Gardiner Archives - Page 3 of 4 - Gardiner Public Library

Being Mrs. Claus for a day!

May 28, 2017December 12, 2015 by Ginni Nichols, Children's Librarian

I was honored this year to be Mrs. Claus for the city of Gardiner in their Christmas Parade. I was not sure what I was in for. The fun began with co-workers and friends offering ideas for my costume. Being a thrifty person, I looked for things that I had on hand to wear. Thank goodness, I knew someone who works with theater students and had a perfect wig, apron and white gloves. Oh, the endless blessing of friends.

Well I had my costume set until the day came and I started to try things on. I came out of the bedroom with a black skirt on and my hair pulled back. My grandson looked at me and said “You look just like Mrs. Claus.” I knew then that what I would wear would work. Dressing in the truck before the parade was a challenge, but again how often do you do that. Then it was sit and wait.

I checked in at the table for the parade. Next I stood and waited to be told when the horse-drawn sleigh was ready. There was a sleigh with tons of lights on a flatbed trailer that I was convinced would be our sleigh. Later I realized that was not my ride because I had been told it would be a horse-drawn sleigh and there was no horse on that sleigh. I looked further to the back of the parade and spotted a white horse trailer. I realized that was where I should be, so I walked to the back of the parade to meet Santa. Santa and the horse-drawn sleigh stopped to pick up Mrs. Claus. Needless to say I was a bit nervous having never done this before. Thank goodness Santa knew just what to do, waving and saying “Merry Christmas”. I soon learned the ropes.

Riding a moving sleigh was a bit of a challenge that I also, got used to. The crowds were small at first and then we came to the first set of lights for Water Street and the mass of people was unbelievable (which I did not expect). It was nice to see so many people show up to see the parade and support the city of Gardiner. It took your breath away and then you say “I will be okay, I can do this, just smile and say “Merry Christmas”. The children’s and adult’s faces just light up when they see Santa. It did not matter their belief or age. Everyone was so excited. Waving frantically at Santa, hoping to catch a wink of his eye. It was just amazing to see this happen. Seeing people I know brought tears to my eyes and I got very emotional at first. I had fun blowing kisses to my dear friends and one time a friend still did not realize who I was until a family member told her who Mrs. Claus was. The parade came to an end and I had had a blast.

Now it was on to reading Christmas stories in Lisa’s Legit Burritos to the children (which is something I am very comfortable with) while Santa was visiting with children in Johnson Hall. And of course Mrs. Claus uses her local library to pick out her stories that she reads to the good little girls and boys.

One of the best comments I got after doing this event was from one of our regular storytime attendees: “Miss Ginni, how do you know Santa?”

I could not have done this event without the support of family, friends and co-workers so I say “Thank you for this opportunity to the whole city of Gardiner”. The feeling was something I will never forget. It makes you realize just how special the season of giving is.

Ginni Nichols a.k.a. Mrs. Claus, YA Librarian

Family History – now’s the time!

June 4, 2017November 28, 2015 by Dawn Thistle, Special Collections Librarian

Thanksgiving Day is also National Family History Day. It’s a natural pairing: that time of year when we gather together for family, food, and fun also marks the perfect opportunity to gather family information.

“Why didn’t I ask questions when I had the chance?”

That’s the #1 rhetorical question we get here in the Archives. Whether trying to fill gaps in a family tree or hoping to recall or confirm stories from long ago, folks are always wishing they had taken the time to ask questions and record information once upon a time.

National Family History Day was actually declared by the Surgeon General after a Center for Disease Control and Prevention survey found that

over 96% of Americans considered knowledge of family history important to their personal health, but
less than 30% had ever actively collected family health information.

Wondering why the Surgeon General cares about genealogy? Well, it’s simple – tracing family illnesses can help predict health risks and encourage preventative action to keep families healthy! Of course, health questions may not be the easiest ones to address — nor do they necessarily make the best dinner conversation! — but, making an attempt to start talking about family history, asking questions, and recording information might help get the rolling on all fronts.

Here are some quick suggestions for easy ways to record your family history this weekend – or any time you gather together:

There’s an app for that! Few people have tape recorders anymore, but your phone can do the trick instead! Download a voice recording app such as StoryCorps (read about it in last week’s Wall Street Journal article) or Interviewy. Have some questions ready (there are tips on the websites & in the article), but you can also just wing it & see where it goes!
Bring out old photos to get the conversation started — and while you’re at it, write the names on the back (in pencil or archival, photo-safe ink).

Create a Family Health Portrait with the helpful online tool from the Surgeon General’s Office.
Keep pencil and paper handy and just write it down! Every little bit counts!

Need help pulling it together? Stop by the Community Archives Room and we’ll give you a hand!

We hope you had a happy Thanksgiving – and that you build upon your family history on this weekend — and at every opportunity!

Historic Photo Mystery – Solved in the Archives!

May 28, 2017September 19, 2015 by Dawn Thistle, Special Collections Librarian

Of all the wonderful reference questions we field in the Community Archives Room, some of the most engaging involve identifying photographs and their subjects, relative to Gardiner history. Often people bring in photos of family members or local buildings and want to know just where or when or why a photo may have been taken. We have wonderful historic maps and directories, as well as many already-identified photos that help with picking out clues to solve the mystery. And, inevitably, every “solve” brings out new and enlightening details of our richly historic town.

Recently, a mystery came our way electronically. Someone had noticed an image for sale by auction on eBay and it struck up lively conversation on Facebook, with folks wondering just where in Gardiner the photograph had been taken. The auction has since ended, but the image is still view-able online (simply Google: Gardiner bridge 1904 eBay, or click this link: http://goo.gl/dazhU8). The photo shows a young woman standing on a bridge, alongside intricate metal balustrades and a tall railing, with many wooden buildings on the waterfront behind her; writing on the back noted that it was taken September 1904 on the Gardner [sic] Bridge in Maine.

The photo offers some wonderful close-up details, but was taken from a perspective rarely seen in our collection and was not instantly identifiable. It was not surprising that questions and discussions arose about the location, as Gardiner has at had least four to six bridges that have changed architecturally over time (Gardiner-Randolph, Bridge Street, Winter Street, New Mills, as well as those on Maine Avenue crossing both the Cobbossee and the Causeway). Only by following each clue and connecting the right dots, could the location be pinpointed.

Many still recall the old Gardiner-Randolph Bridge (c.1933) with concrete railings and balustrades at either end.

New Mills Bridge (with trolley arriving, c.1910) was one of Gardiner’s metal bridges for decades, but also lacked the intricate details shown in the mystery photo.


Commonwealth Shoe factory, along the Kennebec, c. 1910. The Causeway bridge in the foreground has the same metalwork and balustrades as in the mystery photo, but has different buildings in its vicinity.

Close inspection of the mystery photo shows small rosettes in the ironwork. Many will recall similar rosettes that were removed and sold as souvenirs when the old Gardiner-Randolph Bridge was dismantled in 1980. According to the details in the photo above (if you really zoom in), they also ran along Maine Avenue.

Sometimes it takes finding just the right image, taken at the right time of year (e.g., after the protective wooden sidings of winter are taken down) and, of course, in the right year (e.g., after 1896 when the 1850s bridge washed and was replaced, but before the concrete sidings were changed in the late 1920s-early 1930s) to make the solve. The image below was contemporary with the mystery photo and it showed ironwork matching the 1904 railings.


An older photo of the Gardiner-Randolph Bridge, c.1905, showing the metal balustrades and railing that match those in the photo, as well as background buildings that appear to be on the Randolph side of the bridge.

The final clue came by matching the above photo with a period map of Randolph. The buildings on the north side of the bridge match those in the background of the mystery photo. By 1910 (not shown), some of the buildings in question were already gone.

1903 Sanborn Map detail of Randolph, including the wooden buildings on the north side of the bridge, matching the those in the mystery photo.

At last, it was safe to conclude, without a doubt, that the mystery photo was taken on the northern Randolph side of the Gardiner-Randolph Bridge. Although the process sounds a little tedious and drawn out, our marvelous collection led to an answer in under 15 minutes!

Of course, in true form to all our research discoveries here in the Archives, no sooner is a mystery solved than a new and exciting detail — or further mystery — crops up! A few days later, when browsing microfilm of Gardiner newspapers to pursue a completely different question, a note about the Gardiner-Randolph bridge caught my eye in the July 20, 1906, Weekly Reporter Journal caught my eye:

Apparently some of those small details were not so small after all!

Of course, we still don’t know who the lady is. If you have any idea — or if you have more Gardiner photos (mysterious or otherwise) — please share them with us!! We love a good Gardiner mystery!