By Gillian Graham

Staff Writer

Dick Haskell has seen it all in the eight decades he’s been coming to the beach.

Haskell, a volunteer at the Harmon Museum, first came to Old Orchard Beach in 1922 to stay in the cottage built by his grandfather and great-grandfather in 1888. Since then, he has watched fires destroy tourist attractions, trolleys make way for cars and tall condo buildings replace hotels that once drew visitors from across the country.

These days, he can often be found sitting in a rocking chair on the porch of the museum watching as visitors discover the beach and shops that line downtown. Haskell is one of the many volunteers who give tours of the museum and help preserve artifacts that document the town’s history.

“I want to help retain the old stuff that reminds people what things used to be like here,” he said.

The museum, located at the top of Old Orchard Street, opened for the season last week. New exhibits include then and now photos of buildings throughout town and a display of the dummy railroad created by Foster Leavitt of Saco. Museum Curator Jeanne Guerin said volunteers logged 1,000 hours in the off-season as they researched, preserved and documented hundreds of pieces of clothing.

“We have a wealth of information and artifacts the volunteers have helped to display and preserve,” said Guerin, who took over as curator this year.

Former Curator Jim Molloy said many residents don’t know the town’s history.

“There’s a rich history in Old Orchard Beach a lot of residents aren’t familiar with,” he said.

Guerin rotates exhibits in the museum that offer glimpses of times when big name bands and performers played in fancy ballrooms and visitors strolled on the pier that stretched far out into the ocean. 

“I think it’s very important for the residents of Old Orchard Beach to know their history. There is so much history here,” she said. “People live here their whole lives and don’t know what a rich history we have.”

The museum is housed in a two-story house built in 1925 for Josephine Staples Moses Goss. Her father, Ebenezer Staples, was one of the town’s founding fathers. After Josephine’s death, the house was sold to Montrose and Lily Hill, who used it as a boarding house.

Warren and Grace Harmon purchased the house in 1960 and left it to the historical society to be used as a permanent museum.

Walking through the living room, Haskell talked about the important role the pier played in the history of the town. One corner of the room displays photos of the pier at various points in history. The original pier was built in 1898 for $38,000. The 1,800-foot structure was known as “The Golden Mile” and a small train carried passengers to the end, Haskell said.

Over the years, weather took its toll on the pier and it was gradually shortened to its current length of 400 feet as it was rebuilt. Haskell said in the 1930s and 1940s, the pier was one of the most active spots in town. Big Bands frequently played in ballrooms while visitors flocked to town for dance contests and marathons.

The museum includes binders of photos of performers, amusement parks, hotels and summer visitors. Displays also focus on hotel souvenirs, Salvation Army, trains, trolleys and clothing worn by generations of residents. A small school desk sits at the center of a display about the town’s first one-room schoolhouse on A Street. 

The walls of the fire room are lined with photos of large fires, firefighter helmets, a fire box and other equipment used by firefighters.

Haskell said the town’s most devastating fire started in the annex of the Velvet Hotel in 1907, possibly by a maid heating a curling iron. The hotel, now the site of the Grand Victorian, was destroyed along with 17 other hotels, 60 cottages and 110 businesses. Three people died and many were injured. Railroad tracks were warped from the heat.

“It took out all of Old Orchard going east down several blocks,” Haskell said.

A “spectacular” fire burned the amusement park and destroyed a wooden roller coaster that was one of the few its size in the country. The area, known as Noah’s Ark, was again destroyed by fire in 1969. The fire happened the same night Americans set foot on the moon for the first time.

“Noah’s Ark was a funhouse type of place,” Haskell said. “I remember that well.”

In the Bessie Pipinias room, museum volunteers have arranged displays of handmade quilts, clothing and accessories. Most items were donated by residents whose families have lived in town for generations, Guerin said. A kite-racing track display shows photos of horse racing that drew thousands of people to town.

One of the most interesting parts of the museum is the transportation room, Haskell said. There, displays document trans-Atlantic flights that took off from the beach and trolley cars and trains that carried visitors in and out of town.

The new display on the Dummy Railroad shows it was established in 1881 to carry visitors from Camp Ellis in Saco to Old Orchard Beach. The train could not turn around, so it traveled backward from Camp Ellis. The railroad stopped running in 1923 and the tracks were washed away by erosion in Camp Ellis.

Haskell said he and his brother rode the last train from Old Orchard Beach to Portland in 1940. Before the train stopped, it carried thousands of visitors to the beach each year from both Boston and Montreal.

When it comes to transportation, Old Orchard Beach is best known for its aviation history. Standing in front of a photo of Harry Jones, Haskell described how the pilot opened a hangar on the beach in 1919 to offer $5 rides to visitors.

“He was quite a character,” Haskell said. “I remember the planes taking off, but I never got to go because I didn’t have $5.”

Jones was the first U.S. Parcel Post aviator, first pilot to land on the Boston Common and the first pilot to fly over New York City by moonlight. He also was a friend of Charles Lindbergh, Haskell said.

Lindbergh landed his “Spirit of St. Louis” on the beach on July 24, 1927, while on tour following his historic trans-Atlantic flight. Fog prevented him from landing at the Portland airport, so “Lindy” decided to land at his friend’s hangar in Old Orchard Beach, Haskell said.

Lindbergh was enthusiastically welcomed by residents and people flocked to the beach to see his plane.

“My mother and father took me down to the beach in stroller to see him,” Haskell said.

Guerin said she encourages both locals and tourists to stop by the museum to learn more about the town’s unique history.

“I think it’s amazing to be able to show the public what it looked like in the ’20s and ’30s and how it is today,” she said.

The Harmon Museum is located at 4 Portland Ave. at the top of Old Orchard Street. Hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to noon Saturday through Sept. 24. Free parking is available at Saco & Biddeford Savings Bank. Admission is free and donations are accepted. For more information, call 934-9319.