DEAR SUN SPOTS: Little is recorded for the Heathwood Inn, High Street, Lisbon, as requested in Sun Spots on Dec. 23.

Unfortunately, the histories of the thousands of businesses that have existed in Androscoggin County are largely unrecorded except for the biggest ones and a very few others.

At the Androscoggin Historical Society, we have determined that the Heathwood was established in the 1950s, was owned by Armand and Stella Fillion beginning in 1971, and was owned by Kamal Negm in 1979 until he converted it to Harvest House Restaurant in 1984.

The best way to begin researching would be to contact former owners or their descendants, if possible.

One may also type “Heathwood Inn Lisbon” to access newspapers articles at http://news.google.com/archivesearch, most of which involve wedding receptions and other celebrations there. Interviews with couples and others who patronized the restaurant would help to catch the flavor of the place. — Doug Hodgkin, Androscoggin Historical Society, [email protected]

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I read that someone wanted info on the Heathwood.

My uncle, Gideon Lessard, was the owner before it was the Heathwood it was the Lisbon Roller Rink.

When his son, Bert Lessard, came home from military service he talked my uncle into closing the rink and making it the Heathwood. — No Name via e-mail

DEAR SUN SPOTS: A new statewide search for historic painted scenery is now under way in Maine. These local treasures were created between 1890 and about 1940, the heyday of vaudeville, and are still to be found in town halls, Grange halls, opera houses and community theaters.

They often contain richly painted drapery, countryside or street scenes. They are usually “roll drops” on wooden or metal rollers and they often feature advertisements for local businesses such as dairies, piano movers, car dealers and beauty parlors.

With the arrival of movies and then television, the use of town halls and Grange halls as cultural centers declined, and after World War II, the tradition of creating painted roll drops simply disappeared. However, much of the historic scenery remains either on stage or in storage, sometimes in good condition but more often neglected, torn and very dirty.

Many of the same itinerant painters and scenic studios that created scenery in Maine also sold scenery in New Hampshire and Vermont, where 185 pieces have been found through a similar search.

In Maine, more than a dozen historic scenes have been stabilized by Curtains Without Borders, a team of conservators who developed their survey and conservation skills in Vermont. The Gardiner Library, the Granges in Benton and Windsor, and the Searsport Town Hall are examples where restored scenery is now on display.

This search is a joint project of Curtains Without Borders and Maine Preservation, which supports local efforts to preserve and revive the buildings that house historic scenery. Funding has been provided by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Maine Community Foundation.

Another partner in this effort to locate and document Maine’s historic scenery is the Maine State Grange. For more information and to contribute any information, please call or e-mail me. — Christine Hadsel, 802-598-5867, [email protected].

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