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NORWAY — The Norway Public Library is hosting a presentation on a project to list Maine’s World War I memorials, in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the United States’ involvement in the war.
Elizabeth Bischof, an associate professor of history and political science at the University of Southern Maine will speak at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 18, at the library, focusing on World War I Maine memorials and monuments, with specifics on those in the Oxford Hills and surrounding areas. Bischof has created a searchable digital inventory of Maine’s World War I memorials and monuments, including photographs (contemporary and historical), descriptions, inscriptions, mapped locations and information on the history, creation and dedication of each memorial.
The project began in fall 2014 when she asked her students to find three World War I memorials in Maine, where there are an estimated 200 to 300. The inventory, which she said is a work in progress, is on USM’s Digital Commons as part of the Digital Maine initiative at digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/wwi/.
According to the USM Digital Humanities website, “While common memorials include plaques on granite boulders, honor rolls, and the occasional statue,” Maine’s World War I memorials are diverse, including “bridges, highways, trees, city squares, arches on college campuses, flagpoles, etc. These monuments and memorials adorn parks, town commons, city and town halls, libraries, high schools, nature preserves, summer camps, highways, byways, and college campuses all over the state. Many are prominent and well cared for; others have been forgotten. We wish to promote awareness of these memorials, their interesting histories, and invite visitors to reflect on their many meanings–then and now.”
The second phase of the project is a website that pins the location of each memorial and includes research and narrative historical context.
The program at Norway Public Library is free and open to the public. For more information, call the library’s information desk at 743-5309 ext. 1 or visit www.norway.lib.me.us.
