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Kate
Douglas Wiggin was made the first honorary president of
the Dorcas, and Nora Archibald Smith (her sister) was the second.
Our honorary president was right in saying that Maine needs greater
public spirit and togetherness in village life, for we cannot make
a great and prosperous state out of abandoned and stagnant towns.
(We have come a long way.)
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 Kate
was seven years old when she came to Hollis with her mother and stepfather,
Dr. Albion Bradbury. She lived in what is now Mrs. Williams house.
Her book "My Garden of Memory" is a delightful book that
covers her childhood, growing up, moving to California, and her establishment
of the first free kindergarten west of the Rockies. It also tells
of her travels, the meeting of Charles Dickens, the death of her
stepfather, the hard times she encountered, and her return to Hollis.
Her book tells how she acquired "Quillcote" which
was owned by Mrs. Thomas Carll, and how Peabody Pew was born. Rehearsals
were started in the old barn at Quillcote in 1916. |
 She
has written many books, including the following: Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm,
Susannah & Sue, and Waitstill Baxter and the Old Peabody Pew.
The
Salmon Falls Library in Hollis was once owned by Kate Douglas Wiggin and her
sister Nora Archibald Smith. It was bequeathed to the town of Hollis
in 1934 by Nora as a memorial to Kate Douglas Wiggin. Kate died in 1923. |
“Quillcote”- Hollis, Maine |
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