Students ride back in time aboard Molly the Trolley
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
KIM SMITH, secretary/treasurer of the Presque Isle Historical Society, welcomes Presque Isle Middle School sixth-graders aboard Molly the Trolley during a recent two-hour citywide historic tour.
PRESQUE ISLE — Some sixth-graders at Presque Isle Middle School ditched class last Tuesday — the last day of school — and went joyriding through town.
The fifth and final group of students went on a two-hour citywide historic tour on Molly the Trolley thanks to a partnership with the Presque Isle Historical Society.
“Years ago we used to do a citywide bus tour for the fifth-graders, but that later fell by the wayside,” said Kim Smith, secretary/treasurer for the historical society. “We wanted to bring that back because it’s very important for children to know their local history. It’s been shown that that could possibly help stem the terrible youth out-migration problem that we have, and it builds a sense of community pride.”
After asking around, Smith met with the sixth-grade teachers who were interested in the project.
“The tour we did with the sixth-graders covers a lot of local information, but we also talk about U.S. history, international history and tie it together with how Presque Isle really was impacted by these events,” she said. “The tour came together pretty quickly, but it went very well.
“It’s always good to be able to collaborate with the local schools, and by being a historical society, it’s imperative that we involve young people or we won’t have a historical society in the years to come,” said Smith. “Youth education is very important to us, and to have this door opened for us now is great and we’d like to see that door stay open so we can continue this partnership. By doing the tour on Molly the Trolley it adds a little extra entertainment and excitement for the kids, so they might go home and spread the word. Plus it gives us great visibility around town, so it’s a win-win situation.”
The tour included numerous sites of historic interest including the old Fire Station, Presque Isle Army Air Base, the Double Eagle II site, Henry Rolfe’s farm, which was the site of the first potato field in Aroostook County, Vera Estey House, the Northern Maine Fairgrounds and the James School.
According to social studies teacher Barry Wright, who also drove the trolley all five days, the information shared on the tour fits right in with the curriculum.
“The name ‘Presque Isle’ is French, and when we study Canada, we directly tie it into the French Colonial period,” he said. “There are a lot of parallels between the history of this area and the French Colonial area, so we talk about that a lot in social studies. It ties directly into the curriculum.
“We do talk about some of the historic parts in class, but most of what Kim talks about is new for them,” said Wright. “They all leave this tour with a lot of new information and a different perspective and understanding on the town they grew up in.”
Natalie Bates said she learned “a lot of new things about Presque Isle.”
“I learned a lot about the Presque Isle Air Base and Hanson Lake,” she said. “I’d never been on a trolley before. It’s more fun than riding on a bus. It was a lot of fun.”
Adam Paterson agreed.
“It was very interesting,” he said. “There were a lot of things I didn’t know about Presque Isle like the city has three man-made lakes. I knew about Mantle Lake, but I didn’t know about Hanson Lake and Arnold Brook Lake. I also didn’t know that Quaggy Jo Mountain used to be a volcano and has gold on it.
“Most of the kids don’t even know half the history of Presque Isle like how it was originally named Fairbanks Mills and that Presque Isle is French for ‘almost an island,’” he said. “It was fun riding on the trolley, and it was cool that we did it on the last day of school.”
Kelly Gumprecht, whose daughter Kasey Haley went on the tour, said her daughter didn’t want to go on the outing.
“She initially was very put out that she had to go on the trolley ride … mostly because it interfered with Step-up Day. Her words were, ‘I already know all there is about Presque Isle,’” Gumprecht said. “It made me giggle, but I just said, ‘OK, we’ll see.’
“Later that night it was a completely different story. She went on and on about how much fun she had and about all the things she didn’t know about Presque Isle,” said Gumprecht. “She chattered on about the Estey House and the man-made ponds/lakes and a bunch of other things. There is no doubt that Kasey — and other kids — will look at Presque Isle through different eyes now.”
Molly the Trolley was introduced to the Presque Isle community Sept. 22, 2011. It’s a 1985 model with a gas-driven Chevrolet 454 engine. It has 13 bench seats and open seating at the rear to hold 29 passengers plus a driver and tour guide. The body is aluminum, contains etched windows, extensive wood paneling and brass rails.
There are several upcoming trolley tours in Presque Isle and the surrounding communities. For more information, call 762-6300.
