In #Lubec, #Maine, you'll find what's left of the last herring smokehouse in the US. It closed over thirty years ago, and is now the McCurdy Smokehouse Museum. The whole town used to be lined with smokehouses, and reeked because of them. "When the town stinks, it means everyone's working," they used to say, shrugging off the overpowering stench.
The smokehouses are all gone now, replaced by condos or retirement homes or vacant lots.
Except this one.
1/4
Behind the desk sits an old man. Slender, grizzled, white beard. Distant look in his eyes. A bit run down, much like the building. Worked here decades ago. Didn't give his name, said no photos.
He showed us around. This room struck me. These are the rods onto which staff strung fish for smoking. You can still smell the fish and the brine and the smoke, decades after the plant fell silent. It's seeped into the fabric of the building. Of the town.
#History
#Heritage
#Museums
#Maine
#Lubec
2/4
What resonated with me was the contrast. Each rod is worn smooth by generations of hands. Each represents a focal point of a once-bustling economy. Each feels like a voice calling from a past maybe most of us forgot or never knew.
And now they're stacked by the thousands in the back room of a ramshackle building by the sea. Thousands of memories, stories.
So much prosperity and activity. So much of Lubec's history.
Silent. Dark. Waiting.
#History
#Heritage
#Museums
#Maine
#Lubec
3/4
Maybe you think great museums need to have exotic artifacts from ancient, mysterious, far-away cultures. Maybe you want pyramids, temples or jewel-encrusted gold baubles. Maybe you turn your nose up at a small, local place like the McCurdy Smokehouse Museum. I say you're missing out.
Some places tell stories.
This is one of those places.
Go.
#History
#Heritage
#Museums
#Maine
#Lubec
4/4
Ian Hember