Moosehead Historical Society & Museums

05/28/2026

We’re pleased to share this week’s Moosehead Moosehead Lakeshore Journal, which includes our monthly Then & Now column from the Moosehead Historical Society & Museums.

Each month, we look back at a piece of local history and connect it to the Moosehead region we know today. This month’s column features the Greenville High School Class of 1976 — a fitting subject as we celebrate this year’s graduates as well.

Thank you to Heidi and the Moosehead Lakeshore Journal for giving local history a regular place in the paper. We’re glad to help preserve and share these stories.

Congratulations to the Class of 2026 — and best wishes as you begin your next chapter.

✨ 𝐈𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 – 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟖, 𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐋𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐉𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 ✨

A meaningful look at graduation across generations fills this week’s edition.

On Page 4, our 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙣 & 𝙉𝙤𝙬 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙢𝙣, 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙇𝙪𝙠𝙚 𝙈𝙪𝙯𝙯𝙮, 𝘿𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙤𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙃𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙎𝙤𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙩𝙮, takes readers back to the GHS Class of 1976, offering a nostalgic glimpse at graduation memories from nearly five decades ago.

From left to right:

𝘙𝘰𝘸 1: 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘓𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘰𝘯, 𝘝𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘪 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘴, 𝘙𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘢 𝘏𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘢𝘯, 𝘊𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥, 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯, 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘦 𝘐𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘒𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘯 𝘓𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘦; 𝘙𝘰𝘸 2: 𝘔𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯, 𝘙𝘰𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘴𝘰𝘮, 𝘓𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘈𝘥𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘴, 𝘓𝘦𝘦 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨, 𝘋𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦 𝘈𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦, 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦, 𝘋𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘎𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘦, 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘏𝘦𝘪𝘥𝘪 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘒𝘪𝘳𝘣𝘺 Murray; 𝘙𝘰𝘸 3: 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘑𝘶𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘢 𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘺, 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘙𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴, 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘢 𝘏𝘶𝘧𝘧, 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘕𝘺𝘦, 𝘚𝘶𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘑𝘢𝘯𝘦 𝘈𝘴𝘩𝘦, 𝘋𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘭; 𝘙𝘰𝘸 4: 𝘙𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘺 𝘗𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘒𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘙𝘺𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘛𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘞𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘺, 𝘏𝘦𝘯𝘳𝘺 𝘎𝘪𝘭𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘵, 𝘋𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘴 𝘓𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦, 𝘔𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘥; 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰: 𝘚𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘉𝘰𝘸𝘬𝘦𝘳, 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘏𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘴, 𝘐𝘴𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘭 𝘏𝘰𝘳𝘯, 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘔𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘈𝘶𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘺 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦.

Then on Page 5, we proudly feature this year’s graduating class Senior Photos and Prom (all in color thank you to Indian Hill Trading Post at Moosehead Lake, our color sponsor). Grab your special keepsake honoring the Class of 1976 and today’s seniors as they step into their next chapter.

🎓 From 1976 to today — celebrating Moosehead graduates, past and present.

Moosehead Historical Society & Museums

05/24/2026

We are proud to share this Memorial Day tribute to Francis Richard Lavigne, Greenville’s first World War II casualty, as published in the Moosehead Lakeshore Journal. Thank you to the Journal for helping us tell his story.

05/19/2026

Something important is beginning at the Moosehead Historical Society's Junction Campus.

If you've driven past the Eveleth-Crafts-Sheridan Historical House this week, you've noticed something is happening on the Junction Campus. The old sunken garden is coming out. We're addressing the drainage that has plagued that spot for years, and then new fill goes in to prepare the site for construction.

This is the beginning of the Jewett Family Building — the new home for the Lumbermen's Museum.

Ed and Arlene Jewett are the lead sponsors of this project, and their gift is transformative. Ed isn't just a donor — he is also serving as our general contractor, managing the construction himself, with the goal of having the building completed by November 1. If you see him around town, please thank him and his family for what they are doing for this community.

This project also grew from the early generosity of Steve and Barbet Mason, whose lead gift launched the dream and made everything that followed possible. We are deeply grateful to both families.

After four decades in the Carriage House, the logging collection and the story it tells are getting a purpose-built home. A 30-by-90-foot post-and-beam timber frame structure will rise on this ground — ground once occupied by the stable that served the Moosehead Inn, where working horses supported the logging operations that built this region. It's the right place for this museum.

Although this project has been made possible by extraordinary lead gifts, there will be many opportunities for others to help support the exhibits, collections, programming, and finishing touches that will make this building a true museum. We want this to be a community project in every sense.

We'll be sharing updates throughout the project, so stay tuned. The full story is on our website — we think you'll want to read it.

https://www.mooseheadhistory.org/building-a-home-worthy-of-our-logging-heritage/

05/15/2026

I recently came across this clipping from the June 8, 1958 Piscataquis Observer, and it made my day. The article is titled “Greenville High Contributes 17 to Teachers College.” It shows 17 Greenville High School graduates who were then attending Farmington State Teachers College.

That is a pretty impressive showing for a small town. But what really caught my attention is that several of these people later taught in Greenville, and became well-known and much-loved teachers here.

Pictured are:

1st row: Andrea Dunton, Donna Warman, Elizabeth Powers, Dorothy Folsom
2nd row: Allyn Ward, Olive Ducharme, Ann Robinson, John Wortman
3rd row: Patrick Breau, Roland Wortman, Gerald Hamilton, Warren Dean
4th row: Bae Powers, Richard Gould, Ralph Ryder, Charles Baker, Marshall Thombs

The article noted that Greenville had 17 students at Farmington State Teachers College, and that 11 of them were men, which was seen as good news during Maine’s teacher shortage.

This is one of those little newspaper finds that says a lot about Greenville. A small town, but a town that sent a lot of good people into the teaching profession.

Update: Kyle Whitten colorized the photo, and it was just too cool not to share. I have added his colorized version below the original.

I know many of you will recognize some of these names. Did any of them teach you?

05/10/2026

What a wonderful afternoon yesterday! Our 3rd Annual Mother's Day Tea brought together 30 guests at the Eveleth-Crafts-Sheridan Historical House for a beautiful May afternoon of good food, good company, and a little patriotic flair.

Guests arrived in their finest and were treated to red, white, and blue fascinators, a sparkling cordial, and a full traditional tea service — cucumber bites, chicken salad scoops, ham pinwheels, patriotic crostini, maple pecan and lemon blueberry scones, lemon and cherry breads, shortbread, chocolate krinkles, sugar cookies, and chocolates to close. It was a spread worth celebrating.

Door prizes generously donated by local businesses added to the fun, and the historic rooms of the house made the perfect backdrop for the afternoon.

A heartfelt thank you to Sue and Kathy for their work preparing the house, to Barbara, Rocky, and Sandra for everything they did in the kitchen and in serving our guests, and to Laurie and Di for contributing some wonderful goodies. Yesterday was a success because of people like them.

Thank you to everyone who joined us — and Happy Mother's Day to all! 🌸

05/03/2026

The May edition of the Moosehead History Dispatch is out. Four stories this month — the history of ice-out on Moosehead Lake, a look back at May 1976, a welcome to a new member of our team, and a preview of our summer speaking series. Free to read, free to share.
🔗 https://mailchi.mp/4febfc7285df/spring-news-from-the-moosehead-historical-society-12932369

Want it delivered to your inbox each month? Send your name and email to [email protected] and we'll add you to the list.

05/02/2026

What a morning. Rainy, low 40s, and more than 30 people showed up and stayed the whole way around. That says something.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this year's Jane's Walk — Faith, Fellowship & Civic Life: Greenville Village's Gathering Places. We covered 1.6 miles and a lot of history, and the enthusiasm never let up despite the weather.

If there's enough interest, we may offer a summer walking tour of the village as well. Let us know in the comments if that's something you'd like to see.

We'll be back next year for Jane's Walk. In the meantime, there's plenty more ahead this summer — our speaking series kicks off in July. Details coming soon.

04/28/2026

The ice on Moosehead is turning black. It won't be long now.

Any day, Currier's Flying Service will make the flight from Greenville to Northeast Carry — 40 miles — and when that channel is clear, ice-out will be official. Watch for their call.

Ice-out on Moosehead Lake has been big news for a long time. The record goes back to 1848 — 178 consecutive years — kept faithfully for most of that time by Sanders Store in Greenville, and now in the care of the Moosehead Historical Society. The earliest on record was April 14, 1945. The latest was May 29, 1878. The all-time average is May 5. Last year it was April 29.

The history behind that date runs deep. Loggers, sportsmen, steamboat captains, and float plane pilots have all had a stake in it. We put together an in-depth piece on that history for the Moosehead Lakeshore Journal — it's in this Thursday's edition if you'd like to read the full story. It will also be up on our website in the coming days.

In the meantime, keep your eyes on the lake. Ice-out is very close.

04/28/2026

Faith, Fellowship & Civic Life: Greenville Village’s Gathering Places

This Saturday, May 2 at 10:00 AM, we’ll be holding our third annual Jane’s Walk here in Greenville.

This year’s walk looks at the places that brought the village together in the late 1800s and early 1900s — churches, schools, fraternal halls, and public spaces — and the role they played in shaping community life.

We’ll start at the Center for Moosehead History (6 Lakeview Street) and make our way through the village, stopping at sites like the Shaw Block, Odd Fellows Hall, the early school buildings, and Oliver’s Field. Along the way, we’ll talk about how these places functioned not just as buildings, but as the center of civic and social life in early Greenville.

The walk is about 1.6 miles and runs roughly 90 minutes, mostly on sidewalks.

It’s free. If you’d like to come, you’re welcome to just show up. If you know ahead of time, an RSVP is helpful: 695-2909 or [email protected].

We’ve got room for more people, and the weather is looking cooperative.

12/19/2025

The Moosehead Historical Society is saddened to share the news that former board member Richard “Dick” Gould passed away on December 15.

Dick served on our Board of Trustees from 2004–2007, including three years as Vice President. His commitment to this community ran deep. Many will remember him as a beloved history teacher, a coach, and a steady public servant whose influence was felt not only here in Greenville, but across the state. Dick represented our region in the Maine Legislature for 10 years, earning respect on both sides of the aisle.

As both Executive Director of the Society and Dick’s nephew, I know how much he meant to people throughout the region and beyond. His family asked that we help share this news with the community he cared for all his life.

A full obituary will be available next week and posted on the Lary Funeral Home website.

We extend our heartfelt condolences to Edie and the entire Gould family.

— Luke Muzzy, Executive Director
Moosehead Historical Society