2021 Summer Lectures
Archived
2021 Summer Lectures & Garden Tour
Held every Tuesday • August 3-31, 2021
VAUGHAN HOMESTEAD GARDEN TOUR
Presenter: Kate Tremblay
Tuesday, August 3 (Rain date: Thursday, August 5)
11:00-11:30 AM • Vaughan Homestead
Description:
Self-guided tour of the Vaughan Historical Homestead Gardens in Hallowell. Please arrive between 11:00 and 11:30 am.
Executive Director, Kate Tremblay will be available to welcome the group and answer questions. Students are welcome to bring their lunch for a picnic on the covered pavilion or porch. Afterwards, they are welcome to walk the main path to the Stickney and Page Dam.
LESSONS FROM AVIAN HAVEN – Wild Bird Rehabilitation Center
A citizen’s guide to helping the birds of Maine
Presenter: Laura Suomi-Lecker • Tuesday, August 10 • 1:00 – 2:30 PM
Description:
The presentation will discuss common reasons why birds are admitted to Avian Haven in Freedom and what public citizens can do to help our local birds. We’ll discuss the facilities and recent cases of Avian Haven. So far in 2021, admissions include orphaned and injured eagles, owls, hawks, loons, bitterns, herons, ducks, and many species of songbirds.
Location:
Laura Suomi-Lecker will present this class from a remote location. It is available by Zoom for those who gather in the Klahr Center classroom as well as those who watch from home.
BIO:
Laura Suomi-Lecker is the education and outreach coordinator and long-time volunteer with Avian Haven and also the Technical Director at Somerset County Soil and Water Conservation District where she does a variety of bird-related programs, including managing the Ag Allies statewide grassland bird habitat project.
BIO: NORTHERN IRELAND AT 100
Presenter: Elizabeth Reinsborough • Tuesday, August 17 • 1:00 – 2:30 PM
Description:
This small part of the United Kingdom came into existence in 1921. How did that happen and why? How has it recently been affected by Brexit? The PowerPoint program will also illustrate the beauty and geography of this wee country as well as some traditions.
Location:
Elizabeth Reinsborough will present this class from the Klahr Classroom. It will also be simultaneously available on Zoom.
BIO:
Elizabeth Reinsborough was born in Northern Ireland. She was educated at Queens University, Belfast and University College, London. She has worked in a plant breeding program in Tanzania and taught biology in Maine for 20 years. Elizabeth has traveled extensively both in this country and abroad. She enjoys hiking and for 20 years was a maintainer on the Appalachian Trail in the 100 mile wilderness. She often contributes to the lecture series.
FAMILY TROUBLE
Presenter: Mike Bell • Tuesday, August 24 • 1:00 – 2:30 PM
Description:
When Tennessee farmer Loyd Ford died in 1843 none of his children knew that the reading of his will would eventually necessitate the involvement of the state Supreme Court to get things settled. Antebellum Justice, indeed!
Location:
Mike Bell will present this class from the Klahr Classroom. It will also be simultaneously available on Zoom.
BIO:
Mike Bell loves American history! With a master’s degree in both history and teaching, and an undergrad degree in political science, he has enjoyed a varied career in teaching and historical interpretation. Mike appeared on a History Channel special about PT 109 and for over 20 years has portrayed many historical figures, including Butch Cassidy and Sam Houston.
THE MAKING OF A JAZZ STANDARD
Presenter: Frank Johnson • Tuesday, August 31 • 1:00 – 2:30 PM
Description:
Jazz musicians have a significant repertoire of songs that have become standards. Many are from the Great American Songbook while others are original compositions. We will examine several songs that have become jazz standards. We’ll discuss their origins, composers and what qualities have attracted them to musicians. We’ll listen to several different versions of the songs in both instrumental and vocal forms.
Location:
Frank Johnson will present this class from the Klahr Classroom. It will also be simultaneously available on Zoom.
BIO:
Frank Johnson has a lifelong passion and interest in African-American music: jazz, blues, rhythm & blues, soul, and Afro-Latin. He has a collection of over 4,000 albums covering these genres. In addition, he has a personal library of over 250 books on African-American musical styles, musicians and cultural influences. Frank is a graduate of the University of Maine with a degree in Political Science and Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government Program for Senior Executives of State and Local Government.
BIO: