Program Archive
Chebacco Chats Archives can be found HERE
Chebacco Chats Archives can be found HERE
On Friday, March 22, 2024, we welcomed Brent Richardson for an evening of storytelling from 20th-century Mount Desert Island.
On February 7, 2024 MDI Adult Education invited MDI Historical Society Director Raney Bench to present “Wicked Pissah! -Storms, Survival, and Sea Level Rise” and share the impacts of some of Maine’s worst weather and how climate change is accelerating storm severity and sea level rise.
On January 17, 2024, Raney Bench, executive director for the MDI Historical Society, presented a brief history of the Klan in Maine, including their presence on Mount Desert Island.
On January 28, 2021 the MDI Historical Society held its annual Community Bean Supper online, featuring beloved storytellers Earl Brechlin and Dennis Damon, telling stories old and new. Damon and Brechlin both collect stories to carry on a long tradition of gifted men and women who share our collective history through tales of adventure, humor, mishaps, and the occasional haunting. They were joined by Dr. Bill Horner, founder of the Society’s bean supper, offering a humorous explanation of the gastronomical impact of consuming beans, and Sharon Joyce, owner of Ambrosia Cooking School and author of “A Culinary History of Downeast Maine,” sharing recipes and ingredients found among Downeast bean recipes. Participants share some of their tips and secrets for cooking the best beans, even if those are “beans from away.”
In addition to the virtual presentation, the Society compiled a digital cookbook of the most beloved recipes from the annual event. The book includes many varieties of traditional New England baked beans, in addition to recipes of “beans from away,” brown bread, side dishes, and pies and cookies. The ebook can be purchased HERE
The Mount Desert Island Historical Society book club met on Monday, December 4, 2023, to discuss “Women of the Dawn” by Bunny McBride
Terese Miller examines the mill locations, products, and families involved in this industry across MDI from 1762 until the early 1900s.
The Mount Desert Island Historical Society book club met on Monday, October 16, 2023, to discuss "Windswept" by Mary Ellen Chase.
Raney Bench shares tales of storms and survival from our past and what they tell us about our future.
Audrey Ryan discusses the modern aspects of Maine's smuggling history, exploring marijuana and hashish smuggling in the 70s and 80s
Tim Garrity and Jaylene Roths talk about one of the worst cases of mutiny and mass murder in American maritime history, on board the Berwind.
Libby Bischof features photographs by Lucy McMullen Dodge, taken while living on Mount Desert Rock in the early-1900s.
Steve Bromage, Executive Director of the Maine Historical Society (MHS), joined us at the 2023 Virtual Baked Bean Supper.
Raney Bench, moderates a conversation with Porter Fox, author of “The Last Winter.”