UMPI student creates historical display

PRESQUE ISLE, Maine – The curtain goes up 1 p.m., April 28, at the University of Maine at Presque Isle Library on a special exhibit spotlighting the city’s unique place in history. Funded by a Maine Humanities Council grant written by UMPI student Susan Shumate on behalf of the Presque Isle Historical Society, the exhibit is a continuation of a unique student-community project begun several years ago.
    At the time, students in Kimberly Sebold’s Special Topics in Local History course worked with area historian Dick Graves to organize, catalog and create a database for the close to 1,000 images he had collected over 30 years. About 800 of those photos dealt with Presque Isle from 1880 to 1980 and Graves has published a book featuring many of them.
“The students had talked about doing a museum exhibit in conjunction with the book, but we ran out of funds and time,” Sebold said.
One student, however, could not get the idea out of her head. Susan Shumate, Sebold said, took the initiative to research and write for available grants to bring the exhibit to life.
“She started last summer and kept on trying,” Sebold said. “Susan learned how to write a grant on her own which is a major accomplishment.”
The result of Shumate’s dedication was the $1,000 MHC grant and a smaller, separate grant of $100.  Working with UMPI student Raul Luna, Shumate developed six large banners each depicting scenes related to Presque Isle’s Main Street. The selected images date from the end of the 19th century to 1959, which coincided with the city’s centennial.
“The panels really show how Main Street has changed over the years,” Sebold said. “Everything from transportation to fire rescue to the air force base.”
In one photograph, a large military tank appears as it rumbled down Main Street, a fund-raising display for a water-bomb plane to fight fires.
“I’m pretty pleased with what they came up with,” Sebold said. “It’s really beyond what I had imagined but Susan is a student who would not let something go.”
“I’m really excited to see it all come together,” Shumate said. “I was surprised at the amount of research it all took and all the information I learned about this town.”
Luna hopes his practical experience on the project will help him pursue his chosen profession.
“I’m an aspiring graphic artist,” Luna said. “This project really put my skills to the test, but I’m really proud of it.”
Shumate hopes people come to the exhibit with a mind to learn some new facts about the area.
“I want people to really know how important Presque Isle is,” she said. “This little town had a really big impact on the world.”
The display will remain in the UMPI Library for a week; then there are plans to exhibit it elsewhere, such as the Mark and Emily Turner Memorial Library in Presque Isle. It will eventually be a part of the permanent collection of the Presque Isle Historical Society.