The Lost Trotting Parks Heritage Center -- Storyboard Archives: October 2012

Monday, October 29, 2012

1884 -- Premium List -- Maine State Agricultural Society -- Lewiston, Park, Lewiston, Maine

Postcard Image circa 1910

Premium List Cover for 1884 Maine State Fair

Back Cover

Officers of the Maine State Agricultural Society

President: Hon. Rufus Prince -- South Turner

Secretary: A.L. Dennison -- Portland

Treasurer: H.S. Osgood -- Augusta
Trustees:

Alonzo Libby -- Saccarappa
S.G. Jerrard -- Levant
George A. Emerson -- Litchfield Plains
N.S. Allan -- Dennysville

General Superintendent:

Rufus Prince

Department Superintendents:

Tickers: S. G. Jerrard
Horses: B. M. Hight
Stock: Alonzo Libby

Purchasing Department: George A. Emerson

Hall: Charles B. Reade, Lewiston

Officers of the Androscoggin County Agricultural and Horticultural Society for the Year 1884

President: B.F. Briggs -- Auburn

Vice Presidents:

Dana Goff -- Auburn

Daniel Field -- Auburn

Secretary: W. R. Wright -- Lewiston

Treasurer: David Farrar -- Lewiston

Agent: James Clark -- Lewiston

Trustees:

W.D. Pennell -- Lewiston

James L. Jordan -- Sabatis

S.W. Shaw -- Minot

D.P. Field -- Auburn

L.H. Blossom -- Turner

Eli Hodgkins -- Greene

A.G. Thurlow -- West Gloucester

Officers of the Maine State Pomological Society

1884

President: Charles S. Pope -- Manchester

Vice Presidents:

Samuel C. Harlow -- Bangor

S.R. Sweetser -- Cumberland

Secretary and Treasurer:

George B. Sawyer -- Wiscasset

Corresponding Secretary:

Charles J. Gilman -- Brunswick

Executive Committe:

The President and Secretary, ex officio;

Andrew S. Sawyer -- Cape Elizabeth

Leander H. Blossom -- Turner

Frank E. Nowell -- Fairfield

Order of Exhibition

Advertisement for The Lewiston Journal

Special Trotting Premiums

Advertisement of City Hotel, Portland, Maine

Cream Brook Farm, Stetson, Maine

Proprietor -- G. W. Shaw

Broadmoor Farm, Cumberland Centre, Maine
Jersey Cattle: Romeo De Sonair, 4091

Proprietor: George Blanchard & Company

Saddleback Farm
East Baldwin, Maine

Proprietor: Orestes Pierce

The Obituary of the Proprietor of Saddleback Farm
Orestes Pierce

Advertisement for The Home Farm

Published by S.A. Boardman & Company, Augusta, Maine

Advertisement for the Maine Farmer
Published by Badger & Manley
with Departments of
Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts
Horse Department
Woman's Department
Poultry Department
General
Literary
Miscellaneous
News Department

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

State Fair Park -- 1913 Post Card Image

The Maine State Fair Park -- 1893 -- Lewiston, Maine

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Lost Trotting Parks Announcing Its Latest Companion Blog -- The Lost Trotting Parks of New England

On October 21, 2012, The Lost Trotting Parks Heritage Center will display the storyboards of its latest initiative, The Lost Trotting Parks of New England. The display will be presents at the New England Harness Writers Association Banquet in Marlborough Massachusetts.

Link to the Lost Trotting Parks of New England

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Equine Artist -- Pat Wooldridge -- Saco, Maine

About the Artist

The Start at Fryeburg -- Saturday 2012

Qualifiers in Action Prior to Saturday's Race Card at the Fryeburg Fair

The Judges, The Tabulators, the Announcer, the Photo Finish Camera Operator, the Video Camera Operator, and the Producers -- Bringing Quality and Excitement to Harness Racing at Maine's Agricultural Fairs

Entering the Paddocks Saturday at the Fryeburg Fair

Posts from the 2011 Fryeburg Fair!

2011 -- In the Paddocks at the Fryeburg Fair

This is one of the many links to the 2011 posts of the Fryeburg.

To see more click on the Oxford County Category!

A Photo Sampler from the Fryeburg Fair -- From Emily's to the Craft Exhibitors

Saturday 2012 at Fryeburg: As I Stood atop the Grandstand in the Judge's Box, I could hear the sounds of excitement build as the athletes raced by the Grandstand. So Sweet the Moment!

The Fans and the Grandstand -- Harness Racing at the Fryeburg Fair -- Saturday 2012

Saturday at Fryeburg -- Horses and Cattle on Parade

Thursday, October 4, 2012

The Lost Trotting Parks of New England

Currently, I am in the process of developing storyboards that present images of the lost trotting parks of New England. Here's a quick sample! The storyboards will be displayed on October 21 at the banquet of the New England Harness Writers' Association. The banquet will be in Marlborough, MA.

Presenting the Lost Trotting Park of Charlemont, Massachusetts

Mission of Lost Trotting Parks

The mission of the Lost Trotting Parks Heritage Center is to preserve the stories and images of the 19th century to present day that illustrate the history of Maine's harness racing, lost trotting parks, fairs, agricultural societies, Granges, and the significance of the of the horse in society.

Our plan is to reach our mission is through Preservation, Education, Promotion and Partnerships.

Through the Center's website and educational outreach to Maine school students, community organizations, agricultural fairs, and businesses, the Center will retell the once told stories of a slice of Maine history that is quickly being forgotten. Most Mainers have lost their connection to the horse and the horse's contribution to a past way of life. Maine people who work in the harness racing industry are today's living history of the age when the horse was king. Through your financial support of the Lost Trotting Parks Heritage Center, you will help to tell the stories of Maine Harness Racing and horse breeding throughout the ages.

FOR BETTER VIEWING

Lost Trotting Parks storyboards are typically 12 by 18 inches. To view storyboards, click on the storyboard and it will automatically open as a larger image. If there are multiple storyboards in a post, click on the first image. This will create a slideshow that you control by clicking on the next image icon that you will see at the bottom of your screen.

If the storyboards are still too small to view text, open individual storyboards in a separate window. This allows you to enlarge the storyboards to read text and view images in greater detail. To open a storyboard in a new window, place your cursor over the image, right click on your mouse, and select open in a new window. This will allow you to use Ctrl + and Ctrl - to control the size of the storyboard. When you are finished viewing the storyboard, close the window and you will return to the LTP blog.

Trotting Horse Art Detectives

In the 1891, Colorado artist, C.B. Fish, produced an oil painting of the famous trotting stallion Nelson. The Lewiston Sun Journal reported that Fish had completed the painting and would ship it to Sunnyside Farm. Fish also painted a trotter from Skowhegan named All-So. We do not know if the painting of Nelson still exists. The two paintings below are examples of Fish's work. If you have knowledge of the oil painting of Nelson, please e-mail Stephen Thompson at lifework50@gmail.com or call 207-623-3076.

The Fish pictures were made available by Gallery 44.

To inquire about the Fish paintings contact:

http://www.gallery44llc.com

Maine's Trotting Horse Heritage Trail

Published in 2009, Maine’s Trotting Horse Heritage Trail, guides readers through the golden age of the trotting horse. Covering the period between 1820 and 1892, the author, Clark P. Thompson of Bangor, Maine, introduces us to the horses, the people, and places that established the trotting industry in the State of Maine. Thompson’s well researched publication highlights twenty key moments in Maine’s evolvement in trotting. The Heritage Trail begins in Old Orchard Beach and ends in Dover-Foxcroft. This book is your guide to historical markers that have been inscribed and placed in designated Maine communities.

Journey with us and return to the Golden Age of Trotting.

In the book’s foreword, Michael, D. Andrew, President of the Maine Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association, states, “With this book, Clark Thompson has done us a great service by memorializing some of the great progenitors of the Maine trotter, the owners who supported breeding and racing, and the tracks where these horses pleased thousands of Mainers in the 1800s.”

For more information about this book and how to obtain a copy, contact Clark P. Thompson by e-mailing

clarkprice@msn.com.

Maine's Lost Trotting Parks --- OUR MISSION

The trotting industry flourished from the 1820s through the early 1900s. There are a number of reasons that for many the excitement and interest in trotting has diminished. However, the trotting industry still exists. Its history is still rich. Our mission is to conduct research that will reveal to us the history of Maine's forgotten Trotting Tracks and bring back the images and people of another age. Our posts of the Belfast Trotting Track are examples of what we are attempting to find. We will partner with local historical societies, work with local government, and individuals interested in this endeavor. Contact us and help us to fulfill our mission.

NOTE: News articles and other text displayed on this web site are existing texts given to me for use on The Lost Trotting Parks Blog. There has been no additional research on my part to ensure that these accounts are accurate.

Stephen D. Thompson

P.O. Box 263

Hallowell, Maine 04347

E-Mail: lifework50@gmail.com

Cell Phone: 207-623-3076

Nelson Memorabilia

Nelson, the champion trotter, was owned by C.H. Nelson of Waterville, Maine. C.H. (Hod) Nelson owned and operated Sunnyside Horse Farm. The farm's location is where the JFK Mall is now located. At one time, Nelson owned the fairgrounds of the North Kennebec Agricultural and Horticultural Society. We are seeking individuals or organizations that may have Nelson memorabilia, photographs, equipment, and trophies. In addition, we are looking for photographs of the fairgrounds and trotting track that was once located behind the Pine Grove Cemetery. If you have information regarding Nelson or the fairgrounds, please e-mail Stephen Thompson (lifework50@gmail.com) or call 207-623-3076.

Citizens of Bethel Form Riverside Park Trotting Association

5-8-1891 Oxford County Advertiser:

Bethel: The citizens of Bethel met Tuesday and formed an organization known as The Riverside Park Trotting Association and chose the following officers: C.M. Wormell, president; J.A. Twaddle, vice president; E.M. Walker, secretary; E.S. Kilborn, treasurer; trustees, G.P. Bean, chairman; J.M. Philbrook, H.M. Hastings, Moses A. Mason, O.P. Farrington, E.C. Rowe. The trustees have leased the land for ten years and intend to have one of the best tracks in the state. The location and land are all that could be asked for the trustees mean business and will spare no pains or money.

Text from work of Donald Bennett, Bethel, Maine

Check out The Bethel Journals!

The Bethel Historical Society

Maine's Turf, Farm and Home

The newspaper, Turf, Farm, and Home was first published in Auburn, Maine around 1890. This newspaper was considered the horseman's periodical. In 1897, the paper merged with Maine's Horse Breeders' Monthly and J.W. Thompson of Canton became the editor. About 1912, the Turf, Farm and Home merged with the Maine Press and continued publication until 1920. The Fogler Library has issues from 1912 on. However, there are only 24 documented issues of the paper between 1890 and 1912.

This is a call for issues of the Turf, Farm, and Home.

Contact Stephen Thompson at 207-623-3076, if you know where there are existing issues of this newspaper.

Issues from 1890 to 1910 will tell the stories of Maine Horsemen

during the age of 'When the Horse was King.'

The Lost Trotting Parks Storyboard Archives

Monday, October 29, 2012

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Thursday, October 4, 2012