Paper Ephemera

Do you have unwanted paper items (historical ephemera) relating to Millinocket tucked away somewhere in your house? Old local newspapers, scrapbooks, programs from various events, business advertisements of different kinds…these and many other paper items are valuable to the museum. One such item recently received is a perpetual calendar. A perpetual calendar is one that is valid for many years, usually designed to look up the day of the week for a given date in the future.

The museum received one for the years 1906-1916. About 4” x 6”, it appears to be of tin with a decorative edge and made to be hung on a wall with a red string. It features a picture of the Millinocket Congregational Church with an oval inset picture of the pastor Rev. A. William Lewis. On the bottom portion is the calendar, the days numbered 1-31 and the years appear below. A circular paper card with days of the week and more is attached and made to be turned so that information one is seeking appears through slits in the tin. A bit confusing at first, after a few tries it can be figured out. It works for past or future dates. This calendar was provided by a Chicago company to be used as a fundraiser.

This calendar was donated by Dick McKeen. It was among his mother’s possessions (Verna Thorpe McKeen). Verna (born c1910) grew up on Katahdin Avenue with her parents Pearl & Benjamin Thorpe. Verna’s life story is told in the book No Time for Moss by Sid McKeen (another son). During her lifetime, Verna lived in many places in the state of Maine and several places in Millinocket and in other states, thus the book’s title. The museum has several of these books for sale…it’s an interesting read!

Another example of interesting ephemera is paperwork donated by Rod Angotti. The museum received motor boat registration certificates dated 1936 and 1937 for the boats Rex and Lizzie to operate on the Lower Lakes. The certificates are in the name of the Norcross Transportation Co. as are the operator’s licenses for Albert F. Fowler. These boats were used to transport “sports” from the train or the Norcross Hotel to the mouth of the river. The “sports” would then go on to various sporting camps for their outdoor adventures.

Museum open Thursday, Friday, Saturday Noon-3PM, weather permitting! In the Museum Store! *** Get your 2021 Calendars! Theme: Millinocket, Oh! How We’ve Changed! $12 each, mail orders add $5 SH each calendar. Each page has several photos from different areas of town. *** Preowned yearbooks - $10.00 each. *** Matted photos, various prices – GNP mill, Little Italy, river drives, Mt. Katahdin. *** DVD’s, Little Italy Part 1 and Part 2 available at the museum ($15 each) or mail order ($15 each). ***Books: “Within Katahdin’s Realm, Log Drives and Sporting Camps” (Bill Geller) $30.00; “Logging Towboats & Boom Jumpers” (Moody) $18.00; “Tanglefoot,” (Edwards) $15.00; “Millinocket” (D. Duplisea) $20.00; “A Little Taste of History” cookbooks - $15.00; both Laverty books, $25 history & $10 architecture; “Our Real World,” (M. Murphy); “No Time for Moss (McKeen) $15.00 and several preowned books (out of print) by local authors. *** All items may be mailed – add $5 SH each item. *** For information, groups or appointments, contact Curator Trudy Wyman, 723-5477 or trudy18@beeline-online.net or the Millinocket Historical Society, P. O. Box 11, on the web at www.millinockethistoricalsociety.org or on Facebook.