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2012
Bethel Historical Society Calendar of Events

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The
2012 Bethel Historical Society Lecture Series*
"War,
Wilderness and Wonder"
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January 17
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History Book Discussion Group
Now in its second year, this monthly program at the Bethel Historical
Society offers local readers an
opportunity to exchange ideas and opinions on a variety of books.
Facilitators: BHS President William D. Andrews and BHS Associate
Director Stanley R. Howe. Free;
registration encouraged but not required (207-824-2908);
Robinson House, 4:00 PM
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March (date tba)*
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Women’s History
Month program
“Women in the Civil War,” in collaboration with Western
Mountains Senior College |
April 14*
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Annual
History Symposium
"Don’t Let the Truth Get in the Way of a Good Story:
Myths, Lies and Other Traditions of Local and Regional History"
2:00 to 4:00 PM (location tba). More information
coming soon.
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May 26
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Faye Taylor Art Show
This annual art show features the work of students in Grades 1-6 in
S.A.D. #44. The Art Show theme for 2012 is "The Woods Around Us,"
one of the themes explored in the Society's upcoming exhibit on outdoor
recreation in western Maine. Each student who enters the show is
requested to
submit a finished art work in
any medium
(crayon, oils, tempera, watercolors, chalk, etc.) no larger than 12
inches by 18 inches. Entries must be at the Dr. Moses Mason House
exhibit hall by 3 PM on Friday, May 25, 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 4:00 PM |
| May 30 |
Exploring White
Mountain History
This six-session course is designed to
provide an
introduction to, and
overview of, the colorful (and sometimes tragic) history of the White
Mountain region of Maine and New Hampshire. Subjects discussed
will include Native Americans, explorers, early settlers, tourism,
transportation, literature, art, logging, conservation and outdoor
recreation—to name just a few. Three classes starting at
7:00 PM, and lasting approximately 1½ hours each, will take
place on consecutive Wednesday evenings: May 30, June 6 & 13) at
the Society's Mason House; three field trips will depart from Bethel at
12:30 PM on consecutive Saturday afternoons, beginning June 2.
The course will be coordinated by Randall H. Bennett, BHS
Executive Director, who has lectured and published widely on White
Mountain subjects. Course fees, due at the first session, are $25
for BHS members and $30 for non-members. To register, please call
207-824-2908 or send an email to info@bethelhistorical.org.
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July 3
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Exhibit Opening
“They Took to the Woods”
Mason House exhibit hall,
1:00 – 4:00 PM. More informing
coming soon.
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| July 3 - August 31 |
Summer Season
Guided
Tours of the Dr. Moses Mason House
1:00 to 4:00 PM, Tuesday through Saturday; 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 4
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Fourth
of July
Community Picnic
This annual event begins at 11:30
AM on the
side lawn of
the Dr. Moses Mason House (14 Broad Street). 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
picnic and concert will be held in the Middle Intervale Meetinghouse
(1816) on Intervale Road, approximately four miles downriver from
Bethel Hill village. Free
(donations appreciated)
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July 7*
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Lecture & Book
Signing
by James
Witherell, author of L.L.
Bean—The Man and His Company: The Complete Story. Because his feet got wet and sore
on a hunting trip, L. L. Bean developed his famous boot and started the
mail-order company that would change the sleepy town of Freeport,
Maine, into a huge outdoor mall. The story begins with the Bean
family (who lived for a time in Bethel), young Leon Leonwood Bean's
love of the outdoors, his first forays into sales (butter, men's
clothing), and then his development of "the boot" and the beginnings of
an outdoors outfitting company that ran on a card file system and
resisted change. The story of L.L. Bean, Inc.'s phenomenal growth
under grandson Leon Gorman is replete with Preppies, MBAs, infighting,
and even parodies of a company that would eventually get its own Zip
Code. This
program celebrates the 100th anniversary of the L. L. Bean company; the
author
will be available afterwards to sign copies of his 576-page book.
Mason House exhibit hall, 1:30 PM. |
| July 7 - August 25 |
Historic Bethel Hill: Free Guided 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
lasting approximately one hour will take place each Saturday at 11:30
AM
through August 25; meet at
the bell tower on the north end of the village common. Free
(donations appreciated) |
August 2
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Second Annual Stanley
Russell Howe Lecture
"The Civil War of 1812:
American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish
Rebels, & Indian Allies," by Pulitzer-Prize-winning
historian Alan Taylor, professor of
history at the University of California. Dr. Taylor is well known
for his contributions to microhistory, best
exemplified in his Pulitzer-Prize-winning history of William Cooper and
the settlement of Cooperstown, New York. Using court records,
land
records, letters, and diaries, he painstakingly reconstructs the
economic, political and social history of New England and the
settlement of New York. Dr. Taylor is also part of a generation
of
historians committed to the revival of narrative history, rejecting the
method-driven, quantitative work of the previous generation of "new
social historians" and the theory-laden work of more recent "new
cultural historians." In addition to writing books for a wide
public
readership, he is a regular contributor of book reviews and essays
to The New Republic.
Dr. Taylor's appearance is
supported by the "Stanley Russell Howe Lecture Fund" of the Bethel
Historical Society. |
August 31
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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 4
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Exhibit Opening
(topic tba); Robinson House, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
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September 6
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BHS
Annual Meeting
A 6:30 pot-luck
supper will precede the Society’s
Annual Meeting, during which officers and trustees will be elected,
committee
reports given, and a progress report on the Society's Strategic Plan
presented.
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September 15*
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Program & Field
Trip
Charles Kellogg, “The
Nature Singer" Coinciding with
the Bethel Chamber of Commerce's “Harvest Fest,” this afternoon program
will explore the fascinating character and career of Charles A. Kellogg
(1868-1949), an American vaudeville performer who developed the
remarkable ability to perfectly imitate bird son reproduced bird song,
and who, at one time, operated a "Nature Camp" at North Newry,
Maine. A campaigner for the protection of the redwood forests of
California, Kellogg was born on a ranch in Susanville in that state and
grew up in the 1870's observing the animals and birds of the
forests. He constructed a mobile home, called the "Travel Log,"
out of a redwood tree and drove it around the country to raise
awareness of the plight of the California forests. By the time he
was 22, Kellogg was performing his bird songs on vaudeville tours
around the country, and by his forties he was traveling outside of the
United States, performing for audiences throughout Europe. In
1911 Victor Records signed Kellogg to his first recording contract. He
recorded with the company until 1919, mostly singing classical and
light classical pieces. More
information coming soon.
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October 13*
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Hall
Memorial Lecture
"Capt. Charles A.
J.
Farrar (1842-1893): Wilderness Entrepreneur," by William B. Krohn,
wildlife research
biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey stationed at the University
of Maine and author of Joshua
Gross Rich (1820-1897): The Life and Works of a Western Maine Pioneer and Wildlife
Writer, available from our Museum Shop;
Mason House exhibit
hall, 2:00 PM; free and open to the public.
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December 1
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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! 3:30 to 6:00 PM; free
(donations appreciated) |
Each
year,
the Bethel Historical Society sponsors a variety of programs, events
and exhibits for members and
friends of all ages. Event dates and times are subject to
change; please call 207-824-2908 / 800-824-2910 or feel free to email
us at info@bethelhistorical.org to confirm date and
time, or for more information.
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