Some Irish history

The speaker at the April 4 meeting of the Westbrook Historical Society was Eileen Eagan, an associate professor of history at the University of Southern Maine. Her subject was the Irish in the Greater Portland area.

In her talk, she told us that Irish girls coming to the United States worked as domestics cleaning, taking care of children in families, and here in Portland worked in gum and match factories. Irish girls and women also did sewing. The girls lived in dormitories, with a supervisor to watch over them.

The Gorham’s Corner section of Portland is where many Irish families found living quarters. Ms. Eagan told us that Calvary Cemetery in South Portland is an interesting place to visit, as many Irish are buried there. It is interesting to read the names – married women have both their maiden names plus their name after marriage, and many tombstones tell their place of birth in Ireland. She mentioned that many of the Irish children attended North School.

Historical society member Phil Curran also attended North School, after his earlier schooling on Orr’s Island. He said that there were many nationalities there at North School, and referred to the students as “the League of Nations.” Phil has recently had published a book about his Curran family, researching the members from Ireland. It will be fascinating reading, as will be the several books on the Irish that Ms. Eagan brought to the meeting.

Ms. Eagan received her bachelor’s degree from D’Youville College in Buffalo, N.Y., her master’s in history from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and her doctorate in History from Temple University. In addition to teaching 20th-century U. S. history and the history of women in the U.S., she has taught “Crossing Borders: Irish Women’s Migration to America.” Her recent research has focused on the experiences of Irish and Irish-American women in Maine. She is the co-author, with Patricia Finn, of “From Galway to Gorham’s Corner: Irish Women in Portland, Maine.”

We enjoyed her talk and I plan to ask for some of the titles in the public libraries.

At the refreshment hour after the meeting there were several tempting treats, including Donna Conley’s Pumpkin Cake, with cream cheese icing, and Ellie Saunders’ Orange Cake.

Chopin’s warning

In the April 6 New York Times, a 19-year old Ukrainian pianist, Alexej Gorlatch, was pictured as he played a recital in New York’s Weill Hill. Vivien Schweitzer’s review was excellent. Gorlatch played numbers by Schumann, Beethoven and Japanese composer Tokuyama, and concluded with Frederic Chopin’s Opus 10 Etudes and his Polonaise in A flat as an encore.

That gave the reviewer a chance to tell of Chopin’s warning to musicians not to practice more than three hours daily. She wrote that composers would be impressed by the number of young pianists today who possibly ignored Chopin’s warning – “They can toss off pieces with apparent ease.”

It would be a pleasure to hear Alexej Gorlatch. He was the winner of the 2006 Hamamatsu International Competition in Japan, one of several competitions he has already won.

Snowstorm a beauty

Since spring had arrived two weeks earlier, we Mainers were not expecting April snowstorms. But the April 5 storm, with high winds, left several inches of snow throughout the state. Even southern Maine received 10 inches or slightly more. Many trees were blown down, too. Portland’s Caleb Street, off Brighton Avenue, was closed off until a large tree across the road was removed. It took the busy power company workers several days to repair several areas of the state, as many homes and businesses were without power.

But wasn’t it a beautiful storm? Trees and shrubs were completely covered with snow. When the snow started to melt, we were upset to discover that our large forsythia bush and several lilac tree branches had split, as the heavy snow bent them down to the ground. Luckily, several branches were upright again, as the snow cover melted. It was a pleasure to look out the kitchen windows and admire the snow’s beauty after the storm.

Our neighbor’s huge white pine tree, in her back yard, was handsome, covered with snow on its wide branches, as were several bushes, almost lace-like before melting started. Even the ladies who give us TV news were praising the beauty of the heavy snow. We hear that possibly another snowstorm may have arrived by the time you read this.

We can at least think of how welcome May and June will be. We can recite James Russell Lowell’s poem which says ” And what is so rare as a day in June? Then, if ever come perfect days.”

One-dish delight

Today’s recipe is from the Carlean Johnson’s book, “Six Ingredients Or Less.”

TATER TOT CASSEROLE

1-1/2 pounds lean ground beef

1 onion, thinly sliced

Salt and pepper

1 can cream of celery soup

1 (16 once) package Tater Tots

Lightly brown ground beef; drain. Place browned meat in bottom of greased shallow 2-quart baking dish. Spread onion rings over top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread soup over onion rings. Cover with Tater Tots. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until hot. Makes 6 servings.

Ramblings