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SEAL COVE AUTO MUSEUM
THE YEAR IN REVIEW
Roberto M. Rodriguez
Executive Director
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Seal Cove Auto Museum
The Year in Review
MAY:
The Seal Cove Auto Museum welcomed its new Executive Director, Roberto M. Rodriguez,
on May 11 and the final push began to position the collection for the Museum’s opening.
Volunteers pushed, shoved, and cajoled automobiles into position. The exhibition layout
was designed to evoke the first car shows of the 1900s with bunting and featured cars on
platforms.
With telephone lines run, office spaces set up,
floors cleaned, text panels in place, gift shop
ready… the Museums kicked off its 2009 season,
opening to the public on May 22.
Only five visitors showed up on opening day, all
rather skeptical… ‘Thought everything had been
sold off’. Their reaction after looking around…
‘We can actually see the cars’. By the end of the
Memorial Day weekend, 96 visitors had toured the
Museum.
Visitors enjoyed ‘discovering’ the collection in the
‘middle of nowhere’. All were curious about Richard Paine. Many visitors knew about the
auction and were interested in the auction results. (Auction catalog and sale price lists
were made available).
All our visitors liked the new exhibit layout. Our thanks to Betts Swanton for developing
the exhibition and graphic design, for seeing it through fabrication, and for installation.
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Sue Davis fired up the Trust’s 1911 Stanley Model
63 Toy Tonneau on May 30th. This was a high-
production style/model. Although this car has
excellent provenance and history (owned by well-
known members of the early hobby), there are
many other excellent examples of this model in
existence. Therefore, this car makes a very good
demonstration car, for running at special museum
events, and even to go on the road
Activity and events keep the Museum fresh and
vital. The visitors who saw the Stanley running will
never forget their visit to the Museum.
JUNE:
On June 11, we welcomed participants in the 4th
Annual Barnstorming Maine, a classic car road tour
that featured trips along roads less traveled and
through some of the most beautiful and
"undiscovered" parts of Maine. The Maine Tourism
Association presented this classic car road tour
with renowned international racing champion Brian
Redman on board to assist with the arrangements
and serve as advisor for the event.
Bill Warner, founder and C-Chairman of the Amelia
Island Concours D’Elegance was one of the
participants. He was most impressed by our 1915
F.R.P. Touring Car… perhaps it will be invited to
Amelia?
June 17 marked the day when the new Seal
Cove Auto Museum had its official ‘coming out
party’. For the first time, both the Bar Harbor
Chamber and the Southwest Harbor/Tremont
Chamber joined forces for a combined
Business After Hours event.
Our hostess with the mostess, volunteer Sherri
Alley, put together a feast… 200 lobster
sandwiches, Chilean wines, cheeses and dips.
The party was the talk of the Island for weeks
after… the good will and contacts made were
invaluable!
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Rides in the Stanley, guests in period costume, excellent
wine… a truly memorable Business After Hours event!
June 20th, Barbara Fox brings members of the Maine AACA Chapter for a visit.
Return visitors like the new look, new visitors love the cars!
Groups like these seniors on a Harbor House outing, help push visitation to new records.
Both the AACA and the seniors visit on the same day… busy!
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JULY:
July 4th , the Seal Cove Auto Museum was front
and center in the Bar Harbor parade leading the
antique automobiles. Museum volunteer and part
time employee Cordell Snow kindly used his
personal Model T to drive the Museum’s Director
in the parade.
The decision was made to get the Museum’s 1927
Model T Ford running for use in future parades
and car shows.
On July 14, the Museum hosted Bastille Day in association with the MDI
Historical Society. Vin, fromage, et baguettes… a gastronomic delight and a
wonderful new group of people, the members of the Mount Desert Island
Historical Society, were introduced to the Museum. We toasted the Peugeot,
sing the Marseilles, and exhibited a unique poster ‘France toujours! France
Quand Meme!’ that was recovered from the old Richard Paine garage and
sheds down the road.
The Museum’s volunteers had spent days in heat, filth, mold, and probably
vermin, cleaning out the garage… amazing what treasures were left behind.
July continued to set record visitation numbers as rain came down day after day. 154 wet
visitors, a new record, came by on July 24th. The Museum was also well into a successful
“Charter” membership drive, attracting old and new friends ranging from members of the
Paine family to visitors who want to support the Museum’s new direction.
AUGUST:
August is traditionally the busiest month on the Island with an event or fundraiser of one
sort or another held every weekend. The Seal Cove Auto Museum was no exception in
wanting to host an event, and on August 11 a new tradition was created… Kid’s Day. Our
theme was a birthday celebration for the Museum’s 100 year old cars.
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Rides in our
Model T, croquet on the lawn, birthday cake,
balloons, games, dress up, and activities… by day’s
end 180 visitors, big and small, had been through
the Museum.
An event like Kids’ Day depends on the efforts and
goodwill of volunteers, staff, and sponsors for its
success. Our thanks to our first corporate sponsor
Union Trust, a division of Camden National Bank,
for supporting Kid’s Day and helping make it a great day.
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SEPTEMBER:
Our next big day was September 11… Our Annual General
Meeting, our welcoming new Directors, and our Model T
Day.
Our thanks again to Union Trust, a division of Camden
National Bank, for allowing us the use of their Boardroom
for the Museum’s Annual General Meeting. Our first item
of business at the Meeting was the welcome and
introduction of new Directors Tom Alley, Jan Harding, Liz
McMullan and Bill Ruger.
While the Directors were meeting, members of the Down
East Chapter of the Model T Ford Club of America were
arriving at the Museum in droves.
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Our sincerest thanks and appreciation go to our friends at the Lynam Agency, and Chubb
Insurance for sponsoring Model T Day. Door prizes, refreshments, delicious muffins, and
insurance information for the car collector were part of Lynam’s and Chubb’s gracious
hosting inside the Museum. Outdoors, there were bargains at the ‘flea market’, Fords
everywhere, and wonderful music thanks to Kaveh Haghkerdar.
Model T Day saw 65 members of the Down East Chapter and 102 visitors come to the
Museum.
September 12th the Museum participated in “Lighthouse
Day” a Maine Office of Tourism promotion by offering a
discount to lighthouse visitors. Participation gave us
special mention on the “Visit Maine” website.
September 23rd, we hosted members of the Society for the
Preservation and Appreciation of Antique Motor and Fire
Apparatus of America (S.P.A.A.M.F.A.A.)
September 30th, we attended the Bar Harbor Chamber’s
car show, organized to welcome the maiden voyage of the
Queen Victoria. The Museum displayed its 1927 Model T
and the Executive Director’s Porsche 928. Thanks to Dick
and Barbara Fox for organizing the event and Cordell
Snow for driving the Museum’s car.
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OCTOBER:
The Museum was represented at the ‘Autumn Gold” car show in Ellsworth organized by the
Ellsworth Chamber of Commerce. Cordell Snow showed his personal 1927 Model T for the
Museum (our advertizing on the sides of his car) and won 2nd place. The Executive Director
won 3rd in Imports with his 928.
Thanks to a kind loan from car collector Andy Oldman of
Belmont, Massachusetts, a 1912 Alco four cylinder touring
car, which once belonged to Richard Cushing Paine Jr., is
back on display. Alcos were built by the American
Locomotive Company from 1909 to 1913 and were among the
most expensive American cars of their day, costing in the
$6000-$7000-plus range.
On October 10th, we held a
‘garage sale’ at the old
Paine garage and sheds
down the road from the
Museum. Thanks to
Barbara Fox for organizing
the event, and Jan and
John Harding for helping. The garage sale earned over
$500 for the Museum.
Meanwhile at Hershey, PA…. Many thanks to Tommy and Sheila Alley for representing the
Museum and selling off some $300 in ‘garage find’ items.
On October 10th, while the Garage Sale was going on, the Executive Director was
displaying the Museum’s Model T Ford at the Fourteenth Annual Mount Desert
Island Fall Celebration, Acadia's Oktoberfest & Food Festival.
Our last regular public day was October 12th. By closing time at 5 pm, 5,385
visitors had been welcomed to the Museum over the 2009 season.
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Board Director Tommy Alley accepts the Bar Harbor Chamber’s 2009 Sustaining Member
Business of the Year Award, presented to the Seal Cove Auto Museum on October 16, 2009.
Thanks to Cordell Snow, Don McFarland, Tommy Alley, and Dick Fox for getting the Corbin
running for the October 18th Klingberg Antique Auto Show, and to Trust for allowing us to
do so. The show was unfortunately cancelled due to bad weather but the Museum did get a
photo and mention on the Klingberg web site.
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LOANS & DONATIONS:
The Board of Directors of the Seal Cove Auto Museum is grateful for the support that it has
been given by its Volunteers, Charter Members, and the Mount Desert Island Community.
Support comes in many forms, it may be financial, it may be through giving freely of
volunteer time, or it may be by loaning or donating an object to the Museum.
Columbia Ordinary on loan from Edward S. Bromage.
1939 Custer Car on loan from Blaine Haynes.
1930 Cadillac Touring donated for resale by Elias Nyberg.
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1910 Bronson Sporting Wagon on loan from Skyline
Farm.
Thanks as well to Cordell Snow for his loans of
automobilia, Roberto Rodriguez for his loan of a 1910
Kodak camera, car models, and White Sewing Machine
and special thanks to Richard and Barbara Fox for their
loan of driving apparel, a dressmaker’s dummy, and
countless hours of volunteer time.
After Richard Paine’s death, a new board was
chosen for the Museum with a mission to preserve
its core collection, and keep the Paine Legacy alive.
The board works with the Richard C. Paine, Jr.
Automobile Collection Charitable Trust., which
owns most of the cars on display at the Museum, to
find ways to continue to make the Paine collection
accessible to the public.
Our profound thanks and appreciation to the
Richard C. Paine, Jr. Automobile Collection
Charitable Trust for its support, not only through
the long term loan of the finest of Richard Paine’s automobiles but also through its
financial support and the initiation of mutually beneficial projects.
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We were very proud to assist Richard and Nancy
Fraser with the reprinting of their updated book, A
History of Maine Built Automobiles & Motorized
Vehicles 1834-1934.
The printing of this book was a cooperative venture,
made possible partially through generous financial
grants from the Owls Head Transportation
Museum’s Lang Education Center and Library, the
Seal Cove Auto Museum, and the Richard C. Paine,
Jr. Automobile Collection Charitable Trust.
THE BOARD of DIRECTORS:
Peter L. Murray, Esq.
President
Barbara Fox
Vice President
Joel Gratwick
Secretary
Susan S. Davis
Treasurer
William W. Alcorn
Director
Thomas Alley
Director
Peter Brown
Director
Jan Harding
Director
Elizabeth McMullan
Director
William B Ruger, Jr.
Director
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CHARTER MEMBERS:
In alphabetical order
William W Alcorn
Tom Alley
Paul & Felicia Baresel
Charlottle T Bordeaux
Peter Boyce
Ted & Joan Bromage
Sharon Broom
Peter Brown
Richard A Carlson
Sherwood Carr
Vincent P Cassidy
Sylvia & John Constable
Susan Davis
Deborah M Dyer
Steven J Elgart
Barbara & Richard Fox
Joel & Becky Gratwick
Peter V Hanson
Susan Pope Hays
CW Hemingway
Jack & Rita Henne
Bar Harbor Historial Society
Rod & Linda Husky
Robert Kinghorn
Chris Koch
Diane Kopec
Betts Swanton
Tom Lange
Liz McMullan
Charles B Morrill
David R Moss
Peter Murray
Elias Nyberg
Glen & Linda Paulsen
Frank & Betsy Roberts
Hilda K & Thomas H Roderick
Roberto & Krysia Rodriguez
Carl Rudnick
William B Ruger, Jr.
Richard I Stanley
Patricia Tierney
Heidi Welch
Tina & Brad Weeks
Diana & Nicholson White
Penelope S Wolfe
Erwin B Zimmerman
Bonhams
The Yarborough Family
The Maine Region AACA
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DID YOU KNOW?
This photo of volunteer Sheri alley, posing in the
1910 Stoddard Dayton, appears on the cover of
Proper Cars, True Ladies, the limited edition 2010
Pre War Car snapshot calendar published by Pre
War Post War Publishing, Amsterdam, the
Netherlands.
Visit their website at www.prewarcar.com
The Seal Cove Auto Museum is on Facebook. Visit www.facebook.com, set up an account,
and become a fan.
Photos of the best in the collection can be found in Google Images, Yahoo Images, Picassa
Web, the NYTimes.com Collectible Cars Share & View Photo Gallery, and Jay Leno’s
Garage. A Google search of ‘Seal Cove Auto Museum’ reveals some 2,180 references.
You can see two different videos featuring the Museum, Brass With Class: A Tour of the Seal
Cove Auto Museum and The Seal Cove Auto Museum on YouTube at www.youtube.com.
The Trust’s magnificent 1913 Peugeot Skiff once belonged to
opera star James Melton. A photo of it, before its restoration,
appears on page 146 of his book Bright Wheels Rolling. The
auto was given to Melton by Mr. William Leeds of New York
City, and was considered by Melton as one of the finest cars in
his collection. The big 135 m.m. by 935 m.m. tires were
acquired by him from a dealer who had saved them since
World War I.
The Executive Director is delighted to have become acquainted
with James Melton’s daughter, Marjorie Melton Nutt. She lives
in Norwich Vermont, close to the Director’s home, and will be
the Museum’s guest of honor at an ‘Evening at the Opera’
event a in 2010. ‘Margo’ maintains a wonderful blog where
she remembers her father and his cars.
http://jamesmeltonmusicalcareerantiquecars.blogspot.com
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This rather cheesy ad was used to promote James
Melton’s Autorama Museum in Hypoluxo Florida back
in the 1950s. We are on the lookout for a wrench like
the one pictured to work on the Trust’s 1903 Curved
Dash Olds.
Isabel Weld Perkins (1877-1948), mostly known as Isabel
Anderson after her marriage, published children’s books. This
charming illustration is from one of her books, Captain Ginger’s
Fairy, published in 1909. The words on the door of her
spectacular 1911 American Victoria Underslung read, Captain
Ginger ~ In Virtue Vis surrounding Mrs. Anderson’s monogram.
To find out more about the Andersons and their cars visit the Larz
Anderson Auto Museum in Brookline MA (www.larzanderson.org)
but you can see Isabel’s American Underslung only at the Seal
Cove Auto Museum.
PARTING SHOT:
The Board of Directors and Staff of the Seal Cove Auto Museum wish you a most Happy and
Prosperous New Year and look forward to seeing you at the Museum in 2010.