Permanence of Memory History Table

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  • John Ford Statue
  • Remembering Domestic Worker
  • Table
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  • Table

Permanence of Memory History Table

Gorham’s Corner, where Danforth and York Streets meet at a point

A variety of neighborhood women from the past are represented in the Permanence of Memory History Table. They are also represented in the work of early and mid-twentieth century women. Sarah Gorham (1901-1934) was a buyer for Porteous, Mitchell & Braun (site C14). Julia Foley (1857-1949) was a clerk for Cushman’s Bakery nearby on Pleasant Street, and Teresa Green Mohan (1889-1935) was a maid at the Lafayette Hotel on the corner of Park and Congress Streets. Two professional women listed on the table are Elsie Clark Nutt, who was the head resident of the Fraternity House (site G01) and Johanna K. Welch (1813-1893), who worked as a physician at 85 Pleasant Street for more than 20 years late in the nineteenth century. Brad McCallum created the Table, also known as History Table, Gorham’s Corner. It was installed in 1998.

John Ford Statue

The statue of John Ford, sculpted by George Kelly and dedicated in July 1993, commemorates the life of the Hollywood film director (“Stagecoach,” “The Searchers,” “The Grapes of Wrath,” “My Darling Clementine,” “Mister Roberts,” among others) who was born John Martin Feeney (nicknamed “Bull” Feeney) in Cape Elizabeth and raised on Munjoy Hill. Bull Feeney’s, a restaurant and pub on Commercial Street, is named for him. (Ford was also a close friend of actor John “Duke” Wayne and often cast Wayne in his films.) Josephine Cecelia Feeney (1891-1985), one of John Ford’s ten siblings, graduated from Gorham Normal School in 1912. She taught second grade at the North School on Munjoy Hill in 1916 with three years’ experience. She earned an annual salary of $500. She moved to Beverly Hills, California, in the early 1920s, where she taught for many years, returning in the summer to Peaks Island. Another sister, Mary, the widow of fish dealer John McLain, operated a fish dealership with her brother Pat.