Donald Baxter MacMillan (1872-1970), though born in Provincetown, Massachusetts, lived in Freeport as a boy, and graduated from Freeport High School and Bowdoin College in Brunswick. He later taught at schools in Maine and Massachusetts. After joining Admiral Robert E. Peary’s successful expedition to the North Pole in 1908, MacMillan began to explore, eventually accompanied…
Why “Grange“? Its origin is likely from the British English. The Oxford English Dictionary notes “British: a country house with farm buildings attached. Historical an outlying farm with tithe barns belonging to a monastery or feudal lord. Archaic: a barn. From Latin granum “grain”. by Stanley R. Howe* The National Grange came into being in 1867…
An early transportation facility in Maine was the canal. The need for public support for canals was recognized in 1820 by the state’s first governor William King’s inaugural address. In 1834 the Board of Internal Improvements was authorized by the Maine Legislature. The Board’s responsibility was to “explore and examine the great water courses of…
People who have worked on farms, in forests, on the seas, in mills, factories and offices — all have contributed to the Maine economy over the past nearly four centuries. In the twenty-first century more people are working in commercial, health, electronic, financial and other services than ever before. A perspective of where workers have…
Maine’s economy represents 0.4% (less than half a percent) of the U.S. national economy. With a slow national pace, Maine is likely to have slow growth as well. The important forest products sector has been blunted by the recent events, including a slowdown in construction and the transition from printed media (newspapers, magazines) to digital…
While commentators and educators had been advocating for schools to include Maine studies in their curricula for decades, the first state mandate was effective on August 20, 1955: Chapter 300 AN ACT Relating to the Teaching of the Industrial and Natural Resources of Maine. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine,…