Sea Chantey Singalong with Guest Chanteyman Stephen Sanfilippo

August 13, 4pm

Free, donations welcome

PMM is excited to welcome guest chanteyman Stephen Sanfilippo for our August and September Chantey Singalongs. He’ll lead sea songs and chanteys on the concertina, many with catchy choruses for everyone to join in. Drop in for a few songs or stay for the whole time—sing along or just listen. Stephen will also share stories and background on how chanteys were used as work songs at sea. All ages are welcome, and no experience is needed.

Sardine Snacks Workshop

September 12, 2-4pm

$50 or $65 for two participants with a shared workspace

Registration required

Create sardine dishes inspired by the Maine Sardine Council cookbooks. Attendees will create several of these mid-to-late twentieth century no-bake recipes, plus a recipe or two with a modern take on flavors and food trends. All ingredients and supplies will be provided.

We have a full schedule of hands-on workshops, interactive programs, and special events—fun and engaging experiences for visitors of all ages. Visit our website for a complete list of events.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this year’s Elixir of the Sea! It was a wonderful evening celebrating Maine’s maritime heritage, and we are grateful to everyone who made it such a success.

A special thank you to Bangor Savings Bank, our presenting sponsor, as well as our other business supporters, donors, volunteers, staff, and guests. Your generosity helped us raise substantial funds to sustain the work we do—including more than $20,000 to support the care of the museum’s collections and more than $15,000 to provide educational field trips for students.

If you weren’t able to attend, or would still like to help, donations to support our collections and field trip programs are always welcome. Every gift helps preserve Maine’s maritime history and connect new generations to it.

Thank you again for your incredible support. We can’t wait to see you at or next Elixir of the Sea in 2028!

By Kevin Johnson, Photo Archivist

When John Dodge inherited a box of hundreds of old film negatives in 2000, he knew he had something very special. The negatives were found in the attic of his parents’ home in Nebraska and were taken by his grandfather, Parker “Pack” Dodge. The box was a time capsule of history and memories of summers at the Haven Colony in Brooklin, Maine. Pack Dodge was born in 1884 in Washington, DC, and worked as a patent attorney, with a stint in the army during World War I. He spent summers in Brooklin beginning in his childhood and eventually retired there in 1967. He was an amateur photographer throughout his life.

It was common in the late 1800s for people with financial means from the bigger east coast cities to escape the oppressive heat and humidity by going to the coast and islands of Maine. Known as “Rusticators,” they sought cooler air and clean water to swim, sail and fish, often spending the entire summer. Many traveled overnight by steamboats from Boston arriving in midcoast Maine in the morning. They rented rooms and cottages from local farmers and fishermen, eventually buying properties and building their own retreats.

Haven was one of these Rusticator hamlets. Noah Tibbitts of Brookin had a boarding house and began renting rooms by the week in the late 1800s. Later he added a dining hall and built small cottages before starting to sell lots. Tibbitts had a career in Washington DC in the US Patent Office, so it's no coincidence that many of his renters and later buyers came from DC. Pack Dodge's father purchased a lot in 1902 and built a cottage that was eventually passed onto Pack. The property remains in the family today.

In 2023, the Pack Dodge negatives were donated to PMM and since that time the collection was digitized and nearly 400 of the images were selected to be added to our online database. Check them out here. On July 21 at the Center Harbor Yacht Club more than 60 people of the Haven Colony gathered to see a slideshow of the photographs, narrated by Pack's grandson, Paul Gagliardi. The laughs, comments and stories that came out during that session were proof that our work of preserving and sharing historic photographs is important and well worth the effort!

By Cipperly Good, the Richard Saltonstall Jr. Curator of Maritime History

Penobscot Marine Museum has been invited to participate in “Interco(a)stal: Reading Between the Ribs of Maine’s Maritime History,” an initiative to reinterpret the WYOMING skeletal ship sculpture at Maine Maritime Museum in Bath. The project partners, Atlantic Black Box, The Third Place, Maine Maritime Museum, and Bomazeen Land Trust, invited us to participate in an Archives Working Group to explore our collections for stories that highlight the experiences and histories of Indigenous and Black people. One early question was to think of an item in our collection that exemplifies their labor. A watercolor, tucked into the logbook of the Searsport schooner C. MATHEWS, showing it loading barrels of molasses in Cardenas, Cuba in 1858, immediately jumped to mind.

I am, at heart, a romanticizer. When applying for the internship position here at the Penobscot Marine Museum, I had delusions of grandeur; images of curating entire exhibits, providing life-altering tours of our gorgeous campus to our guests, and discovering long-lost letters in our archives filled my head. When I finally arrived here at the museum, I was confronted with the realities of museum work; more specifically, the season of field trips. For the first month of working here, most of my days were spent working with various visiting school groups, taking small groups of children through the realities of life at sea, guiding them through the making of intricate fish prints, and ensuring the safety of our artifacts as they maneuvered throughout our campus. Day after day of this cemented my love of working with the public in a museum setting, and also confirmed my suspicion that I am, in fact, not meant to be a teacher.

No Sleep ’Til Brooklin: Pack Dodge and the Haven Colony, 1900–1930

On display through September 30

Exhibit reception and slideshow: August 19, 6–8pm

Rockbound Chapel

718 Reach Rd., Brooklin, ME

Discover the story of Maine's historic Haven Colony through photographs by seasonal resident Parker “Pack” Dodge, a Washington, D.C. patent attorney who documented life in this Brooklin summer community in the early 20th century. In 2023, his descendants, John Dodge and Paul Gagliardi, generously donated nearly 1,000 of his large- and medium-format negatives to the Penobscot Marine Museum. Curated by Maynard Bray and Robert Baird, the exhibit is on display free of charge at Rockbound Chapel in Brooklin through the end of September. The chapel is open and accessible 24/7, so visitors can stop by at their convenience.

Waldo County in the Revolution

August 4–31

Belfast Free Library

106 High St., Belfast, ME

In honor of the nation’s 250th anniversary, the Penobscot Marine Museum is bringing a special photo collage to the Belfast Free Library this August, featuring key Revolutionary War objects and archival materials from our collections. The display draws from our on-campus exhibit, Disorganized and Defeated: The Battle for Penobscot Bay, 1779, and also highlights stories of Waldo County residents who served in the Revolution. It will coincide with the Maine Historical Society’s August 13–15 stop in Belfast with the Dunlap Broadside—one of only 26 known surviving first printings of the Declaration of Independence. All summer, our Waldo County partners will be hosting programs and activities to commemorate this occasion.

Penobscot Marine Museum’s Family Fun Newsletter is a great way for families to stay connected to the Museum’s programs, activities, and stories. Each issue shares simple, engaging ways to explore Maine’s maritime history together—whether you’re visiting in person or following along from home. Join the family fun email list here.

A big thank you to Rope Razor for continuing their Business Membership with Penobscot Marine Museum! We appreciate their continued support and are happy to have them as part of our business community. Rope Razor's handy rope-cutting tools are made for all kinds of jobs, from the boat to the workshop and beyond.

Do you enjoy learning new things and talking to people? We're looking for one or two people to help us finish the season. PMM Museum Interpreters lead tours, answer visitor questions, and staff buildings. Check out the full job description here or email Jeana at jganskop@pmm-maine.org for more information.