Haunting memories

Pineland Cemetery is haunted, not by fictitious ghosts, but by real ones. The appalling ghost story traces back to the deplorable treatment of the inhabitants of Malaga Island, off the coast of Phippsburg almost 100 years ago.

In the mid-1800s, a community was established on the small island situated in the New Meadows River. It was a mixed-race society struggling to survive because of the declining fish population and exhausted topsoil.

In dire straits, the island residents sought aid from the town of Phippsburg, which had become a popular tourist destination. The mainland residents possessed by racial intolerance deemed Malaga Island to be a degenerate colony and demanded the eviction of the islanders to get rid of what they considered to be an embarrassing eyesore.

Due to public pressure, Gov. Frederick W. Plaisted ordered the relocation of the inhabitants in 1911-1912. Some were moved to other islands and the mainland, but the worst atrocity was the confinement of a few at the Maine School for the Feebleminded, which later became known as Pineland Center.

All but two of them were not mentally disabled, nevertheless were forced to live in that environment for the remainder of their lives, concluding with their burial in the school’s cemetery. In 1912, the 18 bodies buried in the island’s graveyard had been exhumed, placed into five large caskets and reburied in Pineland’s cemetery.

Due to the proximity to Phippsburg, instructors from the Bath Middle School felt that delving into the history of Malaga Island would provide an ideal project for their students. About 30 students and three teachers visited Pineland Cemetery last Friday to get a first-hand look at the final burial site of the islanders who had been sent there.

A worksheet was handed out requiring students to perform many activities. One of these was locating the marker stones of those who had been wrongly committed to Maine School for the Feebleminded and writing a description of the emotions these images evoked in them.

Teachers Charlene Bartlett and Marci Clark reported that the students’ goal is to design a commemorative plaque to install at Pineland Cemetery. They have applied for and received grants from two institutions, Teaching Tolerance and Maine Preservation, which will enable them to fulfill this mission. Plans for a dedication ceremony this fall are being formulated, and dignitaries such as the governor will be invited to attend.

Institute to open

Faith Bible Institute, a local church laymen’s bible institute, is coming to New Gloucester, and is hosted by the New Gloucester Bible Church located on Route 100. It is scheduled to begin on Thursday, Aug. 21 from 6:30-9:30 p.m.

This is a three-year institute which consists of two semesters per year, with three courses per semester. The cost is affordable at $15 for the application fee plus $90 tuition for each semester. Tuition includes all notes and text books.

For more information and an application, contact Steve Hanson at 926-6034, shanson10@maine.rr.com, or Bob Grindle at 926-3695, lifetract@gmail.com. Registration and the application fee are due by June 15.

Non-starving artists

The Creative New Gloucester Committee invites all artistic community members to attend a potluck social Thursday, May 29, at the New Gloucester Fire Station at 6:30 p.m. Meet other creative New Gloucester residents and find out more about the project. RSVP to Betsey Leslie at 926-3708 and plan to bring a potluck dish to share. Networking is encouraged, so bring along your business cards or brochures for distribution.

Creative New Gloucester seeks to tap into the long artistic heritage in the area and inventory the artistic and cultural assets to create a Web-based directory at www.creativenewgloucester.org The site will connect and celebrate this important and vibrant part of our community and expand the local creative economy.

School updates

School Administrative District 15 Superintendent Victoria Burns reports on the school district’s Web site that June 24 is currently scheduled be the last student day for grades K-11. This day will be an early release. High School commencement ceremonies for Gray- New Gloucester students will be held Saturday, June 7.

The SAD 15 Board of Directors has approved the 2008-2009 school calendar. The first day of school will be Tuesday, Sept. 2, the day after Labor Day. To view the calendar online, visit www.msad15.org.

Watching for big bucks

How many of you are keeping Nielsen TV Ratings viewing diaries? Nielsen Media Research Inc., also known as Nielsen TV Ratings, gathers information about television viewing of adults, teenagers, and children across the United States.

My husband and I agreed to participate in this survey that is currently being held during May, one of the four “sweeps” months. Our diary week was May 1-7, so throughout this period our assignment was to record the name of each show we watched or videotaped, the channel it aired on, and who was watching it at the time. For our diligent efforts, we were rewarded with a crisp one-dollar bill.

Bath Middle School student Elizabeth Martin makes a crayon rubbing of a marker stone for Elizabeth Darling buried in Pineland Cemetery in 1912. Darling’s body had been exhumed from a graveyard on Malaga Island that year.