"Sea Coast Mission" Reel 1

Date1939 – 1947

Script"Manuscript to be Read at Showing of the Sea Coast Mission Films THE MAINE SEA COAST MISSIONARY SOCIETY Bar Harbor, Maine INTRODUCTORY REMARKS (May be omitted if desired): The idea of making this movie of the work of the Maine Sea Coast Mission was born at the Sigma Kappa Convention in San Francisco in 1939. among the delegates present were Mrs. Grace Wells Thompson and Miss Patricia Thomas of Waterville, Maine. Mrs. Thompson is Regional President and Miss Thomas was at the time President of Alpha Chapter. Both of these Sigmas were present at the launching of the Mission's new boat, Sunbeam III, in Damariscotta, Maine, in December, 1939. The idea was presented to the Superintendent at that event, and it was proposed that Alpha Chapter sponsor the initial production as their gift to the Sorority and the Mission. The services of Mr. Joseph Smith of the Colby College staff were secured as photographer and he has taken frequent trips to the coast to make these pictures since that time. The primary purpose back of the project was to seek to acquaint Sigmas throughout the country with the work which has been Sigma's National Philanthropy for more than twenty years. The pictures have met with such hearty enthusiasm from every quarter that a duplicate film has been made for use in non-Sigma groups as well, in the hope that through it use those now supporting the work might gain a more adequate idea of the unique ministry and that new groups and individuals might wish to become regular supporters of this non-denominational work dedicated to the service of the coast of Maine. Read before showing Reel I This first reel gives an impression of the Maine coast and a bit of the atmosphere of the Mission's parish. It is difficult to realize just how broken and jagged the coast line really is, and the number of islands there are that dot the coast. Maine has the longest coast line of any state in the Union. There are 2500 miles of coast line if one follows the irregularities of the peninsulas and inlets, and it is three hundred miles in a straight line from one extreme of the Mission's parish to the other. There are over ten thousand islands large enough for people to live on and about ten per cent are inhabited. The Mission's program touches in some way over a hundred and fifty places each year. Within the parish ore fifty-four light houses and twelve coast guard stations, most of which the Mission includes in its far flung program. Lobster fishing, clam digging, and catching herring comprise the principal means of livelihood for the people of the Mission's parish in peace time. There are also several granite quarries which struggle for existence. The war has changed the picture somewhat. emphasis now is on ship building and other defense projects. This has caused great shifts of population, thus creating many new problems for the Mission and the Sunbeam. Until one has actually seen the coast and visited some of the islands in winter, it is difficult to grasp the true significance and seriousness of the island problem. A few people, living on an island separated from hospitals, schools, churches, and other special privileges, must grapple with the deadly foe, isolation. The role of a strip of storm-tossed or ice-strewn water is very often cruel, and the need for the Mission's services has multiplied. Read before showing Reel II In the next reel we shall see the Mission House and Rev. Neal D. Bousfield, the superintendent, and his family. Then going on a tour aboard the boat, a hasty glimpse will be given us of the missionaries at work on the field. Each one, ordained preacher or lay worker, is minister from one to a dozen communities or neighborhoods, and each one seeks to develop some special work among the people. Mrs. Peasley, for example, has developed and encouraged the making of hooked rugs. Mrs. Muir is the teacher of an island school as well as pastor. Mr. Bousfield, in addition to his administrative duties, serves as chaplain to the lighthouses and coast guard stations of the coast and acts as minister of several island churches. Read before showing Reel III Reel three will introduce us to the Red Cross Mission nurse, supported jointly until June, 1944 by the Delano Memorial Fund of the Red Cross and the Mission. Also, we will glimpse a Mission dental clinic in full swing. The Mission's furniture exchange is a comparatively new project. The films show the Sunbeam taking a load of things to a distant port in preparation for a sale. Through this project hundreds of poor homes are made more comfortable. There is also the story of Sargent House, a boarding home for island girls who wish to attend high school. Here girls from tiny communities too small to support a high school are given the advantages not only of an education but a happy home environment. We will also follow Mr. Williams of the staff on an afternoon of calls. The story of the Christmas work is best told by the pictures themselves. Suffice it to say that this is one of the biggest single undertakings of the calendar year. Read before showing Reel IV At the center of the program of the Mission is the good ship Sunbeam. To hundreds of coast people the sight of the Sunbeam cruising on her way brings memories which have greatly endeared her to them. There is hardly an experience in the life of the people that she does not share, and there is not an island that does not greet her with praise and follow her with blessing. Since the war, calls for the boat have increased by three hundred percent. It is by means of the Sunbeam that contact is maintained with the outer islands, pastoral visitation of the isolated families and religious services are made possible, and, in the absence of other means, emergencies are met. By means of the Sunbeam the sick are carried to the hospital; convalescents are returned to their homes; dentists, doctors, nurses, and public welfare workers are transported to the islands as needed; and the dead are taken to their long rest. In winter she breaks ice in their harbors to make way for mail and stores. A poem was written about the boat by the late Dr. Henry Van Dyke, who for many years served as President of the Mission's Board of Directors. It reflects the challenge of the coast as well as the affectionate regard in which the Sunbeam, which is the center and symbol of the whole enterprise, is held. These movies close with the rendering of this poem, interspersed with pictures to illustrate its lines."

AbstractTitle: "Sea Coast Mission" Intertitle: "The story of the Maine Sea Coast Missionary Society of Bar Harbor, Maine." Intertitle: "Produced on behalf of the Mission by the ALPHA CHAPTER of the SIGMA KAPPA SORORITY." Views of seagulls scavenging bread that has been thrown into the water . Intertitle: "Maine has over 2,000 islands and a jagged coastline 2,500 miles in length" Map of the coast of Maine with pan from north to south showing lighthouses, islands, etc. Intertitle: "Here are 164 little scattered communities -- the parish of the Maine Sea Coast Mission" View of "quaint" fishing village with dilapidated fishing huts and docks, and lobster traps strewn around. HAS from a hill looking out over a village with boats anchored inside a breakwater. Pans of a cover with fishing boats anchored and the village beyond. Shots of boys carrying their sleds and skates and posing for the camera. Intertitle: "The people must look to the sea for a scanty and uncertain livlihood [sic]." Views of fishing boats passing the Sunbeam, and trap piled on a dock, and trap buoys hanging on the side of a building, and from a rack waiting for paint. Intertitle: "The lobstermen go out at dawn" Dawn shots of a small harbor (underexposed). Views of fisherman on his boat and shots from the water of a boat underway in winter. Shots of lobsterman unloading a case of lobster on a dock and another man putting plugs in their claws. Two children board the fishing boat with their father. Intertitle: "Though picturesque, these little island communities contend with a deadly isolation --- cut off from doctor, hospital, minister, and limited as to schools, Stores, amusements and other amenities of normal life." Sunbeam at the dock in a small community with the church near the water. The community is at the edge of a sand beach. Views of another community in winter, with a ferry at the dock, and fishing boats at anchor and the small houses edging the harbor. One small dwelling has collapsed onto the beach, perhaps the victim of a storm. Views of other small dilapidated homes in a rural community, and several gravestones in a small cemetery. Intetrtitle: "Scores of these villages are accessible only by boat" Shots from boat of the coastal waters, and approaching a small coastal village. Intertitle: "Hence, a heroic succession of craft have served since the founding of the society in 1905." Still picture of a small gaff-rigged sailboat underway "The Hope - 1905". Still picture of small motor vessel with several people standing on the bow "The Morning Star - 1906" . Still picture of a larger motor launch underway "First Sunbeam - 1912". View of much larger motor vessel "Sunbeam II-1926". Intertitlle: "And now a new instrument for Christian service--" Views of the bow of the wooden Sunbeam III at dock. Intertitle: "Sunbeam III was launched December, 1939, in ice-bound Damariscotta, Maine." Views of Sunbeam at a doc with snowy harbor beyond as people look over the boat. Intertitle: "The Coast Guard ice-breaker made a channel to the sea." People waving from the bow of Sunbeam. Shots of the icebreaker at work, and steam coming out of its stack. Views of Sunbeam leaving the dock in the wake of the icebreaker as a crowd on shore watches. Good close shots of Sunbeam plowing her way through the broken ice, following the Coast Guard ship. Intertitle: "The Sunbeam is 72 feet over all." View of Sunbeam approaching the camera with a sole person on the bow. and two dories on the stern. Several on-board shots of the ship underway, and views of the galley. Intertitle: "It is a floating headquarters for Superintendent Bousfield." Views of Bousfield walking on the deck as the ship is underway, and working in a small stateroom on the ship. Intertitle: "The Sunbeam often serves as an ambulance to carry emergency cases to a hospital." Views of a young patient on a stretcher being carried into the saloon on the ship and lifted onto a bed. Intertitle: "Since the advent of war, a white cr5oss identified the Sunbeam as Maine's "Mercy Ship"." Shots of Sunbeam with her white cross and American flag flying from the stern. Intertitle: "Sturdy enough to break into ice-locked harbors." Views over the bow of Sunbeam breaking through ice, and shots from the ice of man on bow watching as she moves through ice. Shots from the stern of the water wake left amid the broken ice.