Volunteer
Like so much of what happens in communities of all sizes almost everything we do relies on volunteers. Following are things that we’d love to have help with. But if you have specific ideas about other ways you’d like to contribute, please let us know!
Building Caretakers
Low level of effort that can include keeping an eye on buildings, identifying maintenance needs, providing occasional access to visitors and contractors, and occasionally helping with light cleaning before or after events. No need to sign up to do everything, but we’d be grateful for whatever help you’re able and willing to offer!
Docents
Learn about the history of one or more of our historic buildings and share your knowledge with others. There won’t be a test, but there will be opportunities to meet new people interested in learning more about our community and its history. Go as deep as you like to make visitors experiences special.
Event Planning and Execution
Historic buildings are best when they’re more than just “lawn ornaments” that visitors can drive by as they pass through town! Help us to use these spaces in ways that serve the community by helping to plan and execute events from musical performances to speakers to exhibits of local artists. We won’t throw you in the deep end, but would love to have help scheduling and setting up for and publicizing events.
Grant-writing, Fundraising, and Sponsorships
Though we take pride in doing a lot with a little, we can always do more with more! Help us to do more by helping us to write grant applications, and to solicit donations and sponsorships from local businesses to help us to fund events and to pay for our ongoing maintenance, preservation, and restoration efforts. No prior experience needed, though we’ll be happy to accept help from anyone who has it!
Special Projects
Head Tide Store Historical Displays
Built by the Jewett family in the early 1880s, the Head Tide Store and barn were the center of community life and commerce in Head Tide for generations. Jewett family descendant and local author Joan Gregoire has a trove of photos, documents, and artifacts documenting the history of the Head Tide Store, the Head Tide Historic district, and the important role played by the Jewett family in Alna’s local history. Work with Joan and others to create displays for use at the Head Tide Store and barn to share this information with future visitors, and to complement any future use of the property.
Schoolhouse Museum at Alna’s Center School
Center School Cleanup Day
Doreen Conboy invested a great deal of work into configuring the Center School as a one-room schoolhouse museum, hosting many visitors over the years to experience what it would have been like to attend such a school. In the summer of 2026, we’ll be replacing weathered clapboards, repairing or replacing the door, and repainting the outside of the building. We’d like to kick things off in the spring by cleaning up inside, so that the school museum is once again suitable to host visitors once the exterior work is complete. We haven’t yet set a date for what we hope will be a one-day cleanup, but please let us know if you’d be willing to help!
Head Tide Store Steering Group
Richard Plunkett, “the Wizard of Odds and Ends,” who took such pride in owning the Head Tide Store hoped to preserve it for future generations as both a retail and community space. In addition to honoring Richard’s bequest of the property, paying for the future maintenance, preservation, and restoration of the Head Tide Store and barn will be helped greatly by our ability to attract one or more rent-paying tenants to the space. Please let us know if you’d like to help us to chart the course for the property’s future uses in ways that are consistent with its historic uses, and in other new ways that will serve the community.
Volunteer.
Email historicalna@gmail.com
or address letters to
Historic Alna
1574 Alna Road
Alna, ME 04535