PARIS — Walking through the doors of Market Square Restaurant is like taking a step back in time.
This faux time machine takes the form of six black and white murals featuring photos of Oxford Hills and its inhabitants from eras gone by. It’s the culmination of a year-long project between South Paris restaurant owners Scott and Tisha Gilbert, mural maker Terry Swett and local historians Ben Conant, Sid Gordon and Lucille Hodsdon.
The group, along with Lucille Hodsdon’s husband, Paul Hodsdon, visited the restaurant last week to survey the fruits of their labor. Under the West Paris mural situated on the wall that abuts the restrooms and kitchen area is a portrait of a man sporting what looks like a train conductor’s hat crouching behind two bushels of apples.
“Paul, do you know the old guy with the apples?” Swett asked Paul Hodsdon.
He wasn’t sure who the mystery apple man was but spotted a photo in the same mural of a modified Ford Model T. He said an acquaintance’s father ordered it special from Ripley & Fletcher, located just down the road from where they were standing, during the 1920s.
“They built it special for him so he could take the back seat and fenders and stuff off and it would be a pick up (for his apple orchards),” Paul Hodson said.
Also part of the West Paris mural was a portrait of the late Joe Perham, who was a well-known Maine humorist.
“I had him for two years in high school in English,” Gordon said as he strolled over to the wall, taking in all the photographs. “Never a dull moment.”
The largest mural features Norway and some iconic photos that natives and transplants alike can identify, including the giant snowshoe that stood at the forks in the road erected by Snocraft during the 1940s and photos of Tom Ryan’s shoe store, including the coach that looked over visitors from the roof. Lucille Hodsdon pointed to a photo of the Jackson Market.
“That’s gone now. That’s the grange hall,” she said, sliding her finger over to another photograph.
There was a fountain of local knowledge between the historians at the restaurant last week, each of whom helped fill the others in on the details of the photos. This included a house that was moved by truck close to where the Gingerbread House now stands on Main Street in Norway.
“It’s great to see them having such fun looking about it since they’re the source of the pictures,” Swett said about the historians.
The project began when Tisha Gilbert requested Swett make signs to display above the restaurant’s windows, representing the towns patrons who frequent the restaurant.
Once he got thinking, Swett realized there needed to be more than simply name-bearing signs. That’s when he tapped the historians to help him with the project, which includes murals for Harrison, Waterford and beyond, South Paris, Oxford and Market Square Restaurant itself, above the counter area, which sports photos before the addition to the building, former owners and even a menu. There’s photos of the Country Way Famous Smorgasbord Restaurant, Dairy Joy in Paris, kids giving each other hair cuts and the Snow Falls Inn in West Paris. There’s the Little Brown Bag Multi Purpose Function Hall in Oxford, Stephen King’s home in Lovell, the Rex Theater in Norway and a majestic image of the Poland Spring Hotel before it burned down. Conant looked at some of the images he contributed with admiration.
“It’s just the way I like it. I enjoy sharing,” Conant said about having photographs from his collection on display. He then looked at Gordon and added, “He’s got one of the best collections in the state.”
Gordon confirmed he’s been collecting old photographs, glass and film negatives, postcards and the like since 1954. The historians opened up their collections to Swett and let him have at it, helping him gather all of the images for the six murals.
It took Swett more than three hours to put up the murals — each one is a large sticker that he printed.
Scott Gilbert is pleased with the results so far. Since the murals went up last week, people have come into the restaurant and wandered around, some taking a trip down memory lane.
“I had a couple of guys here yesterday who could have named everyone in those photos. I couldn’t believe it,” Gilbert said, pointing specifically to the South Paris mural. “There’s been a lot of change since I’ve been here for 40 years, but some of that is really old.”
He added he and Tisha had many old photographs given to them, including some from the former restaurant owners, but not as many featured in the murals.
“I’ve looked at them twice and I can look again,” Scott Gilbert said. “I’m sure I haven’t seen some of them.”
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