“The Woman Behind the New Deal,” by Kirstin Downey, is a Must Read for All Interested in the Life and Legacy of Frances Perkins or Interested in Learning About Her and Her Maine Roots.

The Frances Perkins Center, based in Damariscotta, is hiring a Program and Education Director.  This is a new position

The successful candidate for this new position will play an important role in interpreting and bringing forth the legacy of an iconic historical figure to inspire and inform approaches to the current issues Americans face today.  The Director will be experienced in historical interpretation, ranging from creative ways to introduce the public to a historic site to engaging diverse audiences via virtual programs.

Although she was born in Massachusetts, her refuge from her life in Washington, D.C. was the famlily homestad on the River Road in Newcastle.  It is currently closed while it undergoes major preservation work.  Her grandson Tomlin Coggleshall has been the driving force behind an effort to preserve the homestead by sharing her commitment to the principal that government should provide its people with the best possible life and by preserving the place that shaped her character. Secretary Perkins was the Secretary of Labor in FDR’s cabinet and she was the first woman to serve in a presidential cabinet. This is all “deliciously” described in the highly readable book – “The Woman Behind the New Deal,” by Kirstin Downey.  (See photo above left).

For more information on this new position, please call the Center in Damariscotta at:  (207) 563-3374 or email:  info@francesperkinscenter.org.

For more information on Secretary of Labor Perkins, please visit post herein dated March 13, 2019.  Also, please visit post herein dated August 13, 2017 on the honoring of two at an outdoor garden party at the Perkins Homestead, River Road, Newcastle.