On Wednesday, July 1st, 2009, the Union Historical Society members and friends
enjoyed a friendly and extremely informative program. Kerry Hardy of Rockland,
author of the just-released book Notes on a Lost Flute: a Field Guide to the Wabanaki,
is an extraordinary speaker who knows how to keep the audience interested and hanging
begging for more. Kerry and Rosey Gerry spend lots of time searching the woods
in Maine for trails and evidence teaching us the way the Abenaki, Micmac, Penobscot
(Panawahpskek), Pasamaquati, and all the other indian tribes lived and prospered
in these lands. Kerry is a delightful speaker, whether he speaks English or Abenaki
(without an accent!). UHS is lucky to have experienced his presentation. If you
would like to purchase a copy of the book, send us a note (nsantori@usa.net) and
we'll help you get one.
For our friends who missed the presentation on Wednesday the 1st, Kerry has
scheduled another presentation for the Warren Historical Society on Tuesday,
July 7th, 2009. For more information you may call Barbara Larson (curator) 273-3145-
larsonbr@tds.net or Dick Ferren 273-3061.
A preliminary plan was put forward by the selectmen. If you have any questions
or suggestions, feel free to contact the appropriate selectman. Our thanks to
John Gibbons for keeping us informed. Please keep in mind that this is plan
in progress, and many things may change between now and July 17. We'll do our
best to keep you informed, so check this site frequently. Below is information
on the Historical Society's Come Spring Bus Tour
and the Silent Movie later on in the Day. For further
details, and many more activities, please click
.
Sponsored by Union Historical Society, the annual Come Spring Bus Tour departs from the Union Town House on Town House Road off the Common at 9:30 a.m. on Founders Day, Saturday July 18, with tickets priced at $10.00. This popular narrated 2-hour bus tour follows the Georges River Scenic Byway and identifies sites where Union's early settlers built cabins and lived. The names of the settlers are documented in town records and their lives and stories are recounted by Ben Ames Williams in his 1940 historical novel Come Spring, recently reprinted by the Historical Society. Included in the tour are dismount stops at four historic sites, of which three are located on private property and are not open to the public at other times. After visiting settlers' gravesites in the Common Cemetery on Ayer Hill, the tour will stop at the cellar hole of the cabin where Philip Robbins' large family spent a crowded winter in 1776, and then at the homestead of Robbins' oldest son David. After a circuit over the blueberry barrens of Clarry Hill, tour participants visit the site of the "Royal Mess", the bachelor home of Jason Ware, Joel Adams and Matthias Hawes, overlooking the hillside where Adams and his wife Mima Robbins built their home. Come Spring Bus Tour tickets may be purchased in advance at the Robbins House, headquarters of Union Historical Society, on Wednesday and Saturday mornings, by calling 785-5444 and leaving a message.
The past comes to life again with the screening of a classic
silent movie at Union's Old Town House on Town House Road,
at 7:00 p.m. on Founders Day, Saturday
July 18.
The Union Historical Society will present CITY LIGHTS, filmed
in 1931 and starring Charlie Chaplin alongside Virginia Cherrill
and Harry Myers. Doug Protsik of The Old Grey Goose band, will
play the non-stop piano accompaniment from Chaplin's original
score.
With both the screenplay and the score written and
directed by Chaplin, CITY LIGHTS was immediately popular even
though Hollywood had completely switched to sound films by the
end of 1929. Perhaps the theme of Chaplin's broke and homeless
Little Tramp character, in trouble for trying to assist a poor
blind girl who is in danger of being evicted, resonated with
Depression era audiences. Full of Charlie Chaplin's trademark
comedy, running gags and pathos, CITY LIGHTS was one of the
great financial and artistic successes of his career, and
remained Chaplin's personal favorite of all his films. Of the
brilliant final scene, when the Little Tramp realizes that he
has yet again lost out on love and success, Chaplin said, "I'm
not acting ... Almost apologetic, standing outside myself and
looking ... It's a beautiful scene, beautiful, and because it
isn't over-acted."
For Doug Protsik, playing 87 minutes non-stop of mood pieces
to suit each scene of the movie is a little bit of heaven.
With a varied background in classical, folk, old-time and dance
music, Protsik fell naturally into his role as the "heir" of the
late Danny Patt, who at the age of 11 and for years thereafter
accompanied silent movies at the Old Town House in the 1920s.
Doug's enthusiasm for silent movies has led to work composing
and recording original scores for silent film restorations for
Turner Classic Movies cable network. He performs these scores
at the Maine International Film Festival every year. A resident
of Woolwich, Protsik joined with other musicians to form The Old
Grey Goose in 1978 and their energetic blend of traditional and
folk music has become a staple of the Maine music scene.
Union Historical Society is proud to present this old-time
entertainment for all ages. Thanks to a generous sponsor, tickets
are priced at $5.00 and can be purchased on Wednesday and Saturday
mornings at the Society's headquarters, the Robbins House on Union
Common, at the Historical Society booth on Founders Day, or at the
door of the Old Town House starting at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday July
18. The movie will begin at 7:00 p.m. For more information, call
Union Historical Society at 785-5444 and leave a message.
