MINI-PRESENTATIONS:
After the business meeting our programs in 2024 featured a short program on some aspect of Long Island history.
January 20: At our Annual Meeting Earle Shettleworth gave a presentation called “Postcards from Portland”. He shared many period postcards of Portland from the late 1800s and early 1900s.
March 16: Vern Nelson was stationed on Long Island in 1946 as an Army radioman, working out of what is now known as Brown’s Tower. He was interviewed about his time on Long Island. He recalled that it was cold (he was stationed there in the winter), very quiet, and they didn’t have much actual work to do as the war was over.
May 18: Brad Brown talked about Brown’s Tower, built in WWII as an Army Fire Control Tower. Soldiers stationed in the Tower continuously scanned for enemy vessels and, if spotted, sent the vessel coordinates to the gun batteries on either end of the island.
June 15: Mark Greene shared the story of the Beach Avenue House, owned by his grandparents and then by Mark and his wife Linda. It operated for many years an inn, providing lodging and meals. It is now privately owned.
July 20: Tommy Marr talked about his bird wood carvings, how he got started, and how this has grown over the years. He stated that he has now made 256 birds, not counting the ones he has on his lawn. Many have been made for people on the island.
August 24 Susan Longanecker and Karen Rea talked about the Casco Bay House hotel, owned and run by Charles Edward Cushing, Susan’s grandfather and Karen’s great-grandfather.
September 21 Lynn Feingold shared the story of her cottage “Kemah”, which means “Faces in the Wind”. It was built in 1906 by her great-grandparents Boris and Mildred Richmond and has stayed pretty much unchanged since then.
