Calais in the early 1800’s was a pretty rowdy town if the reports of drinking and brawling even during town meetings are any indication of the general behavior of some of the local citizens. This isn’t even taking into account … Continue reading
Nathaniel “Nat” Barker was born January 27, 1878 and grew up in Dresden, Maine. He was a good student and worked in his father’s ice business on the Kennebec River. The work of cutting ice and loading it onto ships for transport … Continue reading
The November 2017 newsletter included photographs from the 2017 Cemetery Tour, the continuation of John Gardner’s story by Brand Livingstone, the story of Archibald Rogers by Dorothy Rogers, and updates on officer news and the Holmestead porch project. November 2017 … Continue reading
We found a 1900 article from the Eastport Sentinel in our files the other day describing a confrontation between a streetcar and a horse on Hinckley Hill. The winner was – well, you know the answer already, and we’ll provide details later – but … Continue reading
1907 was, to be honest, not a very exciting year. There was little international conflict other than the dispatch of US troops to Honduras to fight another round in the “Banana Wars” on behalf of US commercial interests. The French … Continue reading
We were asked this week to provide some information to Lura Jackson, editor of the Calais Advertiser, about immigrants to the St. Croix Valley in days past. She is writing an article for this week’s paper. While doing some research … Continue reading
The tradition of sending Christmas cards began in the early 1840’s in England. The “Penny Post” system was instituted in England in 1840 and sending letters to friends and family became cheap and popular- so popular in fact that during … Continue reading
The most important news of 1914 was, of course, the beginning of the Great War in early August. Above, the St Croix Courier of August 8, 1914 reports the declaration of war. In the beginning, very few … Continue reading
According to John Howe of Cooper, the Calais Academy class of “45” was known as the “hard luck” class. There was, of course, the war and the tragedy of June 1944 haunting the class, and when commencement was held at … Continue reading
In 1897, a Calais schooner went missing after leaving port in Calais as it headed toward Martha’s Vineyard. Five local men were aboard. While the vessel was eventually identified when it arrived in broken pieces, the men went missing – … Continue reading