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Maine Visits 2014, continued

Continued from ...

Monday morning, Jenn and Anne went over to the cemetery so that Jenn could tend to the plants on the tombstone. The foggy air was very atmospheric. Unfortunately I only had my little point & shoot camera, but it gives a bit of the feeling.

Foggy cemetery road lined with gravestones and large trees in early morning light

Rows of gravestones fading into the morning fog at the cemetery

As I rounded the corner and went towards Grandmama & Grandpapa's stone, the sunshine streamed through the trees and looked like the light of God shining on the stones.

Sunbeams streaming through trees across the cemetery road in the morning fog

On Tuesday, Paul, Anne, Mom and Gerry went to lunch at Gritty's

Gerry and Mom seated together at an outdoor table at Gritty's beside the river

before checking out the Lewiston-Auburn Museum. Gerry had worked at the textile mills in his younger days, and much of the Museum focus is on the Bates Mill. They have some of the actual equipment used in the mills. A wall of old signs on the entrance to the main exhibit was informative in itself:

Wall display of old mill signs and notices at the Lewiston-Auburn Museum

Notice that they had a worker credit union. The facilities were noisy and - eventually - ear protection was required. Of particular interest was the sign stating that the floor load was 145 pounds per square foot. For comparison, a typical residential load criteria is 40 pounds per square foot, less than a third as much.

1970 looks to be the high-water mark for the population of Lewiston

Population of Lewiston chart displayed at the Lewiston-Auburn Museum

An informative chart on the various steps in a bedspread creation:

Exhibit panel explaining the creation of a woven bedspread

One of Gerry's tasks when he worked at the mill was to keep the bobbins filled for the looms. Of course, these bobbins don't look like a home sewing machine bobbin. This machine winds the bobbins:

Bobbins and winding machine displayed in the mill exhibit at the Lewiston-Auburn Museum

The shuttles that carry the thread back & forth on the looms have metal tips. Gerry told us that one time he stopped the loom to replace thread, but one of the shuttles was in the middle. When he restarted it, the other loom hit the 1st one ... and they went flying off! Think of one of these as a projectile. Luckily, he wasn't injured (he was the only person in the room at the time).

Wooden weaving shuttles with metal-tipped ends displayed at the museum

A bedspread template and the resulting bedspread pattern:

Bedspread template and finished patterned bedspread displayed at the museum

Tin Man's oil can was used by the maintenance department.

Maintenance oil cans displayed in the mill exhibit beside a photo and explanatory panel

Mom, Gerry, and Paul standing inside the Lewiston-Auburn Museum among mill equipment exhibits

On Nichols street, back at the beginning of August we had taken a picture of the nearby vacant lot, with it's pond of water.

Vacant lot near Nichols Street with standing water and brush before the city corrected the drainage

Jenn had talked to the City, who agreed that was not how it was supposed to look, and they promptly came out and worked to correct the situation. Here it is at the end of August, despite recent rains.

Vacant lot near Nichols Street after the city corrected the drainage, with the standing water gone


Paul & Anne spent Wednesday & Thursday at Sebago Lake.

Looking over the water late in the day, with a couple boats moored

Wednesday morning was a fun for us; the septic tank was pumped out. Now, I suppose most people wouldn't consider that a vacation highlight. But it was Anne's chance to pester the people from the septic company. Luckily, they didn't seem to mind.

A Heavenly Blue in Sebago

Single heavenly blue morning glory blooming on the deck railing at Sebago

5 Heavenly Blues in Lewiston

Five heavenly blue morning glories climbing around the windows at Nichols Street

The wild blueberry bushes were LOADED. Anne picked some, and Diane made us blueberry pancakes. Yum.

Wild blueberry bushes loaded with berries at Sebago

On Friday we met Mom & Gerry at Cyndi's Dockside in Poland. We took a walk out on the dock.

Gerry, Anne, and Mom standing together on the dock at Cyndi's Dockside with a pontoon boat behind them

Gerry and Anne checking out a party boat.

Gerry and Anne standing together on the dock at Cyndi's Dockside with a pontoon boat behind them

Mom checking out the scene.

Mom waving from behind the fence across the water at Cyndi's Dockside

View down the dock toward boats and the Cyndi's Dockside building in warm evening light

 

Saturday morning, before heading home.

Early morning view from Sebago across the rocky shoreline toward a small island under a cloudy sky

Updated April 2026