost her husband, home and dog in a housefire on February 13, 2019. The Benefit was held at the Dedham Congregational Church in Dedham.
Phyllis is a Board member of the Holden Historical Society, Brewer Historical Society, a past Chapter Regent for the Esther Eayres Chapter, National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution; an avid genealogist and historian.
The Supper included donated items for Silent Auction and all in all raised over $3,000.00. There was an outpouring of community volunteers for the supper. Their services and guidance in making this benefit a success was very much appreciated. Goods were donated by the Dedham Church, Holden and Brewer Historical Societies, Sam’s Club, Walmart and the delicious yeast rolls were home baked and donated by Hilma Adams. So many people who made donations to the supper and directly to Phyllis are too numerous to list.
Phyllis attended the supper with her brother Bruce and his wife with whom she is staying. She enjoyed the community spirit and comradery, and breaking bread with her neighbors. Phyllis also brought her husband’s urn, which was placed on the Church’s alter by Pastor Linette George. She also placed some lovely photos of Jerry and his dog. This was a loving tribute to Jerry by Phyllis to the community.
I was honored to be involved with this event and wish I could thank everyone individually for all your help and support. It would not have been a success without the entire community’s involvement.
Kerry E Zimmerman
Holden Historical Society
“Memories of Maine” Features Brewer Airport Article
The spring edition of “Memories of Maine” magazine has now been distributed throughout the Penobscot area. This edition features an article contributed by the Brewer Historical Society about Doane / Brewer Airport. Excerpts from the article were presented in the last Newsletter. The airport has an extensive history dating back to the Doane brothers and their passion for flying that began in the 1930s. The history describes the changes that have occurred in this private airport, which still exists at the end of Parkway South. Fran (Doane) Verow has many stories to tell about this important contribution to the community.
New “History of Brewer” Available
The Brewer Historical Society has published a 56 page booklet, “The History of Brewer, Maine”. This booklet provides an overview of Brewer History from 1770 through today. The booklet does not supplant Mildred Thayer’s excellent encyclopedic history of the area, but can be used as a general reference to Brewer’s past. The complimentary booklet is available at the Brewer Public Library, Brewer Community School Library, and Brewer High School Library. An electronic version is also available on our web page under “Resources”. If you would like copies, please e-mail brewerhistoricalsociety@gmail.com
Brewer Historical Society Prepares for Electronic Age
Over the last 5 years The Brewer Historical Society has digitized (scanned and stored on computer) over 500 historic Brewer Photographs. Many of these are available to view (without captions) on our website (brewerhistoricalsociety.org) for your enjoyment.
An electronic compendium of almost all of our photographs (along with descriptions) is now available at the research room of the Brewer Public Library. Contact Darren French or Director Katie Conner at 989-7943 for more information. The Brewer Library also has an electronic bibliography of Brewer Historical Society publications. These items would be available on-site at the Brewer Historical Society Resource Center.
All photographs, along with a bibliography of books and publications and accessed items for the museum are also listed electronically and are available at the Resource Center of the Clewley Museum. Since all photographs are in electronic form, they can be e-mailed by the Historical Society to a researcher (or publication) as needed.
During the late 1980’s, Brewer published a newspaper called the Brewer Register. The newspaper was operational for a couple of years and provided a capsule of Brewer life during that time. There is only one copy of approximately 100 editions of the newspaper known to be in existence and those were donated to the Brewer Historical Society by former City Councilor Larry Doughty. It is important to note that author Stephen King often wrote Op/Ed pieces for the paper and the articles were provided for Justin Brooks’ 2008 on-line bibliography of King’s works.
(Note: We have an almost complete collection of the Brewer Register from May 20, 1986 through August 3, 1988. If you have access to any other editions please contact David Hanna at 989-2245)
In 2017 Mataya Philbrck, then a freshman at Brewer High School, scanned the newspapers as a Key Club project using a special scanner (donated by the Maine State Library) at the Bangor Public Library. One year of publication was completed. The scan of these newspapers are available at the Bangor Library and the actual newspapers are available at the Brewer Historical Society
Those scanned newspapers are also available on-line as part of the Maine State Library digitization program. To read these newspapers you can “Google” in Brewer Register and go to the site (Digital Maine Repository) or use their web address: digitalmaine.com/brewer.register/.
The Brewer Historical Society web site has a new category, “Resources”. It contains a direct link to books of area history, Brewer authors, cemetery maps, local resources, area historical societies and museums.
If you haven’t visited our updated web site or Facebook page recently, please check them out. You can access the web site at brewerhistoricalsociety.org and Facebook “Brewer Historical Society”. Please consider “bookmarking” these sites for quick easy access.
Brewer Register of Historic Places (Continued)
The Brewer Register of Historic Places is a program developed in cooperation with the Brewer Historical Society and the City of Brewer. It has been active for over 6 years. There are presently 29 sites on the Register and include historic homes and sites. This program has been important in maintaining the historical integrity of Brewer and is an integral part of the community. In this issue of the Newsletter, we will continue to review of these sites. You can check all the sites involved on the Brewer Historical Society webpage (brewerhistoricalsociety.org). Click under “places”. We wish to thank those individuals who have placed their homes and historical sites on the Register. If you have a house that is over 100 years of age, you are eligible for the program. There are no requirement as to what you can do with the house. The program is a way to recognize Brewer’s historical heritage.
Selected Brewer Register of Historic Places Sites
(A complete listing of places on the Brewer Register of Historic Places is available on our website brewerhistoricalsociety.org. There are now 29 sites and many are within walking distance of the Brewer “Waterfront Trail”)
60 Parker Street (Home and original business premises of Footman Dairy)
Victorian-Queen Anne 2.5 storey with attached carriage house. Built around 1880. This house was built in the 1880s. In the 1920’s the Footman family bought the property and until 1936, when a new brick building was built, served as the Footman Dairy. Many in Brewer remember with fondness the Footman Dairy Company. The house was placed on the Brewer Register of Historic Places by owner Ben Bubar.
Brewer Land Trust is topic at April 9th Membership Meeting
For everybody who braved the spring snow storm on April 9th and attended the monthly membership meeting, Linda Johns, Brewer City Planner, provided an interesting program regarding the Brewer Land Trust.
The Brewer and Trust is a non-profit entity operated by a Board of Directors, independent of the City of Brewer. It’s mission is to “cooperatively protect and preserve the natural and scenic resources of the City of Brewer and State of Maine, To encourage open space and green areas, to increase public awareness and understanding of the importance of conservation of natural resources and the interrelationships that exist among them, and to foster a trail system connecting to public areas and regional trails with all of the above for the enjoyment and benefit of present and future generations”.
The Land trust acquires land that is donated in fee ownership or by conservation easement in which landowners voluntarily limit the development potential and use of their land.
There are several projects on the works and for more information on this important program for the community, please check with BrewerLandTrust.org or Facebook. You can call Linda Johns at 989-8431 for questions, donations, and to join.
New Flag for Chamberlain-Freedom Park Flown over Capital
The New American flag will be raised at Chamberlain-Freedom Park This Spring
The American Flag which flies over Chamberlain-Freedom Park will be replaced this spring with a new flag donated by Senator Angus King that was flown over the United States Capital in Washington. Brewer Historical Society Board member, Archie Verow, met with Senator King at a local event and obtained the Senator’s authorization for the flag. He presented it to Board member Jean Lyford at the October meeting of the Brewer Historical Society. A formal ceremony will take place in the spring at the park, at which time the new flag will be raised. The certificate which accompanied the flag states that the flag had been flown over the capital in behalf of Chamberlain-Freedom Park and is signed by Senator King. Senator King’s respect and admiration for General Chamberlain is well known to those who have heard him speak and he was a supporter of the dedication of the park. (Newsletter Winter 2019)
What’s doing at the Clewley Museum
Barney Thompson has renovated the back room on the 2nd floor. It has new paint and is needed space for storage.
The Resource Center is in the process of accessing and recording all the records from the Brewer First Congregational Church.
The downstairs middle room will be the home of our military display. Presently it will depict a display of WWI and WWII complete with history and memorabilia. If you have any WWII items that you would like to loan for this display, please call us at 989-2245
The Brewer Historical Society Museum will co-host the Brewer Garden Club annual plant sale June 8th and is developing a schedule of open-house and associated events. You can follow these activities of our Facebook (Brewer Historical Society) or e-mail: brewerhistoricalsociety @gmail.com
Recipe for this Newsletter
Cheese Biscuits (this is a 3 ingredient recipe)
2 ¼ cups baking mix
2/3 cup milk
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
Mix all ingredients until soft dough forms and beat for 30 seconds.
If dough is too sticky, add more baking mix.
Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto sprayed cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until light brown.
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