Some time ago I posted this picture from David Leavitt’s collection. It shows six women standing at a counter in Edna Hutchins’ Store in Corinna. At the time I was not sure of the identity of each lady. I’m now pretty sure they are named correctly in the caption I have added at the bottom of the picture: Mrs. Emery, Inga Ireland, Rose Tibbetts, Edna Hutchins, Sadie Wilber, Edith Ireland.
Can anyone share more about these ladies? Post your comments below.
Anyone else remember Edna? She ran the hot lunch program at the elementary school in town. I remember her standing over me in the lunch room, making sure I ate the spinach. Although this picture was taken many years earlier, that is definitely her standing behind the counter.
I think Edna’s store was in the Odd Fellows Building. (Anyone know for sure about this?). It was built on the north side of Main Street in the first decade of the 1900’s. You can see the store front on the first floor in the picture below.
In the next picture, taken from the belfry of the Stewart Library Building, you can see Main Street on a winter day in 1908. The Odd Fellows Building is in the center. The set of buildings now known as Traditions shows just beyond the intersection, near the upper center. Many will remember it as Pearson’s Store. The belfry of the Methodist Church can be seen in the upper left.
Notice the hillside to the East of the village, almost all open fields. Today most of that area is woodland.
In 1948, to make room for the expansion of the woolen mill, the Odd Fellows Building was moved across Main Street, turned around, and placed on steel girders over the river.
In 2000 when most of the buildings on Main Street were demolished for the EPA Superfund Eastland Woolen Mill clean-up, this building was declared to have historic value by the Maine Historic Preservation Commission. Federal money (the EPA) could not be used to demolish it. It was moved again. Now it sits on the Stetson Road. You will know it as the Farmer’s Table Restaurant.
Photo credit: David Leavitt Collection
I would love to see someone take a currant shot of the exact same spot or as close as possible, to all of the old pics on here or any on these FB sites for the towns of Maine.
That would be interesting to see.
With allowance for sp differences, I submit the following:
Mrs. Emery, b. 1850 Elberta Mills, m. Alvin Emery, ch. Edna Adell Emery.
Inza May Ireland, 1882-1916, dau druggist Edwin and Mattie Folsom. m. Rollie Ireland 1906, so this dates the photo 1906-1916.
Rose Mason Tibbitts, 1861-1944, m. George A. Tibbetts. Lived in farmstead later occupied by James, Zelda and Kenneth Emerson.
Edna Hutchins, b. 1880, m. Everett Hutchins. Milliner in census records.
Sadie Wilber, unknown to me, speculate she was Bangor salesperson.
Edith Ireland, unknown, but possibly Eva Ireland, 1850-1926, who could have been shopping with her dau-in-law, Inza (I believe she was classmate of Edna).
Thanks, Carl. Interesting details.
Do you know if Edna’s store was indeed in the Odd Fellows Building?
With Carl Smith’s permission I will copy his comment from Facebook/Corinna Memories here in the comment section.
Carl says,”Cannot id the photo location, but the Emerys in 1902 purchased a store, I assume for Edna, on the S side of Main St on the E end. On the 1875 map it appears as Morse store W of Inza Folsom Ireland’s father, Edwin Folsom’s drug store.”
Everett Simpson posted the following reply about the location of Edna’s store on Facebook. I have copied it here without his permission. Everett said, “I believe that Edna Hutchins owned and operated a millinery shop in the Odd Fellows Building, at the building’s original location on the north side of Main Street in Corinna. Edna is pictured (center) behind the counter. The photo represents the ladies’ clothing styles of the 1900-1910 Victorian era Corinna.”
This is a test of the comment system