BANGOR — The story of Bangor’s Great Fire of 1911 is being told in a new way thanks to the Bangor Historical Society, Maine Discovery Museum and fourth-graders from Bangor’s Fairmount School and Mary Snow School. “What Minverva Saw” is the recently released children’s book about the fire written and illustrated by the students based on their research of the event that nearly destroyed Bangor’s downtown. The book’s authors received their first copies on June 11 at the Maine Discovery Museum.
“Minerva is a ship’s figurehead that graced the front of the Stetson building at 180 Exchange St. during the Great Fire,” said Melissa Gerety, historical society executive director said. “She survived and this book tells the story of the fire from ‘her’ point of view.”
The students spent five weeks researching, illustrating and writing the book’s text. Hundreds of illustrations were created and while only a few were able to be used, historical society and museum personnel are working to create an art show to showcase all of the work.
“Thanks to Emera Maine and the King Foundation we were able to go into the schools and work with the students to help them create something lasting while teaching them about an important part of Bangor’s history,” said Niles Parker, Maine Discovery Museum executive director
Copies of the book will be available to the public at the Maine Discovery Museum, 74 Main St., and the Bangor Historical Society, 159 Union St.
For information, call 942-1900 or visit bangorhistoricalsociety.org.