By Karen Donato
Special to the Pioneer Times
Saturday, Jan. 18 marks the date for the Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum in Littleton to host their annual membership supper. Organized in 2001, this all-volunteer organization began with a handful of members and a board of directors who paid a fee to belong to the group. Since then, the former Littleton School has been filled with a variety of items used on farms and in homes throughout the region.
Photo by Karen Donato
PRESERVING THE COUNTY HERITAGE — Volunteers attending a recent Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum meeting viewed several DVDs featuring local residents and farming operations that had been transferred from VHS tapes. Over time the tapes will lose their quality and in order to preserve these interviews and photos Brian McMann of Houlton has been transferring the tapes to the discs. They feature tours of Cedric and Emily Shaw’s Pastime Museum, potato harvest and other interesting interviews of residents and local farms. Viewing them were, from left, Paul Klein, Jay Clark and Francis Fitzpatrick, president of the museum. The DVDs will be available for the general public to view any time the museum is open.
Volunteers built a barn in 2006 to house large pieces of equipment with the help of donations from individuals, the Houlton Rotary Club and many businesses. A small store has also been constructed and a one-room schoolhouse was moved to the property from the Treston Bubar farm on the Ross Ridge Road.
The Ag. Museum membership has increased from a few dozen to more than 100 members. January marks the membership drive and with a paid membership each member is a guest for the supper, otherwise anyone can attend and pay $9 per meal. The menu features beef or turkey pie with serving beginning at 4:30 p.m. until 6, but one never wants to wait until the last minute to arrive, by chance the food has run out.
Through donations many projects are worked on during the year, one such project that is ongoing at this time is the transfer of several VHS tapes to DVDs. Brian McMann of Houlton has been instrumental in this project and several volunteers watched the presentation at a recent meeting held at the museum.
DVDs available to watch at the museum include: “A tour of Cedric and Emily Shaw’s Pastime Museum, the building of the Carl and Helen Hagan Barn, the moving of the Ross School and Anna School’s Day 1980.” There will be more in the future.
Guests may view these episodes in the meeting room at the museum the night of the supper or any time the museum is open for an event.
If anyone is interested in becoming a member, there are a variety of memberships available at varying fees: single membership, $20; family, $30; sodbuster, $50; thresher, $100; farmer of the year, $250; single lifetime, $500, couple lifetime, $750. Being a member does not obligate a person to any work, but does help support the efforts of those preserving the heritage of The County.
Send checks for memberships or donations to: SAAM, 304 Campbell Road, Littleton, ME 04730. The museum is a 501c3 non-profit organization and an equal opportunity provider. For more information call 694-6099.
