Topic of next meeting will be Underground Railroad

FARMINGTON — Colonial Daughters Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution held its monthly meeting on Feb. 26 at The White Elephant in Strong, with 14 members and three guests attending. Regent Marcia White of Rangeley opened the meeting. The Pledge of Allegiance to the flag was lead by Anne Kendall; Sylvia Adams led the group with The American’s Creed; Julia Nouvertne gave the National Defense Report and Connie Hiltz read an “Indian Minute.”

Nominating committee chairman Connie Hiltz introduced the new slate of officers for the upcoming years 2013-15. They are Julia Nouvertne, regent; Ann Ladd, vice regent; Nancy Flick, chaplain; Jean Ferrari, secretary; Anne Kendall, corresponding secretary; Sylvia Adams, treasurer; Joanne Page, registrar; Isabelle Foss, historian and Joan Patterson, librarian.

Joanne Page gave a brief presentation on the sinking of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor 115 years ago this Feb. 15 with the loss of 266 U.S. sailors. She also noted that while relations between Washington and Cuba remain in a deep freeze, the Cuban government is in the process of giving the monument in Havana Square, honoring these 266 U.S. sailors, a much needed facelift.

Colonial Daughters and the USS Maine have a special bond. In the summer of 1913 a notice was received by Mrs. Orrah M. Jennings, a member of Colonial Daughters, from Josephus Daniels, Secretary of the Navy, stating that an application blank was enclosed for a USS Maine Memorial Tablet. Twelve hundred tablets were to be made from brass, bronze and copper recovered from the Maine. They were to be given under an Act of Congress to municipalities, military and naval associations, or societies, and that the cost for casting would be $5, exclusive of the shipping charges.

Jennings turned the letter over to Mabel Thomas, who was regent at the time. Thomas’ sister, Annie Waite, a member of the chapter, offered to bear the expense if Thomas would do the necessary correspondence. Thomas sent the application with a letter to Maine Rep. Daniel J. McGillicuddy in Washington asking him to use his influence in the matter. The Congressman’s reply was immediate. He had forwarded the application to the Navy Department in such a manner he felt sure would result in obtaining the tablet. In the course of a very short time Thomas received word that tablet No. 393 had been awarded to Colonial Daughters.

The tablet is of bronze, 13 by 18 inches and weighs 15 pounds. It was cast by the Jonathan Williams Bronze Foundry of New York and is a most beautiful piece of work, designed by Charles Keck. The design is in relief and enclosed in a narrow border. Across the upper portion, in large letters, are the words “In Memoriam,” while at the right side of the tablet is a bust figure of Columbia, with right arm outstretched over the sinking hulk of the battleship, and head bowed as in mourning. Her left arm is concealed by a shield, on which are displayed the United States emblem and the words “Patriotism” and “Devotion.” At the left of the battleship is a branch of palm and beneath it the inscription: “U.S.S. Maine, destroyed in Havana Harbor, February 15th, 1898.” Across the bottom of the tablet is the inscription: “This tablet is cast from bronze metal recovered from the U.S.S. Maine.”

Kenny Wing of Eustis, co-author of “Lost Villages of Flagstaff Lake,” was the afternoon program speaker. His book is part of “The Images of America,” a series that celebrates the history of neighborhoods, towns and cities across the country. He gave a most interesting presentation, with many pictures, a few artifacts and some amusing stories. Wing co-authored the book with Alan L. Burnell, also of Eustis.

The next meeting of the chapter will be on Tuesday, March 26, at the Homestead Bakery and Restaurant on Broadway in Farmington. Mary Dillingham Chapter from Lewiston will be guests. The afternoon speaker will be Ben Conant, his topic “The Underground Railroad.” The Underground Railroad was a vast network of secret routes and “safe houses” used by fugitive slaves escaping to the North during the 19th-century.