Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library

During Monday's eclipse we spent the afternoon in the Riverside Cemetery here in Lewiston with students from Prof. Brent's Death and Burial in Ancient Rome course. The session was based on the principles of cleaning gravestones, and the students worked on two monuments: one for the family of Elmer Thomas, a local architect who designed Roger Williams, and the other for the family of Uriah Balkam, a reverend who was an early Bates faculty member

Almost time for the eclipse here in Maine! This photo of the eclipse in 1925 was taken at Carnegie Science Hall by Albert P. Knightley '25.

Our College Archivist, Sam Howes, is a guest on this week's episode of Research Like a Pro, a genealogy podcast, discussing how to use college and university archives in genealogy research. The discussion includes the Bates College records held in the archives, as well as the many other manuscripts in our collections.

RLP 284: University Archives with Sam Howes In this episode of Research Like a Pro, Nicole Dyer and Diana Elder speak with Sam Howes, an archivist at Bates College in Maine. They discuss his work managing the official records of the college,…

Q&A: Tom King ’58, the last Bates bell ringer Meet the last Bates bell ringer, Tom King '58

A young Bobcat (David Kirstein) prepares to move into his dormitory (ahem, residence hall) in 1966. 57 years later, with only *two weeks* to go until Opening Day of Orientation, we're anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Bates Class of 2027 on August 31, 2023.

(Photo courtesy of the Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library)

Note: This post has been updated thanks to a correction in the comments from Janice Moniz Peters '70.

This donkey cribbage board was a gift to Senator Edmund Muskie, probably some time in the 1960s. After many years it had suffered some damage to one of its legs and ears, but was recently sent off to be conserved. Today he returned home from the conservator and will be back on display here in the Muskie Archives!

Caitlin Lampman, Reference and Outreach Archivist, led our first tour of the Main Street-Frye Street Historic District in Lewiston today for staff enrichment week at Bates. The tour covered the history of Frye Street, many of the homes on the street, and the families that lived there.

Registration for the Lewiston/Auburn Genealogy Conference at the Muskie Archives on Friday, June 23rd is now open! The schedule for the day can be found below. The conference is free to attend and lunch will be provided. Registration closes on Thursday, June 15th. Attendance is capped at 50 so register soon!

Click on this link to register: https://forms.gle/3WDB6xBdsUzuZyqYA. If you have any questions email Sam Howes at [email protected].

Save the date! The Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections will be hosting a genealogy conference on Friday, June 23rd. The conference will include a panel discussion with local records repositories, an information session on using archival collections, and workshops using collections in the Muskie Archives and how they can be used in your genealogy research. There will be no cost for attending and lunch will be provided. An online registration form will be available later this month. We hope to see you there!

Forty-three years ago tomorrow Ed Muskie was nominated by President Jimmy Carter to become US Secretary of State, replacing Warren Christopher. Last week, his son Ned Muskie donated the official "Secretary of State Chair" his father used in the White House, seen here (barely) visible behind the Maine Senator. (You can also get a better glimpse of one being used by Jane Muskie, right.) The President, of course, got to use a slightly taller chair. Thank you for your donation, Ned Muskie!

Congratulations to the Franco-American Collaborative ORONO, Me / LEWISTON,Me – Check out the purpose of the Franco-American “portal”. Funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, will continue to build this access point for finding d…

This exciting event will be held upstairs in the Muskie Archives on Monday, April 24th, at 7pm.

Join us for one of our most exciting events of the year: The Harward Center’s Annual Justice for Women lecture series! This year’s speaker will be Patricia Campos Mello, an award winning Brazilian journalist. She will be interviewed by Cindy Han, a Maine Public producer. Make sure to mark your calendars for Monday, April 24th, at 7 pm. The event will be held in the Muskie Archives here at Bates.

Last week this sign was added to the wall in our lobby. The sign was the Class of 1940 gift after their Commencement. According to records, the sign was designed by a Mr. Carlson and cost $259.75. For at least 30 years it hung from a tree on the corner of Campus Avenue and College Street.

Garry Jenkins selected as ninth president of Bates College Jenkins is a nationally respected higher ed leader and liberal arts champion

Three years ago the Maine Legislature issued a sentiment recognizing the Bates Outing Club on its 100th anniversary.

We have had a lot of snow in the past week! Check out this image from the 1939 Winter Carnival at Bates. You can watch the video showing many of the activities on our website here: https://scarab.bates.edu/bocfilms/1/

On this snowy here is a look back at some of the Navy V-12 students on campus in the 1940s standing in front of their snow sculpture. You can read about the V-12 program at Bates here: https://www.bates.edu/150-years/months/july/navy-arrives/

Remembering Howie Vandersea ’63: An All-American Bobcat - Bates College A legend both on the field as one of Bates' greatest two-sport athletes and off the field for his dedication to football as a coach and staunch advocate, Howard S. Vandersea '63 died on Dec. 29 at age 81. After graduating from Bates as a history major, Vandersea served in the U.S. Army, then coached...

On December 6, 1917, the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia was devastated by a massive explosion. New England jumped into action to provide relief to the city, immediately sending supplies and people to help. Mainers jumped into action as well. In Lewiston-Auburn, the local relief committee of the Red Cross was prepared to send supplies, and Helen Whitehorne, wife of W. Risby Whitehorne, a physics professor at Bates, led the efforts to gather Christmas presents for the children of Halifax. Seven large crates of games, toys, and clothing were sent just in time for Christmas.

Carl E. Milliken, a Bates graduate from the Class of 1897, was Governor of Maine at the time. Gov. Milliken sent a telegram to the mayor of Halifax and lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia saying "I extend to you the deepest sympathy of the people of Maine in the terrible disaster that has stricken Halifax. Any help Maine can give is yours."

The Great Halifax Explosion

On December 6, 1917, the French cargo ship SS Mont-Blanc collided with the Norwegian vessel SS Imo in the waters of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The Mont-Blanc, laden with high explosives, caught fire and exploded, almost completely destroying the Northern half of the city. Halifax's inner harbor had become a principal assembly point for merchant convoys leaving for Britain and France and hundreds of merchant ships anchored in the harbor. The Boston chapter of the American Red Cross immediately sent disaster relief help to the devastated city. The photo shows a Red Cross hospital set up to help the wounded of the explosion. Christmas decorations can be seen behind the patients.
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/117092782?objectPage=13

Check out this great photo of Parker and Hathorn Halls from Rand Field! The photo comes from an album owned by Miles Greenwood, a graduate from the Class of 1891 and was taken circa 1894. Visible is how the trees were planted in a grid-like pattern. You can see more photos from our collection in our online gallery. http://archives.bates.edu/photos/

We are excited to share our new digital collection, Maine and the Environment: A Collection of Archival Resources! This collection brings together material from across the Muskie Archives relating to the environment and environmental issues. The exhibit currently pulls from four collections, including Edmund S. Muskie's papers, and will grow as more material is digitized.

SCARAB Digital Collections - Bates College SCARAB Digital Collections

Want to know more about life at Bates College through the years? The Bates Student, the student newspaper, has been digitized all the way back to 1873 and can be found online on SCARAB. It's a great resource for seeing Bates from the student perspective.

The Bates Student | Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library | Bates College The Bates Student is the student-run newspaper of Bates College, and has been published nearly-continuously since 1873. The Bates Student began as a monthly, then bi-weekly publication, as a combination campus newspaper, alumni magazine, and literary journal. Student editorials, poetry, fiction, and...

Yesterday our director, Pat Webber, and reference and outreach archivist, Caitlin Lampman, led a tour of the Riverside Cemetery in Lewiston. Pat spoke about several people with strong Bates College connections buried in the cemetery such as Alonzo Garcelon, Oren B. Cheney, and Harry W. Rowe.

Enjoy this late '70s throwback for some Bates Halloween history as a pumpkin's spooky smile is seen across the Historic Quad, illuminated at nighttime standing atop Carnegie Science Hall.



(Photo: Glenn Morell '80 via the Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library)

Thanks to all who came to the Clean Water Act at 50: Community Perspectives roundtable earlier this week! And a special thanks to our panelists, John Nutting, Holly Ewing, and Ken Gallant, for providing their perspectives on the progress that has been made and what more can be done.

Our college archivist, Sam Howes, will be presenting about using academic archives in genealogy research tomorrow at the Maine State Library.

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The Clean Water Act turns 50 today! Join us on Wednesday, October 26th at 7pm in Pettengill G52 (Keck) for a panel discussion on "The Clean Water Act at 50: Community Perspectives." Rather than a retrospective of legislative events of the 1970s, we are bringing together a panel representing a ranger of perspectives and experiences on the current state of water in Maine. From water rights, to the science of clean water, to recent and future state legislation, to drinking water, come hear our panelists discuss these issues and more.

Scheduled panelists are:

Charles Colgan, Director of Research at the Center for the Blue Economy at the Middlebury Institute, and former director of the New England Environmental Finance Center;

Holly Ewing, Bates College Professor of Environmental Studies and Christian A. Johnson Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies;

Ken Gallant, former wastewater manager and engineer for 41 years along the Androscoggin, Kenebec, and Penobscot Rivers;

Corey Hinton, attorney, citizen of the Passamaquoddy Tribe, and proponent of water and environmental law and legislation in Maine;

John Nutting, former Maine state Representative and Senator, and author of several pieces of state environmental legislation.