Whether or not you’re committing to New Year’s Resolutions (or Intentions) this year, here are some great photos from our Community Archives Room that might help inspire us all to stick to our ideals in 2017….
Lose Weight
 |
| Gardiner’s 1911 Police Force collectively weighed 2,800 pounds, winning a nationwide contest! |
Save Money
 |
| Now Camden Savings Bank, Gardiner Savings Institution built their ultra-modern facility in the 1950s. |
Eat Healthier
 |
| MacDonald’s Bakery opened in 1921 and operated for over 70 years where the Craft Beer Cellar is now. |
Spend More Time Outdoors
 |
| Shown here in the 1920s, Spring Cove on the Brunswick Road was a summer hot spot for decades. |
Read More
 |
| 1947 Summer Reading participants at the Gardiner Public Library in what was then the Children’s Room and is now the Hazzard Reading Room. |
Cut Down on Sweets
 |
| In 1923, Condos Candy Shop sold sweets where the Village Jeweler is now. |
Carpool If You Can
 |
| This photo was taken in September 1940, just before the Sawyer Grain building (now Gardiner Feed) was built. |
Get More Sleep
 |
| A young Gardiner man resting in his Bates College dormitory, c.1914. |
Take a Class
 |
| The Kennebec School of Commerce operated in the upper floors of the bank building on the corner of Water and Church Streets from the mid-1930s through the 1940s and drew students from across the state. |
Adopt a Pet
 |
| This 1920s cutie has ties to a Gardiner family and features prominently (along with many other dear pets) in their treasured scrapbook, which now lives in the Community Archives Room. |
Make the Most of Less Than Perfect Situations
 |
| During the Flood of 1936 (just like those of 1896 and 1987), Gardiner folks temporarily adopted a Venetian lifestyle. |
Shop Locally
 |
| Some of us still remember milk delivery from local farmers. Today, this early 1900s Gardiner farmer could bring his wares to the Farmer’s Market or the Co-Op! |
Start a Big Project You’ve Been Meaning to Do
 |
||||
| Gardiner dug up and re-paved Water Street in the early 1980s. |
Keep a Journal / Learn a New Language
 |
||
| This 1896 journal was kept by a Gardiner man on River Avenue and donated by a later homeowner who discovered it — for the life of us, we have been unable to translate his unique shorthand. Any ideas? |
Stop and Smell the Roses (or Any Flowers)
 |
|
| This 1920s snapshot comes from a Gardiner family’s large collection of negatives, many of which we are seeing for the first time in all their glory — thanks to our negative & slide scanner! |
Exercise More
 |
||
| We have many old sports photos of Gardiner teams. This one is simple titled “An Early Gardiner Baseball Nine” and is probably from the late 1800s. |
Remember Important Dates
 |
| If you can’t get enough of historic Gardiner, you can enjoy even more beautiful photos AND stay on top of 2017 with a copy of our new calendar — still on sale at the library, Boys & Girls Club, and all around town for only $10. All proceeds benefit the library and the Boys & Girls Club. |
Happy New Year to All!!
– Dawn Thistle, Special Collections Librarian