A Newsletter for Friends of the Library
Vol. 39, No. 1

As we transition to longer days and warmer weather, the staff of the Margaret Chase Smith Library is planning for many exciting events in the coming months! National History Day contests are back in-person, field trips are returning, summer programing in conjunction with the Skowhegan Free Public Library will happen, and planning is underway for our annual Maine Town Meeting and Margaret Chase Smith Day. We also continue to update the facility with new storage materials and we are constantly refining our emergency planning to better protect our collections We hope everyone continues to be safe and healthy as we continue to inch our way back to normalcy.

In this issue, you will learn about our recent 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 and check out our up coming events section to see what’s on the horizon.

Directions

by David Richards

As an historian, I know how cruel history can be. As Benjamin Franklin humorously put it, "If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten; either write things worthy of reading, or do things worthy of writing."

While Margaret Chase Smith fulfilled both criteria through her Declaration of Conscience speech and book, the tendency is still to be forgotten with the passage of time. When the Library celebrated the centennial of Margaret’s birth in 1997, I would ask people if they knew who William Pierce Frye was. Few did. I could count on one hand the responders who came up with the correct answer that he had held the seat in the United States Senate that Margaret Chase Smith would eventually win election to in 1948. The point being that over the course of a century Senator Frye had become almost thoroughly forgotten.

At the Library, we are very cognizant that the natural tendency is for Senator Smith to be forgotten over time, too. Every year we are reminded of that when school groups visit. By a decade ago, just about every K-12 student was born after Margaret had passed away in 1995. This year it dawned on me that young teachers in their mid-twenties are now born after her death as well.

One of the ways societies try to keep memories alive is by naming things after people. There are several honors named after Margaret Chase Smith: the Library’s annual essay contest, research and public affairs scholarships at the University of Maine, and the National Association of Secretaries of State American Democracy Award. In addition, there are over two dozen places and structures that bear her name, ranging in chronology from the social hall at Camp Modin in Canaan, Maine, in 1962 to a library reading room at the US Embassy in Liberia in 2009 and also including one ferry, one Federal building, two senior apartment complexes, and two elementary schools.

That brings me to the Margaret Chase Smith School in Skowhegan, which was built in 1963 and named in her honor the following year. Senator Smith attended the 25th anniversary of the school in 1988, at which time she was presented with a commemorative clock. Structures, like humans, however, eventually wear out. A replacement building is in the process of being constructed. The question arose what to name it. Many people have assumed the Margaret Chase Smith designation would be carried on. Because the new facility will serve students beyond Skowhegan, the SAD 54 school board entertained suggestions for other names.

We have been astounded by the degree of interest in this issue. When we posted about it on the Library’s Facebook page, it was seen by over 10,000 people and elicited over 100 comments, almost all in support of retaining the name. While we await official determination of the matter, we take comfort in the knowledge that so many people still remember Margaret Chase Smith and hold her in such high regard. That makes for a solid foundation upon which to keep her memory and legacy alive for generations to come.

Communication Corner

By John Taylor

National History Day in Maine 2023

Planning for National History Day in Maine continues as contest season is in full swing! We started where we left off. On March 6, 2020, just weeks before everything shut down, our last in-person contest was held at Museum LA in Lewiston. Nearly to the day, on March 3, 2023, we finally held our first in-person contest in three years at the same venue now known as Maine MILL.

For many students and teachers this was a new experience. They were familiar with the virtual format, but many showed up nervous not knowing what to expect in a live contest setting. Our judges spent the day examining projects, interviewing the participants, and providing much needed feedback on how to improve their research. The students had an opportunity to be out of the classroom, learn new skills interacting with adults working in the field of humanities, allowed time to tour the Maine MILL exhibits, and experience everything downtown Lewiston has to offer. Finally, teachers received reassurance seeing their student’s hard work being acknowledged.

After three long years, I am proud to say that we knocked off the rust and ran a successful event with very few issues. I cannot thank my colleagues Nicole Rancourt from the Maine Humanities Council, Nicole Potter at the Margaret Chase Smith Library, Mary Kate MacVicar from Maine MILL, and my wife Amanda Taylor, an architectural historian from Kleinfelder, for all the work they put into making the day a success. NHD in Maine cannot function without their help.

We hope to continue these positive strides as we currently prepare for our next regional contest in Bangor at the John Bapst Memorial High School on March 25. This will culminate at our state contest at the University of Maine on April 29.

Judges Needed for NHD in Maine State Contest

We are currently still looking for judges for the event in April. Anyone can do it including teachers, professors, historians, museum professionals, or anyone with a substantial interest in history. All are welcome and no prior experience is necessary. The contest will take place on April 29, 2023 with some judging beginning roughly a week prior to that date. For more information contact me at john.m.taylor@maine.edu or sign up here by clicking the “create account” dropdown menu at the top left and choosing “judge”. It’s really that simple!

2023 MCSL Essay Contest

There’s still time for Maine High School seniors to submit their work for the twenty-seventh annual Margaret Chase Smith Library essay contest.

This year marks two very important anniversaries within the history of conservation and environmental protection. Interestingly both have a Maine connection. It is the 60th anniversary (1962) since the publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. Carson, a biologist who spent summers studying the sea at her home in Southport Island, Maine, wrote the influential book that warned of the declining bird populations and environmental harm caused by pesticides and synthetic substances. In fact, her book is credited with kickstarting the modern global environmental movement. It is also the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act (1972). Introduced to Congress by Margaret Chase Smith’s colleague and fellow Maine Senator, Edmund Muskie, the legislation helped set the framework to regulate pollutants and quality standards in our waters.

These two landmark events inspired many environmental milestones, but we are at a crossroads. It was recently reported that the years 2015 to 2022 are the eight warmest years on record. The consequences of this change in climate temperature include intense droughts, water scarcity, severe fires, rising sea levels, melting polar ice caps, catastrophic storms, and declining biodiversity. If this continues, Generation Z will be the ones who will face the dire consequences. This is why the Margaret Chase Smith Library invites students to consider what the proper role of government should be in responding to the issues surrounding climate change.

For more information and a full list of submission instructions you can click here.

learning Lounge

by Kim Nelson

School Field Trips

The last few months have flown by as the transition from winter to spring to summer has commenced. The staff hosted 11 elementary school field trips during the months of April and May. Teachers and students alike are enjoying our new stations. Margaret Chase Smith Bingo was specifically requested by one teacher as her students from last year had a great time playing it with me. We are looking forward to more field trips next school year.

Reading Round Up

I suggested that Nicole and I attend the Maine Library Association Reading Round Up in April as a way to reach out to school and public librarians to promote our field trip program. I also suggested that John come with us to promote National History Day. We decided to have attendees give us their contact information if they wished to receive a free Margaret Chase Smith DVD. We gave away 21 DVD’s, quite a bit of chocolate, and spoke with librarians from all over the state. It was a success for the library and NHD. We are already planning what to entice librarians to stop at our table during next year’s Reading Round Up.

National History Day Judging

It felt great to be back to National History Day judging. Although I have been judging since 2020, this was my first year in person and it was an entirely different experience. I was able to judge the Northern Region at John Bapst High School and later the State Competition at Orono. The student interviews are the best part of the day. They are excited to talk about what they learned and are proud to show off their work. To be a judge is an incredible experience and I encourage you to think about it for next year.

Library Programing

In April, I held my first program at the library to tie into the President Eisenhower exhibit that was on loan to the library from Rangely Historical Society. I asked Carroll Ware to speak at the library to talk about his new book, “On the Wrong Side of the River: Stories from a Maine Guide”. 27 attendees were entertained by Carroll, and his wife Lila, with stories from their lives as Maine Guides and their adventures both locally and internationally. Refreshments focused on fish or fishing with decorations including a tackle box, bobbers, an antique fly fishing rod, and aphoto of Margaret fishing to complete the theme.

On Tuesday, June 27, 2023, the library will be cosponsoring a slime program with the Skowhegan Free Public Library to enhance their summer reading program. This year’s slime will be mudpies and fireflies. We will be making a mud type slime with vegetables or a glow in the dark slime with glow in the dark bugs. The fun will be from 1-3 pm at the Margaret Chase Smith Library. We will also be hosting John Meader and his planetarium on Tuesday, August 1, 2023. The first showing starts at 10 am and the second showing is at 11:15 am. The planetarium is part of the SFPL summer reading program and a fun experience for local children. Finally, Margaret Chase Smith Day on Saturday, August 26, 2023 will include field day activities out on the library’s lawn to give children and their families a chance to play and enjoy the grounds of the library. More information on this event to come later this summer.

Past Perfect

I continue to work in the Past Perfect catalog. I am still entering books from our collection as well as continued clean up in the photos portion of the catalog. It is a slow process but an enjoyable one that allows me to put my library degree skills to work and keeps me quite busy during the down time between activities, programs, and planning future programs.

Research Roundup

by Nicole Potter

Elementary Field Trips

This past spring has been an incredibly busy and exciting time at the Margaret Chase Smith Library. One factor is that with spring comes field trips. It was a delight to open the doors of the Library and welcome in a range of students from schools all over central Maine. With younger students, I enjoyed teaching them about how the MCS Library functions differently than the libraries they may be familiar with already, typically their school library or the public library, and how the staff cares for the Library’s archival collections. We then spend the rest of our time examining a selection of documents, artifacts, and bound materials. This included a portrait of Senator Margaret Chase Smith painted in 1955 by Emily Muir, who was, among other things, an American painter and long-time Stonington, Maine, resident.

This painting typically gets the loudest reaction from the school groups out of all the materials I share with them. I think that’s for two reasons - 1) They are taken by the scale of the portrait and the size of the combined canvas and ornate wooden frame; 2) Visual materials, like the portrait, are able to capture the attention of students who struggle to engage with lectures or written materials.

The reason I have decided to share this painting with our field trips groups is not because of the quality of the portrait, although it is an excellent likeness of Senator Smith, or because of the importance of Emily Muir within the historical context of Maine’s artistic history, although she does have a sizeable presence, it’s because of the imagery Muir included alongside her subject. I always ask students to examine this portrait with a critical eye, share what they find, and then question why Muir has included that item - Why is there an elephant in the lower left corner? Who is the woman holding the torch? Why is Margaret pictured holding a pen? It’s been a fabulous experience sharing this object with students and hearing their observations.

High School Field Trips

In addition to welcoming elementary students to the Library, we also had the opportunity to host two separate high school field trips in March and April. One of these groups was the Maranacook Community High School AP US History class, who has been coming to the Margaret Chase Smith Library to engage in primary source research for many years. This visit is regularly scheduled in the spring in anticipation of the AP US History examination.

Part of the exam are document based questions (DBQ), which are essays or series of short-answer questions that are constructed by students using one's own knowledge combined with support from several provided sources. The AP US History Students from Maranacook Community High School are asked to invert this process. Instead of being asked for their response to a DBQ that is supported by previously selected sources, they are instead asked to locate sources within the Library’s collection and develop a DBQ that could be answered using those documents. It’s a fun project to assist them with and it gets the students to think critically about a process they’re already familiar with.

In April, the Skowhegan Area High School Honors Geography class visited to conduct primary source research on Senator Margaret Chase Smith’s World Trip. This was the first opportunity many of these students have had to engage with archival materials and was a fantastic learning experience. Students were divided into groups of two and each group was assigned one of the countries that Senator Smith visited. The Library has a range of types and quantities of materials for each of the countries she visited. As the students conducted their research, it was interesting to see how they dealt with either abundant or lacking resources and, also, what types of materials students were drawn towards. This was the first time that a Skowhegan Area High School Honors Geography class came to the Library and we hope they return soon!

Returning “President Eisenhower and the Rangeley Lakes Region” Exhibition

The beginning of May saw the end of the Margaret Chase Smith Library’s loan of the “President Eisenhower and the Rangeley Lakes Region” exhibition from the Rangeley Lakes Region Historical Society, Rangeley, Maine. We loved having this exhibit and to send it off we were thrilled to host two events at the Library.

The first was an author talk with the local celebrated Maine Guide, Carroll Ware. He spoke about his new book, “On the Wrong Side of the River: Stories from a Maine Guide,” and shared many stories from the book and unpublished anecdotes. This event was coordinated by my coworker Kim Nelson and was incredibly well received and attended.

The second was a paint night at the Library that was hosted by local instructor, Gretchen Washburn. Gretchen led thirteen of us through the process of painting a scene of a wooded coastline at sunset as seen from a canoe. What was wonderful was how all thirteen participants, including myself and Kim Nelson, received the exact same instruction from Gretchen but we produced thirteen different and unique pieces of art. It was a wonderful experience and I hope that Gretchen will return to the Library to host another artistic endeavor soon!

Upcoming events

Featured

Book Talk: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

Dec 17

Dec 17, 2024

6:00 PM – 7:30 PM18:00 – 19:306:00 PM – 7:30 PM

Book Talk: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

Dec 17, 2024

6:00 PM – 7:30 PM18:00 – 19:306:00 PM – 7:30 PM

Dec 17, 2024

6:00 PM – 7:30 PM18:00 – 19:306:00 PM – 7:30 PM