They said they'd be back, and they're coming back! 

Upon learning that the unexpectedly large crowd that turned out for their program at the Boothbay Region Historical Society on Thursday, July 13, could not be fully accommodated inside the meeting room, Duane and Dwight Lewis immediately announced to those assembled that they would return to do another program in August. 

The date of their return has now been set for Thursday, Aug. 24, at 4:30 p.m. Please call (207-633-0820) or email (brhs@gwi.net) the museum to make a reservation for one of the 24 seats available if you wish to attend in person or to request a Zoom link if you wish to view the program online. If no one is available to take your phone call, leave a message which includes your preference for the program (in person or on zoom), your name, your phone number, and your email address. Doors open at 4:15 p.m., and the program begins at 4:30. Admission is by reservation only.

Twin brothers Duane and Dwight Lewis tended the Southport Bridge for a combined ninety years, their father Norman tended the bridge for forty-two years, and their sister Ruth tended it for ten years. The brothers also tended the South Bristol and Trevett Bridges. In their talk, Duane and Dwight will reminisce about their fascinating, unusual, and amusing experiences on some or all of these bridges.

The Southport Bridge is one of the few remaining moveable bridges in Maine, and it still swings. This type of bridge, once common, is now rare. When the bridge was built in 1939, it was hand-operated, but it has since been automated. From 1940 until Duane retired in 2013, there was always a Lewis tending the bridge; Dwight retired in 2012. Each tended the Southport Bridge for forty-five years. In their job as tenders, Dwight and Duane knew all the local fishermen, but they also met people from all over the world, and even tracked down a stolen boat. In the winter, bridge traffic was slow, but during the summer the bridge might be opened 1500 times a month.