A Christmas Greeting from PPHS

Her Story: Clara (Moulton) Lord (1852 – 1927)

Clara Priscilla Moulton was born March 30, 1852, the 8^th of 9 children born to William E. and Priscilla (Towle) Moulton in Parsonsfield. Her father built Parsonsfield’s Town House.     

  She became a school teacher as a young woman and married John B. Lord of Cornish in 1878 and the couple settled near her parents in Middle Road Village. They had one daughter, Katherine who married Fred Gale.  Clara continued to teach through most of her adult life and was active in the Union Church of Middle Road Village, where she played the organ at services as long as her health permitted.

        Clara started one of the earliest public libraries in Maine. In 1900 the library had only 24 books, but it quickly grew to 4 or 5 thousand volumes with subscriptions to 15 different magazines. It was housed originally in the “Cass House” on the SW corner of Merrill Hill and Middle Road. We believe she and John lived there for a time, and then moved down the road to the former Silas Ricker House (later known as the Gale House). Neither of these buildings still exists. The library itself grew and was moved across the street to the Masonic Lodge building where it was on the first floor. After her death in 1927, the library lived on for a time. Helen Peers, another Middle Road villager, became the librarian. It finally ceased to exist sometime in the late 1930’s.

        Born in 1852, she did not conform to the role of the stereotypical Victorian woman. She was active in town affairs; she wrote articles for local newspapers; and poetry for her friends and neighbors. One poem, about the demise of the Middle Road Village post office and its effect on the community, was included in the Historical Society’s recent publication – Parsonsfield Maine: A Town of Many Villages.

        She contributed articles to the Sanford Tribune, the Biddeford Record, the Carroll County Independent and the Granite State News. She was also well known for her “Aunt Jerusha” poems. (If anyone has a copy of one of these, please let us know!)

        She was cared for by her younger, unmarried sister, Hattie Moulton during the final years of life.  She passed away September 25, 1927, two months after her husband’s death.  She was buried in a small family cemetery with other family members located off Middle Road just across from where her parents’ home used to be.

Her Story: Eleanor (Syphers) Garner (1911 – 1988)

Eleanor (Syphers) Garner was born in Cornish on August 26, 1911, the daughter of Dr. LeRoi S. and Charlotte (Bolton) Syphers.   

She attended Cornish and South Portland schools and graduated from Gorham Normal School in 1931.  She received her bachelor’s degree in education in 1966 and master’s degree in library science in 1970.  Eleanor taught English and government at Porter High School and was librarian at Sacopee Valley High School for 15 years, retiring in 1981.  

Eleanor was very active in women’s club work.  She was a member of the Kezar Falls “21 Club” for 57 years, director of District 13 of the Maine Federation of Women’s Clubs from 1949 to 1951 and president of the Maine Federation from 1956 to 1958.  At the time of her death, she was    parliamentarian of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, New England Regional Conference. 

Eleanor was a member of the United Riverside Methodist Church of Kezar Falls for 39 years, and a member of the United Methodist Women.  She was also a member of the Parsonsfield-Porter Historical Society and president of the Kezar Falls Circulating Library. 

In 1959 Eleanor S. Garner was named in the “Who’s Who of American Women”. 

In 1931 she married Allen F. Garner.  They resided in Kezar Falls and had a son, William A. Garner and daughter, Ruth Elizabeth Garner.  Eleanor died April 2, 1988 at the age of 76.

The Parsonsfield-Porter Historical Society 

wishes everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Her Story: Barbara (Henderson) Korn

Barbara (Henderson) Korn was born on Sept. 16, 1926 in Chicago, Illinois. She was adopted by her maternal grandparents and grew up in Sioux City, Iowa. Barbara received a degree in journalism from the Iowa University and was employed in the advertising department of Julius Garfinkel’s, Inc. in Washington D.C. in 1948. She received her master’s degree in Library Science from Columbia University in 1966. From that point on she was devoted to books and reading and became a lifelong librarian.

She married Gerald (Jerry) Korn in 1948 and they purchased the historic “town farm” in South Parsonsfield in 1966. Barbara became very involved in her community as a volunteer in the Head Start program, York County Born to Read program, and the Limerick Public Library. She was instrumental in reopening the North Parsonsfield Public Library in 1982 and was overseer and voluntary librarian.

Barbara was also well known in Maine historical circles and fought successfully to preserve Parsonsfield’s Old Town House and have it placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Barbara and her husband had three daughters, Ellen, Margaret and Susan. She died November 1, 2008 at the age of 82 after a life of service to her community.

Her Story: Flora Ridlon Carpenter (1898-1998)

Flora Ridlon was born in Porter, October 16, 1897, the youngest of 6 children born to Herbert and Ella Ridlon.  She attended local schools and graduated from Porter High School in 1915 after which she lived at home, taught school at the Black School house and studied voice in Portland and piano in Cornish. From the beginning music was her life.   

In 1920 she completed, in one year, a 2 year course of public school music and voice at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.  She taught 2 years in Kezar Falls and Cornish, 3 years in Martha’s Vineyard, MA as Supervisor of Music and then 1 year in Derry, NH.   

In 1926 she married Walter B. Carpenter and lived in South Portland for 3 years.  She stopped teaching at that time but continued to study voice and was an active member of the Rossini Club of Portland (a prestigious music club). In 1929 they returned to Porter where her son was born in 1932.   

Flora resumed teaching as Supervisor of Music in public schools in Porter and surrounding towns, a position she held for 30+ years retiring in 1958.  She also taught piano and voice to many individual pupils from Porter to Limerick and Freedom, NH.   

She sang solo in her sweet soprano voice at many weddings and private events. In 1936/7 she was a member of the women’s quartet “The Bell Canto Singers” who gained a name for themselves through concerts and radio broadcasts.  

She was active in the Riverside United Methodist Church where she was organist for 20 years and choir director for 30 years.  

She was a member of the Western Maine Music Festival Association, the Maine Educators Association, the 21 Club, and Order of the Eastern Star.  

After a long full life Flora died at the age of 100 in 1998.

HISTORICAL SOCIETY MEMBERS ARE REMINDED THAT OUR ANNUAL POT LUCK THANKSGIVING LUNCHEON WILL BE HELD AT THE WEST-DAY AMERICAN LEGION HALL on Mountain View Avenue, Porter – November 9^th at 1:00 pm.  Please call 625-7019 or e-mail frediler@myfairpoint.net to let us know if you plan to attend, if you are bringing a guest and what you would like to bring to share.

Upcoming Program at History House

Parsonsfield-Porter Historical Society

invites the public to their next meeting

and Free Program

“A New Life for

the Kezar Falls Woolen Mill”

Presented by Scott Mounce

Scott will be talking about his plans, hopes and dreams he and his

brother, Mark, have for the old woolen mill buildings.

Kezar Falls Woolen Mill

Also, drawing of the raffle quilt winner

Saturday, October 19, 2019

at History House

Meeting - 2:00 pm program to follow

92 Main Street

Kezar Falls Village (Rt. 160)

History House