"Sea Coast Mission" Reel 4

Date1939 – 1947

AbstractIntertitle: "There are 54 lonely lighthouses in the Mission's parish." Views of Owls Head lighthouse , built 1825, near Rockland, from the Sunbeam. Views from the wheelhouse of another lighthouse with rough water on the shore. Views of the Rockland Breakwater light, built in 1888. View of Burnt Island light station, built 1821, near Boothbay Harbor. View of Cuckholds lighthouse, built 1907, at the Boothbay Harbor approach, off Cape Newagen. Views of several other lighthouses from the ship. Sunbeam launches her dory and one of the Mission staff gets in and views in the rowboat as heads for a lighthouse [Tenants Harbor light?]. Views of the Mission staff and lighthouse keeper, whose wife opens the door. View of the woman crocheting a rug. CU of the lighthouse. Intertitle: "Petit Manan lighthouse is seldom visited." Views of Sunbeam approaching Petit Manan, built 1817 off Millbridge. Low angel shot of the tower, and shot of the keeper's house from the tower. Shot from the tower of Sunbeam at anchor. Intertitle: "Looking through the prismatic lens give curious effects." Views through the lens looking out at Sunbeam. Blurry, colored views. Shots of the surf breaking on the rocks below. Intertitle: "Nearly every Sunday, Mr. Bousfield preaches at some island church." Views of Sunbeam anchored offshore, and Mr. Bousfield getting in dinghy for the trip to shore. View of a church bell ringing in a tower, and exterior view of the church. As people exit, Mr. Bousfield freets each one. Exterior view of a different church in the snow, and a third in what appears to be summer. Intertitle: "This far-flung program of Christian ministry would be impossible without the Sunbeam" Shots from the Sunbeam as it is underway, riding past a harbor with breakwater, and views from the wheelhouse as it approaches a dock. Views of the ship docked in a small harbor, then leaving. Intertitle: "As Henry Van Dyke wrote about the Mission boat--" Intertitle: " A blessing on our Sunbeam craft; Larboard, starboard, fore and aft; May God protect and guide her way Thorugh[sic] rocky reach and isle strewn bay" Shots of Sunbeam underway with island, buoys, and coastline around her. Intertitle: "To lonely folk she brings good cheer; Relief to those in pain and fear; to children something warm and bright, To those who sit in darkness, light." View of Sunbeam at anchor in winter with snow-covered mountains of Acadia in background. the anchor is pulled aboard, and a dory is winched up onto deck. Views onboard of Sunbeam underway. Sunbeam approaches at dock at sunset. Intertitle: "Then let the wind blow high or low. Serene and brave our boat shall go; for Jesus sails the sea again along the granite coast of Maine." Shots of Sunbeam leaving a dock, and silhouetted against the sea and sky. Intertitle: "The End"

ScriptTHE 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."