Gifts of Yesteryear - Maine Stein Collection
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Edie McVay King '67 |
Fill the steins to dear old Maine.
Shout till the rafters ring!
Stand and drink a toast once again!
Let every loyal Maine fan sing.
Drink to all the happy hours,
Drink to the careless days.
Drink to Maine, our Alma Mater,
The college of our hearts always.
Most everyone knows that the rousing
Stein Song made famous by singer Rudy Vallee ‘25 became the
official anthem of the University of Maine as well as a popular
tribute to the flagship University as an institution of higher
learning.
But fewer people may realize that the
song also inspired the creation of an impressive stein
collection, most of which is displayed in Fogler Library’s Oakes
Room. Established more than 40 years ago, the assortment
currently consists of more than 200 colorful mugs of various
shapes and sizes donated by alumni, faculty and friends from
across the country.
Nowadays, students contribute most of
the steins and even clean them as part of their service
projects, according to Joyce Rumery, dean of libraries, who says
that each year the honor societies known as Senior Skulls and
All Maine Women add to the grouping.
“It’s connected to the Maine Stein
Song, so it’s an interesting and unique collection,” says Dr.
Rumery.
According to information obtained from
Fogler’s Special Collections, the idea for a collection
originated in 1962 when Omer Thibodeau ’64 of Presque Isle
pointed out the words in the song and inquired why there were no
steins “to fill.” He suggested establishing a room to house a
collection of the UMaine symbol.
Although there initially was some
concern about the propriety of developing a stein collection on
a “dry” campus, the Memorial Union board deemed it appropriate
since the University had long identified with the Maine Stein
Song which had become a national favorite – even reaching number
one on the pop charts in 1930.
So, in May 1962 the Governing Board of
the Memorial Union, encouraged by Nelson B. Jones, then director
of the Union, formally authorized creation of the stein
collection to be housed in the lobby of that facility.
Barry Millett ’56, then assistant dean
of men, got the ball rolling by loaning a few from his own
collection. Then, the Memorial Union appropriated money to buy
five steins from an antiques dealer. The first donation was made
in September, 1963, by Mrs. Rena C. Bowles, a member of the
class of 1921, and a former trustee who had been active during
the campaign to raise funds for the Memorial Union.
Over the years, steins have been
donated on a regular basis by students, alumni and friends of
the University. The majority are many years old and were made in
Germany. Donors have supplied a full identification of the
steins and a description of their history, source of manufacture
and other significant data.
In October 1964 UMaine junior Richard
Rhoda of Houlton donated a stein that he purchased in Austria
while spending his spring semester in Europe. A photograph of
Dick presenting the impressive-looking, 20-inch stein to Nelson
Jones appeared in the Oct. 29, 1964 Bangor Daily News.
“I knew
we had a great stein collection at the University, and there I
was in stein country,” says Dick, now a Houlton attorney whose
son, Les Rhoda ’98, works in UMaine’s Information Technologies
Department.
“It was
an opportunity for me to give something back to UMaine. After
all, the University had made it possible for me to go to Europe,
something I never expected to do,” says Dick who today calls his
semester abroad “one of the 10 things that did the most to shape
my life. I was exposed to things that I never would have thought
about back in Houlton, Maine.”
Meanwhile, the number of steins
increased by leaps and bounds. In the 1970’s, outgrowing the
lobby, the collection was moved to a room on the first floor of
the Memorial Union. Then, in the mid-1980’s, numbering around
160, it was relocated to its current spot at Fogler.
“We
needed office space, so we spoke with the folks at the library
to see if they were willing to provide housing for the
collection. They were more than willing to do that,” says David
Rand, then director of the Union and associate dean of student
affairs.
“It was an appropriate thing for us to
do at the time – it was an opportunity to get in touch with the
university’s history. People enjoyed the collection. It was
attractive and it was unique -- particularly because many of the
steins were quite valuable.”
Although she often heard talk about
different organizations that planned to take possession of the
steins, in the end, they stayed right where they were, says Dr.
Rumery.
“We’ve taken care of them and become
the stewards.”
Over the
years, the steins continued to inspire conversation. Alluding to
the early apprehension about creating a stein collection, Nelson
Jones wrote in the Spring 1985 Maine Alumnus: “It is hard to
believe now that barely a decade ago there were some misgivings
about the propriety of having such a collection. Drinking on
campus was not permitted. Would such a display suggest the wrong
emphasis? The line in the song beseeching everyone “to drink” to
something did not seem relevant. However, there were no
protestors and no pickets and the project continued!”
Not all of UMaine’s steins are in
Fogler Library. A number also are on display at the
Buchanan Alumni House, thanks to loyal Black Bear Edie McVay
King ’67, who liked UMaine’s connection with the Stein Song so
much that, after graduating, she decided to contribute to the
collection.
Traveling around the country and
the world with her husband Louis ’60, Edie began amassing steins
of all sizes and shapes. “The largest – 27 inches with its lid –
is from Bermuda. The next largest is from Germany,” says Edie,
whose steins also come from the Bahamas and from Frankenmuth,
Michigan, a quaint Bavarian community.
“I’ve also gotten some from
antiques stores throughout Maine, and some have been Christmas
gifts from my father and my husband,” says Edie.
Although she initially figured
she’d bequeath the steins to UMaine, she changed her mind once
the Buchanan Alumni House was built.
“I thought, ‘what a perfect place
for them to be right now!’’’
Today, Edie has donated
approximately 40 steins that are scattered throughout the
Buchanan Alumni House, including in the offices of a number of
University of Maine Alumni Association staff members. Last year
she gave to UMaine President Robert Kennedy the very first stein
she got in 1972.
Edie, who lives in Waterville,
often visits campus and takes great pleasure in seeing her
steins displayed prominently at the beautiful Buchanan Alumni
House.
“They just
fit in so well there,” she says. “Now, more people get to see
them and I enjoy them more here than I ever did at home.”
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