Brackett, Manchester, Mills, Soule, & Strout

Linwood Dyer Collection (Part 070)
By Don Taylor

This set of photos, from the Linwood Dyer Photo Collection, contains 18 photographs, all taken at Adams Studio located at 515A Congress Street in Portland. The photographs appear to be graduation portraits, bearing an imprint reading “Portland High School – ’18.” Most feature handwritten notes identifying the individual and many confirm 1918 as the graduation year.

I initially searched for 1918 yearbooks but was unsuccessful in locating copies either online or through physical holdings in Minerva. However, using Newspapers.com, I discovered an excellent resource: a front-page article in the Portland Evening Express dated June 24, 1918, which lists the names of all 230 seniors who received diplomas from Portland High School that year. With this comprehensive graduation list, I should be able to positively identify many of the individuals in these photographs.

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Graduates Featured:

Lucille Lane Brackett, PHS Class of 1918.

• Photo Type: Graduation portrait (3” x 7”)
• Studio: Adams Studio, 515 A Congress Street, Portland, ME
• Class: Portland High School – ’18.
• Inscription: “Memories of our class of ’18, Lucille”
• Research Note: The only Lucille in the class of 1918 was Lucille Lane Brackett.[I]

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Herbert Richardson Manchester, PHS Class of 1918.

• Photo Type: Graduation portrait (3” x 7”)
• Studio: Adams Studio, 515 A Congress Street, Portland, ME
• Class: Portland High School – ’18.
• Inscription: “‘Tea is Served’ Sincerely Yours, Herbert R. Manchester.”
• Research Note: I confirmed Herbert Richardson Manchester received a diploma from PHS in 1918.[ii]

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Carol Frazier Mills, PHS Class of 1918.

• Photo Type: Graduation portrait (3” x 7”)
• Studio: Adams Studio, 515 A Congress Street, Portland, ME
• Class: Portland High School – ’18.
• Inscription: “‘All little ladies friends’ from one of them, Carol.”
• Research Note: The only Carol in the class of 1918 was Carol Frazier Mills.[iii]

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Ernest Carroll Soule, PHS Class of 1918.

• Photo Type: Graduation portrait (3” x 7”)
• Studio: Adams Studio, 515 A Congress Street, Portland, ME
• Class: Portland High School – ’18.
• Inscription: “Our Faithful Time Keeper, Ernest Soule, 1918.
• Research Note: I confirmed Ernest Carroll Soule received a diploma from PHS in 1918.[iv]

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Andrew Everett Strout, PHS Class of 1918.

• Photo Type: Graduation portrait (3” x 7”)
• Studio: Adams Studio, 515 A Congress Street, Portland, ME
• Class: Portland High School – ’18.
• Inscription: “Hurrah for the Class Play, A Everett Strout.
• Research Note: I confirmed Andrew Everett Strout received a diploma from PHS in 1918.[v]

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Helen __[LNU][vi]__, PHS Class of 1918.

• Photo Type: Graduation portrait (3” x 7”)
• Studio: Adams Studio, 515 A Congress Street, Portland, ME
• Class: Portland High School – ’18.
• Inscription: “In memory of the good times we had in the Chem. Lab, Helen.
• Research Note: There were nine Helens in the PHS Class of 1918[vii]. They include:
  • Helen Florence BlackHelen Marguerite DavisMary Helen GreenHelen Mary MahoneyHelen Angela MerrillHelen MeserveHelen Elizabeth Mulligan Helen Merrill Roberts &
  • Pearl Helen Sauza.

This photo could be any one of those. Hopefully, I will be able to narrow down the individual as I further analyze the photos in this collection.

(I later encountered a photo that shows another girls is Helen Merrill Roberts.)

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Conclusion

This project is about more than photographs—it’s about restoring connections across generations. These portraits capture moments of pride and promise, and for many families, they may be the only formal photo of a loved one at that pivotal time.

If you recognize someone in these images or they are part of your family history, I welcome your contact. I’d be happy to share the personal inscriptions found inside the folders—words written by the people themselves more than 60 years ago.

These portraits are available for personal genealogical use. Please credit – Photo courtesyScarborough Historical Society, Scarborough, Maine.

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 ENDNOTES:

[i] Evening Express (Portland, Maine) · Mon, Jun 24, 1918 · Page 1, continued on page 6 – “Record Class Last to Graduate from Old P. H. S. Building.”

[ii] Evening Express (Portland, Maine) · Mon, Jun 24, 1918 · Page 1, continued on page 6 – “Record Class Last to Graduate from Old P. H. S. Building.”

[iii] Evening Express (Portland, Maine) · Mon, Jun 24, 1918 · Page 1, continued on page 6 – “Record Class Last to Graduate from Old P. H. S. Building.”

[iv] Evening Express (Portland, Maine) · Mon, Jun 24, 1918 · Page 1, continued on page 6 – “Record Class Last to Graduate from Old P. H. S. Building.”

[v] Evening Express (Portland, Maine) · Mon, Jun 24, 1918 · Page 1, continued on page 6 – “Record Class Last to Graduate from Old P. H. S. Building.”

[vi] [LNU] – [Last Name Unknown.]

[vii] Evening Express (Portland, Maine) · Mon, Jun 24, 1918 · Page 1, continued on page 6 – “Record Class Last to Graduate from Old P. H. S. Building.”