Stew supper to benefit historic fire station
By Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — Officials with the Presque Isle Historical Society are inviting the public to join them for a fundraiser to benefit the restoration of the historic fire station, located on Church Street, with the help of a local snowmobile club.
“On Friday, Feb. 3, the Presque Isle Snowmobile Club on Echo Lake Road in Presque Isle will be holding their weekly supper beginning at 5 p.m. The supper that evening will be put on by the Presque Isle Historical Society. Proceeds from the supper will go toward the historic fire station restoration project,” said Kim Smith, secretary/treasurer of the Historical Society, noting the event is open to the public.
The Presque Isle Historical Society is in the process of restoring the former fire station. The completed restoration will eventually offer a central location for cultural tourism, historical learning and educational opportunities promoting all of Aroostook County, explained Smith.
“The facility will offer art displays, historical displays, cultural presentations and hands-on historical educational activities. In addition to saving our historical fire station, the structure will provide a place in which to display the many treasured historical artifacts that presently have no home, an educational center for use by local civic groups and educational organizations, as well as a permanent office for the society,” Smith said.
While refurbishing the building is a costly venture, Smith said progress is being made — albeit slowly.
“This multi-year, multi-phase restoration project is estimated to cost over $1.6 million, with approximately $300,000 raised to date. There is still much work to be done to the interior including a new electrical system, a sprinkler system, new plumbing, the addition of an elevator, shoring up of all floors with steel beams and final build-out of walls,” said Smith.
Food offered on the evening of Feb. 3 will include chili, chicken stew, fish chowder, hotdogs, chili dogs and grilled cheese sandwiches. In addition, there will be an array of homemade desserts. Prices range from $4 for a 20-ounce bowl of chowder to $1 for a dessert.
For more information about the supper, the Historical Society or its efforts to restore the fire station, contact: Presque Isle Historical Society, PO Box 285, Presque Isle, ME 04769; e-mail pihistoricalsociety@hotmail.com; visit online at www.pihistory.org; or call 762-1151.
