PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The Presque Isle Historical Society is once again celebrating President Teddy Roosevelt’s birthday with “Roosevelt Day at the Museum”.
Teddy Roosevelt, our nation’s 26th president and considered the first “modern” president was born on Oct. 27. The annual event began in 2017 to celebrate his birth allows Presque Isle Historical Society to showcase its Roosevelt artifacts in an exhibit at the Maysville Museum.
Kim Smith, secretary/treasurer of Presque Isle Historical Society, says, “Roosevelt was a larger-than-life man. He was the first US citizen to win a Nobel Peace Prize, built the Panama Canal, established the US Forest Service to conserve public land and protect wildlife, took on big business and once gave a speech after having been shot in the chest. He said in a letter, ‘I owe a personal debt to Maine because of my association with certain staunch friends in Aroostook County; an association that helped and benefited me throughout my life in more ways than one.’ He credits his relationship with a Maine Guide in becoming the man he was. It is through the descendants of one of his Aroostook County guides that we now have these fascinating artifacts in our collection.”
The collection includes a long barrel Colt revolver, a birch bark moose call and a red velvet framed mirror adorned with buffalo horns. The mirror hung over the mantle at Roosevelt’s ranch in the Dakotas.
Roosevelt Day at the Museum will take place on Monday, Oct. 27 at The Maysville Museum located at 165 Caribou Road. The event will run from 6-8 p.m. and is free to the public.
Presque Isle Historical Society’s mission is to study, preserve and promote the history, culture, heritage and physical artifacts of Presque Isle for present and future generations. For more information on this project or the Society’s many programs and tours, call 207-762-1151, email pihistoricalsociety@hotmail.com or visit the website at www.pihistory.org.
