A Walk Along Main Street--A Review

    My friend, Ann Morris, of the Rockland Historical Society did a terrific job of giving us a book to carry on a walking tour of Rockland, Maine’s Historic Main Street. It’s just the right size to carry with you, including a map starting at 300 Main Street with the Spear Block, and ending at Schofield White Park where the Ferry Terminal is today.

I must admit that when I was growing up and made many trips up and down that very Main Street, I never thought of the history of the place; of the fact that many of the buildings would someday be listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. As a kid I couldn’t remember what the different blocks were called. I didn’t know the Berry Block from the Bird Block. Come to find out there is more than one Berry Block. No wonder I was confused.

I also enjoyed the historical synopsis of Rockland and the surrounding area which appears in the front of the book. I have read many such histories and I always learn something new when I read them. This time I learned how one of my favorite places, The Courier Gazette building came to be and how the Courier got its name when the two existing papers Rockland Courier and Rockland Gazette merged in 1882 to form The Courier Gazette.

(Another such merger took place in modern times when the Camden Herald and The Courier Gazette became The Herald Gazette when both publications were taken over by the Village Soup organization. That name didn’t stick, however, for over 100 years like The Courier Gazette did. I see that the paper is now called The Village Soup Gazette. Somehow that name just doesn’t fit the area and its traditions. Just saying.)

I wish the pictures in A Walk Along Main Street were bigger, but I can understand why they aren’t. I know it’s very expensive to produce a book with pictures in it these days. Besides, they fit the format of a walking tour and make for easier reference. It is better that the accompanying type was able to be more comprehensive with the smaller pictures.

I did see a few format problems in the book and one sentence construction problem, but they didn’t detract from the overall content of the book, especially the capsules of each entry listing what each block or building started out as; who occupied them; and what they are today.

Many of the buildings and blocks listed in the book are either on the National Registry of Historic Places or are waiting to be included. It’s amazing how many of them there are. I commend the Rockland Historical Society and the other sponsors of this great little book: Rockland Main Street, Inc.; Knight Marine; The Reading Corner; Planet Toys; Pen Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce; George Holmes Jeweler, LLS; John and Mary Alice Bird; Maine Boats Homes & Harbors; Pinnacle Creative; E.C. Moran Insurance; Gerald Weinand, Architects; The Free Press; Johathan Frost Gallery; Puffin’s Nest.

You did a great job, Anne. Congratulations on a job well done, everyone.  Thank you.