Maine Historical Society - Programs Podcast

Lisa Brooks; Recorded March 22, 2018 - In Our Beloved Kin , Lisa Brooks recovers a complex picture of war, captivity, and Native resistance during the "First Indian War" (later named King Philip's War) by relaying the stories of Weetamoo, a female Wampanoag leader, and James Printer, a Nipmuc scholar, whose stories converge in the captivity of Mary Rowlandson. Through both a narrow focus on Weetamoo, Printer, and their network of relations, and a far broader scope that includes vast Indigenous geographies, Brooks leads us to a new understanding of the history of colonial New England and of American origins. Brooks’s pathbreaking scholarship is grounded not just in extensive archival research but also in the land and communities of Native New England, reading the actions of actors during the seventeenth century alongside an analysis of the landscape and interpretations informed by tribal history.

Patricia Q. Wall; Recorded February 10, 2018 - Through her new book, Lives of Consequence: Blacks in Early Kittery & Berwick in the Massachusetts Province of Maine , author Patricia Q. Wall reveals new startling information about the era of slavery in Maine's earliest settled region. Based on six years of intense research, Mrs. Wall’s wealth of findings not only banish the old myth of slavery's scarcity in Maine, they clearly point to significant impact of the labor, skills, and knowledge of hundreds of enslaved Blacks (i.e. Africans, Native Americans and people of mixed African, white and/or Native American heritage) on slave-owning families and on early economic development of communities and towns. Patricia Wall's book is available in the MHS Museum Store or online here .

Richard Rubin, author; Recorded April 20, 2017 - In The Last of the Doughboys , Richard Rubin introduced readers to a forgotten generation of Americans: the men and women who fought and won the First World War. But he soon came to realize that to get the whole story, he had to go Over There , too. So he did, and discovered that while most Americans regard that war as dead and gone, to the French, who still live among its ruins and memories, it remains very much alive. Based on his wildly popular New York Times series, Back Over There is a timely journey, in turns reverent and iconoclastic but always fascinating, through a place where the past and present are never really separated.

Jacqueline Field, adjunct curator; Recorded February 23, 2017 - Costume historian and adjunct curator of MHS, Jacqueline Field, discusses the economic implications of world war. Prior to World War I, Germany provided the world’s supply of textiles dyes. As the war began, embargoes were imposed and trade routes disrupted. The lack of dyes forced American industries to scramble and figure out to create their own dyes effectively. White became very fashionable in the meantime. Hear about the impact of this economic shift and visit us to see the beautiful fashions on display in the World War I and the Maine Experience exhibition.

Recorded January 12, 2017 - Listen to a conversation between Lucas St. Clair, the man behind the newly named North Woods national monument, and Steve Bromage, MHS Executive Director. The Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument in Maine’s northern woods region came by the determination and grit of St. Clair. This federally protected land promises to revolutionize the region’s economy, but it did not happen without controversy. Questions about its future still remain. Guests learned about this vast area of land given to the American people, and had an opportunity to ask their own questions. Audio quality is faint at times but it's worth a listen!!

Dr. Ronald Epp, author and historian; Recorded October 26, 2016 - Author and historian Dr. Ronald Epp speaks about his important book, documenting Dorr's pivotal role in the creation of Acadia National Park. The first biography of George B. Dorr ever written, Creating Acadia National Park: the Biography of George Bucknam Dorr is based on painstaking research both in the US and abroad, including federal, state, and private archives. Newly-discovered and uncatalogued sources are supplemented by in-person interviews.

Mount Desert Historical Society Executive Director Tim Garrity; Recorded September 22, 2016 - George Dorr intended for Acadia National Park's "noble granite masses" to "become true historic documents that will record forever to succeeding generations the human background of the Park." However, no history lasts forever. The French historian Fernand Braudel taught that "History is the child of its time." The names that Dorr gave to Acadia's mountains tell us as much about the time of the park's founding as it does about the more distant past. In this illustrated lecture, reprized from the MHS Annual Meeting in 2016, Tim Garrity reflects on the history of the park as we understand it now and as the founders understood it a century ago.

Paul Ledman, Author; Recorded August 11, 2016 - In Walking Through History: Portland, Maine on Foot , Paul Ledman brings the city’s history to life through photos and maps, appealing to city residents as well as its visitors. Enjoy this short talk by Ledman at the book launch for Walking Through History: Portland, Maine on Foot .

Recorded June 23, 2016 - Through historical anecdotes and fascinating oral histories, Maine Nursing: Interviews and History on Caring and Competence explores the remarkable sacrifices and achievements of Maine's nurses who have served tirelessly as caregivers and partners in healing at home and abroad, from hospitals to battlefields. Authors Susan Henderson and Juliana L'Heureux talk about their book.

Recorded July 6, 2016 - In companion to Images of Destruction: Remembering the Great Portland Fire of 1866 --our exhibit examining the city's devastating fire of July 4, 1866--enjoy the fascinating look at the history behind this infamous event. On this sesquicentennial anniversary of the fire, former State Representative Herb Adams lead a discussion with Maine State Historian Earle G. Shettleworth, Jr., and authors Allan Levinsky and Michael Daicy on the reason for the fire, its impact on the city of Portland, how the city rose from the ashes to rebuild, and the ephemera and memory of this important event on generations of Portland families. Watch the Video Images of Destruction: Remembering the Great Portland Fire of 1866 and related programs are supported by Luminato Condos : Building inspiration for a city on the rise.