[Alan Bemis—home movies] Reel 17

Date1937

Abstract2313.0017 Building High Head…Maine 1937 Donor notes: "Building High Head House MAINE 1937. Construction at High Head 1937 Schooner "Annie & Reuben" docks at High Head July Unloading Annie & Reuben + house construction House construction August House construction about Sept 1 House construction and view of it from Gangway [?] Ledge and interior living room and a little stuff at cabin Nov. 27" Use this reel for work-related shots- starting at 31:05 construction of Bemis summer home, High Head in Brooklin, ME. Color and b&w views of the stone drogher Annie & Reuben, a well-known schooner that delivered granite up and down the Maine coast (see article in donor file). The schooner backs into the dock in the cove below High Head, the Bemis summer property in Brooklin, ME. Several people on the dock, and workers and luggage unload from the schooner. B&W views of masons working at High Head to create the stone structure and foundation. Looking down on the Annie & Reuben below, a large crane works on the ship to haul up granite. Various shots of the work area showing the beginning of the foundation and walls. About 20 men are at work on the site. Chapie and a small child (Alice?) and dogs walk around the site. Views of a log cabin under construction, men shaping logs for walls. Views of the Bemis sloop Cirrus at anchor and unfinished house and dock on shore beyond. One of the Bemis girls (Ann or Margot?) plays with ball and ping pong paddle. The house/log cabin is more finished in this shot (walls, roof added). Many workmen still on site. More views of men shingling roof, putting on siding. A man descends a ladder on the stone wall of the High Head tower. View of Chapie standing on the bow of Cirrus as it approaches High Head. Slow pans of High Head from the water. Shots of an almost complete cabin, some scaffolding still up. Views of the stone tower, which shows the top finished like a lighthouse. View of Alan and Chapie in a flat-bottomed rowboat on the water across from High Head. More views of workmen, sawing logs, painting the house, friends visiting the construction site, and views across Eggemoggin Reach to Deer Isle, ME. Interior views of some finished rooms. The house was designed by the Bemis's friend, Harold Willis.