PRESQUE ISLE – The Historical Pavilion celebrated its 12th year at the Northern Maine Fair and Music Festival this year. The Pavilion had more than 27 exhibits and living history demonstrations representing historical societies and private collections from throughout Aroostook County. The Pavilion was held for three days, from Aug. 4-6, in The Forum building on the fairgrounds and was supported by a sponsorship from Kentucky Fried Chicken/Taco Bell.
“Getting the displays has been more of a challenge in recent years,” said Carol Bell, chair of the Historical Pavilion, “as some of the societies have increasingly aging memberships. This year, we expanded to include Northern Maine Community College and the University of Maine at Presque Isle. We were fortunate to have civic organizations participate to display their history including the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and the Rotary, in addition to local businesses.
“I will be looking for more businesses and civic groups next year who are interested in displaying their history at the Pavilion since I feel that many organizations in Aroostook County have a long and interesting history that they would love to share with us,” she said. “We were also fortunate to have staff from the Maine Archives and Museums participate and meet with many historical societies to better understand the needs in Aroostook County.”
The prestigious “Best Overall Exhibit” award this year went to the Presque Isle Historical Society. The exhibit this year included several displays, one on the history of Wilder’s Jewelry Store, a display of the history of curling in central Aroostook and the history of the Northern Maine Fair. This display was well received with many people stopping to relive their memories of curling and the Northern Maine Fair from long ago.
The “Best Living History Display” went to the North Country Spinners for a display set up to replicate an early 1900s home with several spinners working in all phases of the spinning process.
“The display took you back in time and gave you a sense of the amount of work required to produce yarn to be able to make clothing to keep their families warm for the winter,” Bell said.
Other living history displays included making corn husk dolls, which was a hit with all ages, wood carving and many quilters working together to put the final touches to finish a quilt.
The exhibit given the “Most Knowledgeable Staff” award was the Aroostook Genealogical Society.
“The staff was very impressive with their knowledge,” said Bell. “In fact, they were able to find my family going back four generations in a matter of minutes. They were great to talk to with the enthusiasm they have for genealogy.”
“Best Artifact” award went to Chris Langille for his 1961 antique snowmobile.
“This year was the first year we solicited folks to bring antique snowmobiles and we were fortunate to have over 25 sleds in our display,” Bell said. “Another first in the Pavilion was a small plane, a replica of the one that was used in the James Bond movie, ‘Octopussy.’”
The exhibit given the “Best Business Display” was Northern Maine Community College. The college displayed the history of the college from its beginning in the early 1960s when it was Northern Maine Vocational Technical Institute, taking us through the years as it evolved into the current NMCC,” said Bell. “The evolution of the college was very interesting to see.”
One learning opportunity for those coming to the Pavilion this year was a scavenger hunt. Each person who came in to see the displays could take a 10-question scavenger hunt. Questions were related to the displays so they had to talk to the staff and/or search for the answer at the booths.
Many people participated and a prize package was won by a child from Perham who answered all the questions correctly.
“Each year has gotten better with more displays and variety,” said Bell. “We are looking forward to 2010 to see what new and exciting displays we can dig up.”
If you are interested in having a display in 2010, you can contact Carol Bell at 764-1403 or e-mail carolsuebell@yahoo.com.
Photo courtesy of Rick Asam
THIS JOHN R. BRADEN TROPHY was just one of the items on display as part of the Presque Isle Historical Society’s exhibit featured at the Historical Pavilion during this year’s Northern Maine Fair and Music Festival. The exhibit, which won “Best Overall Exhibit,” featured the history of the Northern Maine Fair, as well as the history of Wilder’s Jewelry Store and curling in central Aroostook County.
