Behind the scenes at the Milo Historical Society Museum

MILO — Spring has sprung at the Milo Historical Society Museum on 12 High St.. Tulips and daffodils planted by the Milo Garden Club, have blossomed under the museum’s sign and along its walkway. They welcome visitors to a new season of displays, research and special programs. The museum is officially open through August on Tuesdays and Fridays from 1-3 p.m. or by appointment by calling 207-965-5302.

During the winter months, volunteers continued to work on projects for the historical society from other locations away from the museum. Cataloging artifacts and documents is an ongoing and years-long process. Presently, any information is only available in the museum itself. However, historical society volunteers are working on creating a “hub” which will provide access to the museum archives for researchers at home, school and elsewhere. 

During this year’s winter months, volunteers met with Maine State Library professionals who introduced them to their Large Format Scanner. Because of the Maine State Library’s generosity, the scanner is now on loan to the Milo Historical Society. This was an especially touching gesture because it enables the society to continue scanning issues of The Town Crier newspapers. This is a project begun by dedicated Milo Historical Society member Seth Barden, who passed away unexpectedly in 2022. Once scanned, the issues will be available to read along with others on the Milo Historical website which can be found at https://www.milohistoricalsociety.com/.

Another winter month project involved two portraits over 200 years old. Painted by the same unknown artist, the painting of Benjamin Sargent was housed in the Milo Public Library and that of Theophilus Sargent was a fixture in the Milo Historical Society Museum. Cleaning and correcting previous repair work was a necessity to preserve the portraits of two of Milo’s founding fathers.

Thankfully the work of art restorer Nina Roth-Wells from Georgetown was a wonderful success. The portraits of Ben and Theophilus Sargent will be returned to Milo and Roth-Wells has kindly offered to present a program about her work and the Sargent paintings.

This restoration project was supported through donations from individuals and organizations from Milo and other communities.

In April the Historical Society hosted a program featuring older homes in Milo. Molly Barker and George West spoke about the history of their houses and discoveries made during renovations. During “Discovering the History of Your Old Home” attendees were offered informational packets, learned about resources available at the museum as well as those that might be found at the Piscataquis County Registry of Deeds office in Dover-Foxcroft. This program drew a full and attentive audience, many of whom were seeking ways to discover the genealogy of their own homes.

Also in the works is an upcoming book “Milo High School Memories” written by Russell Carey who describes it as a book about Milo High School’s athletic teams, athletes, cheerleading and majorette squads and the school’s band. In conjunction with the book, the school display at the museum is undergoing a transition. Other areas in the museum are also scheduled for interesting transformations.

Recently, the Milo Historical Society has returned to a project begun a number of years ago. This involved creating a collection of oral histories from senior Milo residents. At that time, recording technology was not as advanced as it is at present. Over the past several months, a return to this project was made with plans for a special session to be held at the Milo Alumni Banquet on July 12. 

More recently plans are well underway for the 10th annual Milo Historical Society Artisan Show to be held at Milo Elementary School at 18 Belmont St. on Saturday, July 19 from 1-4 p.m.

Once again, artwork from SAD 41 elementary school students will be included with works in different mediums by other artists of all ages. Categories include photography, landscapes, portraits, still life, abstract, animals, sculpture, pottery, woodworking, fiber arts and glass.

For more information about the art show, you may call Joan Henderson at 207-943-2377.

For information about the Milo Historical Society, please contact Allen Monroe at 207-965-5302.

An unknown source reminds us “History has its eye on you”.