Maine Historical Society - Programs Podcast

Recorded September 16, 2021 - Historian William David Barry discusses the evolution of Pineland from its origins at the dawn of the 20th century as a home for Maine's so called "feeble minded" citizens (later termed special needs individuals) and his years fresh out of the university as a teacher's aid at Pineland. He also highlights the books, Pineland's Past: The First Hundred Years by journalist Richard S. Kimball (Libra Foundation, 2001) and Voices of Pineland: Eugenics, Social Reform and Legacy of "feeble mindedness" in Maine by University of Southern Maine Professor Stephen P. Murphy (Information Age Publishing Inc., 2011). The talk does not address the present 1000-acre recreation center and farm, but provides a useful overview of special care attitudes in Maine against the international backdrop, and points out archival material in institutions around the state.

Recorded September 9, 2021 - Writer Rhea Côté Robbins gives an informative and introspective look at telling and hearing stories within the social consciousness of equality. Côté Robbins believes that everything we know comes to us via story - we are surrounded by it – and yet not everyone has the chance to tell their own. Côté Robbins’ talk examines the community of story that we live, the injustices as to who gets to share their story and who does not, and why the latter is embedded in the fabric of the process.

Speaker: James Horrigan; Recorded May 1, 2014 - Longtime Wadsworth-Longfellow House guide James Horrigan kicked off the 2014 house season with a lecture that looks at the poet’s lifelong interest in the supernatural. In addition to touching on reincarnation, astrology, numerology, automatic writing (featuring a poem of Longfellow's that can only be read with a mirror), and dowsing, James paid special attention to what one biographer called Longfellow's "rich dream life." The poet left behind fascinating accounts of dreams he had of Charles Sumner, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and many others.

Recorded August 19, 2021 - Prejudice and discrimination in Maine against immigrants dates back to at least the mid-1700s, when Pope's or Pope Day (Guy Fawkes Day in Britain) was celebrated in Falmouth (Portland); effigies of the Pope and the Devil were carried around town to loud cheers and slurs. Protestants had been taught since birth to hate Roman Catholicism. After all, French Catholics had been their enemy since the 1690s during the French and Indian Wars. When large numbers of Irish Catholics started to immigrate beginning in the 1820s, Protestant anti-Catholic, anti-immigrant and anti-Irish groups were formed all over, including Maine. The large influx of Irish people who came during and after the Great Hunger (the Great Irish Potato Famine, 1845-51) only accelerated these groups, culminating with the formation of the Know Nothings (also Know-Nothings), a secret anti-Irish, anti-Catholic political party who gained political power throughout the United States in 1854-55. Their poster child in Portland w

Recorded August 10, 2021 - Community cookbooks: you know them and you probably have at least one in your kitchen! Collections of home cooked recipes put together by church groups, synagogues, school groups, political organizations, band boosters, and even biker gangs, these cookbooks are endlessly interesting and rich with stories. Existing at the intersection of technology, home economy, food safety, advertising and marketing, they bring more than 150 years of American history to life. Authors Margaret Hathaway and Karl Schatz, together with Don Lindgren of Rabelais Books in Biddeford, collaborated on publishing the Maine Bicentennial Community Cookbook in 2020 and now they continue to explore and share their love of these unique publications with their podcast "Cooking is Community." Don has been collecting and researching community cookbooks for more than a decade, and in 2019 published volume one of a multi-volume exploration of the American community cookbook, titled UnXld: American Cookbooks of Communit

Recorded July 20, 2021 - Wherever we are in Maine, we are on Wabanaki homeland. In this talk, Dr. Darren Ranco describes how issues of racial injustice have shaped State of Maine Indian History and Policy and provides a broad historical and rights context to contemporary issues related to Wabanaki Tribal Sovereignty and Treaty Rights.

Recorded July 17, 2021 - For generations, the Ulster Scots were a people on the move. From their home in the Scottish Lowlands, these Presbyterians ventured first to Ulster, and then across the Atlantic, where they carved out lives in Britain’s North American colonies, including what became the state of Maine. By the American Revolution, 200,000 Ulster Scots had crossed the sea. In North America, the Ulster Scots had a profound influence in shaping the culture and politics of the British colonies and their borderlands. Their story is one of rich contrasts. This special Historian’s Forum features a conversation with two eminent historians of the Ulster Scots experience in Early America. Host Ian Saxine (MHS Coordinator, Historian’s Forum) speaks with Patrick Griffin (University of Notre Dame) and T.H. Breen (University of Vermont) about the Ulster Scots migrations, with a particular focus on what brought them to Maine and New England, and what their experiences can tell us about religion, community, war,

Recorded July 22, 2021 - In September 1826, a group of six African American men addressed a letter "To the Public" on behalf of about six hundred of their brethren in Portland, Maine, in which they announced their intention to "erect a suitable house for public worship" to serve their community. Their plan came to fruition in the construction of the Abyssinian Meeting House, built in 1828, which became the epicenter of Maine abolitionism and African American politics. The original Meeting House building still stands in Portland and is a focal point for ongoing research and preservation efforts. The meetinghouse campaign represents one of the most visible moments of activism for these Black Mainers, but their activities and influence extended into almost every aspect of nineteenth-century American history and politics. Black Mainers held political offices and appointments, campaigned on behalf of national parties, and shaped political debates surrounding slavery, abolition, and racism. This panel discussion wi

Recorded July 7, 2021 - Author and history teacher Michael Trapani discusses how Andrew Jackson changed the nature of the United States presidency through his war against the Second Bank of the United States, and how his Whig opponents in the Senate tried to stem the tide of change. Jackson's novel use of his removal and veto power, coupled with anointing himself the direct representative of the people, shocked opponents who believed the president had stretched the power of the office beyond the limits set by the nation's founders. Trapani also discusses contributions to the debate from the two Maine senators often overlooked by history: Ether Shepley and Peleg Sprague - the former one of Jackson's staunchest defenders, and the latter one of his most forceful enemies. Purchase the book from the MHS Store.

Recorded June 24, 2021 - Jews have a long history in Maine, with thriving communities across the state. They came to Maine for the same reasons as so many others: to live well and raise their families within the state's appealing natural and cultural environment. The experiences of Jewish Mainers, however, have also been distinctive on account of their occupational choices and traditions as well as their encounters with antisemitism. How have Jews sought to contribute to Maine's economic, cultural, and social landscape, and how did they gain widespread acceptance? How have these Mainers sustained their own religion, culture, and ethnic ties while embracing the broader communities to which they belong? How did the challenges and opportunities that Jews faced in Maine change over time? Check out this engaging conversation with David Freidenreich to learn more.

Recorded June 21, 2021 - Hear Michael Connolly read excerpts from and discuss his newest work, Murky Overhead . A work of historical fiction, Murky Overhead tells the story of a day in the life of an Irish-American working-class family, the Folans. Follow the Folans though the streets and docks of their new American home in maritime Portland, Maine, at the turn of the 20th century; Coleman shovels coal for the longshore union, while his wife Mary, who is nearly full-term with their tenth child, does her best to keep the family going. Challenges abound and though it seems the family faces an ever-growing number of hurdles, they know they must take on each day one at a time even when their prospects appear to be murky, at best. Purchase Murky Overhead from our MHS Store.

Recorded June 17, 2021 - In 1952, Toy Len Goon, a modest widow and mother of eight, was selected as Maine Mother of the Year, and then for the national title, by the J.C. Penney Golden Rule Foundation. An immigrant from China, she came to the U.S. in 1921 as the wife of Dogan Goon, a WWI veteran and laundryman. After Dogan became disabled and unable to work, passing away in 1941, she and her children ran the laundry and household, located at 615 Forest Ave in Portland, ME. However, there is much of Toy Len Goon's story that was not told by the media coverage celebrating her honor. As one of Toy Len Goon’s grandchildren, but also a cultural anthropologist, Dr. Andrea Louie places her story within a fuller context in the hopes of doing justice to her legacy as not only a mother, but a woman who broke out of a number of traditional roles, while also remaining filial to relatives back in China.

Recorded June 15, 2021 - This program was recorded on June 15, 2021. Each year thousands of men and women and families recreate on Maine's Public Reserved Lands. Most of these visitors know only that the large green areas on the map promise them access to some of the state's most magnificent places, but few know just how Maine acquired them. The story of the state’s Public Reserved Lands and how we got them speaks to the very essence of Maine’s identity. Hear Thomas Urquhart's informative overview of the history of conservation and preservation in Maine and discuss his new book Up for Grabs: Timber Pirates, Lumber Barons, and the Battles Over Maine's Public Lands. Purchase the book from the MHS Store .

Recorded June 10, 2021 - They came in waves on waves. They were in the background on the steel roads that snaked deep into the interior. While not being unnoticed, they were invisible. And before you knew it, Maine had a vibrant albeit small Black population. Hear Bob Greene as he describes the histories of the Black people of Maine whose lives and work have made Maine what it is today and have laid the foundations for the future of the Pine Tree state.

Recorded May 26, 2021 - In Life of a Klansman: A Family History with White Supremacy , Edward Ball returns to the subject of his classic, Slaves in the Family: the mechanisms of white supremacy in America , as understood through the lives of his own ancestors. This time, he tells the story of a warrior in the Ku Klux Klan, a carpenter in Louisiana who took up the cause of fanatical racism during the years after the Civil War. Ball, a descendant of this Klansman, paints a portrait of his family’s anti-black militant that is part history, part memoir rich in personal detail.

Recorded June 7, 2021 - Holding an integral place in Maine's community, the story of its early taverns and tea rooms is an important account of commerce and political and social life. From famed Revolutionary War incidents to Civil War generals, stagecoaches and the story of rum, the history of Maine's early taverns is captivating. The tea rooms of the early 1900s were just as interesting and important. They played a large role in the national tea movement, the temperance and suffrage movements, the promotion of women's independence, and they also symbolized Maine's culture and sophistication. Join local authors Kathy and Bill Kenny as they unveil the stories behind these historic places explored in their latest publication. Purchase the book from the MHS Store .

Recorded May 20, 2021 - Known to be a convener of conversations and debates, Dr. Eddie S. Glaude, Jr. takes care to engage fellow citizens of all ages and backgrounds – from young activists, to fellow academics, journalists and commentators, and followers on Twitter in dialogue about the direction of the nation. His scholarship is driven by a commitment to think carefully with others. In this talk Dr. Glaude explores the challenges our democracy faces, as well as the country’s complexities, vulnerabilities, and the opportunities for hope. Purchase his book

Recorded May 12, 2021 - Co-curators Anne Gass, Tilly Laskey, Darren Ranco, and Krystal Williams discuss topics covered in Maine Historical Society exhibition and initiative Begin Again: reckoning with intolerance in Maine . The panel reviews the structures of systemic racism and discrimination that have perpetuated inequity and intolerance in Maine for the past 500 years and talk about how they came together to explore and interpret Maine’s diverse and complicated history.

Recorded March 3, 2021 - This panel discussion explores Black History in Maine with panelists sharing their family's history and experience in Maine dating back to the 18th century. This program was a partnership between Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce, GPCOG, United Way of Greater Portland, the Portland Public Library, and the Maine Historical Society.

Recorded March 11, 2021 - Maine Historical Society Executive Director Steve Bromage leads a conversation with award-winning author and journalist Colin Woodard and our Executive Director Steve Bromage as they look back on Maine’s commemoration of the Bicentennial and the profound ways in which history shapes the state and its people today. Purchase Union - The Struggle to Forge the Story of United States Nationhood from our MHS Store.