In addition to an intriguing set of illustrated lectures this winter, the Boothbay Railway Village is also launching a series of hands-on programs related to the exhibits and collection of the Museum. A new six-week course with Master Maine Guide Forrest Faulkingham will include hands-on instruction on fly tying and insider tips on how to best fish with them. Class will be held on Tuesdays: March 1, 8, 15, 22, 19 and April 5 from 6 to 8 pm.

Students will learn to tie everything from freshwater trout flies through saltwater flies for striped bass, sharks and tuna using natural and synthetic materials. No experience is necessary and all materials and tools supplied.

This summer the Museum is opening a new exhibit inside Thorndike Station about how Maine became Vacationland. Tracing back the early days of recreational travel by sail, steam train and ships, as well as early automobiles, the exhibit highlights the rusticators and early sportsmen and women who helped make tourism a top industry in Maine by the early twentieth century. Special attention is given in the exhibit to Cornelia “Fly Rod” Crosby, 1854 -1946, Maine’s first registered guide. She was a journalist, fly-fisher extraordinaire, hunter, early conservationist and outdoor enthusiast. “Fly Rod’s Notebook” ran in Maine newspapers and in publications as far away as Boston, New York, and Chicago. Starting in 1901, she wrote regularly for the national magazine Field & Stream. Crosby was even hired by the Maine Central Railroad as its first publicity agent. Her job was to write about things that would attract people to Maine, not necessarily about the railroad.   

Faulkingham has been teaching fly tying and casting courses for 40 years. He is both a Registered Master Maine Tidewater Fishing and Sea Kayaking Guide as well as a Coast Guard licensed charter captain. He’s the Past President of The Maine Association of Charterboat Captains, the Saltwater Guides Association and the Kennebec Chapter of The Coastal Conservation Association. Presently he serves as an examiner on the Maine Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, Maine Guide Exam Board. Faulkingham has earned the endorsement of Orvis. He’s spent the last 40+ years chasing fresh and saltwater game fish with both fly rods and conventional tackle and is, in his own words, an “all around nice guy, friend to kids and stray dogs.”

Classes will take place inside the historic Boothbay Town Hall on the Museum’s campus. A snack will be served each week. Class fee is $45 for Museum members, $55 for non-members. Class limited to 12 participants. No experience required, open to anyone 11 or older. Register online at www.railwayvillage.org or by calling 207-633-4727. The Boothbay Railway Village is located at 586 Wiscasset Road, Route 27 in Boothbay.