HMS Pinafore Production

From the Collections

By Linda Snow McLoon

An interesting picture has surfaced that expands our knowledge of Scarborough’s past. From a photograph and accompanying notes, we learn about an event that must have caused some excitement in Scarborough in the early 1940s. Shortly after music teacher Miss Steele started teaching in the Scarborough schools, she directed a cast of students in the Gilbert & Sullivan production HMS Pinafore. With Charlie Kilby playing the role of Captain, the group was invited to perform at City Hall in Portland. This was a family affair, as the girls’ dresses were crafted by mothers, grandmothers, and other volunteers out of material reported to be dark blue with stars on them. A town school bus transported the children to Portland. We are fortunate to have a picture and the names of the young actors taken on the steps of City Hall. If anyone can contribute more information on this event, please let us know.

HMS Pinafore cast members on the steps of Portland City Hall.

List of HMS Pinafore cast members.

Front – L to R: Eunice Nielsen, Harry Pearson, Ann Bradford, Blaine Hartford, Charles Kilby, Eunice Lilley, Leonard Douglass, Edna Lilley, Marilyn Burnham, Marilyn Patnaude, Jane Sherwood.
 
Middle – L to R: Nancy Rice, Jean Carter, Phyllis Sullivan, Edna Wilbur, Walter Weelock, Marilyn Winship, Dorothy Grant, Gladys David, Olaf Ahlquist, Helen Neilsen, Frances Burnham, Hazel Carter.
 
Back – L to R: Barbara Nobel, Roberta Carter, Gilmore Rounds, Patricia Seavey, Earl McLellan, Marion Milliken, William Higgins, Audrey David, Louis Gervais, Juliette Gervais, Barbara Pope. 
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Elizabeth Fickett Shaw (1855-1901)

The museum recently received a wonderful photo of Elizabeth Fickett Shaw.

According to the information provided with the photo of Elizabeth, she:

Photo of Elizabeth Fickett Shaw
Elizabeth Fickett Shaw
  • She was born circa 1855 in Mayberry Hill, Casco.
  • She married Summer Shaw[1] – Standish, Neck.
  • She was the mother of Delmar Shaw, who was nana Dorothy Shaw’s father.
  • Her children were:     
    • Louise Shaw Graffan died in 1941.
    • Delmar Shaw died in 1953.
    • John Shaw died in 1974.
    • Margurite Shaw died in 1913.

Family Search has profile KCH5-V82 for Elizabeth A Fickett (1863-1901).

Ancestry has 37 public trees that refer to Elizabeth Ann Fickett (1855-1901).


Endnotes

1. Other researchers indicate that Elizabeth Fickett married Sumner Shaw, not Summer Shaw.
NOTE: This Dorothy Shaw (aka Dora Shaw) should not be confused with historian Dorothy Shaw Libbey, daughter of Oscar & Mary Shaw, who married Clark Libbey in 1926.
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BEECH RIDGE SCHOOL UPDATE

December 2022

Beech Ridge School – Dec 8, 2022 Photo by Karlene Osborne

Restoration of the 1800s one-room schoolhouse at 184 Holmes Road, Scarborough, continues.   The front portico that was removed early in the restoration process has been rebuilt, and two new entrance doors have been installed.  These are wooden doors that were paid for by a grant from the Prouts Neck Association.  The clapboard siding has been completed including the first coat of white stain.  New windows have been installed, paid for by a grant from the Prouts Neck Historical Society.  A substantial donation has been given that will pay for new roof shingles, and chimney pointing.  This will include reinforcing the roof structure in the attic area.  All this roof and chimney work is being paid for by an anonymous donation.   When the roof is completed, the exterior will be nearly done, except for the side entrance ramp. The building will be secure from the winter elements!  When the interior work begins, there will be interior walls to build then rough in the wiring, and insulation.  A soil engineer has designed a new leach field, and fortunately, we will be able to use the existing septic tank.  We feel our contractor Robbie Alden of Alden Joinery is doing an outstanding job.  He is restoring the schoolhouse with exceptional care and skill.

Interior of Schoolhouse – Dec 8, 2022 – Photo by Karlene Osborne

We have raised $163,000 toward a goal of $280,000. Please help us restore this historical site by sending your tax-deductible 501(c)(3) donation to Scarborough Historical Society and Museum, P.O. Box 156, Scarborough, ME 04070-0156. Call the museum at 207-885-9997 if you can provide in-kind services. Or donate through https://www.gofundme.com/SHS-Restore-Beech-Ridge-School. Thanks to all who have graciously donated to preserve this part of Scarborough’s history.

Submitted by Scarborough Building Committee

Beech Ridge Schoolhouse – Roofing System – Dec 8, 2022 – Photo by Rob Alden
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Tippecanoe and Tyler Too

From the Ephemera…

By Linda Snow McLoon

Residents of Scarborough have always had an opportunity to have their voices heard and their votes counted when a presidential election took place in our country. A document from the historical society’s ephemera collection tells us about such an election.

In 1840, the incumbent Democrat president, Martin van Buren, was challenged by a Whig candidate, William Henry Harrison. Harrison had led a successful military force against Native Americans in the Battle of Tippecanoe, resulting in the slogan for his presidential bid, “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too.” Harrison won the election but died only 31 days after his inauguration. This made Harrison’s presidency the shortest in American history and lifted his vice president, John Tyler, to office. A half-century later, Harrison’s grandson, Benjamin Harrison, became the 23rd president.

On October 15, 1940, Scarborough’s three selectmen – Stephen Waterhouse, Solomon Bragdon, and Simon Milliken – instructed the constable, John Donnell, to notify those Scarborough residents qualified to vote of the coming election. Citizens were to assemble at the meeting house in the second parish – Dunstan – on the first Monday in November to give their votes for Electors to choose the President and Vice President.

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Thank you – Scarborough Garden Club

Our thanks to the Scarborough Garden Club, who gave the Scarborough Historical Museum two beautiful wreaths. Each year the club makes and hangs wreaths on the two front doors of our museum at 647 US Route 1 in Dunstan.

Happy Holidays!

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