Since 1992
Print and digital marketing
By Bill Van Tassel
SOUTH PARIS – The 2022 Founders Day, which supports the Hannibal Hamlin Library and Museum, was held July 16. Hundreds of visitors, many from outside of Maine, gathered on Paris Hills’ Village Green for the event.
One of the special attractions, which drew much of the crowd, was the Bob Bahre Collection of Antique and Classic Cars. The collection is only open to the public one day a year, for Founders Day. Bahre, a motor racing entrepreneur and businessman, died at age 93 in 2020 at his home on Paris Hill. The Bahre family resided in the Hannibal Hamlin mansion on the crest of the hill. The property also features the unique Hannibal Hamlin Library and Museum, which at one point in its past was a jail. The bars yet remain on the windows.
More than four dozen automobiles are housed in two garages and meticulously cared for by curator Jeff Orwig and his staff. From a 1906 Model S touring car and an 1885 carriage used in “Gone with The Wind,” to the lately classic Cadillacs and Mercedes-Benz, the garages are full. Wandering among the perfectly polished vehicles, onlookers also viewed custom-designed Packards, Duesenbergs and several unique foreign cars. Among the collection is the 1921 Mercedes Benz used in the movie “Chitty, Chitty Bang Bang.”
Along with the automobiles, the two garages display an antique dolls collection, player pianos, a jukebox and old phonographs.
The Hamlin Library, a short distance from the mansion, was built with large granite bricks in 1922. It has continued be an active part of the community. Its two floors remain cool for visitors and readers because of the ample shade surrounding trees provide as well as the huge stone blocks. The accompanying museum contains historic materials relating to local, state, and national history as well as Hamlin, who was Abraham Lincoln’s first vice president.
The Paris Hill Green is also the home of the First Baptist Church, dedicated in 1838. It contains a bell made by Paul Revere’s son. During the Founder’s Day event, for two dollars, anyone could pull the rope and ring the bell.
PHOTOS: Founders Day visitors on July 16 explore the Hannibal Hamlin library on Paris Hill, adjacent to the Hamlin mansion and home the Bahre family. The annual Founders Day helps support the library and museum (top). Can you call a car beautiful? If you can, then this 1934 Hispano Suiza J-12 custom-built from France would classify. It is part of the 51-car collection of the late entrepreneur and philanthropist Bob Bahre, of Paris Hill. The display is open to the public one day a year, on Founder’s Day. (bottom) (Bill Van Tassel photos)
