Growing up in Searsport, Maine, I felt geographically limited because on one side of me was interior Maine, mostly woods at that time and on the other side was the Atlantic Ocean with the straight-line landfall either Europe or Africa. My only options for travel were Rt 1 northeast or southwest. I would stand on the shore and dream about traveling away from our little village. What wonders could be out there? It was especially frustrating because we used to be a center of sailing ship activity. My small town of Searsport at one time, had something like 10% of the countries sea captains. The local museum was full of their souvenirs from all over the world. I could hold in my hands an Australian boomerang, pumice from Krakatau, Chinese fabrics, South American masks, African spears and other exotics. The walls were covered with paintings of ships in ports and at sea. The clipper ship era wasn’t all that far removed from the ancient men who wandered around town and lived in those wonderful captain’s mansions.
The Penobscot Marine Museum was pretty open at that time, so I could sit and read the original captain's logs about rounding the horn and visits to ports of call. I could only visit once a week on Saturdays because on that day it was free to town residents. A good part of my education was granted here by the friendliness of the museum staff. When I visit a museum now, I feel isolated and distanced by the necessity to protect the collections. I know it's impossible to have the freedom I used to have, but still, I miss that thrill of touching history.
Earle Rich
Mont Vernon, NH
Rich, I understand exactly what you mean. Recently I had the opportunity to visit the King Tut Exhibit in Philadelphia. Everything was carefully placed under plexiglass, and I felt distanced from the wondrous display. I probably would have not even noticed except about 10 years ago I had the different experience of viewing another Tut exhibit at the Museum in New Orleans. There were multiple signs reminding visitors NOT to touch the exhibit, however many of the large items were right out in the open, and if you got close enough you could imagine that you were smelling the ancient sands and exotic scents. Surely with all the technology at hand, the museums and historical societies could do better to engage us rather than distance us from our heritage. Janice
Janice Brown | 16/08/2007, 18:23
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