LITTLETON, Maine — The Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum is fortunate to have longtime member and volunteer, Colby Shaw of Littleton. He has held a variety of jobs throughout his lifetime, including farm laborer, RSU 29 custodian and bus driver, a member of the road crew for the town of Littleton and most recently, in his retirement, he developed his own carpentry business.
Since the organization of the local museum, Shaw has helped rebuild many of the interior rooms and the one-room Ross School located on the museum property. He has also assisted with the building and the recent addition to the Carl and Helen Hagan Barn. When not using his hammer he keeps the floors cleaned and polished throughout the museum and even helps out in the kitchen with the monthly suppers.
In 2014, he and his wife, Rhonda tackled the task of building an old-fashioned` general store along the driveway to the museum. It has been a highlight of the tours. During the August car show Shaw and his family sold ice cream for the day, donating the proceeds to the museum’s special projects fund.
However, that wasn’t enough. Shaw’s hammer was itching for another building, a filling station. Construction began last spring and with lots of long hours it was finally completed just in time for the summer tours. Since then, he has been busy filling it with period tools and accessories, including a 1925 Chevrolet car that had previously been displayed in the barn.
If one has a filling station, one must have a gasoline tank or two. There just happen to be one included in the Cedric and Emily Shaw collection and another was donated by the Gogan family of Houlton. Both being a complimentary red accenting the light gray building.
Shaw is very appreciative of several generous donors who either gave items to be displayed, materials or discounted their price for what was needed. Those contributing to the building materials were: Katahdin Forest Products, Louisiana Pacific, Hoffman Rafter and S.W. Collins Co.
At a recent museum supper the Shaws were honored for their work. A special commemorative plate will be placed on the building in memory of the Shaw’s daughter, Darcy, who passed away in 2011.
What will Shaw build next? The wheels are already turning. So watch for another project in the spring of 2017.
The agricultural museum has been open for 14 years and continues to grow with a variety of donated items. Visitors come from far and near and now items are being collected from residents throughout the county and beyond. We continue to collect memorabilia from local schools, especially any items from Ricker Classical Institute and Ricker College. We would also like to have a piece of the late David Gricus pottery. Gricus was an art professor at Ricker College and had a pottery business in Linneus. He sold his creations at local stores. We would also like to have items from businesses with their logo.
Volunteers are needed for suppers once a month, either in helping to prepare the food on Friday afternoon or helping serve for an hour or so on a Saturday once a month. Next spring we will also need more tour guides or people to be available for private functions being held at the facility. Please call the numbers below if you would like to help out, set up a private tour or rent our gymnasium and kitchen. There will be a Made in Maine Christmas Craft Fair on Saturday, Nov. 19 from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.
The museum will be open for tours the afternoon of Saturday, Oct. 22, at 2 p.m. and will host its annual Harvest Supper that same day. Serving will be from 4:30 until 6 p.m. $9 per person. Tickets are now on sale for the Fall Raffle. They are $10 each and the winner will receive a hunting rifle or $500 cash, second-place $100 or third place, $50. The drawing will be Nov. 12. Proceeds from the raffle will be used for the furnace project which needs to be completed before winter.
For more information, call 538-0050 or 694-6099.
