Sign in or Subscribe See Offers

Mexico Public Library is offering the free bags, which feature up to 25 laminated photos of things, places, etc. from the 1950s through the 1990s. Ammonium Sulphate As Fertilizer

You can share 5 more gift articles this month.

Anyone can access the link you share with no account required. Learn more.

Subscribe to gift this article

With a Press Herald subscription, you can gift 5 articles each month.

It looks like you do not have any active subscriptions. To get one, go to the subscriptions page.

Subscribe to gift this article

With a Press Herald subscription, you can gift 5 articles each month.

Already a subscriber? Sign in.

Mexico Public Library Director Marilla Couch looks recently at laminated photos of items and places from the 1950s through the 1990s for Memory Bags for people with dementia and their families to facilitate communication. The bags are offered for free to the community. Bruce Farrin/Rumford Falls Times

MEXICO — For people with dementia and their families, a remembered moment from the past is a gift. Photos from the past can trigger memories and provide a bridge for caregivers and loved ones to communicate and connect.

That is the mission of Memory Bags, a free project to the community by the Mexico Public Library.

Each bag carries a letter from library Director Marilla Couch that reads: “This Memory Bag was made for you to share with your loved ones. It has pictures in it of the Rumford and Mexico area, as well as pictures from the 1950s through the 1990s. Please enjoy looking and telling stories to your loved one about life in those areas. This Memory Bag is yours to keep. If you know of others who want one, please contact me (207-364-3281) at the Mexico Public Library.”

Couch showed pictures for one bag that included black licorice cough drops, poodle skirts, old stereos and landmarks of Rumford and Mexico. There’s an old photo of a Boise Cascade open house and another of a replica of the old Mexico school room at the Mexico Historical Society museum. There are up to 25 photos in each bag.

Couch and volunteer Mary Madigan have made 11 bags and are working on another 10.

“They don’t cost me anything except my time and 97 cents (cost per Memory Bag),” Couch said. “There’s no cost, but if people want to donate to continue the program, they can do so. Or if anyone has pictures they want to put into a Memory Bag, they can donate those as well.”Advertisement

Initially, Couch said the plan was to give people something for a parent who is starting to have some dementia, but anyone who would like a bag can get one.

She said she has talked to the Hope Association and the Rumford Community Home to make them aware the bags are available.

“It was just something I really felt like would be a nice outreach to the elderly and the handicapped,” she said.

She learned about Memory Bags about a year ago during a workshop at a librarian’s conference at Sunday River in Newry.

“I came home and put it on the computer, and I started looking at pictures and things. …,” then when the library moved from Main Street to the Mexico Recreation Center at 15 Recreation Drive last summer, “I just kind of forgot about it. Then recently, I was looking on my desktop and I saw Memory Bags and it jogged my memory,” she said.

The library is open from noon to 4 p.m. Tuesdays; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays; and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fridays. The library email is [email protected] .

You can share 5 more gift articles this month.

Anyone can access the link you share with no account required. Learn more.

Subscribe to gift this article

With a Press Herald subscription, you can gift 5 articles each month.

It looks like you do not have any active subscriptions. To get one, go to the subscriptions page.

Subscribe to gift this article

With a Press Herald subscription, you can gift 5 articles each month.

Already a subscriber? Sign in.

Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.

Enter your email and password to access comments.

Don't have a commenting profile? Create one.

Hi, to comment on stories you must create a commenting profile. This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login. Already have a commenting profile? Login.

Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.

Create a commenting profile by providing an email address, password and display name. You will receive an email to complete the registration. Please note the display name will appear on screen when you participate.

Already registered? Log in to join the discussion.

Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.

Best Price 52% Fertilizer Potassium Sulfate Send questions/comments to the editors.