2019 - 2020 NVHS Annual Report

New Vineyard Historical Society

July 2019 – September 2020

Fall is here and so is the New Vineyard Historical Society (NVHS) Annual Report covering July 2019 – September 2020 which would normally be published in the Town of New Vineyard Annual Report.

There was no Town Meeting this year and NVHS is following Maine COVID – 19 guidelines as a non essential business and suspended meetings and work sessions activities. We continue to monitor and follow Maine State guidelines and hope to be able to hold meetings and continue work sessions in the future. Please watch for information on local notice boards, facebook or visit our website at www.newvineyardhistorical.org.

Highlights from our meetings and work sessions include:

• · Tim Caverly – retired Maine Forest Ranger and Author entertained us and challenged our knowledge of Maine with his presentation - So You Think You Know Maine!

• · Local resident Dave Horn shared his research on New Vineyard History 1789 – 1820 updated with information that he has found regarding settlement of the land, families, war impact and discovery of poems by New Vineyard resident Clara Hanley Scribner.

• Fascinating insights in what it means to go “Climbing Around the World” were shared by Jim Albert and Melissa Shea with many details of their Mt. Everest, Mt. Blanc and Mt. Kilimanjaro expeditions.

• Jeff McAllister had us all guessing what the tool was and how it was used, as he shared his collection of Tools from the Past.

• The Potluck dishes made from recipes found in the 1975 New Vineyard Cook book made for a delicious supper with lots of discussion about the recipe contributor and their place in NV History. Copies of the are available

• A presentation by Holly Korda on The Knitting Brigades of WWI: Volunteers for Victory in America and Abroad provided a informative and different perspective on the role that knitting took during WW1 with highlights of Maine’s contribution.

• Fred O. Smith’s “New Vineyard, Maine” book continues to be a valuable item for visitors, new residents and used for research with people far and near (California, South Carolina, New Jersey, Waterville and Farmington). Copies are available for $20 and postage if mailed.

• The large document scanner at Maine State Library is still not available for digitization of artifacts such as books. We are still able to scan smaller items – photos, newspaper clippings, etc. with the Historical Society scanner.

• Names of the Town of New Vineyard Selectmen and other Town roles was created from Town Annual Reports – covering 1893 – 2019.

• Requests for information regarding residents of New Vineyard, cemeteries and the New Vineyard Rocker were responded to with articles and pictures.

We appreciate all our presenters, helpers and donors – whether identifying photos, to helping with research, presenting or providing artifacts. We ask for your involvement (time, memories, artifacts, questions) so that we can continue to preserve our community’s history. If you have something you would like to share, donate or to access materials in the Historical Society room - send mail to nvhistoricalsociety@hotmail.com or call 207 578-8308.

Respectfully submitted - Suzee Woods