Oral History Project Honors Family Who Donated Schiller Center Property

Betsy said the family also wishes to acknowledge that they were among many who loved and cared deeply for the land. "Looking back, we realize each group of people contributed to the history of the place, from Indigenous footsteps to the Hansons, who wrestled the rocky land into a productive farm. Our grandparents would be proud and appreciative of the intentional way Bowdoin has worked to ensure the property is utilized, both within the town and Bowdoin community and beyond."

As she pieced together the stories of the various Thalheimer siblings she had interviewed, Abouraya said she spent much of the summer matching those memories with the photographs the family shared. "Some stories I knew would anchor the piece because all four grandchildren discussed them with me, like swimming down at the Point with their grandfather and watching for the flag as they came up the road."

For her personally, said Abouraya, working on the project was an eye-opening experience. "Like a lot of students, I'd go out to the dock to jump off or walk the trails without ever stopping to think about where this beautiful place came from. After speaking with the Thalheimers and seeing photographs of what the land used to look like, I have a newfound appreciation for it. It could easily have been sold and developed into private waterfront homes. That kind of generosity is rare," she added, "and I feel lucky to have spent a summer inside the story of it."

"What could have become a cluster of seasonal houses instead remains forest, field, and shoreline, much as the family knew it."

"My office is in the farmhouse," remarked Holly Parker, who directs the center, "and from the moment I arrived here, I could feel that this was a family home that carried a lot of memories." The project, she stressed, aims to capture and communicate that history to celebrate the Thalheimers' remarkable generosity. "The gift of their family home, Thalheimer Farm, that meant so much to so many, is central to our continuing story here on Orr's Island," added Parker.