Just a reminder that this Saturday is founders day on Paris Hill and there will be much, much more traffic than normal and the road may be closed or rerouted near the top of the hill. Plan accordingly – and if you haven’t been definitely swing by as it’s a great time with amazing cars to view – and all proceeds benefit the Hamlin Memorial Library!
At the spring cleanup in May, several workers remarked that we should look into restoring the rolled up Grand Drape on the stage of the second floor. Mike Brogan and Linda Richardson collaborated on contacting the company who did a previous estimate of our drape, and the story takes off from there.
Mike contacted Curtains without Borders and talked extensively with Christine Hadsel, Director. Photos of our curtain, and the stage were sent, and Christine remembered doing the estimate. She proposed a site visit to reassess the condition and make recommendations about restoration. Since we are scheduling some ceiling work, Christine said it would be best if the drape were removed.
Arrangements were made for Christine to visit, and a crew was assembled to take down the drape with her supervision and properly store it for restoration in the future. Crew members were: Mike Brogan, Jeff Richardson, Peter Roy, Linda Richardson and Cathy Richardson.
Much to the surprise of the Community Club our Grand Drape is signed and dated. This was news to everyone. The artist is CA Henry and the date is 1892.
I had lots of questions, and conducted an online interview with Christine. Here are the questions and answers:
Charles A. Henry (1845- c.1920?) – Charles Henry, not to be confused with Charles W. Henry of Vermont, had a small scenic studio in Boston. His curtains are found in Moretown, VT, Paris, ME. and Wilmot, NH
An advertisement in the Boston City Directory of 1905 says that his studio “Designs, Manufactures and Decorates all kinds of Theatrical Work. Theaters and Halls Fitted Up. Scenery and Stage Properties To Let.”
From Curtains without Borders website: curtainswithoutborders.org Check out this site for more photos of restored curtains in New England.
2. How were these artists trained?
Scenic artists were a mixture of self-taught and apprenticed at large studios. Some of the artists began painting advertisements and some ended that way. Some were portrait and landscape artists, but most were not. These painters hauled their supplies from town to town and created magical worlds for small towns and villages.
3. What makes a Grand Drape special?
A Grand Drapes the most important curtain on the stage, whether it is the only one or part of a set. It hangs right behind the proscenium arch and includes painted drapery, since there were no cloth drapes at that time. It is usually a romanic, European-style scene, like the one on your drape. These European themes depicted the romance of long ago and far way. The scene is set within a painted (usually stenciled) frame and the “drapes” are pulled aside by unseen hands to show the painting.
NOTE. We have three of the four side panels that would have been onstage when the drape was up for performances. These side panels provided depth and access points for the actors to enter and depart the scene. We will have the three repainted and a fourth constructed.
4. Can you give a brief description of the process that will be applied to our drape?
Basically, we will clean and mend the curtain and reinforce all four edges, since the edges are where most tears start. Then we will reattach the curtain to a sandwich of wood at the top and the original roller at the bottom. We will make a tail at the bottom that will be stapled directly onto the wood. We will reuse the original pullies, provide new ropes and a new cleat and then supervise reinstalling it at the back of the arch.
5. What is the most unusual painting you have restored?
The drape we are working on this summer is at Lisbon Town Hall. It’s a party scene with musicians and all the ads in balloons. We restored an almost identical curtain in Canaan, VT. Both curtains were done by Lucretia Rogers, on the three women scenic artists who all knew each other in the 1930s.
6. What should we do once the drape is restored?
Christine recommends carefully rolling the drape back up and only unrolling for special occasions. She also advised getting some regular drapes that cover full arch to further protect the Grand Drape.
Rosemary Losso was kind enough to donate materials and time to fabricate a temporary drape while the repairs occur. They will be sewn together and hemmed this summer. Many thanks to all involved and to Curtains Without Borders for their work and guidance!
I found a wonderful article on line about Christine Hadley’s work in New England. It’s in the Yankee Magazine September 2016 issue. newengland.com. Worth reading to fully understand the value of these curtains in modern times and the work she has done to restore them.
The Community Club Board has approved the restoration and work will begin some time next spring.
Thanks to Janet Brogan for contributing this story!
To say this was a success is to be somewhat understated. We had over 28 families participate and many gave generous donations to the Academy Building Fund. To date we have collected roughly $6000. Of that $2500 was a matching donation from a generous donor. Well done everyone!
Originally we said these funds would be for the Academy Building roof, and they will be. We need to repair the metal roof by removing the roof nails and replacing with screws. This will give us perhaps ten years or so to finish funding a full replacement. We also have two interior projects that need doing: sheetrock repair on the stage ceiling around the chimney, and next year, the restoration of the Grand Drape which was painted in 1892. A fuller discussion of our plans will be presented at the Summer BBQ meeting on July 23.
The money is impressive, but it’s not the biggest story. The community effort and the fun we all had selling and talking to people was the best part. Buyers were enthused to be on the hill, some for the very first time. They loved the unique variety and quality of the merchandise and the willingness of sellers to “deal”. There are so many stories about selling or giving away things that someone really wanted. From college kids looking for deals and pretty things to older folks buying items they remembered as children. We seemed to have something for everyone. And everyone loved seeing the old houses and barns up close and looking so fabulous. Paris Hill was a beautiful and happy place on this warm sunny day. The traffic was slow, the walkers were happy.
The crowds started early, and by 1pm almost everyone was sold out. Many of us put left over items out in front of our homes for free and by evening they were nearly gone.
Several neighbors who did not join in this year will do so next year. And here will be a next year. Repeating events are very important in planning how we care for these historic buildings. We urge you to take part in other events this summer.
In addition to our regular community dinners, parties and events – we are excited to have a number of large public events this summer that are community wide and important to the organizations involved.
Please consider attending any and all you can – and spread the word of all the happenings on the hill!
The Paris Town Meeting is 6/21 at 6pm at the Paris Fire Station. This is the meeting where we approve the budget for the next fiscal year and it is important to have a good turnout!
Saturday, June 25th is the first Paris Hill Village yard sale from 9am-4pm! We are looking forward to nice weather and a good turnout – with over 2 dozen houses participating in the sale.
There will be increased traffic on the hill on Saturday, so please be cautious with kiddos and walks. The Paris Police are going to swing through occasionally to check on things as well.
Thanks to all participating and helping – and for any donations you choose to send to the community club for the promotion and organization of this event. This event is funding additional repairs to the historic Academy building so we can make more use of it throughout the year as a community resource. Also new this year, we hope to host some rentals of the building to help offset the maintenance and upkeep costs in future years. Should you be interested in renting the Paris Hill Academy building for your event, please click here.
Before the small village of Paris Hill was founded in 1779, it was known as Jackson Hill. The Jackson family farmstead sat atop the hill and remnants of the farm can be seen within the boundaries of what is now known as the “Cornwall Preserve”. I use the term ‘remnants’ loosely as all that remains are hefty stone walls, the historic ice pond dam and a forest of giant trees, ferns, and wildlife.
The preserve consists of 147 acres of woodland which would have been home to the farmhouse, barn, outbuildings, orchards and working fields. Three miles of trails weave around the preserve and are fairly well marked with splashes of colored paint on trees. Each trail is marked with a different color paint as they intertwine throughout the densely overgrown forest, crisscrossing one another as you venture deeper into the woods. The paths are very worn and lumpy, definitely a challenge for anyone who isn’t sure footed or wearing ‘appropriate footwear’…sneakers or boots are a must…as are socks and insect repellent. A walking stick would have been helpful fording those slippery, mossy stream rocks. However, the trails are considered easy and fairly well maintained. The Town of Paris is responsible for the maintenance of the preserve having received the land from, long time Paris Hill resident Alice Cornwall, and having it remain a nature preserve in perpetuity.
It was a beautiful early June morning and I beckoned my favorite person in all things historical, Rosemary Losso, to join me and we headed to the preserve. After dousing ourselves in insect repellent and pulling our hats down over our ears and our socks up over our pant legs (how attractive), we headed past the welcome kiosk and into the woods. We played it safe and followed the “white trail” which is the main trail…being directionally challenged I was good with that decision. The trail beckoned us as we stepped into the midst of an ethereal overgrowth of giant ferns, mosses of every color green imaginable, and ancient trees the size of which there is no comparison. As the sunlight filtered through the overgrowth it felt like we were walking into a timeless sanctuary where peace and beauty emanate.
Caught by surprise, our first mystical encounter was a stump (see gallery below) transformed by a miniature red table surrounded by numerous acorn caps and sprinkled with fairy dust as if a fairy tea party had taken place earlier. As we continued on, more and more enchanting surprises lay ahead as we entered the designated “mystical forest” section of the trail. Tiny rabbit and green frog figurines would peer out of crooks in the tree roots, amazing stick sculptures and log creatures appeared…every turn was an adventure of creativity. Elaborate fairy dwellings and sculptures piqued our interest in who had come before with such imagination.
Enter the sound of trickling water as a meandering stream lead us out of the mystical forest and into what I would call the ‘forest primeval’. The gentle rippling of the water over the moss covered river rocks and sometimes boulders was soothing and steady. Sometimes the stream would cross our path and provide a slippery slope to cross as our shoes slipped over the mossy stones before terra ferma was once again under foot. This area cried out for reptilian and amphibian creatures to slither over and among the mossy stream bed including salamanders and wood frogs and I’m sure snakes although we didn’t see any on this hike.
Soon we happened upon a small rustic hand scored sign leaning against the base of a tree where the white and purple trails meet. (See photo) We could just barely make out “The Ice House Trail” pointing off to the left and we decided to follow the purple trail to see if we could get a glimpse of the old ice house. The purple trail follows the meandering brook with twists and turns, past giant boulders of glacial origin and eventually rejoins the white trail. About halfway along this trail the river rocks turn into larger boulders and are stacked one on top of the other in what must have been the old “ice house dam”. The ice house is long gone but the dam remains as testament to its existence.
After the dam, the trail became a little more uphill and followed the stonewalls of centuries ago that would have cleared and sectioned off the Jackson haying fields. There were trees the size I couldn’t have even imagined…if these trees were to fall in the woods they would definitely make a sound whether you were present or not. We had finally circled back to the white trail and headed towards the parking lot. We caught glimpses of little clay creatures hidden in nooks and crannies as we put the ‘mystical forest’ behind us. The little red table on the stump we noticed on our way in with the acorns had been moved by a forest angel I’m sure.
As the forest primeval had welcomed us, it just as ethereally bid us farewell. The same light led us back to the parking lot and we left with lighter hearts than when we started.
I highly recommend a visit to the Cornwall Preserve but dress accordingly and leave it just as mystical as you find it. And take your cellphone in case you get lost or take a tumble.
These two websites provide a wealth of knowledge regarding the preserve and the flora and fauna found there:
https://www.mainetrailfinder.com/trails/trail/cornwall-nature-preserve
https://wondermyway.com/tag/cornwall-nature-preserve/
This feature was written by Linda Richardson! Thank you!
The utility district is working on Tremont Street and has cut water to the surrounding areas. They expect the outage to last under an hour – ETA 1PM. Resolved by 3pm.
Just a friendly reminder to take your bird feeders in at night! There’s a lot of bear activity on the hill this spring and the wardens can’t do anything about it this time of year due to the possibility of cubs. Our neighborhood bear has been spotted numerous times – and has taken a few bird feeders in the evenings as well!
