On July 16, the Friends and Trustees of the Hendricks Hill Museum on Southport invite all to join the 30th anniversary celebration of the original opening of the museum on July 16, 1988. The summer-long celebration will officially kick off at the Southport Town Hall at 7 p.m. and will include a visual trip down memory lane narrated by Gerry Gamage. There will be museum displays, books on the history of the island for purchase, and an opportunity to meet and hear stories told by some of the founders of this island treasure.

But the celebration does not begin or end there. On June 27, key members of the Friends and Trustees will participate in the Windjammer Days Parade to help shine the spotlight on our little gem on the hill. Then, on July 4, original founders of the museum will ride in the Southport Island Carriage Parade, an annual event under the auspices of the Southport Island Association, to encourage all to visit the museum this summer.

The celebration then continues with “Small Talks “offered throughout July and August at the museum, an Ice Cream Social in August at Gus Pratt’s old lunch counter display in the boathouse, and a nearly month-long display at the Southport Library of historic photos reproduced from antique glass plates that depict West Southport in the 1890s.

The museum, from its inception, has been a labor of love for those who have been involved in its creation and continuing evolution. Ron Orchard, for example, who chaired the historical society when it began in 1988, continues to serve as its president, now 30 years later. Ron can be found at the museum everyday that it is open and most days when it is not! Ron, who in 1996 was dubbed “Docent in Residence,” will be this year’s Grand Marshal for the island’s Carriage Parade.

There is a lot of local history packed into this neat little gallery of antiquity that is worth exploring even if you are not from these parts. It might be interesting to know, for example, that the lovely town of Southport was once a thriving fishing village and “in 1860 there were 59 bankers and mackerel vessels owned in Southport giving employment to every able-bodied man and boy on the island besides employing many others. It was said that during the height of their prosperity that no town in Maine made its own business and earned so many dollars per capita as Southport.” Southport’s marine history has been preserved and is on display both in the main building of the museum and in the boathouse.

The Hendricks Hill Museum will open for the season on June 26. Refreshments will be served in the boathouse from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and while there is never a charge for admission, donations are gratefully accepted. The museum will be open every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. throughout July and August. For more information, or to become a member of the Friends of the Southport Historical Society, visit the museum website at www.southportmainehistory.com