BETHEL – The 25th annual Faye Taylor Memorial Art Show will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 29, at the Dr. Moses Mason House Exhibit Hall. This year’s theme is “River Ferries on the Androscoggin.”

Elementary students, grades one through six, in SAD 44 are invited to participate in the show with a finished painting in any medium no larger than 12 by 18 inches. It must be at the Dr. Moses Mason House by 3 p.m. Friday, May 28, to be considered for a prize.

At least three judges will look at all entries on Saturday morning and their decision will be final regarding each entry and how it relates to this year’s theme. No entry will be considered with writing or lettering (except as part of a sign) on the front side.

As always with this show, the theme is designed to celebrate life in the past. Since river ferries were once a common sight on the Androscoggin, it seems appropriate to celebrate them this year.

They were flat-bottomed watercraft with wooden rails on the sides. They also had windlasses on one side, allowing the ferry to be held closer or more distant (as the case might be) from the cable that stretched across the river to hold the ferry in place. This made it possible for the power of the current to move the ferry back and forth with pulleys running along the cable. “Cuts” in each side of the riverbank allowed horse-drawn wagons and carriages (also automobiles up to the 1950s) access and egress to and from the ferries.

All entries must include, on the back side, the student’s full name, telephone number, teacher’s name, grade level and school. Entries are not to be folded. The contest may be a class project or one done at home. All questions should be directed to the society at 824-2908 or e mail [email protected].

Ribbons, certificates and cash prizes will be awarded to the winners in three divisions.

The contest honors the memory of Faye Sanborn Taylor (1908-1972), a local landscape painter, who was interested in encouraging the creative talents of young people. She was also one of the founders of the Bethel Historical Society in 1966.

The art show is one of several activities offered by the Bethel Historical Society to assist students in understanding and appreciating the local and regional past.

Items in good condition (no clothes) are still being collected for the annual St. Never’s Day sale on May 29. Items may be left at the back entrance of the O’Neil Robinson House, 10 Broad St. If pickup is requested, call the society at 824-2908.

The last class of the winter/spring course offered by the Bethel Historical Society, “Canada and Northern New England,” was held on April 29 at the O’Neil Robinson House.

As the session focused on the 20th century, issues such as trade, fisheries agreements, immigration, wartime conditions and border crossing were among those discussed. Two individuals were the focus of discussion as well: Kenneth Colin Irving, who created a multi-billion dollar empire in New Brunswick, and Clarence Decatur Howe, American born in Waltham, Mass., who emigrated to Halifax, Nova Scotia, to teach engineering at Dalhousie University following his graduations from MIT.

Irving’s sons carry on the father’s work and Irving filling stations are now a common sight in northern New England. Irving is also at present the largest landowner in Maine as well.

C. D. Howe went on to become a successful engineer, owning his own firm before entering Canadian politics in 1935, serving in a number of portfolios, in addition to being the trusted adviser and the English-Canadian counterpart to Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent. In World War II, he led the Canadian war supply effort. His parents and sister are buried in East Bethel among the many Bethel relatives at rest in that cemetery.

More information about the society and its activities may be obtained by calling 824-2908, 1-800-824-2910, e-mailing [email protected] or visiting the Web at www.bethelhistorical.org. The mailing address is P.O. Box 12, Bethel, ME 04217-0012.