Winter 2002 Newsletter

Several events sponsored by the BHPS captured the interest of Baysiders last summer. Dick Brockway’s model of the Eddington Society Cottage was unveiled at the Society’s annual meeting on July 14th in the Community Hall. There were about sixty people attending and they spontaneously moved their chairs into a large circle, so Dick could be in the center to explain all he had learned about the construction of this cottage. He generously gave the model to the Historical Society and it is displayed in the BHPS room in the Community Hall.

On August 12th at the Community Hall, the new 2001 Bayside postcards were first offered for sale. That day several Bayside memorabilia and postcard collections were also displayed. Enthusiasm was such that several new memberships to BHPS were received and sales of the postcards, new and old, were brisk; only a few of the first sets still remain.

Important Dates for 2002

The new Board of Directors and Officers met and outlined an ambitious program for the next year. In cooperation with the NVC Board of Overseers and the Yacht Club, plans for a Fourth of July celebration were begun. The Lincolnville Band will perform on Sunday, July 7 at 2 p.m. A Field Day of Games is being organized for Saturday, July 6 by Jackie Facey and Martha Borgeson, along with community members, Cindy Bravo, Wendy Huntoon, and Tracy Drinkwater. Contact one of the BHPS directors to volunteer.

Earl Shettlesworth has agreed to speak at the BHPS annual meeting on Saturday evening, July 13. He will show stereo views of Bayside and speak about its early history.

The Board voted to publish a third set of postcards which should be available on July13th. Prior to the annual meeting in the evening of July 13, a post card show, focusing on stereo views, will be held in the Community Hall.

House Tour

Plans for Bayside’s first House Tour were presented. Organized by Zelma Huntoon and Sue Fleming, the tour is planned for August 11. There will be 10 to 12 cottages shown, chosen so that all areas of Bayside are represented. To keep the attendance local, publicity about the Tour will be limited to Bayside. We will need volunteers to help prepare the tour pamphlet, to sell tickets, to help the cottage owner greet people and show the cottage and to help with all the other things we haven’t thought of yet! If you are interested in helping please indicate this on your membership application. We’ll have a meeting at the beginning of the summer to get organized.

Bayside History Book Project

Work continues on the Bayside History Book Project. Proposed chapters include: the early days of the campmeeting; cottage histories; steamboats and the wharf; the Sailing School; Bayside memorabilia; cottage architecture; the golf course. Beverly Crofoot is coordinating the effort. Please contact her if you wish to participate (venasquais@acadia.net or 800 Shore Road, Northport 04849).

Bayside Oral History Project

The Bayside Oral History Project had its official beginning in 1996, when Zelma Huntoon, BHPS president at the time, asked Gina Cressey if she would chair a committee of people interested in recording and preserving the memories of past and present Baysiders who were willing to share their stories.

2001 was the sixth consecutive summer when interviews have taken place in Bayside. In the early years, Eleanor Lagner transcribed a number of tapes in meticulous fashion. These provide easy access to researchers on many topics, and we'd love to have someone else work with the tapes. Lindsay Huntoon is the latest volunteer to take the transcribing machine home for the winter. Gina continues to match up volunteer interviewers with willing subjects. She provides a brief training session for new interviewers.

Here's a list of people who have been interviewed since 1996. You'll see the names of some much-missed Baysiders who aren't with us any more, which points up the importance of keeping this project afloat.

Interviewees: Joanne Coughlin, Emma Downs, Marilyn Duane, Eleanor Dunn, Stella Dykstra, Sibyl Head, Harriette Henninger, Jo Huntoon, Zelma Huntoon, Al Keith, Amos Kimball, Peg Lovejoy, Reverend Martin, Suzanne Molnar (accompanying her mother, Mrs. Downs), Arlene Parker, William Parsloe, Janet Pattee, Ralph Robinson,

Frances Samway, R. Genevieve Sheffield, Magdalena Smith, Amy Spollett, Lloyd Stover, Royce Tibbetts, and Eleanor Toothaker.

We are grateful to these people and would love to hear from others with stories to tell.

Our interviewers have also been generous with their time. Our latest volunteer is Mary Firca who brings enthusiasm and experience to the project. Interviewers: Eugenia Allen, Gina Cressey, Mary Firca, Zoe Hendricks, Zelma Huntoon, James Martin, Diane Melone, Ted Reynolds, Harry Rosenblum, Christy Weisenbach, and Betty Wilson.

We welcome more interviewers. All you need are good listening skills and an hour or two to spare during your vacation. What you get back is the knowledge that you've helped to keep Bayside's history alive and the fun of hearing some pretty amazing stories. We've talked to people who came to Bayside on the big boats from Boston, people who arrived with horses and wagons, even one respectable citizen who as a teenager buzzed Bayside in a low-flying airplane!

If you'd like information on interviewing, contact Gina Cressey (gcressey@aol.com) or Beverly Crofoot (venasquais@acadia.net or 800 Shore Road, Northport 04849).

BHPS Finances

John Dykstra, treasurer, reports that the society is in good financial health with a total “cash on hand” of $5,028.04 (10-6-2001). Both sets of postcards have paid for themselves.

Transitions

Former BHPS President, William K. Thorndike died August 21, 2001 in Minnesota. He was born May 16, 1928 in Millinocket, Maine to William T. and Jenny R. (Knowles) Thorndike. He served in the U.S. Army 1946-48 and 1950-51. He and his wife Phyllis Jean Billett were married on March 4, 1961 in Portland. They lived in Bucksport, raised two children and later moved to Minnesota in 1980. Bill was Technical Manager for the St. Regis/Champion Paper Co. from 1966-1994.

Bill’s love of Bayside was inherited from his great-grandmother Stubbs of Winterport. Early in the 1900’s she had the former Tuttle Photo Store in Belfast moved to Bayside on what is now Blaisdell Park. Bill’s mother, Jenny Knowles, born in 1896, spoke to her three children of steamboat rides from Bangor to Bayside. Bill and his two sisters, Rena and Jane, loved their summers in Bayside -- swimming off the wharf and playing hide-and-seek among the trees. Bill and Jean bought the cottage at the corner of George and Maple so that the younger generation might continue that tradition.

He will be missed in Bayside.

R. Genevieve Sheffield of New York City died September 12. She is survived by her niece Julian (Gail) Sheffield. Her friends and neighbors will remember that in advanced age she continued to enjoy her daily swim in Bayside’s chilly waters.

Shirley Crane Deacon died in October in Belfast. She summered on North Street in Bayside, spending winters in Hallandale, Florida. She was predeceased by her husband of 49 years, William H. Deacon.

Henrietta Gilkey Decrow Pond died January 2, 2002 in Auburn, Massachusetts. She and her husband, Eldon who predeceased her, lived in the “Bowling Green”. Passersby delighted in the profusion of flowers in her well-tended garden. Her daughter Sue and husband John Fleming have ‘retired’ to Bayside.

Membership -- WE NEED YOUR HELP!

For membership in the BHPS, please complete the attached form and send it with your dues to:

Bayside Historical Preservation Society

P.O. Box 304

Belfast, Maine 04915

BHPS Survey

Click here to complete a survey designed to help us trace family histories in Bayside and preserve Bayside memories. Please complete only as much as you wish and return it to:

Jackie Facey

10 Griffin Road

East Granby, CT 06026

(or by e-mail to FaceyJ@home.com).

Memorabilia

Do you have photos from early days in Bayside, copies of the Sea Breeze, letters, diaries, etc.? Could BHPS copy them to aid in the research of Bayside’s history? Dick Brockway gained valuable information about the Auditorium from old family photos. If you have any of these types of items to share, please contact Beverly Crofoot at venasquais@acadia.net or 800 Shore Road, Northport 04849

BHPS Officers

Beverly Crofoot, President

Margaret Brockway, Vice-President

Katie Hall, Secretary

John Dykstra, Treasurer

BHPS Directors

Martha Borgeson

Bill Cressey

Jackie Facey

Sue Fleming

Zelma Huntoon

Amos Kimball

Joe Reilly

Sally Trenholm