Museum L-A

We recently went on a field trip to Museum L-A, which "...documents and celebrates the economic, social and technological legacy of Lewiston-Auburn and its people."  The museum is housed in what was once a fully functioning textile mill (in the Bates Mill complex) whose origins date back to the 1850s.   As part of the tour we were able to see how shoes are made, discuss the history and origins of the industrial revolution, explore child labor issues, and see actual spinning and textiles machines.  

My hope is that by actually visiting the mill and seeing it first hand, the students will have a better grasp on what the industrial revolution was all about, particularly here in Maine, and will remember these concepts far longer than if we had simply read and discussed them during class!

The tour started with an explanation of how shoes were constructed in the mill...

We then had a round table discussion about the industrial revolution, cotton, and textile mills...

If you look closely at the right in the picture above, you can see the many 'shoe lasts' that remain in the mill...here they are from another angle:

Here we are touring what was once the main floor of the spinning and weaving workshop.  Most of the workers were French-Canadian and Irish immigrants...

We saw where they hid the child laborers when the inspectors came! They would put the children in the tall barrels and place piles of cotton over them...

Our guide explained how the spinning and weaving machines worked and the students got to explore a bit...

A special THANK YOU to the staff and volunteers at Museum-LA.  It is clear how passionate you are about keeping Maine's history alive and sharing your knowledge with young people!  We had a great time!

Civil War Ghost Hunting

Hmm, what a provocative title!  We are indeed studying the American Civil War and as part of our studies we've discussed the unbelievable amount of carnage in the aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  As if the battle isn't interesting enough, I'm always trying to find new ways to engage my students and what better way to do this than with a ghost story?

One of my friends from college grew up in Gettysburg.  Her mother Stephanie's house, The David Stewart Farm, dates back to pre-Civil War times and was used as a make-shift hospital for Confederate soldiers after the battle.  Supposedly there are a few 'spirits' who live in the house, one being a Civil War soldier! Both a medium and a paranormal 'ghost hunter' team have been to the house to communicate with the spirits.  The following is a video of one of their visits:



Whether or not you believe in 'spirits', it's a pretty interesting video and an even more fascinating part of history!  I've been wanting to visit Gettysburg for a long time and I'm hoping maybe this summer I can pay a visit to Margaret and the other spirits on Stephanie's farm!