Now through 1995!
All of us at Yarmouth History Center are excited to announce the expansion of our new digital archive of Yarmouth’s own newspaper, The Shopping Notes!
You’ll find issue from 1953-1995, fully digitized and searchable by keyword. Or, browse year by year and page through the individual issues. We hope you’ll enjoy looking back at Yarmouth’s more recent past!
We plan to continue digitizing our large collection of past issues. If you would like to make a donation towards this project, we would welcome your support! Donate online now, mail a check (designated for The Notes project) to PO Box 107, Yarmouth ME 04096, or give us a call at 207-846-6259. Thank you!
History of The Notes
For decades, area residents relied on The Shopping Notes (later known as The Notes) as their connection to local businesses, classifieds, and community events. Created by Ken Larrabee in 1952, The Shopping Notes began as an advertising flyer to promote Larrabee’s after-Christmas sale for his Yarmouth Dollar Store. It expanded over the years to include more news, opinions, and events, but remained a family-owned and -operated business for the next 68 years, becoming a beloved part of Yarmouth life. The late Stan Milton, who acquired the paper in 1978, summed it up best, “The paper’s popularity derives from its local angle. People say they adore the paper because everything they want to know is in it.”
Like so many others in town, we were saddened to hear of its closing in early 2021, but enthusiastically accepted the gift of decades of past issues and photographs from the LaBrie family. This major archival collection has now become our first significant digital archive. We are thrilled to offer it free of charge to all and look forward to adding more issues and expanding the archive in the years to come.
