Bethel Historical Society

Events

Bethel Historical Society 2009 Calendar of Events

	*The Society's 2009 Lecture Series, "Celebrating Western Maine History," is sponsored, in part, by a grant from the Maine Humanities Council
February 21	Heritage Day Exhibit galleries, period rooms, and Museum Shop open at Robinson and Mason houses; antique appraisals; craft demonstrations; historical videos; Indian pudding served from the hearth in the Mason House winter kitchen (admission to period rooms free to members; small fee for non-members); 1:00 to 4:00 PM.
March 28	Women's History Month Seminar To celebrate "Women's History Month," the Society will sponsor several presentations about prominent Bethel women from 2:00 to 4:00 PM. Society Director Stanley R. Howe will speak briefly on four women who made contributions to local and regional history, including Eva Bean, who published East Bethel Road in 1959, and Ruth Crosby, who wrote two books with local history themes: I Was a Summer Boarder (1966) and From an Old Leather Trunk (1974). Also highlighted in Howe's presentation will be Joan S. Kilborn’s Over the Horizon, which contains an insightful section on Bethel town characters, and Erma Thurston Young’s Yesterday and Today, which offers some useful observations on the local past. Catherine Newell, author of a booklet on Molly Ockett, will discuss her subject and how she came to research and write this fascinating story. Finally, Kent Taylor, who grew up in Bethel and who graduated from Gould Academy and Bates College, will speak on longtime Bethel resident Pearl Ashby Tibbetts, whose historical novel, Land Under Heaven (1937) was set in her native Aroostook County. He will also discuss another novel by Mrs. Tibbetts that was never published, but that contains numerous insights into life in small New England towns.
April 18	"Abraham Lincoln and New England" An afternoon seminar celebrating the bicentenary of Abraham Lincoln's birth in 1809 will be held from 2-4 p.m. Society Director Stanley R. Howe, who has been collecting books and other memorabilia on the U.S. presidency for over thirty-five years, will lead a discussion on Lincoln in general and, in particular, on his relationship with New England and New Englanders. Not only was Lincoln's first vice president from New England, but a number of his key advisors and close friends were New Englanders. In addition, his favorite humorist was a native of Waterford, Maine. Lincoln traveled to New England on a number of occasions and told humorous stories about New Englanders. A large number of biographies and studies relating to Lincoln will be on display. Fee: $5 for BHS members: $10 for non-members. High school and university students may attend without charge. To register: 207-824-2908 / 800-824-2910, or info@bethelhistorical.org.
May 14*	Lecture: "East Bethel Road and Eva Bean: A Half Century Perspective" by Dr. Stanley R. Howe, Executive Director, Bethel Historical Society; 7:30 PM, Mason House exhibit hall.
May 23	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 2009 will be "Old-Time Children's Toys and Games." 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 22, in order to be considered for a cash prize, ribbon, or certificate of commendation. 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Mason House exhibit hall. St. Nevers Day Sale The Society's annual fundraising sale of "treasures" donated by members and friends. 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, Hastings Homestead (corner of Mason and Broad streets).
June 4*	Lecture: "Two Centuries of Maine Homes" by Earle G. Shettleworth, Jr., Director, Maine Historic Preservation Commission, and State Historian; 7:30 PM, Mason House exhibit hall.
July 1	Summer Season Guided Tours of the Dr. Moses Mason House 1:00 to 4:00 PM, Tuesday through Sunday September 6; tours may be arranged during the remainder of the year by calling 207-824-2908.
July 2 - Sept. 3	New for 2009! Morning Guided Tours of the Dr. Moses Mason House In response to requests from local hotel, motel and B&B owners, the Society is now offering guided tours of the nine period rooms in the Mason House each Tuesday and Thursday morning at 10:30. The Society requests that lodging managers call our main office (824-2908) by 10:00 AM to indicate how many guests would like to participate. Within Bethel Hill village, either our summer student intern or a volunteer will meet visitors at their overnight accommodations and will escort them to the Mason House. Following the tour, guests are invited to visit the Society’s major exhibit on the “Grange in Maine” in the Mason House exhibit hall, as well as the several exhibits and Museum Shop at the Robinson House next door. (Standard tour rates apply.)
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. Before and after the concert, enjoy the exhibits, period rooms and museum shop in the Society's Robinson and Mason houses, as well as the 20th Annual Bethel Art Fair on the adjacent village common. Artists and artisans from all over the area come to this wonderful event sponsored by the Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce. Shop for wall-hung art work & paintings, photographs, sculpture, wood working, fine-crafted jewelry, pottery, and more. The Art Fair will be open from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
July 11 - Sept. 5	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 high school intern, Edie Doyle, tours will take place Saturdays at 11:00 a.m. through September 5; meet at the bell tower on the north end of the village common.
July 18	Talk and book signing by Gary Priest, author of The Gilded Age of Rangeley, Maine. This ambitious new book focuses on the many privately owned camps in the Rangeley Lakes region, whether standing or destroyed. With more than 500 illustrations, both old and new, the 400-page book (available through our Museum Shop page under "Western Maine") is a must-have for anyone interested in this famed sporting and outdoor recreation area of northwestern Maine. The author will relate some of his favorite stories collected while researching the book. 12:30 PM, Robinson House
August 7, 8 & 9	Sudbury Canada Days The Society's 2009 heritage festival will include the Hall Memorial Lecture (Friday evening, August 7th, at 7:30 PM); 18th century re-enactors; old-time crafts; an art show historical films; period house tours; a children's parade and games; badminton and croquet tournaments; a log drivers' bean supper; an open house at the Lower Sunday River Schoolhouse; a Sunday afternoon presentation and booksigning by Steve Pinkham, author of The Mountains of Maine: Intriguing Stories Behind Their Names (Down East Books); and an old-fashioned hymn sing at the Middle Intervale Meetinghouse. The 2009 Hall Memorial Lecture* will be presented by H. Draper Hunt, Ph.D., Emeritus Professor, University of Southern Maine. His talk will be entitled "Abraham Lincoln, Hannibal Hamlin and the Civil War Vice-Presidency." Lincoln and Hamlin were both born in 1809, and this program honors the bicentenary of their births. In association with Sudbury Canada Days, on Saturday, August 8, the Bethel Performing Arts Project will present a series of porch plays (in five acts/on five porches) on Main and Broad streets, entitled "When The Parade Came By Our House Every Year About This Time We Would Gather On The Porch." For more information, contact Ross Timberlake at 824-6545.
September 6	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 10*	Bethel Historical Society Annual Meeting and Lecture: "Oxford County and the Civil War," by Thomas Desjardin, Ph.D., Historic Site Specialist with the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands; 6:30 PM potluck supper followed by a brief business meeting and the evening's program; Mason House exhibit hall.
September 19	Exhibit Opening: "Sunday River, Mt. Abram and More! Celebrating the Skiing Heritage of the Bethel Area" Co-sponsored by the Society and the Ski Museum of Maine (located at Farmington), this exhibition 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. The display will include photographs, artifacts, ski equipment and period advertising relating to the development of alpine and nordic skiing in the mountains of western Maine. In addition, a section of the exhibit will present a brief overview of skiing in Maine from the 1870s to the present. Funding for this exhibition has been provided, in part, by the Mt. Abram Ski Club. Through May 28, 2010. Barn Tour Held in conjunction with the Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce's 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 with photos and brief histories of each barn will be provided.
October 8*	Lecture: "Starr King's The White Hills and 19th Century White Mountain Tourism" by Randall H. Bennett; 7:30 PM, Mason House exhibit hall.
November 12*	Oral History Night: "Skiing in the Bethel Area" 7:30 PM, Mason House exhibit hall.
December 3	Christmas with the Masons Music & refreshments in the Mason House period rooms, decorated in traditional nineteenth century style and illuminated by candles—a once-a-year event! Free and open to the public (donations accepted). 6:00 to 8:00 PM.

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. 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.

Top of page