A new museum in Bucksport, Maine, is honoring the history of the former Bucksport paper mill, which closed down a decade ago. The Bucksport Paper Mill Museum, housed in the former gatehouse at the mill’s main entrance, features memorabilia from the mill’s decades of operation. One of the central displays is a collection of lunch baskets that belonged to former mill workers, including Chip Stubbs and his father. These lunch pails hang from the ceiling as a tribute to the people who worked at the mill.
The museum, which will have a soft opening on Labor Day, showcases items such as the first and last pieces of paper the mill ever made, a panoramic aerial photo of the site, and the original sign when it was part of Maine Seaboard Paper Co. The current displays take up 700 square feet of space, but the museum plans to expand into the rest of the building over time. Volunteers have worked to preserve the industrial look of the interior.
Stubbs, a Bucksport native who worked in the mill for over 40 years, hopes the museum will educate visitors about the history of papermaking and allow former mill workers to reminisce about their time at the mill. The museum is still accepting donations of memorabilia, including more lunch pails. While the official opening is expected next year, visitors are welcome to stop by during volunteer work days. The soft opening will be held on Labor Day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the following day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with a special procession to commemorate the mill workers.
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