January is almost over, but from all of us with the Brick Store Museum, it's never too late to wish you happy new year! 2009 closed out on a high note with our final two events of the year--the 6th Annual Holiday Tea and the Wreath Display & Auction--turning a combined profit of nearly $3,000.
Read on for some additional 2009 highlights. Kudos to all of you who helped out in so many ways to make our achievements possible. Then, scroll even further down to read what's up already in 2010! |
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The Year in Review: 2009
 What a year!
- The structural renovations made possible by our Capital Campaign were completed on our Main Street complex...on time and under budget. And, we remained open throughout!
- Visitors came from 41 states and the District of Columbia, plus from Australia, the Bahamas, Canada, England, France, Germany and Mexico.
- We opened 3 new exhibitions and 2 History Showcases.
- With the generosity of 326 donors, we exceeded our 2009 Annual Fund goal by more than $8,000!
- 2,118 items (from letters and photographs to paintings and even a birch bark canoe!) were newly processed into the Museum's collections.
- 75 volunteers gave a total of more than 3,740 hours. While we feel that their time and talents are truly priceless, an estimated value of their services based upon Independent Sector data comes to over $63,600!
- Up, up, up: compared to 2008 figures, membership revenue was up 31%, annual giving was up 14%, and grant support received from foundations was up 9.5%.
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A New Exhibition for a New Year!
Pennies to Ride: The Kennebunks' Turn-of-the-Century Trolleys
On view through May 1, 2010
 Take yourself back to the heyday of trolley travel on the seacoast, when passengers could ride the electric railway the 21 miles from Sanford to Cape Porpoise in 90 minutes for just 35 cents. Our newest exhibition explores the progression of the area's trolley system from 1899 until the 1930s. A series of historical vignettes introduces you to students who took the trolley to school, a tourist on a trolley excursion, a conductor who saw the trolley's evolution over his 46 years of service, and even a romance on the rails. Through archival photographs and postcard images, learn about the various routes and their construction, the sights promoted by the trolley companies, and, ultimately, why the system did not last. Pennies to Ride is a companion to the History in Motion exhibition at Kennebunkport's Seashore Trolley Museum and is part of that institution's larger initiative involving the recent restoration of the Atlantic Shore Line locomotive #100 and collaboration among area organizations in telling various aspects of Maine's trolley history.
Made possible by Historic Transportation Enhancement Funds through the Federal Highway Administration and the Maine Department of Transportation; and Members of the New England Electric Railway Historical Society. |
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February Vacation Workshop for Kids
 Wednesday, February 17th
9:45AM to 3PM
To coincide with the schools' upcoming winter vacation, kids in grades 4 through 8 are invited to join in on a day of fun, all based upon exhibits at the Museum! Explore quilting and re-create a timeless "log cabin" design, assemble a vintage trolley diorama, and try your hand at soft pastels after learning the basics from a Pastel Painters of Maine artist. Best of all, put your projects on view at the Museum before taking them home as keepsakes! Pre-registration is required by February 10. Cost is $25/child ($20 for Museum members); family discounts are available. To register, call the Museum at 207-985-4802, or click here to download and print the registration form (PDF format, 260k).
Made possible by the Museum's Education Committee and the Dorothy Fish Fund for Furthering Edith Barry's Legacy. | |
The Brick Store Museum is located at 117 Main Street in the heart of Kennebunk's National Register Historic District. For more than 70 years, the Museum has been dedicated to preserving the rich cultural and artistic heritage of the Kennebunks. Its galleries and research archives are open year-round (closed holidays), Tuesdays-Fridays, 10-4:30 and Saturdays, 10-1. Admission is by donation; suggested $5/person. For more information, check us out at www.brickstoremuseum.org, or give us a call at 207.985.4802. | |
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March 17, 2010
Worthy Wednesday: Brick Store Museum Night at One Dock in Kennebunkport
 June 14, 2010
Spring Classic: 13th Annual Golf Tournament & Dinner |
Did You Know...
...that we've been photographing our collections? Slowly but surely, we're working our way through and taking digital images of everything. While many of our artifacts have been photographed for various magazines and books over the years, many more have never been photographed. Our resulting photos and scans are not only an important visual record, but they also help us in inventorying, assessing conservation needs, making collections more readily accessible to researchers, and creating online content.
In the past 6 months alone, volunteers working with our registrar have meticulously photographed more than 650 objects ranging from spectacles to ceramics, architectural models and more. Add to that the 1,118 vintage photographs, 987 book plates, 57 World War I posters, 124 greeting cards, and 1,217 postcards we've scanned from our Archives Center over the past 4 years, and we already have more than 4,100 images on file! |
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