MPBN
Memory Image Minute: Cape Elizabeth Shipwrecks
- Title
- Memory Image Minute: Cape Elizabeth Shipwrecks
- Runtime
- 1:18
- Date posted
- 20 years ago
- Description
- The rocky coastline of Cape Elizabeth has sent many a vessel to a watery grave. Historically, the shores of Cape Elizabeth were a dangerous place where ships could be wrecked with even the most experienced sailors at the helm. The pounding waves and gusty winds of a gale could disorient a captain and crew, pummel a ship, or force it into the rocks. Lighthouses and buoys warned of the rocky ledges that stuck haphazardly into the ocean and the reefs that lay just beneath the surface of the water but avoiding these hazards was difficult. When combined with bad weather, the area was treacherous. An estimated one hundred ships have gone down off the coast of Cape Elizabeth.
Maine Public, every day it's local.
http://www.mainepublic.org
- Title
- Powering Pejepscot Paper Co.
- Runtime
- 1:04
- Date posted
- 20 years ago
- Description
- In 1893, F.C. Whitehouse of Topsham, who owned paper mills in Topsham and Lisbon Falls, began construction of a third mill on the eastern banks of the Androscoggin River five miles north of Topsham. But first Whitehouse had to dam Simpson's Rips in the area known as Pejepscot. The mill was completed in 1896, when Whitehouse gave the new mill, along with existing ones in Lisbon and farther south on the Androscoggin in Topsham, the name Pejepscot Paper Co. The new mill at Pejepscot employed some 180 men in 1898. It was powered by the 8,500 horsepower hydro dam and a 700-horsepower steam engine.
Maine Public, every day it's local.
http://www.mainepublic.org
- Title
- Maine Memory Minute: Chinese in Maine
- Runtime
- 0:40
- Date posted
- 20 years ago
- Description
- The early Maine Chinese population came exclusively from the Southeast provinces of China. Their numbers in Maine peaked in 1920 at about 160 people. Technological and social changes led to the decline of Chinese hand laundries resulting in many Chinese leaving Maine for larger cities. Immigration laws changed in the 1960s and the number of Chinese coming to Maine grew quickly. Maine's current Chinese community is significantly different from the early community featured in the Maine Memory Minute on Maine Experience. The later arrivals are more urban and well-educated and originate from all over China.
Maine Public, every day it's educational.
http://www.mainepublic.org
- Title
- Editing Maine Experience
- Runtime
- 0:34
- Date posted
- 20 years ago
- Description
- Maine Experience editor Mike McDade talks in general terms about the challenge of editing several hours of video into a short, coherent story before discussing the particular challenges he faced in combing through a gold mine of footage from the creation of Wyman Dam in Bingham in the late 1920's. The film footage from the dam's construction was used to assemble a story about the history of Central Maine Power (commonly known as CMP) and its forceful, energetic founder, Walter Wyman, who created one of Maine's biggest companies by first buying a small generator on Messalonskee Stream in 1899 that served about a hundred customers.
Maine Public, every day it's because of you.
Support your local public broadcasting station with a donation at http://www.mainepublic.org
- Title
- Behind the Scene of Maine Experience: Filming at Seguin Island
- Runtime
- 1:21
- Date posted
- 20 years ago
- Description
- Shooting video on an island involves negotiating logistical concerns that go beyond the ferry schedule. For one, weather (and in particular, fog) is always a concern. Whereas a mainland shoot can always be rescheduled, the challenge of lugging all that equipment out on a boat might mean shooting anyway on a day you'd rather not. MPBN videographer Chad Diamond recalls some of the other hurdles that needed to be overcome in shooting the Maine Experience segment on Seguin Island, such as getting underwater footage and coordinating a shoot on one of the two days every year that the tramway featured in the segment is operational.
Maine Public, every day it's because of you.
Support your local public broadcasting station with a donation at http://www.mainepublic.org
- Title
- Behind the Scenes of Maine Experience: Filming Re-enactors at Norlands Living History Center
- Runtime
- 1:25
- Date posted
- 20 years ago
- Description
- The Norlands Living History Center in Livermore employs local residents to re-enact the 19th century Maine farming life. From lugging in pails of water from a hand pump to chopping the wood to heat the cooking stove, schoolchildren and tourists alike can get a real sense of how hard people back then needed to work in order to survive. Maine Experience segment producer Eric Bunford describes some of the scenes that he videotaped for the Norlands segment and offers some insight into just how seriously these actors take their portrayals of life in the 1800's.
Maine Public, every day it's authentic.
http://www.mainepublic.org
- Title
- The Story of Malaga Island
- Runtime
- 1:09
- Date posted
- 20 years ago
- Description
- When Malaga Island off the coast of Phippsburg was seized by the state government in 1911 and its residents evicted, it marked the end of a unique mixed-race settlement that had existed there for over 50 years. Producer Anita Clearfield talks about her desire to see more done to bring this story to new generations of Mainers, most of whom are unfamiliar with Malaga's history.
- Title
- Behind the Scenes of Maine Experience: Editing the Neal Dow Segment
- Runtime
- 2:22
- Date posted
- 20 years ago
- Description
- MPBN editor Heidi Perkins first sets up the Maine Experience segment on Neal Dow, the former Portland mayor seen as this country's "father of prohibition" before describing the process of editing together this video segment of the program in collaboration with Executive Producer Chris Sweet. Heidi offers an insider's take on the production process -- if you've ever wondered how the pieces you see on MPBN go from idea to raw footage and images to completed product, this Maine Experience "web extra" should offer some insight.
Maine Public, every day it's because of you.
Support your local public broadcasting station with a donation at http://www.mainepublic.org
- Title
- Behind the Scenes of Maine Experience: Reflecting on the Lindbergh Crate Museum
- Runtime
- 1:25
- Date posted
- 20 years ago
- Description
- MPBN videographer Nick Woodward talks about the impression Larry Ross, the owner and operator of the Lindbergh Crate Museum in Canaan, Maine, had on him after Nick shot the video for this segment of Maine Experience. He salutes Ross for recognizing that the wooden crate in which Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis had been shipped back to America was more than "just a box" and had the potential to be more than simply an historical artifact -- Nick explains how Mr. Ross uses it as a teaching and motivational tool to show schoolchildren who visit the Lindbergh Crate Museum how to achieve anything they can dream of.
Maine Public, every day it's inspiring.
http://www.mainepublic.org
- Title
- Recollections of Margaret Chase Smith
- Runtime
- 1:03
- Date posted
- 20 years ago
- Description
- The first woman ever elected to both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives -- and who stood up to red-baiting Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy in 1950, before anyone else dared to -- came from tiny Skowhegan, Maine. A fellow Skowhegan native and distant relative of Senator Smith's reflects on the inspiration she provided to kids from rural towns across Maine through her courage and quiet dignity. MPBN marketing and communications manager Louis Morin talks about his impulsive decision to ask her to accompany him to his government class after a high school assembly and how to his great surprise, she accepted. (Photos used in the this segment are courtesy of the Margaret Chase Smith Library).
Maine Public, every day it's special.
http://www.mainepublic.org
- Title
- Frank Ferrel Plays A Couple Mellie Dunham Tunes
- Runtime
- 2:15
- Date posted
- 20 years ago
- Description
- Frank Ferrel, the producer of the Maine Experience segment on Mellie Dunham, has a personal interest in telling Mellie's story. To this day, Frank plays some of Mellie's songs when he plays at Grange Hall dances around Maine and Atlantic Canada. In this piece, which does not appear in the segment that was televised on MPBN, Frank plays passages from two of the songs Mellie himself would have played during his sets on the Vaudeville circuit, "Haywood Schottische" and "The Opera Reel." These songs provide a brief sample of the songs that were popular back in the 1920's.
Maine Public, every day it's authentic.
http://www.mainepublic.org
- Title
- Maine Experience Producer Reflects on Mellie Dunham
- Runtime
- 3:06
- Date posted
- 20 years ago
- Description
- Mellie Dunham of Norway, Maine literally fiddled his way to fame and fortune back in the 1920's after being invited to play with Henry Ford's Country Dance Orchestra in Dearborn, Michigan. Producer Frank Ferrel, producer of this segment and a fine fiddle player in his own right, talks of the direct connection he felt to his subject when he sat down to play a couple of Mellie's original tunes along with Lona Bedard, Mellie's 90-something grand-daughter and a piano player who still performs weekly in Norway. Together they play a song called "Red Wing," which Mellie would have played regularly at his performances. Hear Ms. Bedard give Frank an enthusiastic "right on!" at the end of the tune.
