Annual Report

Leeds Historical Society

2025 Summary

Contributions to the Collection and our Efforts:

We are all deeply saddened by the passing of Jerry Hartford. He was an important community member and a great friend to us. We are just so pleased that we invited Jerry and Val to have a conversation with us this past summer talking about aspects of their lives, family and the community.

Thanks to Jeri and Gary Maurer, Amy Dacyzcyn and Larry Acree for their additional financial support.

We have a donation of photographs, a bible, and newspaper clippings from Shirley (Maquire) Brannigan, daughter of Sherwood “Mickey” Maquire who worked for, and then bought, Allen, Stirling, and Lothrop Seed Company.

Laura Juraska was able to add a poster by Ian Ormon of a commissioned painting titled “Longley Bridge Under Construction” and a few digital photographs taken in the 1930's of the Additon farm and fields during harvesting.

A few Senate documents with John D. Millett's signature, 1801-66, a snapshot of Donald Tripp giving an award to a student, and a short write up about Julia Griswold. was given by the Turner Historical Society and Museum.

Thanks to Sharon Buckley for bringing some photographs of the 1936 flood and also the flood of 1953 which will be added to the collection.

Debbie Burgess Litalien and Priscilla Waite Rundin brought a number of wonderful photographs in relation to our Church Hill house walk with photographs of people and also of Hilholme.

Joanna Hopkins from Norridgewock donated a 1853 Bowdoin College Catalogue which lists Rowland Bailey Howard of South Leeds as a freshman

Ross Wood donated two 1800s receipts of Aranda Gilbert – one for a tax bill of $16.58 in 1863 and one for the purchase of a 3 month old calf for 4 dollars in 1840.

A Leeds Grange Supper ticket was given by John and Sandy Nutting for our collection.

Bicentennial parade photos donated by the Maurers

Community Programming:

During our summer open hours we continue to invite some local folks for coffee and conversation as an informal way to collect stories and facts. This past year we enjoyed conversations with Jerry and Val Hartford and Martha Geores with Sharon Buckley. We also did a home visit with Beatrice Morse and copied some interesting sketches of the North Leeds area near the RR done by her sister.

Our spring walks of Cruising Down Church Hill Road (part of Historic Preservation's statewide Jane's Walks) and a repeat of the Riverlands State Park in Leeds were well attended, especially since the weather was not very cooperative on the first one.

Big thanks to Rick Jennings for making the program, Share Your Postcards & Photos, in May such a success. People brought a variety of items for us to keep, such as newspaper articles and a broadside of a “Greate Concerte” with “music from Father Kemp's Collection given in 1875 in New Gloucester, admission 25 cents.

This year's Veterans Day event on Nov 9th focused on the Korean War. Thanks again to Joyce Pratt and John Nutting who spoke of the personal military service of their fathers. It was a wonderfully attended community event.

The Fall program by Julie Davenport, “Reading the Maine Landscape”, had a great turnout for a very informative presentation. We then had a follow up walk the next Saturday to show examples in the woods at Curtis Homestead. Theresa Kerchner of Kennebec Land Trust joined Julie in the walk and discussion.

Foregoing our own Christmas fair, we joined the Leeds Community Church fair and sold quite a few items.. Besides taking some of our usual publications and merchandise, there was also a 2026 calendar with photographs from our collection and a generous donation from Larry Acree of some of his handcrafted items.

Highlights of other Activities:

The Barclays generously offered their event facilities, The Ledges, on Lake Shore Dr for the 225th celebration of Leeds . It will be on Saturday, July 18th, with a rain date of the 19th. There is a community group now making plans with much more information to follow.

Tim Barclay has also spearheaded our long-standing desire of ours to get the Quaker Ridge school bell mounted and placed outside at the school. We hope to have the unveiling of it on a beautiful wooden structure at the 225th Celebration.

We now coordinate the placement and pickup of Veteran flags for the cemeteries in town. The Girl Scouts led by Lee Castonguay Wise, the Dacyczyns, Marguerite Grant, Jake Rodrigue, Craig and Becky Starr, Jeri Maurer, and Pam Bell all help in this worthwhile effort, making it light work. Thanks!

We published our third in the series of anthologies, Out of Our Past, this one featuring Curtis Corner and North Leeds among many other stories and are now selling copies of Faces from the Civil War from Androscoggin Historical Society which includes a good essay on Gen. Olivier Otis Howard.

Last June a of group of enthusiastic Leavitt students came and did a number of projects, one of which was some scraping and priming of clapboards on the south wall. Thanks to Richard Fochtmann and Rich Rothe for getting the siding up later and leaving only the north side in need of plastic against the winter winds.

We submitted information and photos on our churches to the Maine Steeples Fund on their project supported by the Maine Historic Preservation Commission. They are expecting to produce a book and website with all the material they will collect.

Laura attended the Maine Archives & Museums annual conference this fall at UM-Farmington. She did a poster talk highlighting our philosophy of emphasizing local history in our programming which had a good reception.

As always, we do appreciate all the continued support and trust the town shows towards our efforts.

Respectfully submitted, Laura Juraska, President