Rotted sills replaced (Photo by Karlene Osborne – June 2020)
Sills replaced and addition floor laid. (Photo by Karlene Osborne – June 2020)
As you can see in these photos, progress is being made on the schoolhouse. Construction to reinforce the main hall and floor systems along with sill work is underway. Future work includes framing out the rear addition walls and roof structure. Also, doors and windows will be replaced and a brick façade installed on the foundation.
Brownie Camera
SHS Collection
Have you seen the historical society’s collection of cameras, in particular the Brownie? When you next aim your smartphone at a glorious sunset or snap a selfie, give thanks to George Eastman. In 1900 his company, Eastman Kodak, introduced the Brownie, a low-priced, hand-held, point-and-shoot camera simple enough for children to use.
Designed by Frank Brownell, the camera was a simple black rectangular cardboard box covered in leatherette. To take a photo or “snapshot,” one popped in a film cartridge, closed the door, held the camera at waist height, aimed by looking through the viewfinder at the top, then turned a switch. The camera was very affordable, priced at $1 each. A six-exposure film cartridge was 15 cents. For an extra 10 cents per photo, plus 40 cents for developing and postage, the film could be sent to Kodak for developing. The Brownie gave everyone an affordable, accessible way to document important moments.
Mark Matteau – Stock Photo
COVID-19 has affected everyone and everything in some way in recent months, including our museum. We have had to cancel a variety of events and programs in response to the necessity for social distancing. We are monitoring the possibility of resuming our regular activities following state, national, and local guidelines and the museum and historical societies community at large.
The work of our museum continues being done by individual members pursuing further research, attending to online and telephone queries, and continuing our presence in outreach via our webpage and Facebook.
The work of digitizing our collections to make these items available to our larger communities continues. Also, work on the schoolhouse continues to be an ongoing project; and to that end, we have formalized a committee to oversee the project to move it forward into the future.
I would like to express my own personal thanks to our dedicated members and friends for their ongoing work and help, including the maintenance of our grounds, building, and collections.
I know we all look forward to the time when we shall be able to resume our programming, outreach, and the reopening of our building and be able to meet and interact in person again with our members, friends, and visitors.
Respectfully,
Mark A. Matteau
President
I added: Danish Village (U.S. Route 1) – Clipping – 28 August 2015 – “Danish Village arch to be saved.”
I added: Booklet: 150th Anniversary and Rededication – 1802-1952 (Contains church history and images)
Besides “The Villages of Scarborough,” in 2011 the Scarborough Leader ran a series of articles titled “Looking Back” about various objects at the Scarborough Historical Society. These articles included the following:
Ross Road Violin
These articles have been compiled and are available in a PDF file: “Clippings – Looking Back – 2011”
While researching these clippings, I found a 10th article regarding custom-built “bog shoes” in the April 22, 2011, edition of the Leader. I’ve included it in the “Clippings – Looking Back – 2011” file.
These articles are also available through the efforts of the Scarborough Public Library through “Advantage Preservation.”
