Maine Historical Society - Programs Podcast

Speaker: Ernest Freeberg, Distinguished Professor of Humanities, University of Tennessee-Knoxville; Recorded March 28, 2013 - Ernest Freeberg, author of Age of Edison: Electric Light and the Invention of Modern America , which Publishers Weekly calls "illuminating," delivers the keynote talk related to the 2012-13 museum exhibit, Wired! How Electricity Came to Maine . Dr. Freeberg shares his resea...

Speaker: Brenda Gilchrist; Recorded November 13, 2012 - Author Brenda Gilchrist talks about her memoir, Waltzing with Bracey: A Long Reach Home , about her journey back to Maine, and to the Deer Isle cottage of her ancestors, to claim her place in the world. The cottage, coincidentally, was designed by Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow, Henry's nephew. Joining her on the adventure is Bracey, her Corg...

Speaker: Jane Brox; Recorded October 25, 2012 - As part of an ongoing series of talks related to the 2012-13 museum exhibit Wired: How Electricity Came to Maine , Jane Brox focuses on the topic of rural electrification, the process that brought electricity to America's countrysides and farm families in the early part of the 20th century. In addition to the extensive research on the topic that she...

Speaker: James S. Leamon; Recorded October 2, 2012 - What were the reasons for--and the price of--loyalism during the American Revolution? James Leamon, Bates College professor of history emeritus, explores the complexities of the Loyalist stance in his new book, The Reverend Jacob Bailey Maine Loyalist: For God, King, Country, and for Self . Bailey, a former Congregational preacher, converted to...

Speaker: Monica Wood; Recorded September 27, 2012 - Maine author Monica Wood presents her latest book, When We Were the Kennedys which the Maine Sunday Telegram calls "a marvel of storytelling." Subtitled A Memoir from Mexico, Maine , the story takes place in 1963, beginning with the April morning when Wood's father, a foreman at Oxford Paper Company, died on his way to work. From there, the book...

Speaker: Storyteller John McDonald; Recorded July 26, 2012 - Professional storyteller John McDonald, author of the now-classic A Moose and a Lobster Walk into a Bar , offers up his unique take on Maine trivia. John delivers an educational and hilarious mix of basic and fun facts about the Pine Tree State, including, of course, more than a few wicked funny stories, and the illustrations by Mark Ric...

Speaker: Historian William David Barry; Recorded July 12, 2012 - A concise, solid, and surprising overview of 500 years of Maine history, Maine: the Wilder Half of New England , ranges from first contact between Native Americans and European explorers to the achievement of a Down East identity, national political power, and worldwide cultural identification. Historian and MHS staff member Barry ex...

Recorded May 15, 2012 - Development and use of the Portland waterfront is an ongoing policy balancing act, and has significant implications for Portland's economic development, harborside landscape, and the city's identity and heritage. This panel presentation explores the issues that the city, developers, business and property owners, fishermen and lobstermen, preservationists, and city residents...

Recorded April 24, 2012 - The bridges and roadways that connect Portland to the interstate and surrounding communities play an essential role in the life of the city and are a defining characteristic of its landscape. This panel presentation explorers the rebuilding of the Veterans Memorial and Martin's Point bridges which mobilized diverse stakeholders, and raised issues ranging from cost to traf...

Speaker: Dr. Alan Taylor, Professor of History, University of California, Davis; Recorded April 19, 2012 - The year 2012 marked the bicentennial of the War of 1812, a formative moment in both Maine and U.S. history and the subject of Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Alan Taylor's new book. Taylor tells the riveting story of a war that redefined North America--an often brutal and sometimes comic wa...

Speaker: Rosamond Purcell, Photographer; Recorded April 5, 2012 - Rosamond Purcell speaks about her 2003 book Owls Head: On the Nature of Lost Things in which the unique 13 acres mounded high with scrap, antiques, and historical ephemera owned by William Buckminster. One day, in passing "Bucky" mentioned that the only person he would like to have acquire his two-centuries-old brass foundry would b...

Recorded March 20, 2012 - A panel of presenters examines Portland's downtown corridors, how they help define Portland's urban landscape, and what future development might look like. While roadways like Congress and State Streets are defined by architecture, travel patterns, business and residential development, pedestrian routes, and landscape features, certain corridor--like Franklin and Spring S...

The Richard D'Abate Lectures: Conversations About History, Art, and Literature (Program 1 of 7) Series details.; Recorded March 6, 2012 - Readings by two Maine Poet Laureates. The poets' readings will reflect themes in Longfellow's poetry, his stance as a poet, and his attitude toward social issues of his time.

Moderator:Terrence DeWan, Landscape Architect, Panelists: Bill Brownell, Fort Williams Advisory Commission; Lynn Shaffer, Arboretum at Fort Williams; and Dick Gilbane, Friends of Goddard Mansion; Recorded February 21, 2012 - Fort Williams, a town-owned park in Cape Elizabeth, is one of Greater Portland's gems. A former military base and home to the iconic Portland Head Light, the seaside park is o...