2011 Annual Report - the Seashore Trolley Museum

Above: Thornton Academy students enjoy the
view from the top of Blackpool Standard 144. PM
What surprised students? There were
many interesting comments. Here is a
sampling: “The age of trolleys,” “That the
trolleys still work,” How many trolleys
were at the museum,” “There was a huge
amount of trolley parts too,” “How old
the buses are,” “What the trolleys looked
like before they are restored,” “How they
fixed them up and how clean they are,”
“The old rusty trolley 41 had so much
history,” “ How many volunteers there
were,” “How long restoring a trolley
takes,” “How much the trolleys changed
and impacted our daily commute,” “Going
inside the trolley,” “That it was once
a diner,” “How many people care,” “The
length of time green technology has been
around,” “How much money it takes to
restore the trolleys,” “All the grease,”
They had Moxie!”
What did they learn about public transportation
history? Here is a sampling:
”The first trolleys were horse powered,”
“They had to ride them everywhere,”
“They had funner transportation when
they created trolleys,” “There’s a bunch
of ‘interesting’ history that we don’t know
about!”
Christmas Prelude
Philip W. Morse
This year marked the 30th anniversary
for Kennebunkport’s Christmas Prelude.
As has happened frequently in recent
years, the weather did not bring any
snow over the two weekends the Museum
was open for the festivities. This
lack of snow may have kept some visitors
away from attending this community
event. Our attendance figures however,
were very similar to last year’s record
high.
This year the interiors of Connecticut
Company No. 1160 and Wheeling Traction
Company No. 639 were decorated
with holiday wreaths and bows. In addition,
due to the scheduled visits of
passengers from four group tour buses,
Boston Elevated Railway No. 5821 and
Connecticut Car Company No. 303 were
also made available for operations, although
not initially decorated.
This year to help decorate the trolleys
and Visitors Center area for the event,
and to help during the two weekends of
trolley operations, we had student volunteers
from Thornton Academy in Saco.
Thornton Academy is the largest private
high school in Maine with enrollment
in the 2011-12 school year exceeding
1,400 students. Of those students 119
are tuition-paying international students
from 16 different foreign countries. Close
to 100 of these students live on campus
in three dormitories, with the remaining
students living with host families in the
local communities. This writer is one of
2011 Annual Report
the residential life staff members living
on campus at TA and has the opportunity
to suggest weekend opportunities for
student trips. Permission was granted to
post volunteer opportunities for students
to help the Museum for the Pumpkin
Patch and Prelude events.
The first Friday afternoon of Prelude
was brisk with more than 100 visitors
in the three hours of operations. The
first Saturday is traditionally the busiest
day of the two-weekend event. This day
brought with it some added operational
challenges when 639 developed mechani-
Above: Prelude snacks are offered inside.
Below: Student volunteers add the aura of
Christmas inside Wheeling Curved-side 639.
PM
“Trolleys are more environmentally
friendly than transportation today,” “That
a black girl got arrested for not moving
to the back of the bus,” “That people
are bringing the trolleys back,” “Trolleys
changed America because you could get
to places quicker,” “It’s cool,” “It’s important,”
“Trolleys used to be everywhere,”
“That trolleys were good transportation,”
“Open cars were created to cool down
people during hot days and were called
‘breezers’.”
This service-learning experience was
sponsored by Saco & Biddeford Savings
Institution with additional support provided
by Arundel Market, Poland Spring
Water Company, and Hannaford Supermarket
of Saco.
Above: Ribbons on the pine trees indicates Christmas Prelude time, but the weather does not.
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