Farewell to Ed Phinney

Former HHS board member Edward Bartlett Phinney passed away on March 12, 2023 at age 88. Ed had long ties to Harpswell, where his family had a cottage at the very tip of Potts Point for several generations and where Ed met his wife June at a dance at the Merriconeag Grange. He loved Harpswell history and carried out extensive research on the history of 19th and 20th century hotels and guest houses here, much of it compiled from articles in the Casco Bay Breeze. Later, June and he put together a well-received illustrated presentation on his findings that they delivered in homes and gathering places throughout Harpswell. The 2020 anthogogy “Glimpses of Harpswell,” published as part of Harpswell’s commemoration of Maine’s 200 anniversary as a state, featured a chapter Ed contributed on Harpswell hotels. Ed cared greatly about preserving Harpswell’s history and left his carefully compiled, extensive collection of Harpswell-related postcards to the Pejepscot History Center for future generations to explore. You can view the postcards online here.