By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

NAPLES — The Naples Information Center and the Naples Museum are reunited under one roof and ready for summertime traffic. In fact, the one building in the Village Green that houses both entities will be open on the Fourth of July from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“Merging the two together allows people to learn about Naples and the Lake Region area, past and present in one place,” according to the Museum Director/Manager Katie Cash-Staley.

“One of the benefits of having the info center and the museum together is that the museum is now open many more hours this summer,” Cash-Staley said.

Those expanded hours are: Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesdays, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and the first and last Saturdays of the month, from 9 a.m. to noon. On Wednesdays, the museum director will be on hand from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Those later hours were added to the schedule to allow people who work during the day a chance to stop in after dinner.

Several years ago, the Naples Museum and the Information Center were in the same building. But, that didn’t work out. Last summer, Brenda Leo, who heads the Naples Information Center, was working out of the smallest brick building on the Village Green. There was very little space in the room and no plumbing. Plus, the place was run-down, giving a fairly poor impression to tourist.

In February 2019, Leo brought the situation to the town’s attention and some changes were made. 

“The office of the museum was moved into the museum section of the building and the information center office was moved from the little brick building to the new space,” Cash-Staley said. 

“Volunteers from the community came on May 5 and May 19 for painting and reorganizing,” she said.

She said she was very thankful for all the help from the public.

According to Leo, “The students worked on May 5 and 19, giving up a majority of their Sundays. Several students have asked if they may continue dropping in and helping throughout the summer.”

“Parents or grandparents happily dropped them off and, during pickup, several students couldn’t wait to show the work they had done,” Leo said. “Everyone left with smiles.”

The renovations could not have happened without the volunteer labor of students. Likewise, earlier in the year, people in the community stepped forward and volunteered to be museum board members in an effort to revitalize the museum.

First, the newly-established board of directors of the Naples Historical Society appointed Cash-Staley, a lifelong Naples resident, as the new museum manager. Now, changes are on the horizon.

“We are in the process of reorganizing the museum this summer. and we plan on continuously changing our displays so there will always be something new to see,” Cash-Staley said. “By next summer, there will be videos on a wall-mounted TV and new photos reproduced.”

“As always, we have souvenir Naples plates and history books for sale,” she said.

The two women have figured out ways for people from out of town to quickly learn about and easily find the info center and museum.

“We have a new “Open” flag and an LED “Open” sign. Each has information on the town website. A new Facebook page can be found under Naples, Maine Historical Society,” Cash-Staley said.

“We believe new road signs will be placed on Route 302 this month,” she said.

Naples Selectman Bob Caron II has suggested several times that the town have the state put up blue directional signs for the museum.

After the volunteers painted and spruced up the space in the building, a Sneak Peak event was held in June.

“Several town administrators and the Naples Historical Society board of directors came to the sneak peek and said they are glad that someone is breathing new life into the museum,” Cash-Staley said.

What are some of the favorite museum items of the two women who spend a lot of time there?

Brenda Leo’s favorite item in the museum is the preserved loon from Brandy Pond that is more than 100 years old.

Katie’s favorite item is the Oriental Idol, a big statue stolen from a temple in China and brought to Naples during the Boxer Rebellion.

“Both women are very fond of the 1938 Dodge Fire Truck purchased by the Naples Fire Association in the 1900s and retired in 2011. Brenda loves seeing the eyes of children light up when they see the truck in the museum and so kids have their picture taken when sitting in the seat,” Cash-Staley said.

“I remember riding on the back of it as a child, when the truck was driven by my father Ed Cash,” she said.