Historic Preservation

Some of the happiest memories of my life are from childhood: listening to my young mother sing Elvis Presley songs, watching my brothers and sisters dance with wooden chairs to “Jailhouse Rock” and other favorites, and later gathering with the entire family to watch Elvis movies and television specials. Those moments gave me a lifetime of wonderful memories.

I am much older now. Some people collect matchboxes or knickknacks; I collect Elvis Presley ephemera—especially anything that documents Elvis’s May 24, 1977, visit to Maine and the ripples he left in his wake.

Bringing Elvis Presley to Maine was visionary. It was a cultural milestone whose influence continues to echo nearly half a century later. The lives touched through the charitable work performed in his name by Maine’s True Fans for Elvis Fan Club alone represent an extraordinary legacy worthy of recognition and preservation.

I still have my ticket from Elvis’s Augusta concert, as well as my tickets to his scheduled Portland appearances. Tragically, as we all know, Elvis never lived to perform those Portland shows. Being so close to seeing him—and losing that opportunity—has haunted me ever since. It also inspired a decades-long quest to learn everything I could about the Augusta concert and to understand what Maine narrowly missed in Portland.

Sadly, most of my personal Elvis collection—including records, photographs, and newspapers—was lost in a 1983 house fire. Since then, I have slowly tried to recover some of what disappeared. I have experienced both gratifying successes and considerable disappointments, particularly because the surviving materials from 1977 are scattered among many collections and are often faded, damaged, incomplete, or otherwise in poor condition.

This archive is a noncommercial, personal work in progress created for historical research, documentation, cataloguing, and preservation. It is intended for the public benefit and for posterity. The collection is still developing and may temporarily lack complete captions, source information, attributions, finished layouts, or other topics planned for the final chronicle. Copyright and ownership of individual materials remain with their respective creators and rights holders.

Acknowledgments

This project could not have progressed without the generosity, knowledge, fellowship, and encouragement of many people.

With sincere gratitude, and in no particular order, I thank my family and friends, the Board, Dick Edwards; Dot and Walter Gonyea; Lionel Dubay; Tony King; Cathi Avenell; Harold Newton; Len and Rosemarie Leech; Larry Patrick; Dennis Luosey; Bud Glass; Mark Warner; Marjorie MacLeod; Bob Vachon; Rachel DePlanche; Michael Lovejoy; Janie Lovejoy; Lydia Butler; Silvia Heath; Eliza Curtis; Richard Lathrop; Gregory Houdlette; Pat Colwell; Robert Washington; John Betzold; Leona McKenna; Beverly Golden; Richard Grasse; Ann and Jim Nugent; Margaret Noel; Jody Guimond; Karl Wiggins; Uncle Henry’s; eBay; the staffs of the Augusta Civic Center, Maine State Library, and Graceland; the Maine True Fans for Elvis Fan Club; and the many others who helped me assemble this chronicle of Elvis’s Maine concert and its lasting impact.

Thank you for the friendship and fellowship, and for the newsletters, photographs, recordings, videotapes, documents, memories, and other materials you have shared with me through the years. I am eternally grateful.

Much of the credit for this project also belongs to the many people with firsthand knowledge whom I personally interviewed, as well as the authors, historians, videographers, collectors, and journalists whose work helped document these events. They include Paul Betit, Lyn Lilieholm, Jeffrey Gevalt, Chris Palmer, Betty Adams, Karlene Washburn, Bob Sneddon, Colin Sargent, Bill Green, Betty Potter, Maureen Milliken, and many more than can be briefly acknowledged here.

I thank and salute all of you.

Wish List: A Call to Preserve Elvis in Maine

This project is also a clarion call to gather and preserve as much of Maine’s Elvis history as possible before it is lost to time. These records, stories, and artifacts deserve a permanent repository where they can be documented, protected, and made available for future generations.

I am especially seeking:

• Previously unseen photographs, audio recordings, films, or videotapes of Elvis’s Augusta concert
• Complete editions of the Kennebec Journal from May 25, May 26, and August 17, 1977
• Clearer copies or high-resolution scans of newspaper photographs and articles
• VHS tapes or other recordings of Maine television news reports concerning Elvis’s visit
• Copies of photographs taken by Kennebec Journal photographers Dennis Luosey and Roland Veilleux
• Copies of Portland Press Herald photographs taken by Peter Darling
• The Elvis Augusta Civic Center concert contract and rider
• Letters or correspondence involving Colonel Tom Parker or Concerts West
• Augusta Civic Center seating charts, backstage passes, photographer identification, and other concert credentials from 1977
• Sheraton Inn records or room-service receipts connected to Elvis’s stay
• Photographs, recordings, or memorabilia from Lisa Marie Presley’s 2003 Portland concert
• Old newsletters and records from the True Fans for Elvis Fan Club
• Cumberland County Civic Center correspondence concerning Elvis’s scheduled Portland appearances
• Portland Press Herald newspapers, articles, and photographs related to Elvis in Maine

If you possess any document, photograph, recording, newspaper, story, artifact, or piece of memorabilia connecting Elvis Presley to Maine, I would be honored to hear from you. Even if you do not wish to part with an original item, I would appreciate the opportunity to document, scan, photograph, or catalogue it as part of this growing historical archive.

Thank you for your time, patience, generosity, and indulgence. If you have questions, memories, or materials of interest, please contact me at [email protected] or [email protected].