Registration open for Museum L-A history camp

LEWISTON   – Youths age 8 through 12 are invited to register for Museum L-A’s upcoming Summer Vacation History Camp. This year’s theme is “Change Over Time” and will take place July 13, 14 and 15 from 10 a.m. to 12 Noon. Registrants may sign up for all three days or single days.  The fee is $10 per day or $25 for all three days. Museum L-A Educators Joan Beal and Diane Williams developed the programs and will lead the sessions. Camp activities and programs are:

-Day 1 “Bobbin Girl”  Read and hear the story “Bobbin Girl” and complete activities related to the life of child workers in the textile mills of Lowell, Massachusetts.

-Day 2 “Weave and Spin”  Card, spin and weave cotton by hand, then tour Museum L-A to see how textiles were produced during the Industrial Age.

-Day 3 “Purchasing Power”  Participants will explore the answers to these questions: What would your family income be in 1900 if you worked in the mills? What could you buy and how much would it cost? How is it different from today?

“This year’s history camp will be a fun, hands-on way for children to get a glimpse at what it meant to work in Lewiston-Auburn’s textile mills,” notes Beal. “We’ve had fun designing the programs. The looms and spindles are waiting.”

The camp is being sponsored by Austin Associates, P.A., Certified Public Accounts and also made possible through a Rural Business Enterprise Grant from the United States Department of Agriculture. Registration is limited to 12 participants each day. For more information or to register, please call 207-333-3881 or send an email to jbeal@museumla.org. Museum L-A is located in the Bates Mill Complex at the corner of Canal and Chestnut streets in Lewiston.

Museum seeks volunteers for outdoor cleanup

 LEWISTON   –  Museum L-A is holding a “Helping Hands and Hearts Day” on Saturday, June 19 from 9 a.m. to noon at the site of its future location – the former Camden Yarns Mill on Beech Street. Volunteers are needed to help spruce up the grounds of the building in preparation for special events to be held this summer.

“We are looking for volunteers to rake, sweep, weed-whack, pull weeds and pick up rocks and stones,” said Museum L-A Executive Director Rachel Desgrosseilliers. She also noted that equipment is also needed to do the work. “The community has been so responsive to our requests for help,” Desgrosseilliers added. “We have been able to accomplish so much and are very thankful.” 

Anyone interested in helping out on June 19 is asked to call the Museum at 207-333-3881.

Museum L-A “Voices” series:

Muticultural panel to share stories of resettlement in L-A

LEWISTON   – Discover more about Lewiston-Auburn’s diverse immigrant population when Museum L-A’s popular “Voices” lecture series continues at 7 p.m. on June 10 with “Journey to America, Weaving a Cultural Tapestry.” It is the second of a three-part series being held in conjunction with the Museum’s current exhibit “Rivers of Immigration: Peoples of the Androscoggin.”

 Featured speakers are Mexican, Somali, Sudanese, Somali Bantu and Chinese neighbors who now call the Twin Cities their home. They will share how they came to resettle in Maine and some of the challenges and benefits of their relocation.

 Museum L-A’s 2010 “Voices” lecture series is being presented free of charge and underwritten by Androscoggin Bank. Museum L-A is located at 35 Canal Street in the Bates Mill Complex – at the corner of Canal and Chestnut streets. For more information, please call 207-333-3881 or email info@museumla.org

Free admission at Museum L-A for active duty military personnel

LEWISTON — Museum L-A is pleased to announce its participation in the Blue Star Museum program offering free admission to all active duty military personnel and their families from Memorial Day through Labor Day 2010. Museum L-A is one of only two Blue Star Museums in Maine.

The free admission program is available to active duty and deployed military and up to five of their immediate family members. Eligible military include active-duty Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard and active-duty Reserve and active-duty National Guard. Immediate family members who are eligible for free admission include spouse, sibling or child of active duty military. To qualify for free admission, a Geneva Conventions Common Access Card (CAC) for active duty military personnel or a DD Form 1173 for active duty military family must be presented to Museum L-A staff upon arrival. Children under the age of 10 without military ID are welcome to attend with their parents or siblings who either hold a CAC Geneva Conventions ID or a DD 1173 active duty military family ID.

Blue Star Museums is a partnership among Blue Star Families, the National Endowment for the Arts, and more than 600 museums across America.  Blue Star Families is a national, non-partisan, non-profit network of military families from all ranks and services including guard and reserve, with a mission to support, connect and empower military families.  The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts – both new and established – bringing the arts to all Americans, and providing leadership in arts education. To find out which additional museums are participating, visit www.arts.gov/bluestarmuseums.  The site includes a list of participating museums and a map to help with visit planning.

Museum L-A is currently offering two special exhibits in addition to its second-floor gallery focusing on the textile and shoe making industries of Lewiston-Auburn and the people who worked in them. Portraits & Voices: Brickyard Roads tells the story of the local brickmaking industry through first-person oral histories, documentary photographs, films showing the process of the past and present, specially-commissioned artwork celebrating the art of brickmaking, and more.  Rivers of Immigration: Peoples of the Androscoggin showcases the cultural diversity of Lewiston-Auburn, historically and in the present, with an illustrated timeline, interactive writing wall, photographs, and personal histories contributed by local English-language learners. Museum L-A is located in the historic Bates Mill at 35 Canal Street and open from Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information call 207-333-3881 or email info@museumla.org .

Museum L-A needs volunteers for historic race

LEWISTON   – On Sunday, June 27, Museum L-A is holding its first duathlon and is looking for volunteers to help with a variety of race-day activities.   LADU is slated to be historic in proportion and go down in the 2010 race books as the biggest duathlon in the state of Maine. This new race will be a 3-mile-run, 14-mile-bike and 3-mile-run in which athletes will race past historic millscapes, scenic paths and the mightiest river in Maine to benefit the preservation and celebration of L-A’s rich heritage underway at Museum L-A.

Museum L-A will need 100 volunteer to ensure a successful and safe event. Volunteer opportunities include duties such as athlete check-in, transition area support, bike and run course support. All volunteers will receive a race-day volunteer T-shirt and Maine State Park Passport. Please contact Museum L-A at 207-333-3881 for more information or visit the LADU section of the museum’s website at www.museumla.org/ladu.

Karla Leandri Rider of Museum L-A, left, and Irma McGuinness of Walmart Supercenter Auburn, right, are in charge volunteers for the upcoming LADU race on June 27.

Payday at Androscoggin Mill - circa 1910-1920. Paymaster Arthur B. Moorehouse, left, and Mr. Getchell.

Museum L-A to host discussion “The Culture of Money” 

 LEWISTON  – Museum L-A’s popular “Voices” lecture series continues at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 20 with “The Culture of Money” – a discussion of  money and banking for newcomers in Lewiston-Auburn. It is the first of a three-part series being held in conjunction with the Museum’s current exhibit “Rivers of Immigration: Peoples of the Androscoggin.”

The May 20 event includes a discussion of how Androscoggin Bank has worked with newcomers from other countries and cultures to Lewiston-Auburn – both historically and in the present. Anthropology students will discuss their research on immigrants’ relationship with money and about banking activities. Slated as featured speakers are: CJ Conrad, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Androscoggin Bank; Elizabeth Eames, Ph.D., Bates College, Associate Professor of Anthropology; and Bates College students.

The Spring 2010 “Voices” lecture series is being presented free of charge and underwritten by Androscoggin Bank. Museum L-A is located at 35 Canal Street in the Bates Mill Complex – at the corner of Canal and Chestnut streets. For more information, please call 207-333-3881 or email info@museumla.org .

Museum L-A announces major LADU sponsor

LEWISTON  –  Museum L-A accepted a major contribution to underwrite the historic guide for the June 27 LADU: A Duathlon of Historic Proportion. The $3,000 in support will fund research, design and production of the historic race guide, included with each race registration. The guide will highlight the unique race course and includes historic notes and photographs about the landmarks participants will race by.  LADU benefits preservation efforts under way at Museum L-A. The 3 mile run, 14 mile bike and 3 mile finishing run will provide participants of all ages to connect with the history of L-A, this Preserve America destination. Participants will run amid historic millscapes, cycle along the mighty Androscoggin River and race in the midst of over a century of history in Lewiston-Auburn. Pictured in the photo, from left, are: Dr. David N. Abisalih and Dr. Robert J .Weiss of Androscoggin Cardiology; Rachel Desgrosseilliers and Jennifer Dube-Works of Museum L-A; and Dr. Dervilla McCann of Androscoggin Cardiology. Contact Museum L-A at 333-3881 or visit www.museumla.org/ladu for more information.

Museum L-A Accepts LADU Race Sponsorship

            LEWISTON  – On Sunday, June 27, Museum L-A will launch the inaugural LADU: A Duathlon of Historic Proportion. Starting from the Camden Yarns Mill in the Simard-Payne Park, LADU benefits preservation efforts under way at Museum L-A. The 3 mile run, 14 mile bike and 3 mile finishing run will provide participants of all ages to connect with the history of L-A, this Preserve America destination, like never before. Participants will run amid historic millscapes, cycle along the mighty Androscoggin River and race in the midst of over a century of history in Lewiston-Auburn. This event will culminate with a family fun race expo and awards ceremony. Relay teams and individuals are encouraged to connect and engage with our amazing landscape through LADU.  Walmart Supercenter in Auburn and Walmart Logistics has generously provided $4,000.00 to assist in underwriting the cost of this race for preservation. Pictured in the photo, from left, are: Jennifer Dube-Works, Museum L-A Development Director; Cathlin Foster, General Manager, Walmart Distribution Center, Lewiston; Irma McGuinness, Personnel Manager/Community Involvement Coordinator, Walmart Supercenter, Auburn; and Rachel Desgrosseilliers, Museum L-A Executive Director.

Museum L-A launches “LADU” – “A Duathlon of Historic Proportion”

            LEWISTON -  On Sunday, June 27 Museum L-A will introduce the community to another exciting and unique way to celebrate its rich history and sense of place with the inaugural LADU, a “Duathlon of Historic Proportion.” On the heels of last year’s highly acclaimed “Echoes in Time” music extravaganza, this event combines athletic competition – running and cycling – with awareness and appreciation for local, historic landmarks in L-A. This challenging, scenic and safe event provides a unique opportunity to run amid Lewiston and Auburn’s century old mills, cycle along the mighty Androscoggin River and its powerful canals while affording racers the ability to experience and engage with L-A’s rich story of textiles, shoes and brick in an inspiring family event. Launching and finishing at Camden Yarns Mill, future home of Museum L-A, participant entry fees will benefit restoration and preservation efforts underway at Museum L-A located in this Preserve America City. The 3-mile-run, 14-mile-bike and 3-mile-finish culminates with a finish-line award ceremony with amazing and historic first-place prizes for every age category.

All racers receive a historic guide and maps highlighting landmarks, neighborhoods and natural resources along three inspiring race routes. In keeping with Museum L-A’s mission to connect the generations, a race for youngsters, the Textile Trot, will precede the main event followed by a family friendly race-expo and awards ceremony. An experienced committee of community leaders has created an epic course that is slated to go down in 2010 race calendars as the biggest duathlon in the state of Maine with an a unique way to experience the community’s historical significance. Leading the race efforts on behalf of Museum L-A is Jennifer Dube-Works, museum development director, along with race partner Tri-Maine, Will Thomas. Local race and activity enthusiasts, Mike Lecompte, Eric Cobb, John Grenier, Bob Brainerd, Scott Brown, Maggie Chisholm and Beryle Martin have all provided experience and knowledge to help shape this amazing race while community civic leaders Michael Auger of the Androscoggin Land Trust and Museum L-A Archivist Susan Beane and Executive Director of Museum L-A, Rachel Desgrosseilliers have guided historic course notes.

Winners of every five-year age group, both male and female, will have the opportunity of a lifetime to have their names carved in history. Norm Davis and workers from Morin Brick – making bricks for over a century in Auburn, Maine – will be on site with “green bricks,” which are bricks that have not yet been fired. Category winners will carve their name and race time in green bricks. Morin Brick will fire the bricks and one brick will be given to the athlete while the other brick will become a part of Museum L-A’s collection.

The “Textile Trot” will kick off the race for ages 10 and under at 7:45a.m. LADU will launch at 8:00 a.m. followed by a fun family expo with opportunity to explore our community history further as racers receive their awards. Relay teams are encouraged and participants ages 14 and up can register to race. The race will need 100 volunteers to help. Coordinating the volunteers are Karla Leandri Rider of Museum L-A and Irma McGuinness of Walmart. State-of-the-art chip timing will be used so that athletes can get their personal times. The race will be sponsored by major race sponsors Androscoggin Cardiology, Morin Brick, Walmart Logistics and Supercenter, Tri-Maine and New Balance. Educational clinics will be held prior to the race by Central Maine Conditioning Clinic and Rainbow Bikes. To register for this race for preservation, go to www.museumla.org/ladu/. Or, contact Museum L-A at 207-333-3881.

Volunteer Training Program Set for March 1

LEWISTON – Museum L-A is looking to the community for volunteers who are interested in helping to guide individuals and groups. Training includes a half-day session on Monday, March 1 ( snow date March 8 ) from 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon which will provide essential information on the history of Museum L-A and the development of the textile, shoe, and brick industries in Lewiston-Auburn. The training session will also explore these industries’ effects on immigration, education, religion and local culture. Participants will also become acquainted with the Museum’s collections and exhibits.

For more information, contact Karla Leandri Rider at 207-333-3881 or kleandririder@museumla.org.