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Upcoming events:
Tuesday, January 6, 2026 (please note, date change) -Remembering Cape sports stories from the 1950s and 1960s
The Hot Stove League will be alive and well on January 6, 2026 when former Cape Elizabeth High School athletes gather at the library to reminisce about sports in the 1950s and 1960s in Cape Elizabeth.
The 1950s featured a state basketball championship and the opening of a new gym as well as success in baseball under coach Durwood Holman. While girls sports were not as prominent in the 1950s, Cape did have a girls softball team and a bowling club as well as the Girls Athletic Association to offer "desirable physical activity.” The 1960s saw more success in basketball and baseball as well as increased opportunities for girls.
The night's panel will consist of Carol Barber, Sue Weatherbie, Keith Weatherbie, Harold Pachios and Steve Hill. In the story-telling spirit of the evening, other athletes from the 50s and 60s are urged to attend and share their memories. We welcome ports fans of all ages!
Contact Steve Hill with any questions or suggestions at stevenshill1950@gmail.com. The presentation will be held from 6:30-8 p.m. in the Community Room of the Thomas Memorial Library. The program is free and light refreshments will be provided.
Tuesday, February 10, 2026 - Every Picture Tells a Story - History of the Casco Bay Lines
In the 1930’s, when Casco Bay Lines Capt. Earl Stockton left Cliff Island, he headed his boat to Little Chebeague Island. At the end of the wharf was a white plank. If the plank was horizontal the boat just continued to Long Island. If it was vertical, he knew that Archie Ross had dug clams that morning and wanted to get them to Portland. So, he docked to pick them up.
These unscheduled stops made the Casco Bay Lines – the oldest continuously operating year-round service in the country – a lifeline for islanders through the years.
“Every Picture Tells a Story,” is a slide show by Capt. Larry Legere, illustrating the ferry from 1894-1966. “Every one of the almost 50 photographs I will present has a tale,” Legere says. “Over the years, I have been able to collect many rare photos and the stories that go with them.”
Legere spent 44 years at Casco Bay Lines as crewman, Captain, Supervisor and unofficial historian. His experience started at a young age when his father, Capt. Edward Legere, took him along on the boats. While his father started the collection of photos, his son has added to them over the years. They form an overview of early water travel in Casco Bay.
Legere grew up in Cape Elizabeth. He graduated from Cape Elizabeth High School in 1974, and began working at Casco Bay Lines as a deckhand in 1973.
He attended Jacksonville University in Florida, studying history for two years before coming home and getting his Captain’s license at the age of 21. After several years he earned his Third Mate Ocean’s License and served in the Merchant Marine.
When his father purchased the Eagle Tours Sightseeing business, Larry came aboard to man one of the boats. He never stopped moonlighting with Casco Bay Lines and in 1990 finally signed on fulltime as Assistant Operations Manager and then Operations Agent. He currently volunteers at the Cushing Point Musuem at Bug Light Park in South Portland.
The program will start at 6:30 in the Community Room at Thomas Memorial Library. It is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.
A 1904 photo of the steamship Maquoit in Portland Harbor. The name is Native American meaning “Grass Bay,” the name given a body of water near Brunswick. In the background can be seen schooners with five, four and three masts each.
Coming this spring - The Wild Transition from Military Base to Fort Williams Park
Fort Williams, once the largest Army installation in the State of Maine and a bastion in the coastal defense of the City of Portland and Casco Bay for nearly 90 years, never fired its impressive array of cannons at an enemy.
And yet, the fort’s closure in 1962 triggered a battle of its own. For more than a decade and ahalf, discussion, debate, and argument about what would become of the 90+ acres of Cape Elizabeth shorefront dominated local politics and triggered many discussions at the dinner table.
Mike McGovern and Jim Rowe will lead the audience through that turbulent era, recalling the prolonged process, the people and their skirmishes which narrowly led to arguably the most beautiful municipal park in Maine.
Past Events
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 - Pirates of New England with Seth Goldstein
Seth Goldstein shared stories of pirates throughout the region. Some of these instances of piracy even took place right here in our back yard of Casco Bay. He introduced us to a rogue’s gallery of sea raiders with connections to New England including Dixie Bull, Edward Low, and “Black” Sam Bellamy.
Tuesday, November 18, 2025 - Stories from CELT's 40 Years - and future plans
To celebrate the 40 years since the founding of the Cape Elizabeth Land Trust, CELT presented a panel discussion about CELT’s role in land conservation for the last four decades. They spoke of CELT's history and plans for the future.
Tuesday, October 14, 2025 - Wabanaki Ghost Stories with Jennifer Rae Pictou
Jennifer Pictou came from Bar Harbor, ME to tell us Wabanaki ghost stories.She told us indigenous stories from the deep woods and waters of Maine. These indigenous stories have been passed down from generation to generation and are still part of vibrant Wabanaki cultures today.
Tuesday, September 9, 2025 - The history of the Cape Elizabeth Fire Department and Rescue
Fire Chief Steve Young and his crew offered dramatic stories, photos and artifacts from past fire and rescue teams that have served the town over many decades.
Tuesday, May 13, 2025 - The history of the Cape Elizabeth Historical Preservation Society
Several speakers shared the highlights and stories of how CEHPS came to be. It all started with an idea Dr. Constance Murray had in 1977.
This was also our annual meeting. The following board was voted in:
President: Bob Dodd
Vice-President: Malisa Gatje
Secretary: Ellen Van Fleet
Treasurer: Tom Meyers
Members at large: Joel Bassett, Jack Boyce, Diane Brakeley, Dick Kempton, Karen Palin
We are currently looking to add more members at large to the board, so if you are interested, please contact us at cehps@capeelizabeth.gov, or speak with any current board member.
We also voted in changes to our bylaws.The bylaws were changed to make board terms all one-year commitments (they were two-years) and to allow for more members to the board.
Tuesday, April 8, 2025 - Free for All: The Public Library
The public library is one of America’s most valued yet endangered institutions, founded on a visionary principle—to create a place where anyone can enter and encounter a universe of ideas, free of charge. this meeting featured a screening of Free For All: The Public Library, which chronicles the evolution of the nation’s public libraries, tracing the battles over who can enter, what belongs there, and who makes these decisions, while exploring how public commons are defined and defended. The movie was followed by a Q&A with TML director Rachel Davis.
Tuesday, February 11, 2025 - The Aucocisco
David Farnham, president of the Falmouth Historical Society, shared what they have learned about the Native People who farmed, fished, hunted, and thrived by Casco Bay before the arrival of English settlers around 1630. Recent research has shown much of what they had been told about the original inhabitants was wrong.
2024
Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024 - Behind the Scenes at Fort Williams
Guest speaker Chris Cutter, Fort Williams Park Coordinator for five years, took us behind the scenes at at the fort. During his tenure he managed the daily logistics and operations of the Fort activities with a staff of rangers and greeters. He told stories of operations at the Fort, from hosting the Beach to Beacon and dozens of weddings each year to managing the flow of visitor traffic at a park that sees close to 500,000 visitors annually.
Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024 - Stories from the Life-Saving Service
Cape resident and Life-Saving Station historian, Don Kennel, led a program on one of our community’s most notable operations from the past. The Life-Saving Station, in operation from 1887 to 1964 when the service was transferred to South Portland by the U. S. Coast Guard, served as the forerunner to today’s Cape Elizabeth WETeam life-saving service.
Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024 - Ralph Gould Collection of antique musical instruments
Jim Rowe led a program on one of Cape Elizabeth’s most revered citizens, Ralph T. Gould (1900-1994). Special focus was placed on his remarkable collection of rare and ancient musical instruments and other stories, photographs, and artifacts from this interesting man’s life!
Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024 - Story of Cape Elizabeth water and sewer: How we got to today
Resident Paul Hunt recently celebrated his 25th year working for the Portland Water District. Paul pulled together many old photographs and some old stories about how, when and why the drinking water and wastewater systems we use today in Cape Elizabeth were constructed.
Tuesday, May 14, 2024 - Veteran Recalls His Posting at Fort Williams (1946-1948) And Annual Meeting
96-year-old Cliff Eaton shared memories of his life as an 18-year-old Army enlistee, whose only station during his military service was at Fort Williams between 1946 and 1948. Cliff’s interesting stories were emhances with original pics that he took (and processed) while exercising his hobby in photography.
This was also our annual meeting, which included election of officers.
Tuesday, April 9, 2024 - From Trolley Park to Seaside Neighborhood: Harry E. Baker and the Development of Cape Cottage Park 1898-1942
Chuck Drake presented the fascinating and nostalgic story of the Cape Cottage Casino area, and its transition from a trolley park to a waterfront neighborhood. The tale starts in 1898, when the Casino was originally built, and continues to 1942 and the beginning of World War II. Chuck showed vintage photos of the Casino and the houses built on the property.He also presented a short biography of Harry E. Baker, Cape’s first townwide real estate developer.
Tuesday, March 12, 2024 - Sea Rescues - Present and Past
Cape Rescue Team members presented a program on sea rescues past and present that have taken place in our region of Maine. The WETeam will talked about their history and their most recent rescues. The audience offered several rounds of applause for these brave people!
Tuesday, February 13 - Cape’s Wandering Schoolhouses – And the one that stayed put
A presentation by Ellen Van Fleet and Bob Dodd, based on a Power Point presentation created by Zoe Bugard. Ever heard of the Ridgeway Schoolhouse? Do you know where it was located? At the time of separation from South Portland in 1898, Cape Elizabeth had four one-room schoolhouses: Bowery Beach, Pond Cove, Spurwink and Ridgeway. Three of the four shuffled around to various sites throughout town history. One stayed put (that is, it remains at its original location today). Together these one-room centers of learning educated generations of Cape Elizabeth children.
2023
Tuesday, December 12 - What the Heck is a Cunner?
Tuesday, December 12 - What the Heck is a Cunner?
A presentation by Matt Taylor, the most senior member of the Venerable Cunner Association and Propeller Club, reportedly the oldest registered social club in America.
A slide show presented by Paul Lawton, Esquire, Naval Historian on the USS Eagle. On 23 April 1945, while towing targets for U.S. Navy bomber exercises off the coast of Maine, Eagle 56 was sunk by the German submarine U-853. The loss was classified as a boiler explosion until 2001, when historical evidence convinced the U.S. Navy to reclassify the sinking as a combat loss due to enemy action. Only 13 of the 62 crew survived.
Saturday, July 15 - Yard sale to raise money for CEHPS
Tuesday, May 16, 2023 - A Fallen Star
CEHPS and the Thomas Memorial Library joined forces to co-sponsor a book launch. "A Fallen Star" by writer/historian Lori-Suzanne Dell, which chronicles the muder of Cumberland County Deputy Sheriff, Ebenezer Parker, a Cape Elizabeth resident.
Thursday, May 11, 2023 - Annual Meeting
2023 Anual Meeting with election of officers, followed by program. Jim Rowe took us through a brief history of CEHPS, culminating with our arrival at our new home at Fort Williams.
2021-2022 Programs
2021-2022 Programs
COVID
2020 Programs
Monday, September 9
Architect Joe Chalet presented preliminary plans for the Spurwink School House.
Monday, October 7
Jim Rowe led a tour of Fort Williams to share the history of the fort and Portland Head Light.
Monday, November 4
We were delighted to welcome musician, music historian, and "one-person folk festival" Katherine Rhoda to our regular monthly meeting at 7:00 P.M at the Cape Elizabeth Community Center. Ms. Rhoda taught us about (and played) the zither!
Monday, December 2
December program was our Christmas Pot Luck Dinner at 6:30 PM at Cape Elizabeth Community Center.
2019 Programs
2019 Programs
Monday, January 7
Ice harvesting in New England. Dick Kempton presented local ice harvesting history along with a film on ice harvesting from Northeast Historic films. Meeting held at 6:30 PM at Cape Elizabeth Community Center
Monday, March 2
Lee Humiston, Director/Curator of Maine Military Museum spoke on military events and people from the local area. He served 26 years in the Air Force. Meeting held at Cape Community Center, 7:00 P.M.
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