All Over By Christmas: World War I
On June 28, 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the throne of Austro-Hungary, and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were assassinated by a Bosnian Serb named Gavrilo Princip. The objective of the group he represented, called the “Black Hand,” was to break up the Austro-Hungarian Empire and to consolidate the Slavic states that had been absorbed by the Austro-Hungary Empire back into one country, Yugoslavia. Initially everyone considered the incident a little flare-up that would be over by Christmas.
Unfortunately, this prediction was optimistic. Although the United States didn’t enter the War – now called “The War to End All Wars” – until 1917 , the Americans played an enormous role in bringing the war to a close. This success came with great sacrifice at home, and Maine was no exception. The Buxton-Hollis Historical Society is recognizing this war, which radically challenged the social order, in several different venues.
Our May program with Mr. Humiston, of the Maine Military Museum and Learning Center, will introduce us to US military history and some of the tangible paraphernalia relating to it. We hope that those of you who have memorabilia, including letters and pictures, from World War One will share them with us that evening.
Memorial Bridge was constructed after the old bridge was washed out by the 1936 floods. The towns decided to dedicate the new bridge to the veterans who served in World War One. The demolition of that bridge in order to make way for a new one will begin soon in 2015. We will commemorate the old bridge and all it stood for at our Annual Meeting in November. Again, we hope you will share with us your stories and artifacts about the bridge and about the brave veterans whom it memorializes. You may want to visit the following website to read more detail about Memorial Bridge’s historical importance and a recommended alternative to demolition/rebuilding:
http://www.historicbridges.org/bridges/browser/bridgebrowser=maine/barmills/
Unfortunately, this prediction was optimistic. Although the United States didn’t enter the War – now called “The War to End All Wars” – until 1917 , the Americans played an enormous role in bringing the war to a close. This success came with great sacrifice at home, and Maine was no exception. The Buxton-Hollis Historical Society is recognizing this war, which radically challenged the social order, in several different venues.
Our May program with Mr. Humiston, of the Maine Military Museum and Learning Center, will introduce us to US military history and some of the tangible paraphernalia relating to it. We hope that those of you who have memorabilia, including letters and pictures, from World War One will share them with us that evening.
Memorial Bridge was constructed after the old bridge was washed out by the 1936 floods. The towns decided to dedicate the new bridge to the veterans who served in World War One. The demolition of that bridge in order to make way for a new one will begin soon in 2015. We will commemorate the old bridge and all it stood for at our Annual Meeting in November. Again, we hope you will share with us your stories and artifacts about the bridge and about the brave veterans whom it memorializes. You may want to visit the following website to read more detail about Memorial Bridge’s historical importance and a recommended alternative to demolition/rebuilding:
http://www.historicbridges.org/bridges/browser/bridgebrowser=maine/barmills/