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Bethel
Historical Society Calendar of Events
| 2010
|
*
Includes program in 2010 BHS Lecture Series, "Vignettes of the Maine
Past"
|
January 23
to 31
|
WinterFest Skiing Heritage Exhibit at
Bethel Historical Society
Visit the Bethel Historical Society's Robinson House
(10 Broad Street) to view our newest exhibit, "Sunday River, Mt. Abram
and More! Celebrating the Skiing Heritage of the Bethel Area."
This exhibit commemorates the 50th anniversaries of the Mt. Abram and
Sunday River ski resorts, as well as the rich skiing heritage of the
Bethel area in general. Exhibit hours: Tuesday through Saturday,
10 AM to 4 PM; Sunday, 1 to 4 PM (open weekends during WinterFest
only). Funding for this exhibit has been provided by the Mt.
Abram Ski Club and Sunday River Ski Resort. |
January 30*
|
Book Signing - Sunday River: Honoring the Past, Embracing
the Future
On December 19, 1959, Sunday River
Skiway opened, mostly through the work of a dedicated group of
volunteers and business people from Bethel. Since opening with a
rope tow and T-bar and just a handful of runs, Sunday River has grown
into one of the largest and busiest ski resorts in New England.
Author and former Sunday River Ski Patrol director David Irons will be
on hand at the Society’s Robinson House from 1:30 to 3:30 PM to sign
copies of this new book, which explores the establishment and evolution
of one of the Northeast's most celebrated and time-honored recreational
attractions. The 112-page book, which is priced at $19.95,
features numerous historical and contemporary photographs, as well as
period marketing pieces. (Available from our Museum
Shop.)
|
February 15*
|
Winter Recreation Heritage Day
In conjunction with our newest exhibit commemorating the 50th
anniversaries of the Mt. Abram and Sunday River ski resorts, the
Society will offer a full afternoon of presentations and
activities. Among the FREE programs that will take place will be
snow shoeing for children, talks about Maine Handicapped Skiing and
sled making by the Paris (Maine) Manufacturing Company, and the showing
of the 1950s film, Hans Brinker or
the Silver Skates.
|
March 27*
|
Women's History Month Program: "Bethel
Area Women in
the Military"
During this special oral history event, several
local women who have served in various branches of the military
services will be discussing their careers, some extending back to World
War II. The role of women in the military has changed
dramatically since the 1940s, and this forum is designed to capture
first-hand accounts of the challenges women have faced since that
time. Mason House
exhibit
hall; 2:00 to 4:00 PM
|
April 24
|
Symposium: "The Good Old Days—They Were Terrible!"
The period of U.S. history from the end of the Civil War into the early
20th century has often been called "the good old days." However,
the commonly held image of a carefree, happy society enjoying the
charms and fun of the Gilded Age / Gay Nineties hides the widespread
existence of
turmoil, suffering and neglect experienced by many Americans living
during this time. Taking a realistic approach to this era's more
unpleasant aspects, several professional historians from the Bethel
area will examine such subjects as
crime, corruption, unemployment, addiction, pollution and the
"urban plight." Mason House exhibit hall; 1:00 to 4:00 PM; free, but donations accepted |
May 22*
|
Program and Book Signing to celebrate the
publication of “Write Quick”: War
and a Woman’s Life in Letters, 1836-1867, a book based on
Civil War era documents and artifacts in the collections of the Bethel
Historical Society. Co-authors are Roberta (“Bobbi”) Gibson
Pevear of Exeter, New Hampshire, who is descended
from Eliza Bean Foster, the main character of the book, and poet and
author Ann Chandonnet of Vale, North Carolina. The book is based
on nearly 200 letters written by Roberta’s and Ann's
Bethel area ancestors and their extended kinship network in New
England.
During the talk and book signing, a sampling of the letters, photos and
artifacts used in creating the books will be on display. Mason
House exhibit hall; 1:30 to
3:30 PM |
May 29
|
Faye Taylor Art Show
This annual art show features the work of students in Grades 1-6 in
S.A.D. #44. In keeping with the Society's new exhibit celebrating
the history of skiing in the Bethel area, the Art
Show theme for 2010 will be "Winter Sports."
Each student
who
enters the show is requested to submit a finished painting in any
medium (crayon, oils, tempera, watercolors, chalk, etc.) no larger than
12 inches by 18 inches. Paintings must be at the Dr. Moses Mason
House exhibit hall by 3 PM on Friday, May 28, in order to be considered
for a
cash prize, ribbon, or certificate of commendation. Mason House
exhibit hall, 10:00 AM
to
4:00 PM
St. Nevers Day Sale
The Society's annual fundraising sale of "treasures" donated by members
and
friends. Hastings Homestead lawn (corner of
Mason and Broad
streets); 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM |
June 26*
|
Tour of the 1910 Hall House and
"Historic New England" Program
Join us as we celebrate the 100th anniversaries of Bethel's Hall House—a most interesting Craftsman
style residence in Bethel, recently added to the National Register of Historic Places—and
"Historic New England" (formerly
the "Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities")
From 1:00 to 3:00 PM, enjoy a tour of the 1910 Hall House on Kilborn
Street (off Chapman Street; watch for signs). Following the tour,
there will be a presentation in the Mason House exhibit hall by Peggy
Konitzky, Maine Site Administrator for Historic New England, entitled
“Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities/Historic New
England, 1910-2010: A Centenary Perspective.” free, but donations accepted
|
July 1 - Sept. 5
|
Summer
Season Guided
Tours of the Dr.
Moses Mason House
1:00
to 4:00 PM, Tuesday through Sunday through September 5; tours may be
arranged during the
remainder of the year by calling 207-824-2908; Adults, $3.00 /
Children, 6 to 12 years, $1.50 (under 6 free) / Family special, $7.00 /
Bethel Historical Society Members,
free
|
| July 3 - Sept. 4 |
Historic Bethel Hill: Guided One-Hour
Walking Tours
Bethel’s first settlers logged, farmed, sawed timber and built houses
and barns. By the 19th century, though, they wanted more: the
services and amenities of a town. Doctors, shopkeepers, lawyers
and tradesmen began to establish themselves on Bethel Hill.
Owners of small mills and factories joined them, and in 1851 the
railroad came to town, bringing with it a boom in manufacturing and
tourism. By the late 19th century Bethel was an economic hub for
its region and a major tourist destination offering scenic views of the
surrounding White Mountains, health-giving springs, hunting and
fishing, New England hospitality in large summer hotels, and, at the
turn of the 20th century, world-renowned opera singers and a clinic for
the treatment of those with nervous disorders. The historic buildings
and landscape of Bethel Hill village can help us picture all this
today. Led by our summer student intern or a Society volunteer,
tours
will take place Saturdays at 11:00 a.m. through September 4; meet at
the bell tower on the north end of the village common. |
July 4
|
Fourth
of July
Community Picnic
This free event begins at noon on the
side lawn of
the Dr. Moses Mason House (14 Broad St.). Bring your lunch and
after the presentation of colors and the National Anthem, enjoy a
two-hour concert by the Portland Brass Quintet. Dr. Mason began
this Fourth of July tradition in the 1850s and the Bethel Historical
Society carries it on today. In case of rain, the concert and
picnic will be held in the Middle Intervale Meetinghouse
(1816) on Intervale Road, approximately four miles down river from
Bethel Hill village. |
August 13 & 14*
|
Bethel Heritage Festival (formerly "Sudbury
Canada Days")
The Society's 2010 heritage festival will include
the Hall Memorial Lecture (Friday evening, August 13th, at 7:30 PM);
old-time crafts; an art show; historical films; period house tours; an "antiquarian supper" and much
more! This year's Hall Lecture, entitled "Unbuttoning New
England: Peyton Place and the Undocumented Past," will be presented
by Ardis Cameron (Ph.D., Boston College), Director and a Professor of
American and New England Studies at the University of Southern
Maine. Cameron was named a Fellow by the John Simon Guggenheim
Memorial Fellowships in 2002 and received a National Endowment for the
Humanities Senior Research Fellowship in 2001. Both were for her
project "Tales of Peyton Place: The Biography of a Big Book." She is
the author of Radicals of the Worst
Sort: The Laboring Women of Lawrence Massachusetts, 1880-1912,
(U. of Illinois Press, 1994) and Looking
For America: The Visual Production of People and Nation
(Blackwell Publications, 2004). Professor Cameron is the author of
numerous articles about women, cultural politics and working class
history.
|
September 5
|
Last Day for Regularly Scheduled Tours
of the Dr. Moses Mason House; tours may be arranged during the
remainder of the year by calling 207-824-2908. |
September
|
BHS Annual Meeting
More information forthcoming
|
September 18
|
Barn
Tour
Held in
conjunction with the Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce's 13th Annual
"Harvest
Fest," this self-guided tour a dozen or more local barns will run from
10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, rain or shine. Tickets, at $10/person, will
be available at the Society's Robinson House (10 Broad Street)
beginning at 9:00 AM. A map containing photographs and brief
histories of
each barn will be provided.
|
October 14*
|
Lecture and Book Signing: "Cobblestone to
Hot Top: A Life in
Maine"
Author and former Bethel school administrator
Charles Heino will discuss his years in the community, as well as his
recently published memoir, Cobblestone
to Hot Top: A Life in Maine. Mason House
exhibit hall; 4:00 PM
|
November 4*
|
Lecture: "An Engine for Economic
Development: The Lewiston and Auburn Railroad"
Douglas I. Hodgkin, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus at
Bates College, will discuss the Grand Trunk branch line that was opened
to Auburn and Lewiston, Maine, in July 1874, thanks to a total of
$300,000 in capital stock raised by local businessmen and residents
after a charter for the "Lewiston and Auburn Railroad" was granted by
the Maine Legislature in 1872. Until New England's position as a
leader in the textile industry was displaced by the New South, the
cotton mills located here made extensive use of this railroad route to
ship
their products, and thousands of French Canadian immigrants passed
through the doors of Lewiston's Grand Trunk depot (1873), which
survives today. The 5.43-mile branch line maintained passenger
service until 1956. Mason House exhibit hall; |
December 9
|
Christmas at the Mason House
Enjoy music and refreshments in the 1813 Mason House period rooms,
decorated in traditional mid-nineteenth century style and illuminated
by candles! 6:00 to 8:00 PM; free,
but donations accepted
|
Each
year,
the Bethel Historical Society sponsors an on-going
series of lectures, exhibit openings, conferences, seminars,
demonstrations, and other educational activities for members and
friends of all ages. Event dates and times are subject to
change.
Please call in advance (207-824-2908 or 800-824-2910) or email us at info@bethelhistorical.org
for confirmation and/or more information.
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