As we approach the dawn of the twenty first century we recognize that the twentieth century saw the evolution of the Town of Cumberland from an agrarian/maritime community to a bedroom community of Portland. The population of the Town increased nearly three times what it was in 1900, while we are educating more than five times as many students. With the Town Meeting gone, local government appears to some residents to becoming further removed from the people. With all this being said Cumberland is still a pretty good place to live and raise a family. But with this changing community is there a way to hold on to the lessons of the past while living today and planning for the future?
Collaboration and cooperation are two of the threads which help to hold the fabric of community together. The Chebeague Island Historical Society is committed to preserving the story of Chebeague's past, while helping to sustain the island and its institutions. Through the years the Society has supported the efforts of organizations such as the Cumberland Mainland and Islands Trust, the Chebeague Island Library, the Chebeague Island School, and the Chebeague Island Council. In 1995 the Historical Society participated in the celebration of the one hundred fortieth anniversary of the building of the Great Chebeague United Methodist Church. This partnership was especially important because the Church had experienced some financial difficulties. The Methodist Church's roots run deep on the Island extending back- to before 1810. Therefore the annals of the Church are intertwined with the history of Chebeague.
The results of this collaboration included a series of musical vignettes depicting the story of Chebeague in fact, fantasy and folklore. The show played to standing room only audiences and everyone who came left with a better understanding of the Island and its past. The audience learned that although Chebeague had been a part of the Town of Cumberland since the Town was incorporated in 1821 that relations between the island and the town had sometimes been strained. After the Civil War Chebeague paid nearly 40% of the property tax, was home to more than one third of the inhabitants of the Town as well as nearly half of the school age children but the inhabitants still had to sue the Town to guarantee that its first road would be built.
One scene depicted the 1950 s dream of Chebeague to have a bridge to the mainland. Although the dream turned into a nightmare w hen folks thought about how the island might have changed the audience gained an understanding of how things were back in the fifties when most of the young people moved off the island and the Chebeague high School closed.
During World War II several hundred soldiers were stationed on Chebeague, and at least twenty island girls married soldiers. Their story was told complete with jitterbuggers and a jukebox. Leaving no stones unturned the integration of the summer rusticator into the island community was also depicted. Conflicts were not confined to fighting with the Town or trying to indoctrinate the summer people for there were times when dissension arose between islanders. And then there were the vamily connections. Chebeague is still typical of many small New England hamlets, for many of the inhabitants are descendants of the island s earliest residents. One historically accurate scene said it all when the audience discovered that all ten women and girls were named Mary Hamilton while all of the seven men and boys were John Hamilton! It is no wonder that people on Chebeague say there is a little bit of Hamilton in all of us!
By knowing about the past we can better understand the present. Chebeague Island Historical Society will continue to educate the citizens of Cumberland about what has been as we plan for the future.