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News Feature

Surry
Originally published in The Weekly Packet, June 7, 2012
Surry celebrates its history—unveiled on Maine Memory Network website
Partnership includes school, historical society and library

Surry celebration

The celebration at the elementary school included an ice cream social.

Photo courtesy Surry Elementary School

Surry middle school student Grace Neal describes what she and other students involved in the project learned about their town’s history.

Photo courtesy Surry Elementary School

by Anne Berleant

A partnership that began last October between Surry Elementary School, the Surry Historical Society and the Blue Hill Public Library to gather historical documents and artifacts about Surry culminated on May 31 in a celebration of the Surry website on the Maine Memory Network.

An ice cream social preceded the website unveiling.

“Using primary documents and the latest technologies, students have digitized over 100 historic photographs and artifacts, transcribed several antiquated documents, and learned how to carefully handle and photograph historical objects,” Lynn Bonsey told those gathered at the school.

Bonsey, who teaches middle school language arts and social studies at Surry Elementary School and spearheaded the project, also mentioned Surry residents who helped with the project, which included trips to the Maine Historical Society in Portland for training on researching and writing “good history” and how to construct “a compelling website.”

The Maine Memory Network website is a “statewide digital museum that provides unprecedented access to historical items,” according to its website, mainememory.net.

Students Haley Kennedy, Virginia Cox, Abby Smith and Jordin Barker took turns discussing specific parts of the project. They described interviewing long-time Surry residents, scanning images for digitization and transcribing historical texts on artifacts. Student Grace Neal spoke on what the students have learned about Surry’s history through working on the Maine Memory Network project.

Funding for the project was provided by a Maine Community Heritage Project grant sponsored by the Maine Historical Society and the Maine State Library. The $2,116 grant provided, among other things, a large-format scanner, digital camera, software and other photographic equipment.

The website “Surry by the Bay” on the Maine Memory Network may be accessed at surry.mainememory.net.

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