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Cataloguing the Textile Collection
Plein-Air Painting & Drawing Workshop
Leader Barbara Mallonee has been painting in Castine, on and off-neck, for over 40 years. Her work in oils, watercolors & pastels are in corporate and private collections in this country and abroad. For more information call 207-249-8210 or email barbmallonee@myfairpoint.net
Celebrate Castine
To see a full listing of businesses and events:
Fireside Cooking
Ellenore and Grace Tarr are 13th generation descendants of early settlers of this area. The girls and their mother have been cooking on the hearth at the John Perkins House for the last four summers.
Songs of the Sea
Brent Johnson, a medical/surgical nurse, has a love of music as well as a music education degree from Bemidji State University. A native of Minnesota, he is active in local musical theater and has served as choir director, organist and voice teacher. He enjoys collaborating and performing with his wife, New Zealand-born Stephanie Wendt a perennial favorite of Castine audiences. Wendt is an accomplished pianist who has performed as a soloist and chamber musician on five continents. She is a public radio personality who created an award-winning documentary about Clara Schumann as well as a one-woman play entitled "Clara's Visitor."
Geology Days Workshop
Archivists at Work
Paige Lilly has worked in the archive and museum field in Maine for 25 years. From 2001-2008 she was archivist for the Cohen Papers at the University of Maine in Orono and currently works at the Penobscot Marine Museum and the Castine Historical Society in addition to the Wilson Museum. Wendy Knickerbocker is a librarian with over twenty years of experience in academic libraries as a cataloguer, reference librarian, and administrator. She currently works as an independent contractor for indexing and cataloguing projects. A scholar with interest in American cultural history and American religious history, she is the author of Sunday at the Ballpark: Billy Sunday's Professional Baseball Career, 1883-1890.
Concert: Castine Town Band
In the late nineteenth century Castine's Town Band was a proud contributor to patriotic events and summer evening entertainments. Revived in 1998 by a group of like-minded musicians, the Band, by 2004, was recognized as one of the top four municipal bands in Maine. Membership in the Band is open to players of all ages and talent. It is a fine blend of locals, retirees and summer people who have one common interest - playing in the Town Band. As an agent for connecting the past to the present, the Museum is proud to host the Castine Town Band. In case of rain, concert will be at Emerson Hall, Court Street.
Maine Native Days Workshop Learn about Native American culture and crafts with teacher, Jody Reynolds, at a weekend workshop for children 6-12 years old (accompanied by an adult) August 1st & 2nd from 2-5 p.m. each day at the Wilson Museum, 120 Perkins Street. Participants will discover the historical culture of Maine's Natives by exploring the Wilson Museum's collections, playing games, making crafts and comparing Native tools to contemporary tools. Pre-registration by July 27th is required - call 326-9247 or email info@wilsonmuseum.org.
Dr. Brian Robinson Visit
The Life of Abraham Lincoln: New Findings, Fresh Perspectives
Noah Brooks was born in 1830 in Castine, the youngest of eight children. After studying in Boston, he lived for a time in Illinois where he became acquainted with Abraham Lincoln. Mr. Brooks moved to Washington, DC, after the death of his wife and child, to pursue his career in journalism and there renewed his friendship with Lincoln. Professor Burlingame, author of twelve books about Abraham Lincoln including Lincoln Observed: Civil War Dispatches of Noah Brooks, has devoted his scholarly energies to investigating the life and times of Lincoln. A Professor Emeritus of History from Connecticut College, Michael Burlingame has a B.A. from Princeton University and a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University. He is co-chair of the Connecticut Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and serves on the board of directors of the Abraham Lincoln Association (Springfield, IL) and the Abraham Lincoln Institutue (Washington, DC) as well as a member of the board of advisors for the Abraham Lincoln Studies Center at Knox College (Galesburg, IL).
Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory The American Civil War or The War of the Rebellion was one of the best reported wars in history not only by newspaper men and photographers but also by soldiers in letters sent home. Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory will be performed September 26th, 3 p.m., in the Mitchell Room at the Castine Historical Society on School Street in Castine, featuring members of the community reading excerpts of original Civil War letters from the Wilson Museum's collection. Three small Maine towns in this area, Castine - Penobscot - Brooksville, sent at least 320 men to the Civil War. As the first war in history in which a large percentage of men in the ranks could read and write, the Wilson Museum is fortunate to have many letters from soldiers as well as journals from families anxiously waiting at home. Paula Dunfee, staff and docent at the Wilson Museum, has organized and excerpted the material for this presentation. She will act as narrator for the production while community readers will include: David Avery, Jean Devereux, James Goodson, Paul Gray, James Modisette, Eva Reed and Richard Reed.
The Story of Abraham Lincoln
Mr. Weiss appeals to adults as well as children, bonding families together with a deeper understanding of the life circumstances that make a character such as Abraham Lincoln great. A family evening of storytelling for the public will be Monday, November 23rd at 7 p.m. Jim Weiss has been a storyteller for over 25 years, performing around the United States including the White House Annual Easter Event. He and his wife, Randy, have formed a production company, Greathall Productions, and have produced over 40 storytelling recordings.
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| A non-profit organization, tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) IRS Code 120 Perkins Street, PO Box 196, Castine Maine 04421 (207) 326-9247 info@wilsonmuseum.org |
Lynne Bassett, textile consultant, will be cataloguing some of the Museum's textile collection during two one-week visits to the Wilson Museum this summer. On Tuesday and Thursday, June 9 & 11 and again on July 7 & 9, a workstation will be set up in the Museum's lower level for visitors to observe Lynne at work. The cataloguing process is an in-depth process requiring the background and knowledge of an expert. Take the opportunity to compare the cataloguing process with the inventory process in progress upstairs and enjoy a behind the scenes look at some of the Museum's varied textile collection.
Lynne Zacek Bassett is an independent museum consultant and author specializing in New England's historic costumes and textiles. A former Curator of Textiles and Fine Arts at Old Sturbridge Village, Lynne now consults and lectures at historical societies and museums including Colonial Williamsburg, the Smithsonian Institution and the Winterthur Museum.
Spend three days (June 25-27th, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) painting and drawing downeast on Penobscot Bay, in Castine, Maine - a beautiful little town on the coast which dates back to its beginnings as a trading post in the early 1600s. The Wilson Museum overlooking the harbor is the homebase from which the class will "paint the town."
The Castine Merchants Association presents a weekend of events to be held Friday, July 10th through Sunday, July 12th. The purpose of "Celebrate Castine" is to thank the community for supporting our businesses.
As one of the participating organizations, the Wilson Museum will have its entire complex open all three days from 2-5 p.m., including tours of the John Perkins House with 
As you punch in the seconds on the microwave oven in your twenty-first century kitchen, have you ever wondered how our ancestors cooked in large open fireplaces and what kinds of foods they prepared? The kitchen of the John Perkins House will be the venue for such wonder when Joyce Tarr and her two daughters demonstrate fireside cooking: July 11th as part of the Celebrate Castine festivities, July 15th & 22th and August 12th, 19th & 26th, from 2-5 p.m. This historic home is located at 120 Perkins Street in Castine and is part of the Wilson Museum complex. Guided tours are $5 per person; visitors will enjoy some tasty morsels from the day's fare.
The sea has fascinated poets and musicians (and many of the rest of us too) for centuries. We are in awe of its beauty and power, its seduction and its perils. The Wilson Museum is pleased to bring baritone Brent Johnson and pianist Stephanie Wendt to Castine to celebrate the sea, sea vessels, sailors and sea journeys with art songs, folk songs, shanties, piano music and a story or two from near and far on Saturday, July 18th, 8 p.m., at the Trinitarian Congregational Parish on Main Street in Castine. Donations to help the Wilson Museum continue to host quality programs such as this will be greatly appreciated.
The Wilson Museum will be hosting a weekend Geology workshop for children 6-12 years old (accompanied by an adult) July 18th & 19th from 2-5 p.m. each day at the Wilson Museum, 120 Perkins Street, Castine. Teacher Jody Reynolds has created a series of activities that will include tests to identify rocks and minerals, excavating geological "treasures," and discovering how to make some rocks glow. Pre-registration by July 13th is required - call 326-9247 or email 
Jody Reynolds, a native of Penobscot, received her Masters in Education from the University of Maine at Orono. She teaches kindergarten in Penobscot and has worked for the Wilson Museum for three summers. 
Paige Lilly and Wendy Knickerbocker will take turns opening the archival work space in the lower level of the Museum to visitors on select Tuesdays from 2-5 p.m. as part of the Wilson Museum's inventory project. The Wilson Museum began collecting local history materials as early as 1921 and the archival collection includes such items as manuscripts, maps, newspapers, photographs, diaries, and ledgers. Paige and Wendy are organizing and rehousing materials into acid-free folders and boxes for improved long-term storage while also compiling a detailed description of the holdings to provide better access for 
Museum staff and researchers. Paige will answer questions about archival processing on Tuesday, July 21st; Wendy will explain the current phase of the project with a sampling of materials on August 18th; and one or both of them will be available to update visitors on the Museum's archival progress on September 15th. Each opportunity is sure to reveal interesting documents and photographs.
The beautiful grounds of the Wilson Museum on Perkins Street, on the shore of Castine Harbor, will be the location of an outdoor concert by the Castine Town Band, Friday, the 31st of July, at 6 p.m. This is a free concert, so bring a chair or blanket and enjoy!
Native American birch bark containers will be the highlight of the ongoing inventory process at the Wilson Museum the week of August 10th. Dr. Brian Robinson from the University of Maine will visit Tuesday afternoon, August 11th from 2-5 p.m. As an archaeologist specializing in the hunter-gatherer societies of Northeastern North America, Dr. Robinson will add background and context to the beautiful and sometimes elaborately decorated birch bark containers in the Museum's collection. This will be a great opportunity to view these containers which were last exhibited in 2005, as well as learn more about the people who created them. 
Castine's native son, Noah Brooks, will be featured in a talk entitled The Life of Abraham Lincoln: New Findings, Fresh Perspectives by noted Lincoln biographer Professor Michael Burlingame. The Wilson Museum will host Professor Burlingame at Maine Maritime Academy on September 14, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. The lecture is free and open to the public. 
Imagine the wonder of a child who discovers for the first time the world of Abraham Lincoln: his childhood, self-education, careers as a surveyor, lawyer and president of the United States. Master storyteller, Jim Weiss will transport school children to Lincoln's world on November 23rd & 24th in sessions designed to coordinate with the travelling exhibition Abraham Lincoln: Self Made in America. The free storytelling sessions require schools to reserve in advance. Teachers should contact the Wilson Museum at 326-9247 to reserve a performance time and to tour the exhibition.