We’ll be hosting some of our favorite local authors at the museum this holiday season. All three authors are very knowledgeable in their subject areas and are truly a pleasure to talk with. We invite residents to drop by over the next three Sundays to take in the museum and chat with the author who is visiting with us that day.

This coming Sunday, Nov. 17, Jean Flahive will be with us from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jean is a skilled researcher, talented writer, and the author of many books, some of which include the very popular “Billy Boy,” a novel based on the real story of Billy Laird, a Civil War soldier who was executed at Fort Preble; “Railroad to the Moon” (a spin-off novel from Billy Boy); “The Canoe Maker”, a children’s book about a young boy who goes into the Maine woods with his father, a master canoe maker in the Passamaquoddy tribe; and the children’s book, “The Old Mainer and the Sea,” a fictionalized tale of a day at sea about a real person, a dory fisherman, Eben York, from Chebeague Island, who rowed almost daily into Portland Harbor to sell his catch.

Jean’s latest book was just released in October: “Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride” is a young readers historical fiction that tells the tale of a Maine farm girl who is changed by the arrival of the electric trolley in her community. Jean has woven many interesting facets of local and world history into the story: the fight for women’s right to vote, the outbreak of war in Europe and the entry of the U.S. into World War I, the Spanish flu pandemic, and the construction and operation of the Portland – Lewiston Interurban Railway. The Narcissus is also woven into the story; the Narcissus is the only surviving electric trolley car from that interurban line and is currently undergoing restoration at the Seashore Trolley Museum.

We encourage you to come and chat with Jean Flahive and take in the society’s trains and trolleys exhibit which will be closing at the end of this season. Jean’s books and other local history books are available for purchase in the museum gift shop. Proceeds from sales in the gift shop support the South Portland Historical Society and its museum. In addition, sales of Jean’s new book also support the restoration of the Narcissus at the Seashore Trolley Museum.

The museum at Bug Light Park is now open for its holiday season hours: Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Dec. 22. For more information, call 767-7299 or email the society at sphistory04106@gmail.com.

Kathryn Onos DiPhilippo is executive director of the South Portland Historical Society.

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