Margaret Chase Smith Library
Newsletter
A Newsletter for Friends of the Library
Vol. 38, No. 1
Welcome to our new newsletter layout!
The staff of the Margaret Chase Smith Library is anticipating the warm weather this upcoming spring season. Typically, this is an incredibly busy time period for us as field trips ramp up and National History Day in Maine begins. We hope by this time next year we will be going full-steam once again.
In this issue, you will find all the same information you did in our previous newsletter layout including library activities, educational opportunities, and various researchers and visitors. Each staff member has written what they have been doing over the last few months. Be sure to scroll all the way down. Also highlighted are some photographs of events, projects, educational materials, or people that have been to our facility recently. Finally, check out our up coming events section to see what’s on the horizon.
Directions
by David Richards
Thank you for opening the link to the Library newsletter. Thank you if you are reading what the staff has to share about its activities, rather than just skimming. Thank you for checking out the website and Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages. Thank you for attending the Library book group, Maine Town Meeting, and Leeke-Shaw Lecture. Thank you for visiting the Library and viewing the museum exhibits. Thank you for your research requests. Thank you for donating items to the collection. Thank you for giving to the annual fund. Thank you for all the ways you help keep the life and legacy of Margaret Chase Smith alive. During these tumultuous times, the principles of civics, civility, service, and aspirations she stood for are needed now more than ever.
I recently watched my umpteenth Zoom workshop since the pandemic began in March 2020. The topic was how nonprofits can communicate more effectively, particularly through newsletters. The main point was to speak directly to the audience, to you, instead of presenting a litany of we did thises and we did thats. Fortunately, the presenter allowed latitude and dispensation to directors, who are expected to write from the I/we perspective in their newsletter columns.
So, thank you to Darla Pickett for being a loyal member of the book group. Thank you to Admiral James Perkins, who Senator Smith appointed to the United States Naval Academy in 1960. In gratitude he made a special trip to the Library in 2013 and left behind a generous donation. Thank you to Katie Ouilette. She was a frequent attendee at events and constant cheerleader for Skowhegan and Margaret Chase Smith. Thank you to Shirley Whittemore. She was also devoted to the community and admired Senator Smith. Shirley served for many years on the Skowhegan Community Action Group and Skowhegan Heritage Council. And thank you to Warren Shay. He was a regular annual fund supporter and as recently as last fall, was planning to hold a Maine Bar Association meeting at the Library.
Each of these friends of Margaret Chase Smith and her Library have passed away since December. Their losses will be felt. Will you help fill the void? Will you step up to assist the Library with your interest, your participation, and your support? Thank you!
Warren Shay attends memorial service for Margaret Chase Smith in May 1995.
Shirley Whittemore admires a weathervane presented by sculptor Barry Norling during Margaret Chase Smith Appreciation Day in October 1988.
Katie Ouilette presides over the refreshment table during the Skowhegan Heritage Council’s “Last Rose of Summer” tribute to Margaret Chase Smith in September 2016.
Communication Corner
By John Taylor
National History Day in Maine:
The beginning of 2022 has been a busy one. The National History Day in Maine contest season has begun. The continuing safety of students, teachers, volunteers, and staff is top priority. Therefore, it has been decided that all NHD in Maine events will once again be virtual. This will include our two regional contests, the state event, and the national competition. Yet, there is a glimmer of hope to see some students and their projects in person. We do anticipate an in-person award ceremony or banquet for the state contest winners, their teachers, and their parents filled with lots of activities on the UMaine campus. For a more comprehensive schedule of the contest season you can visit our website or view our general schedule.
With contests looming that also means we are in need of volunteer judges to assess student work and provide constructive feedback to better improve their projects as they move forward. You may be asking, “who can judge?” We are looking for teachers, professors, historians, museum professionals, or anyone with a substantial interest in history to serve as judges. Anyone interested is welcome to serve as a judge, no prior experience is necessary, and you can do it from the comfort of your own home. Please pass this along and encourage your colleagues and friends to participate this year too!
The 2022 judging schedule is as follows:
Southern Lewiston Contest Judging: March 7-11
Northern Bangor Contest Judging: March 21-25
University of Maine State Contest Judging: April 20-27
Registration is easy and you can participate in multiple contests. Click the registration link on our webpage for the contest you want to judge, go to “create an account” at the top right, choose “judge” in the dropdown menu, and follow the instructions. It’s that easy. For further instruction or to sign up for multiple contests using one account please reference our 2022 Virtual Judging Guide. Any questions comments, or concerns please contact me at john.m.taylor@maine.edu.
Emergency Management and Preparedness:
In the summer of 2019, I took a course hosted by the Smithsonian Institute called Heritage Emergency and Response Training (HEART). I and many of my museum and archive colleagues in Maine learned all about disaster preparedness and emergency response pertaining to the protection of our collections at our respective institutions. Essentially, HEART training taught me to begin assessing potential emergency scenarios, conduct training exercises for staff members, to create a quick reference guide filled with important phone numbers, directions, and information for all employees, write a detailed emergency plan, and build and strategically place emergency response kits throughout the Library. Of course 2020 hit the breaks on a lot of things, and putting what I learned into practice was one of them. After a bit of a delay, much of this has been addressed. The emergency plan is going through the final stages of editing, staff training has begun and will continue, the reference guides have been completed, and the emergency response kits are now in place.
Hopefully, the Library will never face an event that would hurt our archival collection or facility. We can never be 100 percent prepared for an emergency or threat, but it is comforting to know we have some safeguards, plans, and tools in place to address the situation if it ever happens.
MCSL Staff were recently given an overview of emergency preparedness and essential safety gear.
Positively impact a Maine student’s education and love of history. We want you to be a judge!
Our emergency kits and carts have been packed with essential supplies and placed throughout the facility.
learning Lounge
by Kim Nelson
New Book Project:
Recently, the Margaret Chase Smith Library updated its software. This update created many projects which is exciting for me as I get to use some of my library skills. Information pertaining to the books in the library’s collection is one of the first projects being done. This involves physically looking at the book and noting the condition, taking photographs of the book, and marking its location. All details that might be of interest are being put in the new software. Eventually, all this information will link together by subject, person donating the book, author, etc. It’s clear how some books made it into the collection while others remain a mystery, but all of this information will assist the Library in providing researchers more resources and allow the staff to preserve items that need to be protected. I chose the three books below due to my interest in each of them to highlight this month.
Upcoming Virtual Field Trip:
The library is preparing for its first virtual field trip. Trying to make it a bit more interactive, I have created worksheets that will be sent ahead of time to the teachers for the students to use during our time together. The staff will be presenting groups of objects from our collection based on a theme from the “She Persisted” book series. The object timeline form will be used by students to write down what they find interesting with each set of groupings presented by each member of the staff. As the staff transitions from the archive to the house near the end of the event, students will fill out a scrapbook page about themselves while they wait for us to virtually return. It is our hope that these worksheets will assist students in staying engaged during this unique field trip.
Speaking of Friendship published in 1974 by Hallmark has a quote by Margaret Chase Smith “Friendship is measured in terms of silent acts than in terms of effusive words…in understanding of differences… and in times of difficulties.”
This book, Gems of Prayer, from 1922 seems to be given to Carrie M. Chase from her daughter, Margaret.
The last book The Republic of Plato was chosen due to its age being published in March 1906.
Research Roundup
by Nicole Potter
New Exhibit:
The staff at the Margaret Chase Smith Library is excited to announce a new exhibition, Political Peers: Covering Senator Smith’s Colleagues. This exhibition showcases autographed magazine covers on loan from David Leigh.
Leigh, a former teacher and principal, spent decades encouraging students to write to national and international leaders. This practice helped students contextualize the personalities they had read about in their textbooks. Students from Forest Hills High School, Machias Memorial High School, and Messalonskee High School, would ask basic questions about the careers of these notable individuals and request them to autograph a cover of a popular news magazine that they were featured on.
Countless covers were autographed and returned to students over the decades. The covers date back to 1938 and students received responses from twenty-three nations. Senator Magaret Chase Smith was a supporter of this project. She helped students connect with world leaders, gave a personal interview in response to a student’s request, and signed a copy of the 1960 Time Magazine cover featuring her and Lucia Cormier during a 1990 Women’s History Month celebration at the Muskie Center, Waterville, ME.
Political Peers: Covering Senator Smith’s Colleagues features covers signed by political contemporaries of Senator Margaret Chase Smith. The covers are accompanied by photographs from the Margaret Chase Smith Library’s collections that feature Senator Smith with her fellow Senators. These photographs show the various politicians engaging in casual conversation, posing for photo opportunities, and in attendance at meetings. The pairing connects the Senator’s autographed magazine covers with the work they did in office as well as their connections with Senator Smith.
The exhibition will be on display starting March 14th, 2022, and we encourage everyone to make an appointment to come view it. March 14th is also Maine Museum Day and the start of New England Museum week, there’s no better way to celebrate than to visit your local museum or historical society. Additionally, keep an eye out on the Library’s social media accounts for a digital exhibition component coming later this month.
Researchers:
While the majority of researchers are still contacting and working with the Margaret Chase Smith Library remotely, the Library was able to host one in-person researcher recently. David Ballard is a student at the University of Maine Farmington and is currently working on his thesis. His research centers around the public opinion of Senator Margaret Chase Smith between the years 1968 and 1972. He conducted his in-person research over three days and the Library staff was able to provide him with hundreds of documents to aid his work. We are thrilled that David was able to utilize our resources and we can not wait to read his final paper.
Senate Minority Conference, Washington, DC
Circa September 1969
Time Magazine , September 5th, 1960
On loan from David Leigh
Autographed by Margaret Chase Smith
Researcher David Ballard at the Margaret Chase Smith Library, February 2022
Upcoming events
The University of Maine Margaret Chase Smith Library is an EEO/AA institution and does not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, transgender status, gender expression, national origin, citizenship status, age, disability, genetic information or veteran’s status in employment, education, and all other programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies: Director of Equal Opportunity, 101 Boudreau Hall, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469-5754, 207.581.1226, TTY 711.