Festival of Traditions: Anton Drescig of Austro-Hungary | Brick Store Museum

This program began in 2019 to focus on the immigrant stories of those who came to Kennebunk in the 19th and early 20th centuries as the major December holidays began to take hold in the United States. The program has translated into a month-long exploration of multicultural traditions and family stories. We’ll be highlighting the culinary, religious, cultural and other festive traditions from Kennebunk families hailing from Scandinavia, Austria, Greece, Italy, Russia, Canada and Syria.
Volunteer researchers here at the Museum scoured the U.S. Censuses taken between 1870 and 1950, to find families living in Kennebunk who had emigrated to the United States. This information supplied names, addresses, country of origin, language spoken, and profession.
From there, we researched intensively many different families, to find items in the Museum’s collection having to do with their stories.
We then used resources from around the state and the world to help us determine gaps in their stories.
You’ll probably notice similar themes, practices and celebrations threading themselves through all of our cultural celebrations - those celebrating family, folklore, and good wishes for the future.
We thank you for joining us to explore our shared history.