Gorham's World War I, World War II, Korean Conflict and Vietnam Memorial's

This is a list of all the people from Gorham that Served in WW I, WWII, Vietnam War , Korean War, and the Gulf War. 

I went to the Gorham town hall with my friend Paul to help him get his fishing license and on the way out I saw a list called the Honor Roll which has all the names of residence of Gorham that fought and died in World War I, World War II, Vietnam War, Korean Conflict, and Gulf War. That gave me an idea to visit the World War Memorial and the World War II, Vietnam War, and Korean Conflict Memorial. Located next to the South Street Cemetery. Both these memorial's are not just dedicated to just people from Gorham who served. But to also honor everyone one who served in these war. Just seeing these memorial's reminds me that my mothers grandfather served during World War I, my mothers father served in World War II and  Korean War as a cook, my uncle on my mothers side served during the Vietnam war, my grandfather on my dads side served in the Korean War,and my uncle on my fathers side served for the the south Vietnamese army during the Vietnam War. Finally, if you have not noticed most of my blogs have a Gorham theme to them this is due to the fact that there is some books on the history of Gorham, but they are are to find, so what i tried to do is to show people that a town in Maine can have so much rich history and play a decently big role in U.S. history.

Historical Importance:   Both of these memorial are historical important because it shows a small part of how Maine residence contributed to four of the major wars that the United States fought in oversees. First, World War I was a war fought in Europe starting in 1914 and ending in 1918, the war was fought through trench warfare. Trench warfare is basically where both armies send waves after waves of troops charging over a open field, a lot of the troops got shoot down by machine gun fire. Next, World War II is consisted by many as the bloodiest war ever fought to the fact over 70 million people combined died from the battles and the Holocaust, the war also started in 1939 and ended in 1945. The Korean War was fought from 1950 to 1953, the reason behind this war was because some Koreans fought that government should be a communist government, the U.S. got involved because the U.S. government believed that communism was a terrible way to run a country, also the U.S. believed that everyone should be free which communism does not allow. The ending result of the Korean War was that Korea was split into two countries where one side is communist and the other side is democratic. The Vietnam War started in 1955 and ended 1975 this war is considered to be one of the longest wars that the United States has ever fought in. Reason behind this war was because the North Vietnam and Vietcong did not agree with having a country that was influenced by the United States and want to turn the government into a communist government. But the South Vietnamese did not want any part of a communist country, so war broke out. Nevertheless, the North Vietnam army prevailed and turned the country into a communist country. Finally, both Memorial's gives a person insight into how Maine was a contributor to many different wars, that their are many war hero'sin Maine that are not mentioned  in history books, and also shows that  state like Maine with a smaller population than a lot of other state can still contribute a lot of people to serve in times of war.

Sources:
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War

Fort Preble

 Fort Preble is my second to last site visit. I was driving around South Portland, to find historical sites that were not in Gorham and Portland. My friend Joe Gorsun came with me because he was felt like going to historical. Also, you can see that Joe is pictured under the sign that says Fort Preble instead of me its due to the fact that Joe insisted to be in the picture. The fort is know a part of Southern Maine Community College. Fort Preble has some parts of fort that were build before Maine became a state. So I will only talk about the historical importance of the fort when it Maine became a state.

Historical Importance:  Fort Preble expanded to a third system in 1845 with a new 12 gun North Battery and a 10 gun South battery. Fort Preble was involved in the Civil War when confederate soldiers to capture union ships. But, the union soldiers captured the confederate soldiers instead and imprisoned them in the fort. Between 1890 to 1910 Fort Preble had nineteen new guns fitted to the fort. During World War I Fort Preble had new builds add to it, from houses for commanders, to medic builds, to mess halls. Also, the fort was also fitted with anti-aircraft guns. By World War II Fort Preble had all the defense it need to defend Casco Bay and South Portland's harbor from enemies. Finally, Fort Preble is one of three forts that protect the islands and ships in the harbor from enemies.

Millstones

My seventh site visit was at the millstone next to the Gorham Municipal Center. I say this millstone when I was coming out of the town hall after finding information on exactly who is buried in the South Street Cemetery. This millstone was part of the Gorham Lions Restoration project in 2009. Also, this specific millstone came from the Clement family in 1804 were it was used to grind corn on the Little River as the plaque pictured below states.

Historical Importance: Millstones were important to farming communities in Maine. First, millstones grind down grains to be used in making food like bread. In addition, these stones became a primitive form of mass production. In turn helped farming communities economy because they could produce food faster , more produce more food than before, and provide food for consumption for  the ever growing population of Maine Next, millstones could grind down metal ore before smelting the metal down to make tools. Which helps produce many different products faster. Finally, millstones and the many rivers in Maine helped lead to the growth of the factory cultures in places like Saco and Biddeford and helped improve Maine's economy. 

Sources

:http://www.millstones.com/history.html

Blueberry Rakers Portland Museum of Art

Sorry that this picture is on its side

 My sixth site visit during the class trip to the Portland Museum of Art. I personal was not really excited to go to an art museum due to the fact that I have not really liked art because I could never understand what an artist was think when he/she was creating their art work. But, when I visited the the Blueberry Rakers exhibit I could kind of understand what David Brooks Stess was trying to accomplish with is pictures because when ever I go to my camp during the summer I go by blueberry fields and see the hard work that the people are doing. Also, I noticed that Stess was trying to show people that are not exposed to blueberry culture that raking blueberries is very hard. Finally, this exhibit made me love the fact that I am in college and not doing back breaking labor even more.

Historical Importance:  The blueberries are not just a profitable industry in Maine, its a large part of Maine's culture.David  Maine produces a quarter of the United States blueberries. In turn, helps Maine's  

economy greatly and provides jobs for many jobless people in Maine. David Stess shows that blueberries is part of Maine's culture through is photos. David depicts rakers in their "camps" which comprises of Native American and migrant works. Stess also shows that the people raking blueberries are a different breed of people just like how lobster men are a different breed of Mainers. Today blueberries are raked by mechanical devices for a faster profit. But, their are still some blueberry rakers still pick blueberries the old fashion way with metal rakes. Someone can't forget the world famous blueberry recipes. Finally, Maine blueberries are so good that whenever I am on my way home from my camp I always have to stop at a farm and pick up a several things of blueberries for family and friends because they love the fact that they are always fresh and juicy.      

Sources: 

http://www.sunjournal.com/news/encore/2013/03/30/blueberry-rakers-iconic-art-pma/1334442

http://www.portlandmuseum.org/exhibitions-collections/current.shtml

  

Piscataqua River Bridge

The Piscataqua River Bridge was way brief site visit due to the fact that I was driving and their is no place to stop and admire the bridge. The reason why I decided to do the Piscataqua River Bridge was because I was coming back from Massachusetts and thought to my self that when ever I go back and forth from Maine to Massachusetts. I always drive of this bridge; so I figured that this bridge is a historical land mark that makes travel and accuse to Maine easier even though the bridge is part of New Hampshire. This is not the only bridge that connects Maine and New Hampshire. But it is the only bridge that has  automobiles continuously traveling across it unlike the other bridge where you have to wait for the bridge to lift up and down for ships pass through.

Historical Importance: Both New Hampshire and Maine just built new turnpikes (I-95), they both also had round a bouts at the end of their turnpikes. At first both states created Bypass U.S. 1 to connect their two turnpikes, but the bypass became an inconvenience because it made traveling between the two states a chore. To make traveling easier for people both states  build the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge, which is a lift bridge. But once again this created even more traffic especially during the summer months because the bridge lifted up when a ship had to pass through. So Maine and New Hampshire decided to do a survey in 1962 on how to align the two I-95 better. What both states came up with was to build an high span bridge with six lanes, three on both sides. The Piscataqua River Bridge was started to be constructed in 1968 and was finished in 1972. The historical importance is that at the time the bridge was the longest steel arch span (1,344-foot-long). Also, in 1973  the American Institute of Steel Construction awarded the Piscataqua River Bridge their award of merit, which is essentially award for creating a steel structure properly. In addition, the U.S. Department of Transportation called Piscataqua Bridge the most outstanding new bridge in the United States of America. Finally, the Piscataqua River Bridge makes traveling to the great state of Maine not a chore and creates a shorter distance for people traveling to Maine to conduct business.
Sources: 
http://www.bostonroads.com/crossings/piscataqua/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Institute_of_Steel_Construction

Maine Lobsterman Sculpture created by Victor Kahill

 The Maine Lobsterman Sculpture is my fifth site I went to see. It was a beautiful sunny day out when I went to see this sculpture. The sculpture is located in front of the Nickelodeon theater in Portland. The sculpture that is located in Portland is not the original sculpture that Victor Kahill created. The original Maine Lobsterman Sculpture that Kahill created was made out of plaster and was showed of at the 1939 World's Fair in the Hall of States exhibit. The sculpture located in Portland was created out of bronze in 1974 and was placed in Public Square in 1977 by Portland City Council. Fun fact their are two other copies of this sculpture are located in Washington D.C and Harpwell, Maine.

Historical Importance:  
When Victor Kahill create the Maine Lobsterman Sculpture and brought it to the World's Fair he wanted to show the rest of the World that lobstering is not just a way to make a wage in the state of Maine, but lobstering a way of life more many people in Maine. This sculpture does not just represent lobsterman in Maine but the whole fishing industry in Maine and how the fishing industry plays a huge role in Maine culture. People have been fishing Maine's sea for many years before people even settled in Maine. Also, Maine has always been known as main producer of lobster in the United States. In turn makes the fishing industry in Maine strong through out history. An example of lobstering being back of Maine culture for ages is Monhegan Island, which is off the coast of Maine. The main income of all the people living on Monhegan is trapping and selling lobsters and they have been doing this as late as 1883 and have been trapping and selling lobsters even today. This is a great example of how lobsters be a part of the history of Maine's culture.

Sources: The Lobster Coast by Colin Woodard
   http://www.360cities.net/image/lobsterman-sculpture-portland-maine-usa#358.50,0.80,75.0
  http://www.pressherald.com/special/publicart/Open-to-the-public.html?pagenum=full

Abyssinian meeting house

The Abyssinian meeting house is my fourth historically site I went to on a beautifully warm march day. When I showed up to the meeting house I understood that the meeting house was still under restitution, which started in 2006. the meeting house is the third oldest remaining African American meeting house in the United States .But I did not realize it was taking so long to finish after seven years from starting it. I personally believe that a something that played a major role in American history should be better preserved then in its current state.The Abyssinian meeting house is part of the Portland Freedom Trail. It was built by free- African Americans in 1828.

Historical  Importance:
The Abyssinian meeting house was a religious and meeting place for freed African Americans in Portland, Maine. It is also seen as the only Underground Railroad site in Maine. The Abyssinian was a meeting place for abolition and temperance movement. This house is important to Maine history because Maine was literally the one of the  fighting forces to help the abolition and temperance movement. Maine started the temperance movement, which started the Prohibition movement in the United States. Maine and Massachusetts were the fighting forces against slavery because they strongly believe that everyone should enjoy being free.

source: Maine: The Pine Tree State