[Note: This article was originally written on May 31, 2020.] Today the last service of the First Congregational Church of Calais was held at the Congregational Church on Calais Avenue. While the number of participants in today’s service was nearly equivalent … Continue reading
There is no question the coronavirus seriously disrupted our social and economic life. Mandated social distancing and self-isolation imposed by the government to slow the spread of the virus are certainly taxing and were seen by some as too extreme … Continue reading
Over a century ago in 1912 St. Croix Valley communities were anxiously anticipating the annual end of summer Calais and St. Stephen Fairs. The St. Stephen Fair was already an established event, the Calais Fair at the new fairgrounds on … Continue reading
Above is a 1925 photo of the officers of the Calais Police Department in 1925. Sam Saunders, one of Calais’ most eminent and certainly most humorous historians of the era, described these fellows as follows: The way I recall, Scout Eye, was the … Continue reading
As this is the 50th Anniversary of the first St. Croix Valley International Festival we thought it a good time to look back at its history. The International Festival is unique in many ways but so is the relationship among … Continue reading
Boys lounge on Campobello’s rocky shore early 1900s This Passamaquoddy Bay is a vast and splendid archipelago, bigger and finer than the archipelago of Greece, among whose tempting islands Ulysses got lost. If one had a steamboat at his call … Continue reading
Shirttail parade early 1950s, probably 1954 One of the most popular events of local Fourth of July celebrations back in the late 40s and 50s was the “shirttail parade”. In Calais and St. Stephen men dressed in all manner of … Continue reading
The Vanceboro Bridge The photo above shows the railroad bridge between Vanceboro Maine and McAdam NB. It gained fame in World War One when a German saboteur, Werner Van Horn, attempted to blow it up to prevent supplies reaching Europe … Continue reading
Articles in San Francisco Examiner and Boston Journal circa 1880 “Swindlers” “Rascals” “Frauds” “Scoundrels” “Humbugs” “Artful Dodgers” and even more derogatory terms were used to describe Canadians by many irate editors of U.S. newspapers in the late 1800s. The editors … Continue reading
In 1896 the world’s imperialists continued to squabble over the few remaining African nations not yet under the thumb of one European nation or another. One of the few not yet totally subjugated was Ethiopia which, for reasons still unclear … Continue reading