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Enduring Quilt Celebrates Town’s
Past
Back in 1995, the
year that Lamoine marked 125 years as a town, Marion McFarland took
charge of the local ladies’ quilt project—and rightly so.
Marion McFarland, secretary of the Lamoine Historical Society,
stands before the town’s quilt that local ladies made in 1995
for Lamoine’s 125-year celebration. |
She was born a
Hodgkins, and as such, is a true Lamoine native. She even was born
in the town’s “maternity house,” or Hagan Hospital, that operated
during the 1920s and 1930s.
That house actually
still stands along Route 184, not far from the current town office.
In the days of
horse-and-buggy transportation and no phones, women spent as long as
two weeks at the home after giving birth. Dr. Charles Knowlton,
among other doctors from Ellsworth, did some of the deliveries.
The story of the
maternity home is just one piece of Lamoine’s history. But it alone
was enough to merit a one-time reunion about 10 years ago. That
gathering brought together grown children who were born there, plus
their mothers.
The hospital also
gained a square of its own among plenty of other bits and pieces of
Lamoine’s very local history, via a commemorative quilt. The
handiwork of a dozen or so members of the Lamoine Historical
Society, it hangs, appropriately, in the town office.
“It’s the first
thing that catches your eye,” McFarland says proudly. “It has
stirred up a lot of interest.”
The now
seven-year-old quilt has squares, each done by a different
individual, that honor some of Lamoine’s past.
The squares and the
quilters are: school house (Barbara Bartosenski); brick house (Kay
Whitaker); clamming and lobster fishing (Lillian Warren); Lamoine
Grange (Dottie Richardson); tapping trees for maple syrup (Margaret
Sheehy); Lamoine Baptist Church (Marion McFarland); firehouse (Carol
Smith); general store (Mrs. Williams); old post office (Barbara
Pentland); panoramic view of Marlboro (Frances Stickney); Lamoine
logo (Jane McMullan); farming (Joy Mayo); oldest house-1789 (E.
Curran).
Also, map of town
(Jeannine Carney); Lamoine State Park (E. Curran); Latona Spring
(Mary Henry); LeMoyne Inn (Helen Grasser); East Lamoine Meeting
House (Veda Ames); Hagan Hospital (Barbara Pentland); second school
house (Warrene Carriere); sea life (Julie Herrick); wild life
(Lillian Griffin); lumbering (Hubene Brodie); fish houses on Jordan
River (Jo Cooper); and Blunt’s Pond (Joan Bragdon).
The town’s logo of
a sailing ship takes the center square. In fact, the town’s 125th
anniversary was when the town’s logo—now seen on the board for the
town office—came into being.
Coincidentally, the
Lamoine Historical Society had its busiest weekend of the year just
last weekend (Aug. 17-18).
There was a
“potluck concert” on Saturday evening, and a special, once-a-year
church service at the East Lamoine Meeting House Saturday morning.
From donations for
both occasions, the Society ended up $540 the richer.
Like most other
area historical societies, Lamoine likes to offer a monthly program
in the summer. This year, though—“Busy, busy, busy!” has kept the
Society from having any public talks—until yesterday (Wednesday,
Aug. 21).
McFarland is the
Society’s secretary. Josephine Cooper, also one of the town’s
selectmen, is its president, assisted by Joseph Lear.
“I was born here,
and I just hate to see all these stories go away,” McFarland said of
the reasons she stays active with the Society.
“I think it’s
important to people to know what our history is.” |
