LITTLETON – Services will be held today for a longtime resident who helped preserve the town’s rich agricultural history.

The funeral for Cedric M. Shaw, 91, who died Tuesday, will begin at 1 p.m. Friends may call from 11:30 a.m. until the time of the service at the Littleton United Baptist Church on U.S. Route 1.

A lifelong farmer, Shaw saved most of the machinery and implements that he used during his 35 years of farming. In 1988, he and his wife, Emily, began displaying the collection in their barn.

Visitors flocked to the Shaws’ gallery, which they called “The Pastime Museum.” Along with the couple’s own artifacts, it featured a collection of antique farm memorabilia donated by farm families throughout Aroostook County. The equipment was restored to working order by the couple.

After the Littleton Elementary School closed under the strain of budget cuts in 2000, residents voted to turn it into a museum in 2002.

After Cedric and Emily Shaw learned the museum would be established, they donated all of the equipment they had accumulated.

After graduating from Ricker Junior College in 1934, Shaw teamed with his father, Joseph, to operate the family farm.

Shaw also served as a school board member and was on the building committee that initiated the construction of Littleton Consolidated Elementary School.

After donating the collection to the Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum, Shaw became a tireless volunteer at the facility.

He is survived by his wife, Emily, and 24 nieces and nephews, according to an obituary in the Bangor Daily News.

Interment will be in the spring at Littleton Cemetery. Gifts may be made in Cedric Shaw’s memory to Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum, Littleton United Baptist Church or a charity of one’s choice, c/o Dunn Funeral Home, 11 Park St., Houlton 04730.

jlbdn@ainop.com

532-9257