KENNEBUNK — Brendan and Julia O’Brien just couldn’t stop staring at a pair of shoes.
Sitting comfortably in their display case Saturday at Kennebunk’s Brick Store Museum, the shoes ”“ lacy, ornate and still clinging to whiteness despite their age ”“ were so small that the O’Briens almost had to convince themselves they once belonged to an adult. After five minutes of perusing the museum’s mini-collection of World War II-era artifacts, culled from Kennebunk’s past, the O’Briens were hooked.
It was the eighth annual Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day, and its goal of increasing the awareness of American cultural institutions was working its magic. The O’Briens, who live in South Portland, would never have heard of the Brick Store Museum otherwise.
It was while visiting a website devoted to bargains that Brendan O’Brien found a link to the museum’s involvement in the nationwide event ”“ admission was free on Saturday, a deal he didn’t want to pass up.
“It’s always interesting to see local history,” said O’Brien.
Chris Farr, the museum’s director, would certainly agree. A history buff himself, Farr said the Brick Store has participated in the event since its inception, and every year he’s eager to introduce the institution’s treasures to a broader audience.
“We were excited about the day, because there is that heightened awareness,” he said. “The biggest challenge any museum has is letting people know they’re there. I really applaud the Smithsonian’s efforts to promote Museum Day, and spread that awareness.
“What we really want to show off is that we can be a place that’s really lively and vibrant and a fun place to be.”
After the World War II displays, visitors on Museum Day walked into the first gallery to behold an exhibit on historical architecture in the Kennebunks, inspired by “Windows on the Past,” a book written and compiled by Brick Store Museum board member Rosalind Magnuson.
Town Historian Steve Spofford, on hand at the museum Saturday to offer visitors a short lesson on the history of the museum itself, said that Brick Store founder Edith Barry had a knack for procuring historically significant items, such as those that adorned the architecture exhibit.
“Ms. Barry was well-connected in the area,” he said. “But also, if folks decided they wanted to sell the family home ”¦ they would offer items, because they were familiar with the fact that she had the museum here.”
The second gallery features early to mid-20th century paintings by local artist Louis Norton, who specialized in landscapes depicting Kennebunkport. Farr said that each exhibit begins simply with a theme.
“Having settled on the theme, we now start the research,” he said. “We then go back through the collections to see what we have.”
In the rear-most gallery, works from Barry herself pepper the walls and display cases like ghostly potpourri. An accomplished painter, much of Barry’s canvas work depicts circus scenes, but with a brooding and seriousness that belies the theme. One painting, simply named “Charlotte,” shows a woman holding a cigarette and looking almost forlorn against a backdrop of acrobats and elephants.
Those galleries ”“ plus additional furniture and canvas displays in the museum’s second-floor halls ”“ are what Farr hopes will continue to draw museum-goers who, if not for Museum Day, may never have known about their existence.
One patron present on Saturday who doesn’t need convincing is Jack DeLoge, who lives in Massachusetts but visits the Brick Store Museum anytime he’s in the area.
“I think it’s a great museum,” he said. “I would definitely recommend it to people who I think may have an interest.
“I’ve always loved history,” he said. “I think you always need to know where you’ve been. Everything is so interconnected, and more people realize it now.”
— Staff Writer Jeff Lagasse can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 319 or jlagasse@journaltribune.com.
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