The 4th, 5th and 6th graders from the Southport Central School recently made the trek from their classrooms across the street to the Hendricks Hill Museum for a sampling of history brought to life through artifacts and interest-piquing stories like the documented account of early explorer Verrazano being mooned by Indians in 1524 at the mouth of the Kennebec River!

Rich with historical objects, photographs, documents and media resources, the museum tells the history of the fishing industry on Southport Island and the surrounding area in the 1800s. Using plenty of props, Donald Duncan, Nan Jackson and Evelyn Sherman were able, in great detail, to describe what it was like to live and work back in the time when the cod were huge and bathtubs were tiny.

The kids learned that in 1859 Southporters earned more per capita in the fishing industry than the people in any other town in Maine, that lobsters were so plentiful they were served to prisoners who tired of them as a daily diet, and that two kids could dig three bushels of clams in a good low tide to be used as bait.

They were given a good orientation as to what it took to run a household without the benefit of electricity. They learned that laundry could be an all-day affair with a galvanized tub and wringer, and that people were dependent on open fireplaces for their cooking and heating needs.

The recognition of a family name on an old photo, the manipulation of an old handcrafted but still practical tool and the uncomfortable discovery that, back in the day, the entire family might share the same bathwater in one small tub are learning experiences likely to stay with you and hopefully spark a desire to learn more.

That is the goal of the outreach project that is bringing the Southport students into the Hendricks Hill Museum. Spearheaded by Friends of the Southport Historical Society (FSHS) president, Cathy Messmer, community outreach efforts will continue to be a focus of the organization going forward.

For more information, or to become a member of the Friends of the Southport Historical Society, visit the museum website at http://www.southportmainehistory.com/