Museum Reports AND D6235 MUSEUM REPORT ACADIA NATIONAL PARK August 1 to September 1, 1936 Status of Exhibit Plan The necessary studies preliminary to preparing an exhibit plan have been nearly completed during this month. Museum Curator Lewis, who reported at the Park on August 1, has studied the museum needs and situa- tion and has prepared reports on the following: 1. Park visitors 2. The educational program at Acadia 3. Nearby institutions affecting museum development a. Abbe Museum b. Islesford Museum C. Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory d. Roscoe B. Jackson Memorial Laboratory e. Appalachian Mountain Club Similar studies of museum needs and museum sites are nearly finished. These will be incorporated in the museum plan. Development of the museum story has commenced, but has not reached a definitive stage. Regional Geologist Chadwick assisted greatly with the geology story during six days at the Park. Dr. Lehnerts, professor of geology at Hunter College, has contributed to this story, also. Dr. Steinmetz from the University of Maine and Dr. Rehder of Harvard, botanists, have also assisted during visits to the Park. Historical aspects of the Park story have been discussed with Mr. Hadlock, curator of the Abbe Museum. Dr. Sawtelle, of the Islesford Museum, and Mr. Dow, of the Resettlement Administration, have supplied historical information. Dr. Cole, director of the Marine Biological Laboratory, has advised on the marine story. The curator has studied the museum story in the field as occasion permitted. A tentative offer of the Building of Arts for museum purposes was studied and its refusal advised because the building was unsuited, poorly heated, and involved expense repair, alteration and upkeep. Status of Equipment Orders The motion picture projector, Bell-Howell Model S, 500 W., has been received. It has proven to be very satisfactory. Notice was received -2- during the month that a contract had been awarded for the fumigating case for study skins. A second pair of binoculars has been requested for use in the educational program and for research. Collections The principal accessions have been in the herbarium. During August Mr. Neal, student enrollee, has added over 300 plants to the collections. The mounting and labeling has been completed for about 50 specimens. Ranger Naturalist Favour prepared study skins of a great blue heron and of a flying squirrel. About a dozen insect specimens have been collected and mounted, and one Ringnecked Snake (Diadophis punctatus). During Mr. Chadwick's visit a number of geological specimens were collected for possible display rather than for study purposes. Graphic Devices Forty lantern slides on biological subjects, 50 song slides and 200 feet of colored motion pictures were added to the visual education supplies. Two volumes of Nature Notes were bound and four reels and containers for 16 mm. film were obtained. Branch Museum The displays set up at Sieur de Monts Spring have functioned during the month satisfactorily. The collection of bog plants was revised and a display of mosses added. About 40 named plants were on exhibition beside the spring house. While not a branch museum, the Abbe Museum functions as such in the Park. The curator of this museum was assisted in revising one of his cases to a narrative type of exhibit. The case before and after revision is shown in the accompanying photographs. As an outcome of this work, the directors of the museum are allowing the curator to undertake a general improvement of the exhibits, which will be of great value in the Park educational program. Plans are being considered for a future branch museum and observa- tion station on the summit of Cadillac Mountain. Definite plans were initiated by Mr. Disher during his visit to the Park, and the location and contents are now under discussion. Dr. Leland, vice-chairman of the National Park Advisory Committee CUFI: NEA:2/ 1/38 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE ACADIA NATIONAL PARK November 14, 1936. The Director, National Park Service, Washington, D. C. Dear Mr. Cammerer: The plan outlined in the accompanying paper, prepared after long and comprehensive study by Mr. Ralph H. Lewis, Field Curator, receives my fullest approval. Arrived at independently, it represents what I have had in mind myself for many years as the ideal situation for a museum that would combine the presentation of Acadia National Park's unique marine biological field with that of its bird life, representative of its position as a prominent land-mark and feature along the ancient coast migration route of birds to northern nesting grounds as well as local, and of its plant life at the meeting point of two great regional floras. But not till the present time have the conditions of Park ownership and Park road development been such as to make it practical and give it the prominence which the Museum should have. There is no other situation either in the Park or elsewhere on the coast outside it that offers opportunities so great and comprehensive. I trust it may be adopted and plans for the Museum prepared. Yours sincerely, (Signed) GEORGE B. DORR Superintendent GBD-0 Enclosure. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE ACADIA NATIONAL PARK BAR HARBOR, MAINE September 17, 1936. Museum Deve lopment [Ralph H. Lewis. in NPS Field curata Acadia National Park Education in a national park is carried on essentially by the museum method. The park itself is a museum, in a very real sense; and the educational officers act as curators, explaining the exhibits nature and history have provided. In such a situation the function of a formal museum becomes supplementary. Museum development does not replace the naturalist or historian leading his parties into the field, but gives him another tool for making the park story clear. The park museum is equipped by its nature to serve the park educational program in several ways. In the first place, the museum can explain those park features which are too complicated for verbal treatment. This is, perhaps, its primary function. Secondly, the museum can summarize in one place and in brief time the park story. In the third place, it can reach effectively many of the visitors who do not remain long enough to engage in the scheduled educational events. I. The Need for a Park Museum at Acadia. The need for a park museum at Acadia has been felt for so long and by so many Park Service officials that it seems scarcely necessary to justify it further. However, recent studies (reported in Sections II, III and IV, following) make this need so evident that the reasons for establishing a park museum may be stated with renewed emphasis. Acadia National Park receives over 300,000 visitors each year. The great majority of them are in the Park fewer than twenty-four hours. Less than 5% of these visitors obtain any help in under standing the Park. This situation constitutes the problem of education - of inter- preting the Park to the public. The present educational program is taxed in reaching the fraction of visitors now contacted. The schedule of educational activities leaves barely enough free time to maintain the tonus of the staff, and many of the groups participating already are too large for effective handling. If four men can reach less than 5% of park visitors, it is obvious that expansion of the personnel (while important) can never solve the problem. Furthermore, the length of association with one-day visitors is too brief for any adequate presentation of the Park story by personal contact. In fact, the Park story is so varied that the full educational program cannot cover it completely with the means now available. Naturally, the geo- graphical arrangement of geological, biological and historical features in the Park does not correspond to the logical arrangement of the Park story; and field trips cannot give a connected interpretation of the story. A park museum, wisely placed and properly executed, will do more to solve the educational problem for Acadia than any other agency that could be established. While it is not contended that a museum will contact every visitor, it will place within easy reach of all of them the means for understanding the Park. The one-day visitor can spend an hour in the museum and find significance in what was scenery alone. The visitor who stays to enjoy the Park more fully will find his field observations coordinated and synthesized in the museum. The park naturalist will be able to develop the basic generalization of his subject matter, which is impossible in the field. The museum is to be considered, of course, as a supplement to the program of education in the field; but as a supplement, it can fulfill these urgent needs: 1 A means for telling the mass of visitors what the Park signifies. 2. A means for telling the Park story as a whole. 3. A means for making graphic explanation of the difficult con- cepts involved in the Park story. Without a museum the Park cannot interpret itself to the vast majority of its visitors; with a museum, it can. Acadia's story is too complex to be told without the well-tested aid of a park museum. II. Visitors to Acadia. The visitor is the primary factor to be considered in park museum development. It is for him that museums are built; and the successful museum must be keyed to his interest, his intelligence, the length of his stay, and to where he stays and goes while in the Park. The estimated total number of visitors in 1935 was 316,114. Unlike certain western parks with limited entrances and paid admissions, Acadia can keep no accurate record of the number of visitors. Two voluntary registers are kept, and the occupants of the campground are recorded carefully. All other figures are estimated from these records and from occasional car counts by rangers. Of the three hundred thousand visitors, about one-ninth come in the spring and fall, while eight- ninths visit the Park between June 15 and October 1. There are practically no winter visitors. Although visitors come from all over the United States and from 2 are not particularly applicable to the Park's history. The local geography is pointed out from vantage points, as follows: l. Names of mountains and islands 2. Courses of trips 3. Estates The campfire lectures cover both identification and more general subjects. In summary, the educational program at Acadia includes a full schedule of activities which requires the full time and effort of the naturalist staff. Even so, less than 5% of the visitors are reached. There seems slight possibility of increasing the number of effective contacts with the present staff. A very few more activities might be squeezed into the schedule, but any increase in the size of groups will markedly lessen the educational effectiveness of the work. Successful nature guiding requires small groups, and those now handled are fre- quently larger than is desirable. An augmented educational staff would increase the number of contacts, and be of great value to the Park; but to increase the staff sufficiently to reach 300,000 visitors seems out of the question. If this were possible, however, the educational program would still be incomplete. The naturalist's program concen- trates on familiarizing the visitor with the common forms in the Park - the field for which nature guiding is adapted. This work lays a foundation of interest, upon which an understanding of the more general aspects of the Park story can be built. The educational program needs a supplementary agency which will bring together a summary of the scattered elements of the Park story into a coordinated narrative, and explain the important general concepts not clarified in the field. A park museum, if it is self guiding, will do this and at the same time will place the Park story within reach of the mass of one-day tourists. IV. Other Institutions Conditioning Kuseum Development in Acadia. Several institutions on Mount Desert and nearby islands are en- gaged in the advancement or dissemination of knowledge. The present programs and planned development of these organizations will affect the scope and location of the park museum. The six institutions most influ- ential in this regard are: a. The Abbe Museum b. The Islesford Museum C. The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory d. The Jackson Memorial Laboratory e. The Laine State Entomological Station f. The Appalachian Mountain Club These are described below, with estimates of their influence and 10 recormendations for action in each case. a. The Abbe Luseum The Abbe Huseum is generally so called in honor of its founder, although its corporate name is the Lafayette National Park Museum of Stone Age Antiquities. The museum is located at the Sieur de Monts Spring, a center of interest within the Park, and functions as a park museum. The museur grew out of an interest in archeology acquired by Dr. Robert Abbe, a summer resident of Bar Harbor. Dr. Abbe and his friends built and endowed the museum, but Dr. Abbe died before the building was completed. The museum, its lands and building, are owned by the National Park Service. However, the endowment and the administration of the museum are in the hands of a board of trustees having no connection with or responsibility to the Park Service. The trustees are able, and several of them distinguished men, but without special acquaintance with museuu work or with archeology. They ad- minister an endowment reported about $50,000, which is conservatively invested (in Canadian Government bonds). A small, attractive, fireproof building containing a lobby, an exhibition room and an office houses the museum. The octagonal exhibit room is equipped with six table cases and one large center case having storage drawers beneath. The cases are of good Library Bureau construc- tion. The room is lighted by six large windows, which give ample light. Reflections are not unusually bad. The exhibits consist of Indian artifacts arranged in more or less order, but placed about as thickly as possible. Labels are not explanatory in the main. The pur- pose is simply to display specimens. A curator and assistant are employed during the summer months to keep the building open and to carry on any educational work. They answer questions and lecture to special groups. The museum maintains a small research program con- sisting of occasional excavations and publications. The excavations are destructive and are carried on solely to enlarge the collections. The four publications issued have been popular accounts of the following: The Jones Cove shell-heap (1929), the red paint people (1930), modern Indian handicrafts in Maine (1932) and a life of Dr. Abbe (undated). The endowment of this museum has been handled carefully, and the income is sufficient to hire curatorial workers. Under the present ad- ministration any scholarly work done by the museum, or any improvement in the exhibits will depend on the initiative of the curator, since the trustees are not actively interested in further development of the museum. It is conceivable that, with the replacement of the original trustees during the next ten or fifteen years, the board may decide to turn the endowment and administration over to the Park Service. (This was legally impossible in 1929.) The present trustees are not so 11 inclined, partly because of the memorial character of the institution. The presence of a museum of archeology within the Park, which reaches many park visitors and which is regarded by many as an unusually fitting memorial to a man who put his dreams into action rather than into criticism of the inaction of others, naturally affects any further museum development in the Park. The Abbe Museum is advantageous- ly located; it has ample space and equipment to tell the Indian story; and it has the money to maintain its work. In view of these facts it would be both tactless and extravagant to duplicate the work of this museum in the regular park museum. It seems evident that the field of archeology should be left to the Abbe Museum, and that its facilities be used in the Park educational program. The present curator of the museum has cooperated in the Park edu- cational work as much as possible, and any incumbent would be likely to assist to some extent. The museum is kept open during the visiting season of the Park, and is free to all. The curator delivers lectures to groups brought by the park naturalist, and speaks in the campfire series. Further desirable cooperation will lie in the direction of improving the exhibits. The park museum will attempt to tell the story of the Park by graphic exhibits. At present the Abbe Museum fails to tell its portion of the story adequately. However, at a recent meeting of the directors, funds were appropriated ($500) to permit the curator to revise and vitalize the exhibits. The successful completion of this work will lead to a full use of the Abbe Museum in the Park program. b. The Islesford Museum Islesford Collection, Incorporated, a small museum of history, is located at the western end of Little Cranberry Island in the settlement of Islesford. The island itself is two and one-half miles south of Seal Harbor, the nearest town on Mount Desert Island, across a fairly sheltered channel. A corporation of ten to twelve members, residents of Little Cran- berry either permanently or during the summer, own the collection and the buildings which house it. The holdings of the corporation comprise an old wooden building, a rather new brick building, and the plot of land on which they stand. The corporation incurred a debt of approxi- mately $2,500 in erecting the brick building, and the debt now stands at about $1,200. There is no endowment and no income, the building and work being maintained by Dr. Sawtelle, the founder and curator. The main museum building is a one-story brick building with a wooden roof. It was built by island masons supervised by Dr. Sawtelle, and without the aid of chitectural drawings. There are three exhibit rooms and a large entrance hallway. The space is apportioned as follows: 12 English and French Room, Mount Desert Room, Cranberry Island Room, and the hallway filled with old broadsides of local interest. The Lount Desert Room also contains a library of several hundred volumes. The collections in the first two rooms are very largely framed photostats of documents, engraved portraits and maps, interspersed with a few original documents, a number of old prints, and objects of relic nature (old piano, chair, a few ship models, et cetera). These are hung thickly on the wall in. chronological order. Portraits predominate. In the Mount Desert Room most of the material is biographical. The Cranberry Island Room contains objects for the most part. Old furniture, a little china, pewter, a. few shipping relics, a miscellany of similar objects, all associated with the island, are housed in this room. There are drawers full of old family tintypes, and a small vault containing the town records and various other documents and records. The collections have grown out of the interest of Dr. Sawtelle, a retired scientist (physicist or chemist) and a summer resident on Little Cranberry. A few years ago Dr. Sawtelle actively engaged in research in local history, was familiar with American and European sources in Maine history, and published a number of articles on the history of this region. During the past few years, however, his health has precluded such activity. The museum re- mains his hobby, and he keeps the doors open for visitors most of the time. The collection is not catalogued and Dr. Sawtelle alone knows the source of most of the do cuments and photostats. At present two cata- loguers are at work, however. In addition to a weekly excursion of Park visitors the museum reaches a small number of persons having some particular interest in the local history. It is the latter group for which the museum is keyed. Its extremely isolated location eliminates most tourists, although regular ferry service ( . 50 round trip) is avail- able. The small wo oden building belonging to the museum formerly housed the collection. It now contains the overflow from the new building. The present financial condition of the Islesford Collection will not permit any increase in the collections or services of the museum. With the exception of Dr. Sawtelle, the trustees do not appear to be actively interested in the development of the museum. The museum has been offered to the Park in the past, somewhat tentatively and with many conditions. Recently an offer has been made to give the museum to the Park with the sole condition that it continue under Dr. Sawtelle until his death. It is felt that the offer should be accepted. Any present inconvenience caused by the conditional clause will be repaid in good will. The Islesford Museum affects museum development in Acadia by its presence, its purpose, and its work. Two museums of history, covering the same territory and periods and within a short distance of one another, must cooperate or conflict. The field of history in the Park cannot be left to the Islesford Museum, because it does not give visitors a clear historical narrative and because it cannot reach the majority of Park visitors. If the Park acquires the museum, the site and collections will be suitable for research rather than for exhibit for the most part. It has been suggested that the museum be used a.s a supplementary exhibit, in which the history of Acadia is developed in more detail than is possible in a general park museum. Its greatest present influence is as principal local authority on the history of the region. 13 Park visitors are welcomed to the museum, but its main interests are not educational. As yet no attempt has been made to utilize its library and documentary material for developing a park historical narra- tive, but the museum probably will cooperate willingly. Cooperation in these two respects should be maintained as long as the museum is a private institution. Attention should be given the wharf, owned by a small corporation, now about $500 in debt. The museum would be inacces- sible without the docking facilities, and provision must be made for its maintenance. There is a provision in the deed that the dock will revert to an island family if not maintained free to the public. C. The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory The laboratory is located at Salsbury Cove on the north shore of the island near the main road leading from the mainland to Bar Harbor, and nine miles from the latter. The laboratory was founded in 1898, organized as a scientific corpora- tion in 1913, and moved to Mt. Desert Island in 1921. The corporation consists of scientists, Bar Harbor businessmen, and a group of contributing associate members - wealthy people interested in biological research. The laboratory has no endowment. Its entire support comes from three sources: l. Contributions of interested summer residents - the chief source. 2. Fees for laboratory facilities. 3. Annual dues of members. At present the annual budget is about $3,000, approximately two-thirds of which comes from private contributions. The laboratory is out of debt and has functioned under a somewhat curtailed program in the depression years. The Mount Desert laboratory is a research institution, concentrating on studies in the experimental biology of marine forms. Its well-equipped laboratory buildings house a small library, a dark room, and working space for 20 to 30 scientists. Two collecting boats, equipped for dredging and towing, as well as less expensive collecting, are maintained. Most of the scientists using the laboratory are biologists of established reputation (often fame) working on problems of fundamental importance. While rela- tively few universities are represented, the laboratory is widely known and respected. Its financial status compares favorably with most biolog- ical stations, although a few are well endowed. There is no indication that the laboratory is actively seeking an endowment. Under present conditions it should be able to maintain its facilities and work indefinitely. This requires, however, constant economy and constant solicitation of assistance. The corporation is eager to increase its income, and the best method seems to be to increase the interest of visitors to the island in the laboratory. It has been decided that a museum and aquarium would be the best means of effecting this, and several wealthy people have been approached with the idea that it might be built and endowed as a memorial. Such a museum might be free or might be used as a small source of income. It would be located by the main road. The museum would concentrate Oil marine biology. The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory will play, without 14 question, a considerable part in the park museum. The laboratory is the only biological station of general reputation on the Gulf of Maine. Since the major Park story is marine biology, the museum will be called on to interpret this subject. The laboratory will be the principal judge of the standards and validity of interpretation. It will be the source, of necessity, for most specimens of marine forms for exhibition, study collections, or aquaria; and for much of the factual material of the marine story. If the laboratory establishes a museum, there will be imminent danger of overlapping and rivalry where cooperation is greatly to be desired. Since the early establishment of both the park and laboratory museums is uncertain, allowance must be made in the museum plan for either eventuality. If the laboratory's museum materializes, every effort should be made to make it a cooperative enterprise, or at least, to fix the limits of the two in a mutually satisfactory manner. Whether or not the laboratory builds its own museum, it will continue to affect the park museun in subject matter, material, and activities, as long as it exists on the island. Cooperation between the park museum and the biological laboratory rests on a fundamental relation in purpose. Sound educational work depends on sound research, and research is dependent on interested laymen for support. It is quite in keeping with the public interest served by the Park, that the museum should call attention to the work of a neighboring scientific institution of merit. An exhibit on the work of the laboratory would go far toward repaying it for the specimens - live or preserved - the use of its library, and its advice which have been offered to the Park. This appoars to be a promising basis of cooperation if the laboratory does not establish its own museum. If the laboratory does build a museum there are three possibilities. First, the field of marine biology may be left to it and the park museum may devote itself to other fields. This arrangement would be satisfactory if the laboratory museum were free, popular and of high educative quality. Secondly, the laboratory might be induced to confine its efforts to an aquarium, which is too expensive an undertaking for the Park, while the park museum used exhibits to enlarge on the marine story. The third possibility would be to have joint ownership or control of the one museum. This arrange- ment is conceived as an endowment through the laboratory and administra- tion through the Park Service, as at Yavapai. Noncooperation would hurt both. The laboratory is willing to cooperate, but dubious, since Park Service officials have promised extensive cooperation which did not materialize. The second possibility, that the laboratory build an aquarium while the Park build a museum, is advanced as the most satis- factory solution from the Park's standpoint. d. The Jackson Memorial Laboratory The Roscoe B. Jackson Memorial Laboratory for the study of cancer is located on the outskirts of 3ar Harbor near the campgrounds and near the entomological station. 15 This laboratory is a private institution whose work is directed by Dr. C. C. Little. It is amply endowed. The laboratory building is a two-story brick structure splendidly equipped with library, laboratories and technical equipment. There is a year-round staff augmented in the summer by additional workers. The laboratory is devoted to the study of cancer. Following the early work of Dr. Little, attention has been centered on the hereditary aspects, and a great deal of genetic work on mice has accompanied the cancer work. The laboratory represents a major school of thought on cancer, and has produced some outstanding results. Visitors are wel- comed, and are conducted through the laboratory every afternoon except weekends. In addition to the offices and individual laboratories, visitors see a few exhibit charts on mouse genetics. Most of the visitors are medical men. The laboratory was established in 1930, and no expansion is planned, so far as is known. Its work will be maintained at the present level permanently, it is supposed. A laboratory of active and eminent biologists located close to the Park and within a five-minute walk of the public campgrounds will have a potential influence on educational biology in the Park. The work of the laboratory is fundamental and of wide popular interest. The stay of certain Park visitors could be enriched by contact with the work of this laboratory. Its influence, which is now morely potential, might be tapped by a museum exhibit or by referring to its open seminars in the program of educational activities. It will be of some influence in judging the soundness of biological interpretations in the Park educa- tional work. The laboratory opens its weekly seminars to Park visitors, and wel- comes them during visiting hours. It would undoubtedly assist in planning an exhibit for the park museum on its work, and would supply some material if needed. Its own exhibits could probably be borrower for temporary special displays. Its library would be available for reference purposes. e. Maine State Entomological Station The Maine Forest Service Insect Control Laboratory is located on Mount Desert Island within a few moments' walk of the public campground. This laboratory is the only field entomological station in the State. The Forest Service maintains it with biennial appropriations of state funds. The work of the laboratory is largely research in economic entomology, although some control work is done. As a state laboratory concerned in insect control, it welcomes inquiries and 16 visitors. It distributes booklets on insect pests and maintains a synoptic collection for education purposes. The entomologist, Dr. Brower, is an excellent taxonomist as well as economic entomologist, and has built us an extensive collection in addition to the synoptic display. The laboratory is located in quarters loaned to the State and its permanency as a neighbor to the Park is correspondingly uncertain. While the field conditions are fairly typical of the State, the location is not quite as central as might be. As far as is known there has been no indication or thought of transferring the laboratory else- where, but from the standpoint of the park museuri, the possibility must be considered. Dr. Brower has been highly cooperative with the Park educational staff, having donated specimens, determined collections, and prepared exhibits for the naturalist. His assistance is a valued asset in interpreting the insect story of the Park. The principal effect of the station on the museum, however, lies in the possible duplication of study collections. A study collection of insects represents a considerable investment of time and money. In view of the difference in immediate purposes and the uncertainty of the state collection remaining at hand, it is felt that some duplication is justified and that the museum should plan to include an insect study collection. f. The Appalachian Mountain Club The Appalachian Mountain Club, one of the strongest outdoor organizations in the Northeast, maintains a summer camp on Echo Lake in the western part of Mount Desert Island. The Appalachian Mountain Club was established in Boston in 1876. It is unusually well organized, with over 4,000 members and chapters in other New England states and New York. Its committees build trails, erect shelters, maintain camps, and prepare maps throughout the mountains in these states. The club has sufficient income to own and maintain the land and structures involved in these activities. It is supported by its large membership of relatively well-to-do people. The camp on Echo Lake was established about fifteen years ago on land given to the club. Campers are charged nominal rates, which maintain the camp and its program without help from other club funds. The Echo Lake Camp has several permanent buildings, electric lights, and running water. Sleeping accomodations are in tents. The quota of 72 is filled through most of the summer. The campers engage in summer sports, viz., hiking, sailing, canoeing, swimming and boat trips. The program is conducted by club leaders, who change every two 17 D. C in UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE ACADIA NATIONAL PARK BAR HARBOR, MAINE Museum Report September 1 to October 1, 1936. Status of Exhibit Plan Part I of the museum plan for Acadia Natural Park was completed during this month and submitted to the Superintendent for study. It comprises a development plan for the Park. In addition to-revisions of the studies listed in the August Museum Report, this portion of the plan included the following reports: 1. Need for a museum 2. Museum sites 3. Proposed museum development 4. Maine State Entomological Station Work on Part II of the museum plan, the museum story, was continued during the month, principally through the study of secondary sources. Status of Equipment Orders The fumigating case for study skins was received this month and put to immediate service. The Park carpenter constructed a temporary herbarium case, which is likewise in use. Late in the month a large equipment list was submitted to Equipment Engineer A. B. Russell. A telephoto lens for the motion picture camera was purchased from Park funds and a mimeograph machine has been ordered with funds from the same source. Collections The mounting of herbarium specimens was completed by CCC enrollees. Mr. Neal, student enrollee, continued to collect and classify plants until the termination of his appointment early in September. The Arnold Arboretum notified the Park of the determination of several plant speci- mens. Ranger Naturalist Favour prepared study skins of about twelve birds and three mammals during the month. He collected and preserved a few snake specimens. Several of the birds were sent in by lighthouse keepers. A representative collection of Park rocks was gathered and submitted to Professor Harold L. Alling, University of Rochester, for study. This was done at the su grestion of Regional Geologist Chadwick. Graphic Devices Additional motion pictures of natural features in the Park were taken by the Park Naturalist. Branch Museum The Abbe Museum continued open during the month, but ferry service to Islesford was discontinued early in September, preventing visits to the Historical Museum. The curator was absent on annual leave from September 18 to the end of the month. While away he visited the Buffalo Museum of Science and Fort Ticonderoga with Acadia museum problems in mind, and consulted a number of specialists at the University of Rochester on study collection problems. District Historian Small visited the Park for a few hours during the curator's absence. Respectfully submitted, Maurice Sullivan, Park Naturalist. by: Ralph H. Lewis, Field Curator. 2 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE ACADIA NATIONAL PARK BAR HARBOR, MAINE Museum Report October 1 to November 1, 1936. Status of Exhibit Plan Curatorial work during the month of October was devoted to develop- ment of the museum story. proposed Part II of the museum plan. The geological story of the park was formulated, together with a partial bibliography on the subject. The biological story of land and fresh- water forms was outlined and most of the sources consulted. Dr. Brower, Assistant State Entomologist, assisted materially in evaluating the aspects of this story. The phases of park history to be given museum treatment were studied, and a tentative outline prepared. Several conferences were held with Mr. Hadlook, Curator of the Abbe Museum, on historical sources and interpretations. In connection with this part of the story one trip was made to the Bangor Public Library. Regional Geologist George B. Chadwick was at Acadia from October 8 to 11, and 17 to 31. During these periods the curator spent nearly full time in the field assisting Mr. Chadwick, who was making a thorough study of the highly complex park geology. This study was as essential to the development of museum exhibits as it was to the nature guide program, and, accordingly, the curator endeavored to assist in every way possible. Status of Equipment Orders A pair of binoculars were received from the Museum Division during October and were highly useful, both in bird study and in geological recomoitering. Following correspondence in which the list was condensed, notice has been received that most of the equipment requested, including office equipment, work table, drawing instruments, camera, lamp and projection bulb, is now on order or is being supplied from Museum Division stock. From park funds the following equipment has been received: type- writer, mimeograph machine, mimeograph stylus, and telephoto lens for the motion picture camera. On order are motion picture film reels and loans, and lantern slide covers. Collections Study skins of two horned larks, a white orowned sparrow, and a vesper sparrow were prepared by Park Naturalist Sullivan and former Ranger Naturalist Favour. Several animal specimens which were collected during the month were kept alive in the laboratory. These will be reported as they are added to the permanent collection. Five species of Lyoopodium were added to the herbarium during the month. Approximately 100 specimens of the rooks of Mount Desert and neighboring islands were collected by Regional Geologist Chadwick. Many of these will be used in preparing thin sections for petrographic study by various specialists, and others will be retained as part of the permanent collections. With full locality notes and expert determinations, these specimens should form the nucleus for an adequate study collection on park geology. Eight books, purchased from park funds, were added to the library during the month. These included five important references for classifica- tion of local forms, The library received a donation of 175 back numbers of the National Geographic Magazine, 40 of the Bulletin of the Garden Club of America, and 54 of Horticulture, Graphic Devices One hundred feet of excellent colored motion pictures were added to the collection by the Park Naturalist, Twenty-two photographs of geological, biological and archeological subjects were taken during the month for later use as lantern slides. Branch Museum The Abbe Museum continued to receive a few visitors during the month. Mr. Hadlock, curator of this museum, conferred several times with the field curator regarding the revision of his exhibits. As an initial step, Mr. Hadlook devoted considerable time to preparing the "story" his muse'um should tell. The field curator returned to duty from annual leave on October 5. Respectfully submitted, Maurice Sullivan, Park Naturalist. By Ralph Lowis, Field Curator. RL:NEA 2 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE ACADIA NATIONAL PARK BAR HARBOR, MAINE Museum Report November 1 to December 1, 1936. Status of Exhibit Plan CED Superintendent Dorr approved Part I of the museum plan and for- warded it to the Director. A number of maps and photographs were prepared and submitted to supplement this portion of the plan. In connection with his review of the plan, Superintendent Dorr visited the recommended museum site with the Naturalist and the Curator. He located the site definitely and instructed the Bureau of Public Roads representative to make necessary provisions in the contract for the road passing this site. These provisions included a pedestrian under- pass and piping for outdoor aquaria. Data on types of piping were collected for the B. P. R. engineer. The Superintendent visited with the Curator other proposed developments in the vicinity of the selected site. During the month work was concentrated on Part II of the museum plan, the museum story. The geological bibliography was revised, and the historical story and the biological story of land and freshwater forms were formulated with their bibliographies. Thus three of the four sections of the park story are now completed. Status of Equipment Orders A Recomar camera was received from the Museum Division during November. The appended photographs indicate its adaptability to the museum's needs, as well as to the Naturalist's work. The first two pictures show the storage cabinet (received in September) in use, The remaining pictures of museum specimens are suitable for catalogue illustrations and for lantern slides. The following office equipment was received during the month: 1 Steel Desk 1 Wooden Desk Chair 1 Desk Lamp 1 Set of Drawing Instruments (Assigned to Field Curator) 1 Drawing Board 1 T Square 1 90° Triangle 1 30°-60° Triangle 1 Protractor 1 Ruling Pen From park funds a haze filter, a portrait lens, ten dozen lantern slide covers with glued strips, motion picture film reels and cans were received. Collections To protect the collections from insect infestation all bird and mammal specimens were placed in either the storage case or display case. Both cases were fumigated with carbon tetrachloride and sup- plied with naphthalene flakes. Three bird specimens, however, were too large for either case and are as yet unprotected. A serious menace to the collection was found in a box of uncleaned mammal skulls, which provided a breeding place for clothes moths. The box was removed and cleaning was undertaken as rapidly as equipment permitted. About ten skulls are now under treatment and others will follow. One book, purchased from park funds, was added to the library during the month. A justification was submitted for the purchase of eighteen additional books from E. C. W. funds. Donations of copies of National Geographic Magazine continued during the month, and the series is nearly complete from 1911 to date. Graphic Devices One hundred feet of colored motion pictures of excellent quality were added to the collection by the Park Naturalist. A number of photographs for lantern slide use were taken during the month, and some uncolored movies were made of natural history subjects by the Park Naturalist. Branch Museums The curator of the Abbe Museum prepared an account of his museum story and sent it to the field curator as part of the cooperative agreement with that institution. The story is being studied preparatory to the recommendation of exhibit revisions. In compliance with directions, the Park Naturalist, Curator, and a CCC enrollee visited the Islesford Museum and collected as much information regarding the building and collections as time would permit. Plans were discussed for a series of temporary exhibits for next summer to be located at Cadillac Mountain, Thunder Hole, Sieur de Monts Spring, and the public campground. The subjects for these exhibits were selected and specifications were completed for one of them. The Curator addressed the Bar Harbor Bird Club on November 13, on the origin of bird names. Respectfully submitted, Maurice Sullivan, Park Naturalist, By: Ralph Lewis, RL:NEA Field Curator. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE ACADIA NATIONAL PARK Bar Barber, Mine Day 6, 1941. Memorandum for the Regional Director, Region One: Attention, V. R. Ludgete, Regional Chief of Planning. The possibilities in museum construction at Aondia National Park formed the topic of considerable conversation when Ur. Fint, Mr. Sullivan, Mrs Sution, Hr. Badley and I were assembled here recently Saratofore, the whole general project_hr4 lain darmant as & $175,000 itax indexed 3-10 in the Park's Project Construction Program. As such, it represented coverage of the requirements for a central Part I as outlined in Field Curator Halph H. Lewis' report, dated September 17, 1956, on #Huneum Development in Acedie". These requirements were: 1. Four exhibit halls. 2. & large study collection FOOD, 3. A small vault. 4. & study FOOD adjacent to the collection, S. An office for the Park Naturalist, 6. Am office for his assistants. 7. An office for the curator. 8. & staff laboratory. 9. An assembly or leature roca. 10. A library-reading room and stack space, 12. A lobby. It was generally agreed that the cost of aveis A that had stalled its programs as a project and upon restudy of the Park's present and future development, it was concluded that the telling of the Park story would more likely require several smaller decentralized units rather than # concentration of facilities in one buildings the western section of Mount Denert Island very plausibly could develop to stature equalling that of the eastern section, Park roads could be increased in milenge to connect the two sections and a Park head- quarters night be located at # site that equalises the distances between each half of the Park and the point of entry onto the Island. These are, of course, all possibilities but they are probable enough to require that suseum development at Acadia be kept plastic rather than allowed to solidify, and the cesta of the initial structure be 2.21 UNITED STATES 4.22.2 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Asadia National Park Bar Barbor, Mine March 3, 1967 MEMORANDUM for the Registal Director, Region One. Reference is made to your memorandum of February 19, 1947. to which was attached a copy of Leting Director Tolson's menorandum of February 11, referring to the proposed development of facilities em Cadillae Mountain, and suggesting that a branch inuseum be included in the revised Project Construction Program for Acadia National Park, Before discussing HUBOUR possibility as for the future, I think e statement of what has happened in the past is pertinent, so that n common and well defined starting point for future museum planning will be sisar in everyene's mind. Our files sontain a mass of correspondence, reports and other data which relate to need for and plans to provide # sus eram in headia, Since receiving your nemorandum referred to above I have been going over that material and it boils down to substantially this: That the need for R museum WRE first made of matter of record Tan.1935 in & report on the subject by park naturalist Stupke in January, 1935. that prier and subsequent to that date the matter was from quartly discussed and five possible sites considered. That in the summer of 1936 a. comprehensive study of museum needs in heedia was made by Pe 1ph 5. Lewis; that he prepared a report on the subject and recommended that Otter Cove be the site and that a museur be built. Be further recommended that a branch museum be built on Cadillae Mountain. That Superintendent Dorr consumer in the Lewis report by letter to the Director dated November 14, 1936. That Asting Drector Deneray approved the report on December 18, 19:6, Using the 4P proved report as E bads for planning, studies were made, sketah plans drew and a PCP form, B-10, combining the central numers at Otta Cove and the branch museum on Cadiliae Mountain ma submitted in March 1939. Sometime in the months between Brch, 1939 and May, 1961 the combined project WEB broken down end new POF forms prepared. That for the Otter Cove Homeman appeared as project 3-10-1, dated 11-$6-41, prepared by R.R. Julian; Junior Architests that for the Cadillae Mountain branch museum appeared as B-27, dated Myn 1961, prepared by 5.L. Brease, Resident Architect. The next mention of the Otter Cove Huseum occurred in s memorandum from Hr. Carnes, Acting Chief of Planning, datoÉ March 98 1942 to the Regional Chief of ?lanning, Region One. I quote briefly it not for the fact that the Director has expressed the opinion that a maseum(at Otter Cove) such has been sagges- ted by Mr. Bresse should not be considered at teim time. That noted as a suspend order on further planning for the Otter Cave Museum The order to abamdon the project oame later in a I random from the Rerional Director te Sumerintendent Dorr, dated ugust 24, 1942. I quotes *The following summarised concents are the result of the dia- cuscions recently held by members of the Sushington and Region One Seadquarters staffs concerning the Advance Planning Program for Acadia National Park" then follows : *Project B-10-1, Mus aum. Otter Cove Cancel." Later in the SAMP meme radias the following appears *In now of the recommendations of the Director, we saggest that 8-10-1, Other Cove be dropped from the progress the next time a revised priority Hat is prepared.* The Project Construction Program was next revised in October, 1944. In that revision B-10-10 Otter Cove Museum, was withdream. The Cadillao Branch Suseum, B-27, was revised as 2-87-1 and was submitted. By Mr. Talson's menorandum of February 11 we are now instructed to withdrew and cancel project 3-27-1, Observation Station, Cadillae Zoun- tain, from our construction wrongers. This will be done in our current ACP revision, (These several moves leave us where we were at the beginning of the susam propeeal, that is, in the position of starting anow with our planning. The first question which cases to my mind is: If our planning for a central auseum is to be based on its location apart free headquarters, will it void our existing plan for an administration building which includes a wing for a suseum so that that Project will have to be revised? 2 The next quastion is: Bus the Miroctor indicated that be is now willing to consider a museum at Otter Cove. The subage indicated END PCP 2-10-2 prepured by Mr. Surna and Dr. Smerson to be between ene-fourth and one-third of that prepared by btr. Julian, but the estim noted cost is only about one-sixth less. It secure to as that before for construction are made, a restatement of museum objectives and long rang# planning should be made and approved. That any be implied in ur. Teleon's THE randum of February 11, but I think a clear statement, concurred in my x11 concerned and approved by the director should be adopted. (1 have no thought of quibbling over this matter, nor do 1 wish to be looked upon as an obstructionist. Larly want to know that there is a policy or prorram to DO followed with respect to development. & is needed, and as BOOD as possible.) B. Lu Sadley, Superintendent. In triplicate. $