WHO WAS SHE?

I wrote this true story for TOURIST & TOWN’S Spring/Summer magazine 2025, and thought I’d share it with my Wanderers … perhaps, hopefully, you can solve the mystery.

WHO WAS SHE?

The travel-weary suitcase stood on display in the center of a large wooden table at the Arundel Antique Village, a popular flea market on Route 1,several miles north of Kennebunkport’s Dock Square. Set beside a six-inch stack of cream-colored Lenox dinner plates and a scattering of Depression-era opalescent blue hobnail glasses — the essence of vintage — it immediately caught the interested eye of local artist Kelly Jo Shows who, magically, turns old battered suitcases into clever works of art.

“Yours for $10,” the flea market seller suggested. “Sold!” answered Kelly Jo.

Fabricated in darkened bamboo and woven rattan, the scratched suitcase hinted of summer jaunts to Grandma’s house back in the late 1940s. Perhaps it was stashed inside the trunk of a crocus yellow Chevrolet Bel Air traveling to Kennebunkport on the Maine Turnpike which opened in December, 1947. Weighing nearly 11 pounds, the suitcase is far lighterthan a Saratoga trunk but significantly heavier than an L.L. Bean canvas overnighter, especially for a slight 10-year-old girl to tote. Could this be her mother’s?

A miniature oval manufacturer’s label on the suitcase etched in bronze reads: “Maximillion New York NY.” An identification tag dangles from a black leather handle, attached by a tarnished three-inch ball chain. Written in the memorable Palmer Method that elementary school students still learned in the early 1950s, the address reads: “Beverly M, RFD #1-A, Kennebunkport, Maine.”

When Kelly Jo arrived home in West Kennebunk and opened the suitcase, she discovered an interior lined in luscious, nostalgic ecru satin. (Think Rita Hayworth on the cover of THIS WEEK, wearing a satin gown with a plunging neckline as she arrived by limo with Prince Aly Khan at Hollywood’s Brown Derby restaurant). Reaching into a side satin pocket, Kelly Jo found a faded one-inch-square black-and-white snapshot of a girl, perhaps 10 years old.

“Whoa!,” Kelly Jo said. Who is she? Is she still alive? When was she in Kennebunkport? Was her suitcase left in the attic of a shingled summer cottage on Ocean Avenue, then purchased at an estate sale before ending up in the flea market? The address “RFD #1-A, Kennebunkport” sounded like a clue that Inspector Clouseau would pounce on. And so began the mysterious quest to identify this young girl and, hopefully, return the photo and suitcase to her or her family.

Initial questions were directed to Kennebunk’s Brick Store Museum and the Kennebunkport Historical Society. Neither group had maps pinpointing the location of this RFD #1-A address. “Try the town tax assessor,” KHS historian Sharon Cummins suggested.

At the Kennebunkport Town Office, assessor Becky Logan studied the blurred address tag with interest. “‘Beverly M’ looks like it was written by a child but the opposite side of the address tag appears to be written by an adult, maybe her mother or aunt,” she said. “And that address looks familiar. Can you give me couple of days to dig into the records,” she asked.

Four days later, Becky related, “I can’t find that address anywhere in our town records or on our maps. But I think it’s probably on the outskirts of town, maybe closer to Biddeford. When you study the tag with a magnifying glass, it looks like Beverly M’s last name might begin with ‘St.’ Perhaps a French Canadian name? Hopefully, the post office should have a record of this address.”

The postmaster at the Kennebunkport Post Office on Temple Street said, “Zip codes were introduced in July, 1963, so we know this address precedes that date because there’s no zip code noted on the tag. Currently there are six rural routes, but no RFD #1-A. However, several of our carriers have had these RFD routes for 20 years or more, and they might remember the address.” After studying the name tags, one of the carriers suggested, “It looks like it’s gotta be Route 1 heading to Biddeford, but the best way to find out would be at the fire department. They have detailed maps of the area.”

Administrator Richard Stedman of the Kennebunkport Fire Station on North Street stared at the address tag. “I’d love to help but we don’t have maps that would indicate this precise address. Remember, house numbers weren’t required until the 1990s.” Apparently, before the town imploded with vacation homes and tourism, many addresses were locally known as “the green house just beyond Wink’s” or “the property next to the campgrounds on the road to Goose Rocks Beach.”

The search for Beverly M and her suitcase continued on Google. Had she been a fourth grade student at the Kennebunkport Consolidated School which opened in 1951? Facebook postings of the one-inch-square photo ignited no responses. And except for several listings on EBay, the global online marketplace, there is no information anywhere about the suitcase manufacturer, Maximillion New York NY. (There was, however, a recent EBay post featuring a 1940s era “Maximillion NY travel suitcase” selling for $187.99. But otherwise, there’s no record anywhere that the suitcase company even existed.)

If Beverly M didn’t travel here by car, maybe she arrived at the Kennebunk Depot because the Boston & Maine Railroad provided service to the depot until January 3, 1965. Kelly Jo wondered if the photo might have served as the young girl’s “luggage locator,” a precursor to today’s smart-lock tracking devices. “Maybe stashing her photo inside the suitcase was her way of identifying it in case it got lost,” she thought.

No one knows. The search continues. Who are you, Beverly M? Please be in touch if you recognize her or the address. We have a suitcase and a photo you might like to see.