We’re excited to invite you back to Penboscot Marine Museum beginning Thursday, May 25th! We’ve spent the winter working on exhibits and planning programs and we think you’re going to really enjoy this season. Starting May 25th, we will be open 10am-5pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Each day will have a full schedule of activities including guided tours of the Fowler-True-Ross House, Set Sail demonstrations, Congregational Church tours, campus tours, plus children’s activities! While we are open to the public Thursday-Saturday in June, we are also open other days for group tours and are looking forward to welcoming hundreds of students coming on field trips. 

Beginning July 1st, we will be open daily. We’ll also host additional programs including a FREE admission day on July 4th, Jr. Adventurers children's programming on Wednesdays in July, and special walking tours and book signings on several Thursday evenings. Look for more information coming soon.

We’re looking forward to your visit!

Image courtesy of RV There Yet?

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We are excited to introduce our new Office Manager Sherri Nadeau. Sherri has a B.A. in Business Management from The University of Maine at Augusta. After managing in specialized retail for over a decade, she came to PMM in 2023. She is responsible for maintaining all of the office services by organizing the office operations and procedures, preparing payroll, controlling correspondence, maintaining the filing system, reviewing and approving supply requisitions, and assigning and monitoring the clerical functions. Be sure to say "hi" when you hear her friendly voice answer the phone!

Do you enjoy storytelling? Have you ever imagined what life on Penobscot Bay was like 50 years ago? Or 150 years ago? This year’s Ripped from the Headlines event will feature stories about life on the bay for residents and visitors. The event will take place on the evening of June 29th starting at 5pm. We’re looking for costumed volunteers to either dramatically read the newspaper article or create a character to portray based on the article. All ages are welcome (you can even do it with a friend or family member)! Possible stories include: “Lighthouse Uses Giant Telephone,” (1930), "Suspicious Tourists Hove-To at Searsport,” (1917), “Dude Crews Sail in Penobscot Bay Landlubber Cruises,” (1949), and more! Contact Jeana at [email protected] for more information.

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

Sturgis Haskins (1940-2012) was an avid sailor, photographer, writer, and organizer from Sorrento, Maine. He lived in New York in the 1960s and Boston in the 1970s, spending summers sailing in Sorrento before moving back to the town full-time. Haskins was also a writer, publishing articles in magazines like WoodenBoat and Down East, a prolific photographer, and a careful researcher. He was an outspoken advocate for gay rights and the gay community, founding the Wilde-Stein Club at the University of Maine and the Chiltern Mountain Club out of Boston. He was a junior and senior Maine sailing champion, a sailing instructor, an active member of the Sorrento Yacht Club, and an organizer for many one-design races in the Sorrento and Mount Desert Island area. 

Kosti Ruohomaa Collection May 2023

By Matt Wheeler, Digital Collections Curator

Sometime around 1950, Ruohomaa went to sea aboard the 459’ SS AMERICAN SCIENTIST, formerly the U.S. Navy auxiliary class transport ship USS SHERIDAN. Steaming out of New York, they encountered some rugged weather, and the photographer was in his element. We don’t know the purpose of the trip, who arranged Ruohomaa’s passage, or how long they were out. It doesn’t appear any of his photos were published. However, the adventure is a distinct example of Ruohomaa’s delight of being out in the raw elements and trying to capture this thrilling energy in still images.

In a tamer setting at an earlier time, Kosti photographed farming families in the midst of their bucolic lives in Northern Vermont. By 1946—having worked at Black Star Publishing for four years—he may have had enough professional cred to have pitched this story himself; with its emphasis on traditional rural culture, it aligns exactly with the photographer’s own background and his affinities as an artist.



To view the new content, visit the museum’s Kosti Ruohomaa site.

Out and About

By Kevin Johnson, Photo Archivist

In March the Ephemera Society of America invited me to present about the Eastern Illustrating Collection at their conference From Here to There The Ephemera of Travel that took place in Greenwich, CT. The setting was quite a contrast to the more modest town halls and community centers where my talks about the postcard company are more typically held. You can watch my revamped Eastern talk here. There are more local opportunities to catch one of my talks coming up!

June 9th Hancock Historical Society

June 11th Old Town Historical Society

August 27th Rockville Community Chapel

October 23rd Belfast Historical Society

If you would like to have a PMM program in your community, you can learn about options we offer here.

It is hardly a surprise to see a stunning photo on the cover of Maine Boats Homes and Harbors but the May issue made us do a double take. Our own Curator Emeritus, Ben Fuller, doing what he enjoys best, rowing a finely crafted wooden boat on a calm lake. It is comforting to know he is making the most of his retirement! The decisive moment was captured by none other than former PMM Board President (and editor of MBHH) Polly Saltonstall.

A huge thank you to Community Fuels and Portland Yacht Services for showing their support of PMM by becoming business members!