Palermo Historical Society celebrates 30 years

PHS volunteer Michelle Glidden looks on with pride as Sawyer Cotter-Hayes works the grain grinder, full of Palermo-grown dent corn. (contributed photo)

by William Armstrong,
PHS President

To live in Palermo is to live among history, and this is true whether you know the history or not. It’s in the name and shape of our roads – Turner Ridge, Banton, Parmenter – and of the families who have lived here for generations. It’s in the houses, like the ones that survived the Branch Mills Fire of 1908 or the camps that surround Sheepscot Pond. It’s in the people, like local sons Millard Howard and Milton Dowe, who had so much love for this town that they each wrote a comprehensive history of it. That love and pride brought townsfolk together 30 years ago to found the Palermo Historical Society, and keeps us celebrating and preserving that history today.

We recently got to celebrate some local history with the third graders of Palermo Consolidated School, restarting a fond tradition. It was a delight to see the excitement and wonder in these kids’ eyes as they contemplated a 19th century life without electricity or iPads. Our intrepid volunteers demonstrated homesteader techniques like grain grinding, hand and loom weaving, and log cabin construction, and told stories of settlers working together to erect sawmills, grain mills, and churches (in that order!).

Our Society meets in the historic Worthing House, at 54 North Palermo Rd, right in the Branch Mills village. We love to collaborate with other local organizations, and are hosting Palermo’s American Legion Post #163 for a Memorial Day commemoration, starting at 11 a.m., on the May 26.

The society’s vice-president, Paul Hunter, is leading a popular monthly series on ancestry and genealogy in partnership with the Palermo Community Library – see their Facebook for more information. Later in June, we celebrate the anniversary of Palermo’s founding with our annual Founder’s Day Cookout, scheduled for June 21.

August means Palermo Days and the return of the 20th Maine Company B Civil War reenactors, camping out on our lawn. Our 30th anniversary season concludes in October with a new apple festival, organized in collaboration with PHS member and renowned apple expert, John Bunker. Mark Saturday, October 11, in your calendar for what is going to be a fun and hands-on celebration of all of what the humble apple provides us. All of our meetings and events are family-friendly and all are welcome.

The cornerstone of the Society’s achievements over the past 30 years is our dedicated membership, and there’s never been a better time to join us! Annual dues are just $5, and to commemorate our anniversary all new members receive a gift copy of Millard Howard’s definitive “An Introduction to the Early History of Palermo.” Members receive our seasonal newsletter, support our collection of antiques and artifacts, and guide our future. Our work in maintaining the historic Worthing House and grounds is never done, and we are always open to partnering with local businesses in pursuit of that goal.

The Palermo Historical Society was founded in 1995 with the express mission of preserving and cataloging our town’s history. That mission has taken many forms over the past 30 years, and our collection now includes books, maps, diaries, mementos, furniture, clothing, plateware, tools, all available to be viewed at our gifted home, the Worthing House, at 54 North Palermo Rd. We also have some especially rare treasures, like an antique barn loom (gift of Elsie Adams), one of the oldest telephones in Palermo (gift of Miriam Keller), the homemade diving helmet Milton Dowe used to walk across the bottom of Branch Pond, a working Edison phonograph with a collection of wax cylinder recordings (gift of Janet Potter).

To view any of our collection, please contact palermohistorical@gmail.com or join a meeting on the fourth Tuesday, at 6 p.m., March through October. You may get in touch with William Armstrong, PHS president, directly at armstrongpalermo@gmail.com.