Under President Kitty Wheeler, trustees met in the spring of 2000 with some of the county's community leaders to evaluate the nonprofit organization and define how it could improve its usefulness to the community. Putting its collections on-line and staffing for year-round accessibility were identified as ways to fulfill the association's educational purpose.

To address this, Trustees voted last October to expand the director's job to a full-time position and engage in a formal development effort to secure the support necessary to better meet its mission. I believe the association has made real progress which will not only help sustain LCHA but make the association a more meaningful player in this growing county. There are new generations who do not know much about our past as well as many new families and retirees whom LCHA can help educate about Lincoln County's role in American history.

According to the by-laws LCHA exists to preserve and maintain the properties of the association, which include the Pownalborough Court House in Dresden (1761) and the Old Lincoln County Jail (1809) in Wiscasset, to care for and augment the collections that relate to Lincoln County, to provide museums for the display and interpretation of these objects; to promote research and educational opportunities and to publish findings relating to Lincoln County history, crafts, archives and culture; and to cooperate with other organizations in Maine which are engaged in historic preservation, conservation and research.

Many volunteer hours, generous contributions of its membership and support from the Lincoln County Commissioners, who contribute funds for the former jail, have provided the means to maintain and preserve the properties and the nearly 8,000 objects that make up the collection. Other income sources including admissions and shop sales help defray costs of insurance, security, painting, groundskeeping, structural and masonry repairs as well as the purchase of archival folders and acid-free boxes and window shades that guard against UV rays, and most important, a trained staff.

The association's programming includes a winter lecture series, beginning February 2, this year with support from the Maine Humanities Council. A quarterly newsletter, "The Chronicle,'' containing historical excerpts as well as organizational items and a calendar of events, is sent to the more than 300 members, area libraries and historical societies. By appointment, the current exhibition, On Eagles' Wings: Symbols of Patriotism, may be viewed in Wiscasset. Under preparation for the next season is a show exploring piracy, one of the crimes for which people were put in the Lincoln County Jail.

In her first year, Peggy Shiels, Executive Director, designed an educational program that complements Maine's Learning Results. Directed at every grade level, it allows for traveling exhibits and slide shows when field trips are not possible. A grant from the Margaret Burnham Charitable Trust will help cover costs of this program.

New trustee Alan Hawkins, Superintendent of the Wiscasset School Department, will be a welcome asset as he implemented Maine's Learning Results with the local curriculum. We hope all Lincoln County teachers and program chairs for local organizations will inquire about our capabilities and artifacts.

The Pownalborough Court House, which the association bought after the jail was transferred from the County, hosts an annual tradition when a Memorial Day service is held in the ancient cemetery and complimentary tours of the pre-Revolutionary Court House are offered. Last year docent training was improved with new guides, supported by another grant from the Maine Humanities Council. The association is also a member of the Maine Tree Farm Program, taking care of the nearly 90 acres it holds along the Kennebec, an historic lot that is also home to wildlife and native plants.

In the planning stage with Maine's Department of Transportation, the Court House will be among 20 sites along the Kennebec Chaudiere, the corridor that extends from Quebec to Popham. This international project is intended to stimulate the economy and develop tourism. To that end, a master landscape plan will be undertaken as well.

In its early years, the Lincoln County Museum was open to the public nearly year-round, with rotating exhibitions that kept pace with the energy of its founder, Mildred Burrage. Marguerite Rafter was among the group that secured inclusion of the village of Wiscasset on the National Register of Historic Places.

Objects are loaned from time to time, especially photos from the Joseph Leighton Collection, to neighboring historical groups but access for research has been a seasonal problem.

To accomplish its work, the association appealed to the community in November and is happy to report a favorable return. Yet its goal of $15,000 remains to be met, according to Development Chair, Larry McFaddin.

Trustees are Susan Blagden, Sally Crane, Carla Dickstein and Alan Hawkes, Wiscasset; Margaret Stern and Jack Swanton, Westport; Les Fossel, Alna; Nate Clark and Harold Shorette, Dresden; Andrew Abello, Suzanne Carlson, Benjamin Kirkland and Erika Soule, Edgecomb; and Kate Thompson and Martha Frink, Newcastle.

Membership in Lincoln County Historical Association is open to the public. Enjoy the Sunday At Two Series, get involved as you make new friends and share in LCHA's legacy as a living part of Lincoln County culture. To reach LCHA, call 882-6817, write to P.O. Box 61, Wiscasset, ME 04578 or e-mail lcha@wiscas set.net.