selected MHC grants made between september 15, 2005 and june 1, 2006

 

Bingham

Heritage Guide Training

$1,000: The Old Canada Road is a 78-mile stretch of northern Route 201 with a rich history all its own. Area recreational guides have captive audiences who are eager to learn about the road and the river that follows it, yet the guides are not formally prepared to disseminate historical knowledge. This summer, with help from the National Scenic Byway Program and a Kennebec-Chaudière outreach grant, the Old Canada Road Historical Society presented a class and curriculum to train the recreational guides to present the history of the region to the sportsenthusiasts and tourists in their charge. To learn more, please contact coordinator Bob Haynes at oldcanada@verizon.net. > Old Canada Road Scenic Byway

Monhegan Island

The Hermit of Manana

$750: Ray Phillips, the famous hermit of Manana Island, rejected a career in New York City in favor of an isolated life on a tiny deserted island. In doing so, he attracted an enormous amount of voyeuristic attention until his death in 1975. In a new documentary, filmmaker Elisabeth Harris uses his life story to explore questions about solitude, connectedness, and eccentricity. “The Hermit of Manana” made its world premiere on May 30, as part of the City Visions Film Festival in New York City, where it won awards for Best Editing and Best Cinematography. On July 6, the film was shown at the Monhegan Island Ecology Seminar; it was also a part of the Maine International Film Festival in Waterville. To learn more or order a DVD, please visit www.thehermitofmanana.com. > Monhegan Museum

Top right: Ray Phillips, circa 1950s–60s.
photo: yolla niclas ©monhegan museum
Bottom: Elisabeth Harris and Ira Blanchard filming on Manana Island.
photo: joe spies

Portland

Maine-Aomori Bilingual Picture Book

$500: The First Lady of Maine, Karen Baldacci, who takes a particular interest in literacy and the education of young children, has initiated a bilingual book project involving the sister states of Maine and Aomori, Japan. The project’s goal is an illustrated children’s book that will introduce children from each country to the cultures of Maine and Aomori. Maine’s representative, Scott Nash, traveled to Aomori in November 2005 to meet with Toshiki Sawada, an Aomori-born artist of considerable renown in Japan. When Sawada-san paid his reciprocal visit to Maine in May 2006, he worked with students at the Maine College of Art and in Maine elementary schools. Publication of the book, with an introduction co-written by Mrs. Baldacci and Mrs. Mimura, the wife of the governor of Aomori, is tentatively set for the fall of 2006. To learn more about this collaboration, please contact Elizabeth Adams of the Maine-Aomori Sister-State Advisory Council, eadams1@gwi.net. > Maine College of Art and the Maine-Aomori Sister-State Advisory Council

Governor Mimura and Karen Baldacci exchange gifts at their initial meeting.
photos: sally baughman

Thomaston

Teen Reading Center

Poster for Teen Pizza Party, created by Debby Atwell.

$1,000: The Thomaston Public Library opened a Teen Reading Center and graphic novel collection late last year. Since then, circulation of graphic novels has increased from five books in two weeks to nearly 200. Jon Bogdanove, a nationally-known artist who has worked on “Superman” and “The Fantastic Four,” brought the cartooning clubs he directs at the local public schools to the Teen Reading Center. Following their visit, he wrote, “the middle-schoolers did their best work ever after their field trip to the library. Clearly a direct result. The air of scholarly legitimacy with which you’ve endowed the genre, mixed with feelings of unhindered fun and self-expression, has encouraged students to think more seriously about their own writing and drawing—and maybe even the broader range of options open to them in life.” For details and upcoming events, please contact the Thomaston children’s librarian, Debby Atwell, debby@thomaston.lib.me.us. > Thomaston Public Library

waterville

Lebanese Heritage Mural

Waterville’s Lebanese population, the oldest and largest in the state, was established over 100 years ago and has had a tremendous influence on the city’s social, cultural, religious, and economic development. This summer, Maine artist Kevin James will create a mural celebrating this distinctive Lebanese heritage. The mural’s design has been shaped by one-on-one interviews, extensive research, and public meetings with the Lebanese community. Kevin’s work on the 25 x 60 foot mural at 51 Main Street was unveiled during the Waterville In-Town Arts Fest on July 29, and community members stopped by to observe the process and ask questions of the artist. For details, please call 207-680-2055. > Waterville Main Street

Through the window rises the steeple of Saint Joseph’s Maronite Church, one of the original and current centers of the Lebanese community in Waterville. The basketball represents Waterville’s 1944 New England Championship team, the majority of whose players were Lebanese. Among the other items on the desk are a map of Lebanon, a map of the Lebanese neighborhood in Waterville, a gavel representing the many Lebanese who pursued careers in law, a spool of thread for the textile mills that brought many of the Lebanese here, and a selection of Lebanese food.