19th Century Curran Village, Orrington & Holden, Maine

FORD MODEL T SHOW & JITTERBUG/DOODLEBUG COMPETITION PULL

Saturday, September 9, 2023, 10AM-3PM

ADMISSION: $10 Adults, 18 and Under: Free

LUNCH: $6 a plate: a hotdog or hamburger or sausage, potato salad, macaroni salad,

chili, and baked beans, Bottle water. Sodas and fruit juice for sale at the Country Store

along with other merchandise.

Collection, Carousel Rides, Car Show, Performance, and Spectacle

Curran Village will be hosting 27 Model Ts from Pine Tree Model T Club this Saturday. In

addition, Maine Antique Tractor Club (MATC) will have a jitterbug pulling competition. Ribbon prizes

awarded for wins in different categories.A jitterbug, also known as a doodlebug, is a homemade tractor.

These were fitted with dual transmissions for additional pulling power. They are created from vintage and

obsolete autos. This was a phenomenon that began in the 1920s and 1930s out of necessity in rural areas

in order to mechanize your farm or lumber operation at a low cost. Ford, Sears & Roebuck, Montgomery & Ward,

and others produced kits and parts for the purpose of adapting passenger cars. Farmers made their own utility

vehicles when they could not afford to buy a tractor. Model Ts especially were re-purposed into tractors,

cord saws, log skidders, pulp lumber trucks, and farm trucks. The Museum has a collection of these.

MATC keeps the tradition of mechanical prowess and Yankee ingenuity by providing venues for hobbyists

who either build new jitterbugs or preserve vintage ones.

Other activities include a timber framing project underway, mechanized wood splitting, work done in the

Carpenter’s Shop, lessons in the one room schoolhouse, a ride on the 1894 carousel, letterpress printing,

and the Country Store is open

for the first time.

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE.

The public is invited to a Bangor Greendrinks networking gathering at the Museum. Bangor Greendrinks is a nonprofit promoting networking of greater Bangor area businesses and green inspired sustainability. The Museum was a recipient of a $750 grant towards the relocation of a wood burning kiln for its developing ceramics program which was initiated with 7-12 year olds during our two recent weeks of summer camps. The admission is $5 to the Tuesday gathering; this will assist with future grants offered to area entities. This affords you two beers from the Homebrewers of Maine who will be serving in our new Country Store. The Museum will provide plates of snacks to enjoy. There will be limited ticketed carousel rides and some of the museum village will be open to perusal. Get information about the Museum that is completing a major infrastructure development project. Opportunities for you to volunteer or contribute can be discussed. Sign up for our in-print newsletter. Parking on Fields Pond Rd.

Rides at 123, 12:30, 1, 1:30, 2 & 3. Admissions: $10

This museum fundraiser is a tag sale, cash and carry. There will be: antique tractors and attachments, antique auto parts, tools, a horse drawn manure spreader, a horse drawn apple orchard sprayer with hit and miss engine, seeders, wagon stuff, cultivators, sleighs, pumps, antique furniture, lighting, building supplies, old power tools, glass and china, desks, architectural, trunks, antique baby crib, and more. Worth a visit. More stuff coming out each day. We do not want donations for this sale; we have plenty. We are refining our collection, reaffirming our 19th century to the 1920s mission theme, and placing greater emphasis on hands-on education rather than static exhibit and quantities of artifacts in storage. All proceeds benefit this nonprofit museum. The sale will be limited to specific areas of the Village. The museum is not open these days due to staffing. Purchases over $20 will receive a carousel ride voucher to redeem at a later date.

We are looking for retired teachers, teachers on summer vacation, history buffs, and the interested to work in a volunteer or part-time, seasonal capacity as costumed interpreters and/or docents at our museum village between May and August. We are a comprehensive presentation of rural New England life between the 1850s to the 1920s. Our emphasis is hands-on experiences with historical artifacts. There is something of interest for everyone. There will be year round opportunities for those available. The first step is calling us at 2307-205-4849 to express your interest.

“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world” John Muir

This is our first Earth Day recognition, and we will use this as an opportunity to plant trees that are important to our living history and hands-on programming related to traditional seasonal harvest. These will include maple trees an d apple trees. This is a family event, and the day will include carousel rides, food and demonstrations as well as the following activities:

7. coloring and painting of Earth Day themes

8. trek to the biggest glacial hieratic in the area (Ice Age Holden)—bring your boots,

9. carousel ride ( yes, it’s fixed)

10. apple tree grafting

11. apple tree planting participation

12.sugar maple tree plant participation,

13. blacksmithing and letterpress workshops in progress

14. FOOD : Secret Recipe, circa 1920s, Coney Island Hot Dogs (chilidogs), Wee Bit Farms of Orland grass fed beef, homemade focaccia bread, Grandpa’s Spaghetti Bolognese, Chili, Corn Chowder, Carrot Cake, Banana Bread, & waffles with this year’s Curran maple syrup and ice cream.

All inclusive admissions price: $12 Adults, $6 12 and Under, Toddlers & Infants Free, Don’t Miss It.

Sisters Zoe and Pippa Jamison of Bangor have formerly adopted Pony #3 and Pony #11 that they have named “Porridge”

and “Buckle” respectively.