I was delighted when Scarborough’s Community Services offered a day trip so seniors could enjoy that special celebration. Paris Hill is famous as the birthplace and home of Hannibal Hamlin, elected vice president of the United States in 1860 under Abraham Lincoln. Hamlin had previously served as U.S. Representative (1843-1847) and as U.S. Senator (1848-1857) and as Governor of Maine (1857-1858). He returned to the Senate when Andrew Johnson replaced him as VP for Lincoln’s second term and served until 1881. He then became Minister Plenipotentiary to Spain, 1881-1882.
Our bus dropped us off close by the Hamlin Memorial Library and Museum and so we decided to visit that intriguing building first. Constructed from great blocks of granite in 1822, it was the Oxford County Jail until 1896 when government offices were moved to South Paris, conveniently located near the new railroad. In 1901, Augustus Hamlin purchased the vacant jail, removed the cells’ iron bars and deeded the building to the Paris Hill Library Association, to serve as a lending library and museum for relics of famous families of Paris Hill.
We admired the rows of bookcases on the first floor, but proceeded quickly up the narrow wooden staircase to the second floor, jam-packed full with those afore-mentioned “relics” – such wonderful items as handmade campaign banners featuring Lincoln and Hamlin, two original Currier and Ives lithographs of Lincoln and Hamlin, and a map of the Rangeley Lakes District drawn on birch bark by Metallak, son of the chief of the Cooashhaukes. Also catching my eye were a tribute to Capt. Harry W. Lyons, U.S. Merchant Marine, navigator on the first airplane to cross the Pacific from California to Australia in 1928 and some souvenirs made from Damascus steel brought home from the Middle East by Dr. Cyrus Hamlin, first cousin of Hannibal and the founder of Robert College in Istanbul, Turkey.
Our next stop was the classic car collection of Bob Bahre, former owner of the Oxford Hills Speedway. Mr. Bahre opens his collection to the public once a year, on Founders’ Day as a fundraiser for the library, drawing hundreds of fans. Gorgeous cars, including Packards, Duesenbergs, Stutz Bearcats, and a 1910 Thomas Flyer, fill two buildings and line both sides of a long driveway. Each one is in perfect condition, clean and shiny and seemingly ready for you to hop in and take off for a spin.
Two cars attracted a lot of attention – a 1947 Delahaye red roadster with exaggerated tear-shaped fenders, and a 1910 Panhard & Levassor four-passenger touring car, painted bright blue with brown leather seats, two jump seats in back, also brown leather, a rack for lap robes, a canvas convertible top and gleaming brass headlights and trim.
Also on display was the doll collection of Sandra Bahre, tucked into glass cabinets at one end of the exhibition. We wondered at all kinds of dolls – a Charlie Chaplin, a World War II WAC, a Mary Todd Lincoln, a Little Boy Blue, a Shirley Temple with a travel trunk and an autographed picture, a Pinocchio with his story book, a Sarah Bernhardt, and Amos and Andy sitting on top of an old-fashioned radio.
After a delicious homemade lunch, bought at a stand on the Town Common, we visited the handsome white wooden church gracing a corner of the Common. Built in 1838, it is 175 years old and, according to the architect, strong enough “to last till the Lord returns.” The pastor of the First Baptist Church of Paris Hill, Mary Beth Caffey, greeted us at the door and regaled us with stories of the church’s history. We particularly admired the 1871 foot stools, covered with gold cushions, and the eight large 24-pane windows. As we left, and with Pastor Mary Beth’s encouragement, we pulled the bell rope hanging in the narthex, and listened as the sound of the Paul Revere Bell echoed across the Common.
Let’s talk
Let’s Talk America meets on the first Thursday evening of the month at Scarborough Public Library. Sam Kelley moderates and the group usually discusses a current economic or political problem. However, in August we were treated to the arrival of Lee Libby and his Chinese wife. Lee was in Scarborough to attend the Libby reunion and introduce his wife to the United States, and they were eager to share with us up-to-date insights into this remote part of China. He first explained how he met Xiuli (pronounced Sue-Lee) on an online dating site while he was working in Cambodia. She was a chemistry professor at the Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, and they corresponded for some years before Lee made the big decision to join her in Baotou. They were married two years ago, and he now teaches English as a spoken language at the University.
Their home is in Baotou, a “small” city of 2.5 million people, but they can walk to work in 15 minutes, thus avoiding major traffic jams. Classes meet six days a week, and there is tremendous parental pressure on the students to succeed. Most families have just one child and many hope that child will go to university and get a good-paying job. Teachers and students both seemed apathetic to Lee, students rarely asked questions and were obsessed with memorizing from their textbooks. This seemed in contrast to our perception of local Chinese students who excel in their studies in the USA. Everyone must carry a National Identity Card, including Lee, although he is an American citizen. Xiuli, who was a member of the Falun Gong, spent 14 months in a Labor Camp as punishment for her beliefs. She noted, however, that she was treated respectfully because she was a teacher, not a common criminal, prostitute or drug dealer.
Lee pointed out that the United States must contend with China – the sheer numbers of its population mean it must play a major role in world politics in the future.
Marta Bent lives in Scarborough.
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