Don’t miss this great sportsmen’s event at the State Museum

Don’t miss this great event!

 Friends of the Maine State Museum Collaborate to Create Historic Documentary

Journey Uptah Camp Like Never Before

Sportsmen & the Maine Sporting Camp Tradition; A 3D Historic Experience

In a compelling and first of its kind presentation, the Friends of the Maine State Museum in collaboration with the Maine State Museum, the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine and Photoarchive3D will create an innovative look at the rich tradition of Maine sportsmen and the sporting camp tradition. The multi-media project creates a deep and illustrative journey into a pastime that spawned ingenuity, political debate, community connections, new economies and more. The collaborative work will culminate in an evening documentary premier, Saturday May 20, 2017 in Augusta, Maine, 5PM-8:30PM at the Elks Lodge.  Seventy- plus rare historic stereoview images from the 1860s-1890s will be digitally transformed into 3D images, bringing history to life, this is the first of its kind documentary. An video documentary featuring stories from avid Maine Sportsmen and woman will be debuted. A Ukulele band, Pond Tunes, will perform and oral history interviewees along with Tim Peabody of Maine’s Inland Fisheries and Wildlife will be on hand for discussion.

Among those interviewed for the oral history project is Dr. Paul Wade. He shared… ‘Over a century ago, Maine sportsmen refer to a time called, ‘the dark ages’, when lumbering stripped mountains bare and no limits existed on the number of deer or moose which could be take in a day.  It was the sportsmen in Maine who created and who have sustained the tradition of thoughtful hunting and firearm use we have in Maine today.’ Maine sportsmen keep alive a respect for the wild that has grown into the careful wildlife management, land conservation and best hunting practices Maine enjoys this day. Also included in the documentary are Mr. Ormy Pitcher, Mr. Oscar Cronk, Ms. Judy Sirois, Mr. Matt Libby, Sr., Dr. Robert Shelton and Mr. Gary Day.

Maine residents, visitors and its wildlife are the beneficiaries of these efforts by early sportsmen and women. Jennifer Dube of the Friends of the MSM shares, “The multi- media aspects of this project, over 70 historic images, brought to life through 3D technology, combined with oral history work, the traditional knowledge of our people, will enable audiences of all ages to connect with and explore this Maine-based tradition in ways never before possible, bringing history to life. It is a story in need of being told, while there is still time to record the stories of our Maine pioneers.” Bernard Fishman, Director of the Maine State Museum shares, “the Maine State Museum holds the largest natural science collection in the state. This project has furthered the museum’s ability to more fully share knowledge about this important part of Maine’s history. The Maine State Museum has an obligation to capture and share this traditional knowledge to complement its growing natural science collections.”

The Events and Legacy-

On May 20 of 2017 at 5PM-8:30PM the Friends of the Maine State Museum will premier this project at the Augusta, Maine Elk’s Lodge. Bernard Fishman, Director of the MSM will lead an engaging talk about the never-before-seen 3D images with supporting commentary from Director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, David Trahan. Oral histories from our pioneers in sport will complement the photography. The cost of the premier is $60.00 per person and all proceeds help to fund this project and Maine State Museum programming. The premier fee includes a buffet dinner, presentation of 3D historic images, unveiling of the documentary project and lively discussion about the history of sportsmen and the sporting camp tradition in Maine. James Julia will be hosting a live auction to benefit the Maine State Museum. Oral histories will reside post premier at www.mainestatemuseum.org. Tickets to the event can be purchased securely online atwww.mainestatemuseu.org or by calling the Friends of the MSM at 207.287.2304.

The Maine State Museum currently hosts two new exhibits that discover more about this segment of Maine, Inventors & Sportsmen: Maine Gunsmiths in the 1800s and Beyond Boundaries: The World of the Capote. The MSM preserves over 1,000,000 objects and receives over 50,000 visitors annually. The museum hosts over 19,000 persons in guided education programs each year. To learn more about this project or to help sponsor this project, visit www.mainestatemuseum.org or contact the Friends Office at 207.287.2304, Jennifer Dube, Development Director; jennifer.dube@maine.gov. This project was funded in part through grants from the NRA Teach Freedom Foundation and by the Maine Arts Commission. Major donors include Kittery Trading Post, Doyle & Nelson and support was provided from the North Maine Woods.

For more information or to set up a meeting to preview, contact-

Jennifer Dube, Development Director, Friends of the Maine State Museum

230 State St. Augusta, ME 04330, Office- 207.287.2304  Mobile- 207.577.1526

www.mainestatemuseum.org

 

George Smith

About George Smith

George stepped down at the end of 2010 after 18 years as the executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine to write full time. He writes a weekly editorial page column in the Kennebec Journal and Waterville Morning Sentinel, a weekly travel column in those same newspapers (with his wife Linda), monthly columns in The Maine Sportsman magazine, two outdoor news blogs (one on his website, georgesmithmaine.com, and one on the website of the Bangor Daily News), and special columns for many publications and newsletters. Islandport Press published a book of George's favorite columns, "A Life Lived Outdoors" in 2014. In 2014, George also won a Maine Press Association award for writing the state's bet sports blog. In 2016, Down East Books published George's book, Maine Sporting Camps, and Islandport Press published George and his wife Linda's travel book, Take It From ME, about their favorite Maine inns and restaurants.