Bethel Historical Society Staff

Stanley Russell Howe, Executive Director
Stanley Howe is a Bethel native whose family roots in the area go back to the 1770s. He has served as Executive Director since 1974, when the Society's Dr. Moses Mason House opened to the public. A history major at the University of Southern Maine, he holds a M.A. in American history from the University of Connecticut, Storrs, and a Ph.D. in Canadian history from the University of Maine, Orono. A graduate of the Seminar for Historical Administration formerly based at Colonial Williamsburg, he is very active professionally, serving as a trustee of the Maine League of Historical Societies and Museums and on the Board of Directors of its successor organization, Maine Archives & Museums. He is a former trustee of the Maine Historical Society, currently serving as a member of the Editorial Board and the Book Review Editor of its quarterly. For ten years, he was the historian member of the Maine Historic Preservation Commission, and is a former trustee and advisory trustee of Maine Preservation. He has chaired the Maine Arts Commission's Museum Panel, and has served as a humanities scholar and consultant to the Maine, New Hampshire and New England humanities commissions. Currently a museum consultant for the American Association of Museums, he has written and lectured widely on historical topics relating to Maine, New England and Canada. He has edited several of the Bethel Historical Society's publications and has served as editor of its quarterly since its founding in 1976. He has taught history at several campuses of the University of Maine, at Westbrook College, and at the University of New Hampshire's College for Lifelong Learning. He has served on graduate committees for master's degree students in history from several universities ranging from Wesleyan to West Virginia. His book on the history of the Maine State Grange was published in 1994 and he contributed to an authoritative history of Maine published in 1995 by the University of Maine Press.

Randall H. Bennett, Assistant Director and Curator of Collections
Randall Bennett received his B.S. degree from the University of Maine at Farmington, and has done graduate work at the University of Southern Maine and University of New Hampshire. He has written or edited twelve books on local and regional history topics, as well as genealogy (he is the sixth generation of his family to reside in Bethel). In 1987, he was honored by the American Association for State and Local History for his contributions to the field. He has represented the Bethel Historical Society at meetings of the Pequawket League of Historical Societies and has served as President of that organization. He is a frequent reviewer of books for Maine History, quarterly of the Maine Historical Society, and has taught several of the Society's regional history courses, including the always popular series on White Mountain history. Frequently consulted by genealogists, journalists, architectural historians, and scholars for his detailed knowledge of the region, he oversees the Society's collections, changing exhibits program, and web site.

Danna Brown Nickerson, Office Secretary and Assistant Treasurer
In addition to her positions as Office Secretary and Assistant Treasurer, Danna Nickerson also serves as Manager of the Society's Museum Shop and as Curatorial Assistant in the Society's changing exhibits program. A Bethel native whose ancestors were among the early settlers of the town, she has an Associates Degree from Westbrook College and nearly three decades of business experience. As the Society's Main Office Secretary and Assistant Treasurer, she handles a myriad of tasks relating to the daily operations of the Society, including financial and computer operations, membership correspondence, annual fund and capital campaign gift record keeping, and mailings coordination. In her role as Museum Shop Manager, she orders merchandise, supervises volunteers, and oversees the Shop page on the Society's web site. Her curatorial responsibilities include exhibit research, design, and installation.