Tuesday February 9, 2010 Go To Top 6:30 PM Baked Beans and Fried Clams: How Food Defines A Region       Contact: Lynn Piotrowicz   428-3471        Baked beans, Indian pudding, fried clams, and lobster rolls... so many foods are distinctive to New England. Does food have anything to say about who we are as a region, about who we are as New Englanders? Bean-hole beans, johnnycakes, chocolate chip cookies, and pork pies -- you can find them all over the country now, but they all originally came from New England like so many of the customs and mores familiar to all. The presentation is informative, humorous, and chock-full of fascinating nuggets about the history of our regional foods. It includes reference to some of New England's more famous foodies -- Fannie Farmer, Hayden Pearson, and Julia Child -- and includes an analysis of how the changing times of New England have affected the way we eat. Presented by Edie Clark.     Location: Tucker Free Library, 31 Western Ave., Henniker   7:00 PM Brewing in New Hampshire: An Informal History of Beer in the Granite State       Contact: Louise Pryor   329-5921        We will explore the fascinating history of New Hampshire's beer and ale brewing industry from Colonial days, from when it was home- and tavern-based, to today's modern breweries and brew pubs. Unusual and rare photos and advertisements document this changing industry and the state's earliest brewers, including the renowned Frank Jones. A number of lesser-known brewers and breweries that operated in the state are also discussed, including the only brewery owned and operated by a woman before the modern era. Illustrations present evidence of society's changing attitudes towards beer and alcohol consumption over the years. Whether you're a beer connoisseur or a "tea-totaler", this lecture will be enjoyed by adults of all ages. Anticipating an oft-asked question... Sorry, there are no beer samples given out at this lecture. Presented by Glenn A. Knoblock.     Location: Hampstead Public Library, 9 Mary E. Clark Drive, Hampstead Wednesday February 10, 2010 Go To Top 9:30 AM A Visit with Abraham Lincoln       Contact: Victor Sokul   395-2400        Abraham Lincoln, portrayed by Steve Wood, begins this program with a recounting of his early life and ends with a reading of the "Gettysburg Address." Along the way he comments on the debates with Stephen Douglas, his run for the presidency, and the Civil War. In doing so, he challenges the audience to reexamine their knowledge of Lincoln's views on slavery and abolition.     Location: Exeter High School, 1 Blue Hawk Drive   7:00 PM True Stories from New Hampshire's Black History       Contact: Maggie Ford   526-7245        Legends about historic New Hampshire typically omit people of color, from its colonization through the 20th century, creating the impression that this always has been a "lily-white" state. Cunningham recounts some of the true stories that illustrate NH's Black history, about African children who were imported to work in the homes of colonial New Hampshire's founders; about 20 African men who petitioned the NH Legislature to end slavery in 1779; about the state's first African American congregation and how it has survived for more than a century; about black and white activists who have struggled to eliminate de facto segregation from what Martin Luther King, Jr. referred to as "the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire." Presented by Valerie Cunningham.     Location: New London Historical Society Meeting House, 179 Little Sunapee Road   7:30 PM Bellows Falls by Archer Mayer       Contact: Mary Ann Wesoly   465-2411        This selection of murder mysteries, set in New England and written by contemporary New England authors, looks through a local lens at questions such as: What is justice? What role should mercy play? Is crime ever justified? What can ordinary citizens do to uphold social order? Series created by the Fuller Public Library in Hillsborough.     Location: Hollis Social Library, 2 Monument Square Thursday February 11, 2010 Go To Top 10:00 AM A Visit with Abraham Lincoln       Contact: Charles Trowbridge   938-6296        Abraham Lincoln, portrayed by Steve Wood, begins this program with a recounting of his early life and ends with a reading of the "Gettysburg Address." Along the way he comments on the debates with Stephen Douglas, his run for the presidency, and the Civil War. In doing so, he challenges the audience to reexamine their knowledge of Lincoln's views on slavery and abolition.     Location: Mountain View Senior Center, 134 E. Main St., Bradford   1:00 PM Wacky Songs that Made Us Laugh       Contact: Jane Langley   964-6371        Popular songs with humorous lyrics have kept us laughing since colonial times. We need comic relief and songs provide some of the best (sometimes unintentionally). Excerpts from hilarious songs help chart the evolution of musical humor from the 1920s to the 1980s. Selections poke fun at WW II enemies, diets, television , sex, Christmas, summer camp, religion, and many aspects of life. Laugh as you recall wacky moments from the past and discover new ones. Presented by Calvin Knickerbocker.     Location: Rye Congregational Church, 580 Washington Rd. Friday February 12, 2010 Go To Top 1:00 PM Abraham and Mary Lincoln : The Long and the Short of It       Contact: Maura Byrne   742-7406        Distinctly different paths led Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd to Springfield, Illinois, where they met, married and began a family. The years that followed their move to the White House were filled with personal and national crises. The Lincolns will tell stories of their early lives and the challenges they faced during this turbulent time in our country's history. Presented by Sharon and Steve Wood.     Location: Wentworth Home, 795 Central Ave., Dover   6:30 PM A Woman That Keeps Good Orders: Women, Tavern Keeping       Contact: Dorothy Heald   483-2701        Government regulations, licensing, handling drunks, controlling the flow of information: why would the government allow women to run a tavern? When her husband died in 1736, Ann Jose Harvey became the owner of a prominent Portsmouth, New Hampshire tavern and sole guardian of at least seven small children. For at least twenty years, Ann Harvey ran the increasingly prosperous tavern. Using documents related to Ann Harvey Slayton's 18th century tavern, we will explore the world of female tavern keepers. A tavern was potentially the most disruptive spot in town. Why would a woman want to keep one? Why would her community approve of it and why would the government allow it? Presented by Marcia Schmidt Blaine, Plymouth State University.     Location: Auburn Historical Museum, 102 Hooksett Rd., Auburn   7:30 PM J.R.R. Tolkien and the Uses of Fantasy       Contact: Jean Kelly   446-7773        Fantasy literature is enjoying a new surge of interest sparked by the popularity of the Harry Potter series. The film version of The Lord of the Rings brings J.R.R. Tolkien to a new generation of readers. Fantasy literature has always made for popular reading or listening. What accounts for its special appeal? Tolkien's world is both familiar and strange. It has a mythic structure that reveals much about the human condition: full of magic, good and evil, monsters, chilling tasks, and a hero's metaphoric and actual journey. Presented by Clia M. Goodwin.     Location: Stoddard Town Hall, Route 123 Sunday February 14, 2010 Go To Top 1:00 PM Native American History of New Hampshire       Contact: Shawn Olson   456-3244        The Pennacook Indians of the Merrimack Valley were the largest and most powerful coalition of native people on the northern New England frontier during the 17th and 18th centuries. They, along with their Abenaki allies from Maine and Canada, held off Europeans for almost 90 years during a succession of "Indian Wars," culminating in the end of the French and Indian Wars in 1761. During this time, Indians and colonists exchanged and encountered each other's cultures, religions, trade goods, and even kinship. This program may include local Indian history depending on the location of the presentation. Presented by David Stewart-Smith.     Location: Mount Kearsarge Indian Museum, 18 Highlawn Rd., Warner   2:00 PM Liberty and Lumber: The Rise of Revolutionary Spirit in Early New Hampshire       Contact: Peter Flynn   428-7556        Without timber, northern New England would have been poor indeed. Timber sources appeared infinite on this side of the Atlantic, but Britain's heavy-handed tactics designed to protect the king's trees led to growing resentment. Nurtured by new, protectionist timber laws, sentiments of unrest led to outright rebellion in December, 1774. Presented by Marcia Schmidt Blaine, Plymouth State University.     Location: Henniker Community Center, 57 Main Street

Tuesday February 16, 2010 Go To Top 8:45 AM A Visit with Abraham Lincoln       Contact: Thomas Fosher   772-5413        Abraham Lincoln, portrayed by Steve Wood, begins this program with a recounting of his early life and ends with a reading of the "Gettysburg Address." Along the way he comments on the debates with Stephen Douglas, his run for the presidency, and the Civil War. In doing so, he challenges the audience to reexamine their knowledge of Lincoln's views on slavery and abolition.     Location: Stratham Memorial School, 39 Gifford Farm Road   10:30 AM A Visit with Abraham Lincoln       Contact: Tom O'Malley   775-8700        Abraham Lincoln, portrayed by Steve Wood, begins this program with a recounting of his early life and ends with a reading of the "Gettysburg Address." Along the way he comments on the debates with Stephen Douglas, his run for the presidency, and the Civil War. In doing so, he challenges the audience to reexamine their knowledge of Lincoln's views on slavery and abolition.     Location: Cooperative Middle School Auditorium, 100 Academic Way, Stratham   7:00 PM A Visit with Abraham Lincoln       Contact: Thomas Madden   590-1119        Abraham Lincoln, portrayed by Steve Wood, begins this program with a recounting of his early life and ends with a reading of the "Gettysburg Address." Along the way he comments on the debates with Stephen Douglas, his run for the presidency, and the Civil War. In doing so, he challenges the audience to reexamine their knowledge of Lincoln's views on slavery and abolition.     Location: Durham Public Library, 7 Mill Rd., Unit H   7:00 PM Baked Beans and Fried Clams: How Food Defines A Region       Contact: Anita Creager   424-5084        Baked beans, Indian pudding, fried clams, and lobster rolls... so many foods are distinctive to New England. Does food have anything to say about who we are as a region, about who we are as New Englanders? Bean-hole beans, johnnycakes, chocolate chip cookies, and pork pies -- you can find them all over the country now, but they all originally came from New England like so many of the customs and mores familiar to all. The presentation is informative, humorous, and chock-full of fascinating nuggets about the history of our regional foods. It includes reference to some of New England's more famous foodies -- Fannie Farmer, Hayden Pearson, and Julia Child -- and includes an analysis of how the changing times of New England have affected the way we eat. Presented by Edie Clark.     Location: Merrimack Public Library, 470 Daniel Webster Highway Wednesday February 17, 2010 Go To Top 10:00 AM A Visit with Abraham Lincoln       Contact: Barbara Switzer   772-5705        Abraham Lincoln, portrayed by Steve Wood, begins this program with a recounting of his early life and ends with a reading of the "Gettysburg Address." Along the way he comments on the debates with Stephen Douglas, his run for the presidency, and the Civil War. In doing so, he challenges the audience to reexamine their knowledge of Lincoln's views on slavery and abolition.     Location: Kensington Elementary School, 122 Amesbury Road   1:30 PM A Visit with Abraham Lincoln       Contact: Jim Eaves   642-3511        Abraham Lincoln, portrayed by Steve Wood, begins this program with a recounting of his early life and ends with a reading of the "Gettysburg Address." Along the way he comments on the debates with Stephen Douglas, his run for the presidency, and the Civil War. In doing so, he challenges the audience to reexamine their knowledge of Lincoln's views on slavery and abolition.     Location: East Kingston Elementary School, 5 Andrews Lane   2:30 PM Russian Iconography: A Millennium of Tradition       Contact: Marcia McDonald   601-2324        To the Byzantine theologian, the icon painter's calling was as sublime as the priest's, emanating from liturgical knowledge and a deeply contemplative life. More than 1,000 years of tradition stand behind Russian iconography, whose sacred objects are products of a rigid artistic tradition, yet works of art with their own aesthetic value. Examine the spiritual and secular significance of Russian religious art, from the tenth century to today. Bring your own icons for examination. Presented by Marina Forbes.     Location: Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church, 289 Lafayette Rd, Hampton Thursday February 18, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM Baked Beans and Fried Clams: How Food Defines A Region       Contact: Paul Giblin   898-7064 x 18        Baked beans, Indian pudding, fried clams, and lobster rolls... so many foods are distinctive to New England. Does food have anything to say about who we are as a region, about who we are as New Englanders? Bean-hole beans, johnnycakes, chocolate chip cookies, and pork pies -- you can find them all over the country now, but they all originally came from New England like so many of the customs and mores familiar to all. The presentation is informative, humorous, and chock-full of fascinating nuggets about the history of our regional foods. It includes reference to some of New England's more famous foodies -- Fannie Farmer, Hayden Pearson, and Julia Child -- and includes an analysis of how the changing times of New England have affected the way we eat. Presented by Edie Clark.     Location: Kelley Public Library, 234 Main St., Salem Friday February 19, 2010 Go To Top 7:15 PM Sarah Harris--No Small Courage       Contact: Pat Fickett   487-3391        Sarah Harris "a young woman of color, respectable, a teacher of religion and daughter of honorable parents," was born in 1812 in Norwich, Connecticut. Sarah dreamed of opening her own school for African American children. Connecticut in the early 1830's offered three options for higher education: Yale University, Washington College (now Trinity), and Wesleyan University. None admitted women nor did any university in the US, except Oberlin College. To fulfill her ambition Sarah required additional education. She approached Prudence Crandall about accepting her as a day student at the Canterbury Female Boarding School. This took an act of immense courage, to request an education alongside the daughters of wealthy white citizens. Hear the rationale of one woman's hopes and aspirations. Presented by Gwendolyn Quezaire-Presutti.     Location: New Boston Community Church, 2 Village Square, New Boston Saturday February 20, 2010 Go To Top 10:00 AM Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte       Contact: Kathy Merrick   563-8772        This series invites readers to laugh, groan, agonize and weep over the plights and delights of lovers in settings that range from the cold, gloomy English moors to the lush Caribbean coast of South America. Discussion lead by Maren Tirabassi.     Location: Dublin Public Library, 1114 Main Street   10:30 AM The History of Traditional Russian Matryoshka Doll Making from Russia to New Hampshire       Contact: Diane Gardenour   424-9808        This illustrated presentation will examine the history of Matryoshka nested doll making in Russia. We will explore the folk symbolism of a doll's appearance and the interesting link between doll making and Russian portraiture. We will have a tour of a doll making factory in rural Russia, a depiction of the various stages in the doll making process, and hundreds of examples of the finest Matryoshka artwork available in Russia. Presented by Marina Forbes.     Location: Amherst Town Library, 14 Main Street Wednesday February 24, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM Cows and Communities: How the Lowly Bovine Has Nurtured New Hampshire       Contact: Janet Kucera   447-5107        Cattle were essential to the survival of the earliest New Hampshire settlements, and their contributions have been central to the life and culture of the state ever since. From providing dietary sustenance to basic motive power, bovines have had a deep and enduring bond with their keepers, one that lingers today and is a vital part of the iconography of rural New Hampshire. Where are New Hampshire's cows today? What are they doing for us now? Some answers will surprise you. Presented by Steve Taylor.     Location: Conway Public Library, 15 Main St., Conway

Thursday February 25, 2010 Go To Top 12:30 PM Abraham and Mary Lincoln : The Long and the Short of It       Contact: Nancy Hartford   225-6496        Distinctly different paths led Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd to Springfield, Illinois, where they met, married and began a family. The years that followed their move to the White House were filled with personal and national crises. The Lincolns will tell stories of their early lives and the challenges they faced during this turbulent time in our country's history. Presented by Steve and Sharon Wood.     Location: The Pierce Manse, 14 Horseshoe Pond Lane, Concord   4:00 PM Teddy Roosevelt's Nobel Prize: New Hampshire and the Portsmouth Peace Treaty       Contact: Mary Kronenwetter   763-4789 x 5        Teddy Roosevelt chose Portsmouth to be the site of 1905 peace treaty negotiations between the Russian and Japanese delegations to end the Russo Japanese War (now known as "World War Zero"). The program covers Roosevelt's multi-track diplomacy that included other world powers, the Russian and Japanese delegations, the US Navy and New Hampshire hosts in thirty days of negotiations that resulted in the Portsmouth Peace Treaty. Roosevelt earned America's first Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 for his endeavors. Two panels of a traveling exhibit accompany this talk. Presented by Charles B. Doleac.     Location: Newbury Town Offices, US Route 103   6:30 PM A Visit with Abraham Lincoln       Contact: James Sullivan   485-4951        Abraham Lincoln, portrayed by Steve Wood, begins this program with a recounting of his early life and ends with a reading of the "Gettysburg Address." Along the way he comments on the debates with Stephen Douglas, his run for the presidency, and the Civil War. In doing so, he challenges the audience to reexamine their knowledge of Lincoln's views on slavery and abolition.     Location: Hooksett Public Library, 1701B Hooksett Road Sunday February 28, 2010 Go To Top 4:00 PM Darby Field and the First Ascent of Mount Washington       Contact: Rosanna Dude   526-6804        For more than 200 years historians believed that Darby Field made the first climb up Mount Washington in 1642. However, in the last several decades, questions have emerged about his use of Native American guides, about the likelihood of prior ascents by Native Americans, about the route Field may have followed on the mountain, and about whether Field actually made the ascent as claimed. We will examine how historians reconstruct the "truth" when given scant, vague, and even contradictory evidence. Presented by Allen Koop, Dartmouth College.     Location: Wilmot Public Library, 11 N. Wilmot Rd. Monday March 1, 2010 Go To Top 11:30 AM Petticoat Patriot: A Woman in the Continental Army       Contact: Lynette Goss   456-2760        In 1778, sixty dollars a year in gold was a tempting offer to army recruits. Deborah Sampson thought so. Chautauquan Joan Gatturna, combining her research and theatrical skills, brings to life the story of Deborah Sampson, a young woman who disguised herself as a man in order to serve in the Continental Army for 17 months during the American Revolution. Unlike many better known women of the era, Deborah's claim to fame is not as the wife of a famous man, but as a poor young woman who made her own way in the world in a daring fashion.     Location: United Church of Warner, 45 East Main St., Warner   1:00 PM Leaving the Troubles Behind: Images and Narratives from Northern Ireland       Contact: Carole Orlosk   880-8515        With the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, the people of Northern Ireland experienced the first real indication that the 30-year nightmare quaintly referred to as "The Troubles" might well be over. A decade later, however, militant political murals still adorn the walls of buildings throughout Belfast and Derry. These images provide a vivid backdrop for tales of everyday life during the years of sectarian violence; they are tales that at once reflect a painful past and anticipate a harmonious future. Through photographs and stories from Northern Ireland today, this program will explore the impact of civil strife on a resilient people, and the ways in which narratives and images can help to heal the wounds of war. Presented by Kathleen S. Cain, Merrimack College.     Location: The Friendship Club, 35 Orchard Dr., Nashua Tuesday March 2, 2010 Go To Top 6:30 PM That Reminds Me of a Story: Yankee Humor and the New England Storytelling Tradition       Contact: Karen Johnson   427-6671        Good stories never die, they evolve from teller to teller. New England has a rich and ongoing storytelling tradition from folklore to "Bert and I" to stories about your family, your life, or the town you live in. Humorist Rebecca Rule will prime the pump with stories she's collected at small-town gatherings, often at historical societies and libraries, over the last ten years, plus a classic or two. Our "discussion" will be the stories that listeners offer up, and as one story leads to another -- humorous, serious, thought-provoking, or just plain entertaining -- we practice and preserve our stories and tradition. And laugh, a lot.     Location: Weeks Public Library, 36 Post Road, Greenland   7:00 PM To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee       Contact: Deborah Ross   524-4775 x 15        One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than thirty million copies worldwide, served as the basis of an enormously popular motion picture, and was voted one of the best novels of the twentieth century by librarians across the country. A gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, Harper Lee's classic views a world of great beauty and savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father -- a crusading local lawyer -- risks everything to defend a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime. This book is the topic of the 2010 Big Read in New Hampshire.     Location: Laconia Public Library, 695 Main St. Wednesday March 3, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM That Reminds Me of a Story: Yankee Humor and the New England Storytelling Tradition       Contact: Maggie Ford   526-7245        Good stories never die, they evolve from teller to teller. New England has a rich and ongoing storytelling tradition from folklore to "Bert and I" to stories about your family, your life, or the town you live in. Humorist Rebecca Rule will prime the pump with stories she's collected at small-town gatherings, often at historical societies and libraries, over the last ten years, plus a classic or two. Our "discussion" will be the stories that listeners offer up, and as one story leads to another -- humorous, serious, thought-provoking, or just plain entertaining -- we practice and preserve our stories and tradition. And laugh, a lot.     Location: New London Historical Society Meeting House, 179 Little Sunapee Road Thursday March 4, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM Caesar: The Man from Venus       Contact: Sally Bashalany   882-6923 x 1440        Meet Caesar as he grows up in a Rome that is recovering from one civil war and headed for another. Meet the powerful women in his life who help him achieve his destiny: his mother Aurelia, his aunt Julia, his wives and his great love Servilia. This is the man who claims descent from the Goddess Venus herself. We watch his rise to power in Rome, his great adventures, his time in Gaul and finally, after he crosses the Rubicon, his war with Pompey that will leave him the most powerful man in the world. We see him as Venus joined with Cleopatra Isis. Here is your opportunity to ask the great man the questions of his time and how they relate to ours. Presented by Sebastian Lockwood.     Location: Nashua Community College Main Bldg, Rm 150, 505 Amherst St.   7:00 PM Covered Bridges of New Hampshire       Contact: Niki Reed   642-3355        Covered wooden bridges have been a vital part of the NH transportation network, dating back to the early 1800s. Given NH's myriad streams, brooks, and rivers, it's unsurprising that 400 covered bridges have been documented. Often viewed as quaint relics of a simpler past, they were technological marvels of the day. It may be native ingenuity and NH's woodworking tradition that account for the fact that a number of nationally noted covered bridge truss designers were NH natives. We will discuss covered bridge design and technology, learn about their designers, builders, and associated folklore. Highlighted by images of NH bridges, past and present, we will witness their ultimate transition from commonly used structures to historic icons. Presented by Glenn A. Knoblock.     Location: Mary E. Bartlett Library, 22 Dalton Rd., Brentwood Friday March 5, 2010 Go To Top 6:30 PM All the Strange Hours by Loren Eiseley       Contact: Susan Kling   353-9166        Autobiography is rich literature, and its forms are many: chronological narrative, journal, interview, interpretive narration. The urge to write an autobiography is a seemingly natural one connected to the search for a personal voice or to the articulation of personal experience that forms the core of self and yet may resonate for us all. The authors of the autobiographies listed below are attempting to make sense out of their life and world using the material fashioned out of real and imagined life events, bits of remembered and taped conversations, and stories passed down through generations and reinterpreted in challenging new situations. Discussion lead by Suzanne Brown.     Location: Orford Free Library, 2529 Route 25A

Saturday March 6, 2010 Go To Top 10:00 AM Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons       Contact: Kathy Merrick   563-8772        This series invites readers to laugh, groan, agonize and weep over the plights and delights of lovers in settings that range from the cold, gloomy English moors to the lush Caribbean coast of South America. Discussion lead by Sandra LeBeau.     Location: Dublin Public Library, 1114 Main Street Monday March 8, 2010 Go To Top 7:30 PM Revolutionary New Hampshire       Contact: Stephen Horlacher   772-9043        In 1760, New Hampshire had a stable government. That government collapsed by 1776 and it took until the early 1790s to restore the stability of the pre-Revolutionary era. The story of these changes is both fascinating and complex. Choose from three topics: "The Coming of Revolution," "The New Hampshire Town That Joined Vermont," or "The Origins of the New Hampshire State Constitution." Presented by Jere Daniell, Dartmouth College.     Location: Stratham Fire Dept, 4 Winnicutt Road Tuesday March 9, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM From Honor to Integrity: An Exploration of What it Means to Adhere to the Common Good       Contact: Ruslyn Vear   673-2288        Scandals in business, governments, and schools have become commonplace, but has it always been so? Is the societal moral compass spinning out of control, or do we merely have a "different" value orientation? This presentation explores the notion of "honor" as an element of social cohesion and explores whether "honor" exists in the 21st century. Presented by Aine Donovan, Dartmouth College.     Location: Amherst Town Library, 14 Main Street   7:00 PM The New England Town       Contact: Marcia Schmidt Blaine   536-4847        Ever wondered how American novels come to depict New England towns? What local myths or vivid images come to mind for you? Professor Jere Daniell can craft his talk to focus on the New England village and its founding, towns and their depictions in novels, the "hows" and "whys" of town meeting and more. He links the history of towns, in general, to the history of the community he addresses.     Location: Pease Public Library, 1 Russell St., Plymouth   7:30 PM Flashpoint by Linda Barnes       Contact: Mary Ann Wesoly   465-2411        Library Journal hailed Flashpoint as an "intelligent mystery," and Publishers Weekly praised its strong sense of "turf" -- Boston. As hard-edged private investigator, Carlotta Carlyle uncovers the truth behind the murder of an elderly client, and as a good-hearted woman, she deals with a homeless young friend, her hapless roommate, and an old boyfriend.     Location: Hollis Social Library, 2 Monument Square Thursday March 11, 2010 Go To Top 6:30 PM Four Centuries of Fishing in NH: Yankee Character, Yankee Priorities       Contact: Ann Robinson   474-2044        Fishing history in New Hampshire runs the gamut of nets, spears, guns, clubs, weirs, seines, fish pots, and hooks. Overfishing, inadequate, or unenforced fishing regulations, and dams ended the once enormous spawning runs of salmon, shad, and other sea-run fish up from the ocean. The Yankee tinkering and tampering instinct, coupled with confidence in new technologies and the rise of sport fishing brought many new fish species to NH after the Civil War, often with unforeseen results. Short-term economic self-interest and environmental/economic compromises seem to have taken priority over long term natural resource health, resulting in a tailspin of environmental degradation. The history of fishing illustrates these complex changes. Presented by Jack Noon.     Location: Seabrook Library, 25 Liberty Lane   7:00 PM That Reminds Me of a Story: Yankee Humor and the New England Storytelling Tradition       Contact: Martha Fowler   332-0348        Good stories never die, they evolve from teller to teller. New England has a rich and ongoing storytelling tradition from folklore to "Bert and I" to stories about your family, your life, or the town you live in. Humorist Rebecca Rule will prime the pump with stories she's collected at small-town gatherings, often at historical societies and libraries, over the last ten years, plus a classic or two. Our "discussion" will be the stories that listeners offer up, and as one story leads to another -- humorous, serious, thought-provoking, or just plain entertaining -- we practice and preserve our stories and tradition. And laugh, a lot.     Location: Rochester Historical Society Museum, 58 Hanson Street   7:30 PM Susannah Johnson: An English Captive among the Abenaki and French       Contact: Richard Moody   660-0393        In a dawn raid on August 30, 1754, the Johnson family was captured by a group of Abenaki. Susannah Johnson was nine months pregnant at the time. The incident began an extraordinary journey that forced Susannah to navigate the cultural waters of three societies: English, Abenaki, and French. Presented by Marcia Schmidt Blaine, Plymouth State University.     Location: New Boston Historical Society, Central Square Sunday March 14, 2010 Go To Top 2:00 PM To Kill a Mockinbird by Harper Lee       Contact: Barbara Robarts   788-3352        One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than thirty million copies worldwide, served as the basis of an enormously popular motion picture, and was voted one of the best novels of the twentieth century by librarians across the country. A gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, Harper Lee's classic views a world of great beauty and savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father -- a crusading local lawyer -- risks everything to defend a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime. This book is the topic of the 2010 Big Read in New Hampshire.     Location: Weeks Memorial Library, 128 Main St., Lancaster Monday March 15, 2010 Go To Top 11:00 AM A Visit with Abraham Lincoln       Contact: Jennifer Leger   224-7113        Abraham Lincoln, portrayed by Steve Wood, begins this program with a recounting of his early life and ends with a reading of the "Gettysburg Address." Along the way he comments on the debates with Stephen Douglas, his run for the presidency, and the Civil War. In doing so, he challenges the audience to reexamine their knowledge of Lincoln's views on slavery and abolition.     Location: Bow High School, 34 White Rock Hill Road   7:00 PM Abraham Lincoln: From Springfield, Illinois to Exeter, New Hampshire and Beyond       Contact: Priscilla Leavitt   964-8841        Lincoln's political life evolved from humble origins to culminate in the presidency of the United States and his leadership during the American Civil War. An illustrated lecture traces the crucial political years of transition from 1858 to 1861 when Lincoln became a national candidate for office and traveled widely. He came to New Hampshire to see his son Robert Todd Lincoln at Phillips Exeter Academy and while he was in NH he addressed audiences in Concord, Dover, Exeter, and Manchester. Presented by Richard D. Schubart, Phillips Exeter Academy.     Location: United Church of Christ, 295 Atlantic Ave., N. Hampton   7:00 PM In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick       Contact: Robbin Bailey   225-8590        This is a vivid account of the 19th-century maritime disaster that engaged the popular imagination of the time with its horrors of castaways and cannibalism. Just west of the Galapagos Islands, the Nantucket whale ship Essex was struck on November 20, 1820, by an 85-foot bull sperm whale. For three months the 20 men who escaped the Essex drifted in three smaller open boats, enduring squalls, attacks by sharks and another whale, starvation, madness, and despair. Discussion lead by Jennifer Lee.     Location: Concord Public Library, 45 Green Street

Tuesday March 16, 2010 Go To Top 6:00 PM To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee       Contact: Eileen Gilbert   753-8576        One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than thirty million copies worldwide, served as the basis of an enormously popular motion picture, and was voted one of the best novels of the twentieth century by librarians across the country. A gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, Harper Lee's classic views a world of great beauty and savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father -- a crusading local lawyer -- risks everything to defend a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime. This book is the topic of the 2010 Big Read in New Hampshire.     Location: Boscawen Municipal Complex, 116 N. Main Street Wednesday March 17, 2010 Go To Top 6:30 PM To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee       Contact: Denise Grimse   436-8548        One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than thirty million copies worldwide, served as the basis of an enormously popular motion picture, and was voted one of the best novels of the twentieth century by librarians across the country. A gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, Harper Lee's classic views a world of great beauty and savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father -- a crusading local lawyer -- risks everything to defend a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime. This book is the topic of the 2010 Big Read in New Hampshire.     Location: Weeks Public Library, 36 Post Road, Greenland   6:30 PM To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee       Contact: Carol Brock   547-2730        One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than thirty million copies worldwide, served as the basis of an enormously popular motion picture, and was voted one of the best novels of the twentieth century by librarians across the country. A gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, Harper Lee's classic views a world of great beauty and savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father -- a crusading local lawyer -- risks everything to defend a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime. This book is the topic of the 2010 Big Read in New Hampshire.     Location: George Holmes Bixby Memorial Library, 52 Main St., Francestown   7:00 PM Cows and Communities: How the Lowly Bovine Has Nurtured New Hampshire       Contact: Emily Cromwell   709-7099        Cattle were essential to the survival of the earliest New Hampshire settlements, and their contributions have been central to the life and culture of the state ever since. From providing dietary sustenance to basic motive power, bovines have had a deep and enduring bond with their keepers, one that lingers today and is a vital part of the iconography of rural New Hampshire. Where are New Hampshire's cows today? What are they doing for us now? Some answers will surprise you. Presented by Steve Taylor.     Location: The Meeting House, Cornish Flats Common   7:00 PM New Hampshire Cemeteries and Gravestones       Contact: Michele York   783-4129        Rubbings, photographs, and slides illustrate the rich variety of gravestones to be found in our own neighborhoods, but they also tell long-forgotten stories of such historical events as the Great Awakening, the Throat Distemper epidemic, and the American Revolution. Find out more about these deeply personal works of art and the craftsmen who carved them. Learn how to read these stone "pages" that give insight into the vast genealogical book of New Hampshire. Presented by Glenn A. Knoblock.     Location: Charlies Barn, 29 South Village Rd., Loudon   7:30 PM Introducing America to Americans: Documentary Photographs of the 1930s       Contact: William Earnshaw   472-3866        Among the most iconic images in American history are the documentary photographs taken during the Great Depression by Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Russell Lee, and others for the Farm Security Administration, a New Deal program. Roy Stryker, the organizer of this effort, expressed its goal as "introducing America to Americans." This discussion and slide presentation examines these documentary photographs and how they served to define the era. Presented by Martin L. Fox, New Hampshire Institute of Art.     Location: Bedford Public Library, 3 Meetinghouse Road, Bedford Thursday March 18, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee       Contact: Katrina McCurley   863-2172        One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than thirty million copies worldwide, served as the basis of an enormously popular motion picture, and was voted one of the best novels of the twentieth century by librarians across the country. A gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, Harper Lee's classic views a world of great beauty and savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father -- a crusading local lawyer -- risks everything to defend a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime. This book is the topic of the 2010 Big Read in New Hampshire.     Location: Grantham Town Hall, 300 Route 10 South, Grantham   7:00 PM To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee       Contact: Katrina McCurley   863-2172        One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than thirty million copies worldwide, served as the basis of an enormously popular motion picture, and was voted one of the best novels of the twentieth century by librarians across the country. A gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, Harper Lee's classic views a world of great beauty and savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father -- a crusading local lawyer -- risks everything to defend a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime. This book is the topic of the 2010 Big Read in New Hampshire.     Location: Grantham Town Hall, 300 Route 10 South, Grantham   7:00 PM To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee       Contact: Tamara McClure   464-3595        One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than thirty million copies worldwide, served as the basis of an enormously popular motion picture, and was voted one of the best novels of the twentieth century by librarians across the country. A gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, Harper Lee's classic views a world of great beauty and savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father -- a crusading local lawyer -- risks everything to defend a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime. This book is the topic of the 2010 Big Read in New Hampshire.     Location: Hillsboro Community Hall, 27 School Street Friday March 19, 2010 Go To Top 10:00 AM That Reminds Me of a Story: Yankee Humor and the New England Storytelling Tradition       Contact: Janice Gardner   742-0205        Good stories never die, they evolve from teller to teller. New England has a rich and ongoing storytelling tradition from folklore to "Bert and I" to stories about your family, your life, or the town you live in. Humorist Rebecca Rule will prime the pump with stories she's collected at small-town gatherings, often at historical societies and libraries, over the last ten years, plus a classic or two. Our "discussion" will be the stories that listeners offer up, and as one story leads to another -- humorous, serious, thought-provoking, or just plain entertaining -- we practice and preserve our stories and tradition. And laugh, a lot.     Location: Durham Community Church, 17 Main Street Saturday March 20, 2010 Go To Top 10:00 AM The Passion by Jeanette Winterson       Contact: Kathy Merrick   563-8772        This series invites readers to laugh, groan, agonize and weep over the plights and delights of lovers in settings that range from the cold, gloomy English moors to the lush Caribbean coast of South America. Discussion lead by Laurie Quinn.     Location: Dublin Public Library, 1114 Main Street   2:00 PM Introducing America to Americans: Documentary Photographs of the 1930s       Contact: Vicki McKinney   224-1319        Among the most iconic images in American history are the documentary photographs taken during the Great Depression by Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Russell Lee, and others for the Farm Security Administration, a New Deal program. Roy Stryker, the organizer of this effort, expressed its goal as "introducing America to Americans." This discussion and slide presentation examines these documentary photographs and how they served to define the era. Presented by Martin L. Fox, New Hampshire Institute of Art.     Location: Harris Hill Center, 20 Maitland St., Concord

Sunday March 21, 2010 Go To Top 1:00 PM Russian Faberge Eggs and Lacquer Boxes: From Craft to Fine Art       Contact: Daniel Sinibaldi   332-1869        This illustrated presentation will focus on the unique development of these two major Russian art forms, from traditional craft to exquisite fine art. Emphasis is on the important role of egg and lacquer box painting in Russian culture, and on the elevation of these traditional forms to the level of high art under the patronage of the tsars. Presented by Marina Forbes.     Location: St. Mary's Catholic Church, 71 Lowell St., Rochester Monday March 22, 2010 Go To Top 2:15 PM The Making of Strawbery Banke       Contact: Cathy Herman   229-1185        Local legend says Strawbery Banke Museum began when a Portsmouth librarian gave a rousing speech in 1957. The backstory is a complex tale of progress and urban renewal versus colonial architecture in New Hampshire's only seaport. J. Dennis Robinson, author of Strawbery Banke, A Seaport Museum 400 Years in the Making will share the history of "America's oldest neighborhood" and the scenes of the founding years. Tapping into private letters, unpublished records and personal interviews, he explores the politics of preservation at what Ken Burns calls "one of the best history museums in the country." The author looks candidly at mistakes made and lessons learned in this grassroots success story.     Location: Havenwood Heritage Heights (Auditorium), 33 Christian Ave., Concord Tuesday March 23, 2010 Go To Top 6:30 PM A Night of Music with Two Old Friends       Contact: Tricia Ryden   772-4346        Over the centuries, immigrants from the British Isles have come to the Americas, bringing with them their musical styles, tastes, and instruments. Using the concertina, bodhran, mandolin, octave mandolin, guitar and banjo in their performances, Two Old Friends sing and play traditional Irish songs and tunes. They perform American country music the way it was conceived in the early twentieth century and demonstrate how these tunes are often derived from the songs of the Irish, but have been influenced by other cultural and ethnic groups (particularly African American) to create an original American sound. Presented by Mac McHale and Emery Hutchins.     Location: Wiggin Memorial Library, 10 Bunker Hill Ave., Stratham   6:30 PM To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee       Contact: Diane Heer   362-5234        One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than thirty million copies worldwide, served as the basis of an enormously popular motion picture, and was voted one of the best novels of the twentieth century by librarians across the country. A gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, Harper Lee's classic views a world of great beauty and savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father -- a crusading local lawyer -- risks everything to defend a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime. This book is the topic of the 2010 Big Read in New Hampshire.     Location: Kimball Library, 5 Academy Ave., Atkinson   7:00 PM To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee       Contact: Betsy Eaton   795-4622        One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than thirty million copies worldwide, served as the basis of an enormously popular motion picture, and was voted one of the best novels of the twentieth century by librarians across the country. A gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, Harper Lee's classic views a world of great beauty and savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father -- a crusading local lawyer -- risks everything to defend a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime. This book is the topic of the 2010 Big Read in New Hampshire.     Location: Converse Free Library, 38 Union St., Lyme Wednesday March 24, 2010 Go To Top 3:00 PM Baked Beans and Fried Clams: How Food Defines A Region       Contact: Kathleen Ash   876-4479        Baked beans, Indian pudding, fried clams, and lobster rolls... so many foods are distinctive to New England. Does food have anything to say about who we are as a region, about who we are as New Englanders? Bean-hole beans, johnnycakes, chocolate chip cookies, and pork pies -- you can find them all over the country now, but they all originally came from New England like so many of the customs and mores familiar to all. The presentation is informative, humorous, and chock-full of fascinating nuggets about the history of our regional foods. It includes reference to some of New England's more famous foodies -- Fannie Farmer, Hayden Pearson, and Julia Child -- and includes an analysis of how the changing times of New England have affected the way we eat. Presented by Edie Clark.     Location: Main Street Community House, 160 Main St., Marlborough   7:00 PM Russian Faberge Eggs and Lacquer Boxes: From Craft to Fine Art       Contact: Donna Dunlop   746-3663        This illustrated presentation will focus on the unique development of these two major Russian art forms, from traditional craft to exquisite fine art. Emphasis is on the important role of egg and lacquer box painting in Russian culture, and on the elevation of these traditional forms to the level of high art under the patronage of the tsars. Presented by Marina Forbes.     Location: Hopkinton Town Library, 61 Houston Dr., Contoocook   7:00 PM The Odyssey by Robert Fagles, trans.       Contact: Katie Doherty   752-1113        You know the characters from your schooldays: resourceful Odysseus, the seductive Circe, the man-gobbling one-eyed giant, Polyphemus, faithful Penelope, and the whole meddling realm of gods and goddesses. Return to Homer's epic tale in its recent masterful translation into fast-paced contemporary English by Robert Fagles (awarded the prestigious PEN/Manheim Medal for Translation). This reading discussion will be led by Marion Schafer.     Location: Fortier Library, White Mountain Community College, 2020 Riverside Dr., Berlin Thursday March 25, 2010 Go To Top 2:30 PM Old Time Rules Will Prevail: The Fiddle Contest in New Hampshire and New England       Contact: Susan Belanger   229-1266        Fiddle contests evolved from being endurance fiddling events to playing a set number of tunes judged by certain specific criteria. Whether large or small, fiddle contests tried to show who was the "best," as well as preserve old-time fiddling, and raise money for local organizations. In recent years, the fiddle contest has declined significantly in New Hampshire and Vermont due to cultural changes and financial viability. The greatest legacies of the fiddle contests were recordings made at live competitions. A sampling of these tunes is played during the presentation, as well as some live fiddling by the presenter Adam Boyce.     Location: Heritage Heights - Barrow Activity Ctr., 149 East Side Drive, Concord   6:00 PM To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee       Contact: Carol Riley   745-8159        One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than thirty million copies worldwide, served as the basis of an enormously popular motion picture, and was voted one of the best novels of the twentieth century by librarians across the country. A gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, Harper Lee's classic views a world of great beauty and savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father -- a crusading local lawyer -- risks everything to defend a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime. This book is the topic of the 2010 Big Read in New Hampshire. Showing of movie will follow discussion at 8:00pm.     Location: Lincoln Cinemas, 4 Main Street   7:00 PM Old Time Rules Will Prevail: The Fiddle Contest in New Hampshire and New England       Contact: Marie Stanley   934-2531        Fiddle contests evolved from being endurance fiddling events to playing a set number of tunes judged by certain specific criteria. Whether large or small, fiddle contests tried to show who was the "best," as well as preserve old-time fiddling, and raise money for local organizations. In recent years, the fiddle contest has declined significantly in New Hampshire and Vermont due to cultural changes and financial viability. The greatest legacies of the fiddle contests were recordings made at live competitions. A sampling of these tunes is played during the presentation, as well as some live fiddling by the presenter Adam Boyce.     Location: Hill Town Hall, 30 Crescent Street   7:00 PM The Great Sheep Boom and Its Enduring Legacy on the New Hampshire Landscape       Contact: Gordon DuBois   279-0379        In a brief 30-year period in the early 19th century the New Hampshire countryside became home to hundreds of thousands of sheep. Production of wool became a lucrative business, generating fortunes and providing the only era of true agricultural prosperity in the state's history. It left behind a legacy of fine architecture and thousands of miles of rugged stonewalls. Farmers overcame enormous challenges to make sheep husbandry succeed, but forces from beyond New Hampshire were to doom the industry, with social consequences that would last a century. Presented by Steve Taylor.     Location: Gordon-Nash Library, 69 Main St., New Hampton

7:00 PM The New England Town       Contact: Rosanna Dude   828-1001        Ever wondered how American novels come to depict New England towns? What local myths or vivid images come to mind for you? Professor Jere Daniell can craft his talk to focus on the New England village and its founding, towns and their depictions in novels, the "hows" and "whys" of town meeting and more. He links the history of towns, in general, to the history of the community he addresses.     Location: Wilmot Public Library, 11 N. Wilmot Rd. Sunday March 28, 2010 Go To Top 3:00 PM To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee       Contact: Nancy Ladd   456-2289        One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than thirty million copies worldwide, served as the basis of an enormously popular motion picture, and was voted one of the best novels of the twentieth century by librarians across the country. A gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, Harper Lee's classic views a world of great beauty and savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father -- a crusading local lawyer -- risks everything to defend a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime. This book is the topic of the 2010 Big Read in New Hampshire.     Location: Main Street Bookends, 16 E. Main St., Warner Tuesday March 30, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM Liberty Is Our Motto!: Songs and Stories of the Hutchinson Family Singers       Contact: Honey Hastings   878-0862        Originally from Milford, NH, the Hutchinson Family Singers were America's most popular musical entertainers for much of the mid-19th century. They achieved international fame with songs advancing social reform and political causes such as abolition, temperance, women's suffrage, and the Lincoln presidential campaign of 1860. Chautauquan, musician and singer Steve Blunt (in character as John Hutchinson) tells the Hutchinsons' story and shares their music with audiences of all ages. Selections include: "The Old Granite State," "Get Off the Track!" and "Tenting Tonight on the Old Campground." You'll help sing the chorus, perhaps, "Huzza, Huzza, Huzza!"     Location: Temple Town Hall, 423 Route 45   7:00 PM To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee       Contact: Susan Amann   673-2408        One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than thirty million copies worldwide, served as the basis of an enormously popular motion picture, and was voted one of the best novels of the twentieth century by librarians across the country. A gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, Harper Lee's classic views a world of great beauty and savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father -- a crusading local lawyer -- risks everything to defend a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime. This book is the topic of the 2010 Big Read in New Hampshire     Location: Wadleigh Memorial Library, 49 Nashua St., Milford Wednesday March 31, 2010 Go To Top 1:15 PM That Reminds Me of a Story: Yankee Humor and the New England Storytelling Tradition       Contact: Elaine Michaud   822-2140        Good stories never die, they evolve from teller to teller. New England has a rich and ongoing storytelling tradition from folklore to "Bert and I" to stories about your family, your life, or the town you live in. Humorist Rebecca Rule will prime the pump with stories she's collected at small-town gatherings, often at historical societies and libraries, over the last ten years, plus a classic or two. Our "discussion" will be the stories that listeners offer up, and as one story leads to another -- humorous, serious, thought-provoking, or just plain entertaining -- we practice and preserve our stories and tradition. And laugh, a lot.     Location: Elks Lodge, 41 Columbus Ave., Rochester   7:00 PM Runaway Wives: When Colonial Marriages Failed       Contact: Gail Nessell Colglazier   772-2622        When 18th century wives tired of the marriage contract, they could run, but they could not hide. Husbands chased them down via newspaper ads, effectively removing their sources of credit and income. In the vocabulary of the war between the sexes, one reads of surprisingly enduring economic and social barriers to runaway wives. Presented by Marcia Schmidt Blaine, Plymouth State University.     Location: American Independence Museum's Folsom Tavern, 164 Water St., Exeter Friday April 2, 2010 Go To Top 1:00 PM Old Time Rules Will Prevail: The Fiddle Contest in New Hampshire and New England       Contact: Eugene Desjardins   826-4006        Fiddle contests evolved from being endurance fiddling events to playing a set number of tunes judged by certain specific criteria. Whether large or small, fiddle contests tried to show who was the "best," as well as preserve old-time fiddling, and raise money for local organizations. In recent years, the fiddle contest has declined significantly in New Hampshire and Vermont due to cultural changes and financial viability. The greatest legacies of the fiddle contests were recordings made at live competitions. A sampling of these tunes is played during the presentation, as well as some live fiddling by the presenter Adam Boyce.     Location: Congress of Claremont Senior Citizens, 67 Maple Ave., Claremont Monday April 5, 2010 Go To Top 1:00 PM That Reminds Me of a Story: Yankee Humor and the New England Storytelling Tradition       Contact: Carole Orlosk   880-8515        Good stories never die, they evolve from teller to teller. New England has a rich and ongoing storytelling tradition from folklore to "Bert and I" to stories about your family, your life, or the town you live in. Humorist Rebecca Rule will prime the pump with stories she's collected at small-town gatherings, often at historical societies and libraries, over the last ten years, plus a classic or two. Our "discussion" will be the stories that listeners offer up, and as one story leads to another -- humorous, serious, thought-provoking, or just plain entertaining -- we practice and preserve our stories and tradition. And laugh, a lot.     Location: The Friendship Club, 35 Orchard Dr., Nashua Wednesday April 7, 2010 Go To Top 10:00 AM Baked Beans and Fried Clams: How Food Defines A Region       Contact: Marjorie Palmer   432-7212        Baked beans, Indian pudding, fried clams, and lobster rolls... so many foods are distinctive to New England. Does food have anything to say about who we are as a region, about who we are as New Englanders? Bean-hole beans, johnnycakes, chocolate chip cookies, and pork pies -- you can find them all over the country now, but they all originally came from New England like so many of the customs and mores familiar to all. The presentation is informative, humorous, and chock-full of fascinating nuggets about the history of our regional foods. It includes reference to some of New England's more famous foodies -- Fannie Farmer, Hayden Pearson, and Julia Child -- and includes an analysis of how the changing times of New England have affected the way we eat.     Location: Derry Public Library, 64 East Broadway, Derry   6:30 PM The History of Traditional Russian Matryoshka Doll Making from Russia to New Hampshire       Contact: Charles Brault   731-9458        This illustrated presentation will examine the history of Matryoshka nested doll making in Russia. We will explore the folk symbolism of a doll's appearance and the interesting link between doll making and Russian portraiture. We will have a tour of a doll making factory in rural Russia, a depiction of the various stages in the doll making process, and hundreds of examples of the finest Matryoshka artwork available in Russia. Presented by Marina Forbes.     Location: Chamberlin Free Public Library, 46 Main St., Greenville Thursday April 8, 2010 Go To Top 7:30 PM Just Like a Tumbleweed: Childhood on the American Frontier       Contact: Linda Rousseau   772-4534        Letters, diaries, and reminiscences lead to a rich store of knowledge about the infinite variety of childhood experiences in the American West. Interspersed with the more familiar stories of the children of homesteaders and gold seekers of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are stories that reflect the multicultural nature of a region shared by children of the Indians, Hispanics, Asians, and Blacks for whom the frontier was also home. Presented by Linda Peavy and Ursula Smith.     Location: Mary E. Bartlett Library, 22 Dalton Rd., Brentwood Friday April 9, 2010 Go To Top 6:30 PM 400 Miles Down the Connecticut River       Contact: Dorothy Heald   483-2701        The Connecticut River originates in New Hampshire and forms its western boundary. This 400 mile long river played an important role in New Hampshire's development during the days of the first settlers, the French and Indian Wars, and other key historical moments. Today it represents an environmental success story. Presented by Michael J. Tougias.     Location: Auburn Historical Museum, 102 Hooksett Rd., Auburn

6:30 PM Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen)       Contact: Susan Kling   353-9166        Autobiography is rich literature, and its forms are many: chronological narrative, journal, interview, interpretive narration. The urge to write an autobiography is a seemingly natural one connected to the search for a personal voice or to the articulation of personal experience that forms the core of self and yet may resonate for us all. The authors of the autobiographies listed below are attempting to make sense out of their life and world using the material fashioned out of real and imagined life events, bits of remembered and taped conversations, and stories passed down through generations and reinterpreted in challenging new situations. Rick Agran will lead this discussion.     Location: Orford Free Library, 2529 Route 25A   7:00 PM Nineteenth Century American Popular Music       Contact: Pamela Little   209-8233        American music has much to do with our identity as a nation. More than just entertainment, music is connected with social conditions, emerging from the sea, from cotton fields, lumber camps, and kitchens. Twentieth century music: blues, country, swing, rock, gospel, folk all emerged from earlier forms such as hymns, minstrel tunes, sea chanteys, voyageur tunes, ragtime, and patriotic songs from the Civil War. Come hear history played live on the banjo and mandolin. Presented by Eric A. Bye.     Location: Jones Hall, 12 Church Street, Marlow   7:00 PM Nineteenth Century American Popular Music       Contact: Pamela Little   209-8233        American music has much to do with our identity as a nation. More than just entertainment, music is connected with social conditions, emerging from the sea, from cotton fields, lumber camps, and kitchens. Twentieth century music: blues, country, swing, rock, gospel, folk all emerged from earlier forms such as hymns, minstrel tunes, sea chanteys, voyageur tunes, ragtime, and patriotic songs from the Civil War. Come hear history played live on the banjo and mandolin. Presented by Eric A. Bye.     Location: Jones Hall, 12 Church Street, Marlow   7:00 PM The Guitar and the Devil: Music, Magic, and Ritual Among Ecuadorian Indians       Contact: Cindy Ritter   499-1504        Music and ritual belief in supernatural forces play key roles in the eight-day festivities associated with the summer solstice and annual corn harvest in Ecuador. For example, the guitarist makes a pact with the "diablito" in order to gain strength to play and dance without tiring. This program, illustrated with slides, recordings, and live performance explores the connections between ritual, music, and the supernatural, especially among indigenous Andean peoples. Presented by Jose Lezcano, Keene State College.     Location: Shonk Recital Hall, Dublin School, 18 Lehmann Way, Dublin Saturday April 10, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM That Reminds Me of a Story: Yankee Humor and the New England Storytelling Tradition       Contact: Carol Anne Centre   835-6229        Good stories never die, they evolve from teller to teller. New England has a rich and ongoing storytelling tradition from folklore to "Bert and I" to stories about your family, your life, or the town you live in. Humorist Rebecca Rule will prime the pump with stories she's collected at small-town gatherings, often at historical societies and libraries, over the last ten years, plus a classic or two. Our "discussion" will be the stories that listeners offer up, and as one story leads to another -- humorous, serious, thought-provoking, or just plain entertaining -- we practice and preserve our stories and tradition. And laugh, a lot.     Location: Langdon Town Hall, 5 Walker Hill Road Sunday April 11, 2010 Go To Top 1:00 PM Indian Issues in New England -- Settling with the Past       Contact: Shawn Olson   456-3244        Although they were the first to welcome new settlers to New England in the 17th century, New England tribes have been the last to be recognized. This program focuses on contemporary tribal issues such as recognition, repatriation, political and commercial representations, including school mascots and caricatures. Presented by David Stewart-Smith.     Location: Mount Kearsarge Indian Museum, 18 Highlawn Rd., Warner   2:00 PM Lafayette and the Farewell Tour: an American Idol       Contact: Carol Eyman   589-4610        General Lafayette, born the Marquis de Lafayette in Auvergne, France, was truly an American Idol in the 19th century. The proof is that over 80 counties, cities and towns were named after him, as well as streets and roads everywhere - Lafayette Road in Portsmouth and Fayette Street in Concord and Mount Lafayette in Franconia. In this program, the translator of Lafayette in America in 1824 and 1825, a first-hand account of Lafayette's Farewell Tour of America, will describe the full extent of his reputation and explore its origins. Lafayette's extraordinary reputation was based on his military record in the Revolution, his friendship with Washington, his continued support of American interests, his story-book life and, perhaps most importantly, his Farewell Tour of American when he visited all 24 states and Washington City as the last surviving major general of the Continental Army. His visits to New Hampshire - to Portsmouth in 1824 and to Concord in 1825 - will be used to illustrate the adulation with which the American people greeted Lafayette on the Farewell Tour. Presented by Alan Hoffman.     Location: Nashua Public Library, 2 Court St., Nashua   2:00 PM Russian Faberge Eggs and Lacquer Boxes: From Craft to Fine Art       Contact: Wendy O'Brien   239-6164        This illustrated presentation will focus on the unique development of these two major Russian art forms, from traditional craft to exquisite fine art. Emphasis is on the important role of egg and lacquer box painting in Russian culture, and on the elevation of these traditional forms to the level of high art under the patronage of the tsars. Presented by Marina Forbes.     Location: Veteran's Home, 150 Old Homestead Highway, Richmond Monday April 12, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM Indian Stream Republic       Contact: James B. Atkinson   675-6003        Much of what is now Pittsburg, New Hampshire, was once a self-described independent nation that called itself the "Indian Stream Republic." Its citizens wrote a constitution, established courts, elected legislative officials, and challenged their neighbors, Canada and the United States, to justify their claims to authority in the area. The republic, in some form, lasted nearly a decade. Presented by Jere Daniell, Dartmouth College.     Location: Cornish Town Office Building, 488 Town House Road   7:00 PM Songs of Old New Hampshire       Contact: Robbin Bailey   225-8590        Drawing heavily on the repertoire of traditional singer Lena Bourne Fish (1873-1945) of Jaffrey and Temple, New Hampshire, Jeff Warner offers the songs and stories that, in the words of Carl Sandburg, tell us "where we came from and what brought us along." These ballads, love songs and comic pieces reveal the experiences and emotions of daily life in the days before movies, sound recordings, and for some, books. Songs from the lumber camps, the decks of sailing ships, the textile mills and the war between the sexes offer views of pre-industrial New England and a chance to hear living artifacts from the 18th and 19th centuries.     Location: Concord Public Library, 45 Green Street   7:30 PM Daniel Webster: New Hampshire's First Favorite Son       Contact: Neil Benner   315-8413        New Hampshire's Daniel Webster was instrumental in the development of national political and legal policy in the formative years of the American Republic. His national and international diplomacy and his oratory skills cast him as a national leader and a world-class statesman. This program reviews Webster's life and career with attention to his NH ties. Presented by Richard A. Hesse, Franklin Pierce Law Center.     Location: Congregational Church of Amherst, 11 Church St. Tuesday April 13, 2010 Go To Top 6:30 PM That Reminds Me of a Story: Yankee Humor and the New England Storytelling Tradition       Contact: Debra Reilly   673-3330        Good stories never die, they evolve from teller to teller. New England has a rich and ongoing storytelling tradition from folklore to "Bert and I" to stories about your family, your life, or the town you live in. Humorist Rebecca Rule will prime the pump with stories she's collected at small-town gatherings, often at historical societies and libraries, over the last ten years, plus a classic or two. Our "discussion" will be the stories that listeners offer up, and as one story leads to another -- humorous, serious, thought-provoking, or just plain entertaining -- we practice and preserve our stories and tradition. And laugh, a lot.     Location: The Brookline Chapel, 36 Main Street

7:00 PM Look to the Mountain by Legrand Cannon, Jr.       Contact: Jackie Hamblet   383-6775        Experience through this book the stamina and strength of the intrepid New Englanders: a young couple who, in the mid-1700s, are the first European settlers in the rough wilderness of Tamworth, N.H.; the quiet community of a Maine seacoast village in the late 19th century; thirty-seven Manchester mill workers who share stories of work and everyday life in the early 20th century; and a naturalist who weaves his year-long observations of Cape Cod into a natural history classic. These books offer intimate insights into life in New England, and into formative experiences in the shaping of American national identity. How would we respond today to the challenges recounted in these books? Series created by the Moultonborough Public Library. Discussion lead by Frumie Selchen.     Location: Bartlett Public Library, 1 Main Street   7:00 PM Wacky Songs that Made Us Laugh       Contact: Louise Pryor   329-5921        Popular songs with humorous lyrics have kept us laughing since colonial times. We need comic relief and songs provide some of the best (sometimes unintentionally). Excerpts from hilarious songs help chart the evolution of musical humor from the 1920s to the 1980s. Selections poke fun at WW II enemies, diets, television , sex, Christmas, summer camp, religion, and many aspects of life. Laugh as you recall wacky moments from the past and discover new ones. Presented by Calvin Knickerbocker.     Location: Hampstead Public Library, 9 Mary E. Clark Drive   7:00 PM West with the Night by Beryl Markham       Contact: Robbin Bailey   225-8590        With the skill of someone who has filled long nights with stories, Markham recounts her adventures--discoveries, rescues, and narrow escapes, the glint of an airplane abandoned in the desert, the look of a lion about to pounce. Much more than a pilot's memoir, West With the Night is a wise, funny, and inspiring exploration of a life well lived. Discussion lead by Suzanne Brown.     Location: Concord Public Library, 45 Green Street   7:00 PM What NH Thought Was Funny Two Hundred Years Ago       Contact: Don Melvin   749-1285        What makes you laugh? It depends on who you are, where and when you live, what you know, and how you think. In early post-Revolutionary New Hampshire, the various attempts at humor that survive in print seem to focus mainly on three "funny" topics: the learned professions, the Scots and the Irish, and sex. Using primarily the Farmer's Museum, a Walpole-based newspaper published by a coterie of lawyers and "wits," Charles E. Clark will explore the jokes and anecdotes intended to tickle the NH funny bones of the day. He will also offer some explanation of the cultural circumstances that made them "funny" and show how and why the regional sense of humor matured after these crude beginnings over a fairly short time.     Location: Madbury Town Hall, 13 Town Hall Rd., Madbury Wednesday April 14, 2010 Go To Top 1:00 PM That Reminds Me of a Story: Yankee Humor and the New England Storytelling Tradition       Contact: Nancy Ladd   456-2289        Good stories never die, they evolve from teller to teller. New England has a rich and ongoing storytelling tradition from folklore to "Bert and I" to stories about your family, your life, or the town you live in. Humorist Rebecca Rule will prime the pump with stories she's collected at small-town gatherings, often at historical societies and libraries, over the last ten years, plus a classic or two. Our "discussion" will be the stories that listeners offer up, and as one story leads to another -- humorous, serious, thought-provoking, or just plain entertaining -- we practice and preserve our stories and tradition. And laugh, a lot.     Location: Warner Town Hall, 5 East Main St.   7:30 PM A Stranger in the Kingdom by Howard Mosher       Contact: Mary Ann Wesoly   465-2411        This selection of murder mysteries, set in New England and written by contemporary New England authors, looks through a local lens at questions such as: What is justice? What role should mercy play? Is crime ever justified? What can ordinary citizens do to uphold social order? Series created by the Fuller Public Library in Hillsborough.     Location: Hollis Social Library, 2 Monument Square Thursday April 15, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers       Contact: Mitzi Turgeon   532-7301        Mystery author Harriet Vane attends her college reunion and finds her all-women's alma mater besieged by vandalism, threats, and dangerous practical jokes. Lord Peter Wimsey, the popular sleuth who stars in ten of Sayers' novels, arrives to solve the crime and complicates Harriet's life. Gaudy Night offers us classic literate mystery as its best. Discussion lead by William Stroup.     Location: Jaffrey Public Library, 38 Main Street Friday April 16, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM Liberty Is Our Motto!: Songs and Stories of the Hutchinson Family Singers       Contact: Daniel Murray   347-1723        Originally from Milford, NH, the Hutchinson Family Singers were America's most popular musical entertainers for much of the mid-19th century. They achieved international fame with songs advancing social reform and political causes such as abolition, temperance, women's suffrage, and the Lincoln presidential campaign of 1860. Chautauquan, musician and singer Steve Blunt (in character as John Hutchinson) tells the Hutchinsons' story and shares their music with audiences of all ages. Selections include: "The Old Granite State," "Get Off the Track!" and "Tenting Tonight on the Old Campground." You'll help sing the chorus, perhaps, "Huzza, Huzza, Huzza!"     Location: New Hampshire Historical Society, 30 Park St., Concord Saturday April 17, 2010 Go To Top 12:00 PM Music in my Pockets: Family Fun in Folk Music       Contact: Krista Passon   895-4579        Singing games, accessible "pocket instruments" like spoons and dancing puppets, tall tales, funny songs, old songs and songs kids teach each other in the playground -- all "traditional" in that they have been passed down the generations by word of mouth -- will be seen, heard and learned. We will revisit 1850 or 1910 in a New England town, with families gathered around the figurative hearth, participating in timeless, hearty entertainment and, almost without knowing it, learning how America amused itself before electricity. Presented by Jeff Warner.     Location: Riverside Park, Sundean Pkwy, Raymond Sunday April 18, 2010 Go To Top 3:00 PM Meet Eleanor Roosevelt       Contact: Thelma Nichols   588-6766        Eleanor Roosevelt was a leader and a revolutionary, a champion to the powerless and her story is not over. Any of four themes guide the former First Lady's remarks: her childhood and adolescence during the turn of the century (1884-1905); her life as a mother, wife, and First Lady through World War II; her experiences as a private citizen and first lady of the world from the mid-1940s to the early 1960s; and her work as an advocate for universal human rights. Choose an era to explore. These segments may be presented individually, in sequence or in any combination. A conversation with the audience follows each performance. Presented by Elena H. Dodd.     Location: First Presbyterian Church, 73 Main St., Antrim Tuesday April 20, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM Crime and Punishment on the Isles of Shoals: The Ballad of Louis Wagner       Contact: Susan LeClair   783-4386        Louis Wagner was convicted of, and executed for, murdering Anethe and Karen Cristenson on Smuttynose Island, Isles of Shoals, in March of 1873. Although sentiment against Wagner was at a fever pitch immediately following the murders, time and reflection have generated an ongoing debate as to the fairness of the trial and the validity of the verdict. Drawing from the trial transcript, media reports, and the cultural milieu in which the trial took place, this program invites you to examine the law's judgment of Louis Wagner. Listen also to a guitar and vocal rendition of Perrault's song, "The Ballad of Louis Wagner."     Location: Elkins Public Library, 9 Center Road, Canterbury   7:00 PM That Reminds Me of a Story: Yankee Humor and the New England Storytelling Tradition       Contact: Cynthia Hamilton   532-6064        Good stories never die, they evolve from teller to teller. New England has a rich and ongoing storytelling tradition from folklore to "Bert and I" to stories about your family, your life, or the town you live in. Humorist Rebecca Rule will prime the pump with stories she's collected at small-town gatherings, often at historical societies and libraries, over the last ten years, plus a classic or two. Our "discussion" will be the stories that listeners offer up, and as one story leads to another -- humorous, serious, thought-provoking, or just plain entertaining -- we practice and preserve our stories and tradition. And laugh, a lot.     Location: United Church Parish Hall, 54 Main St., Jaffrey

Wednesday April 21, 2010 Go To Top 6:30 PM The Making of Strawbery Banke       Contact: Pam Darlington   772-3101        Local legend says Strawbery Banke Museum began when a Portsmouth librarian gave a rousing speech in 1957. The backstory is a complex tale of progress and urban renewal versus colonial architecture in New Hampshire's only seaport. J. Dennis Robinson, author of Strawbery Banke, A Seaport Museum 400 Years in the Making will share the history of "America's oldest neighborhood" and the scenes of the founding years. Tapping into private letters, unpublished records and personal interviews, he explores the politics of preservation at what Ken Burns calls "one of the best history museums in the country." The author looks candidly at mistakes made and lessons learned in this grassroots success story.     Location: Exeter Public Library, 4 Chestnut Street   7:00 PM Adventures in the Unknown Interior of America by Cabeza de Vaca       Contact: Katie Doherty   752-1113        In 1527, Cabeza de Vaca began an eight-year journey walking across the New World, from what is now Florida to Arizona and northern Mexico. This actual historic account, written by de Vaca as a report to the King of Spain, describes Native American cultures, the wild, untrammeled continent, and how his original exploration troop of 300 fell to 4 survivors. This reading discussion will be led by Craig Doherty.     Location: Fortier Library, White Mountain Community College, 2020 Riverside Dr., Berlin   7:00 PM The Great Sheep Boom and Its Enduring Legacy on the New Hampshire Landscape       Contact: Susan Massin   585-6503        In a brief 30-year period in the early 19th century the New Hampshire countryside became home to hundreds of thousands of sheep. Production of wool became a lucrative business, generating fortunes and providing the only era of true agricultural prosperity in the state's history. It left behind a legacy of fine architecture and thousands of miles of rugged stonewalls. Farmers overcame enormous challenges to make sheep husbandry succeed, but forces from beyond New Hampshire were to doom the industry, with social consequences that would last a century. Presented by Steve Taylor.     Location: Fitzwilliam Town Library, 11 Templeton Turnpike   7:00 PM Your Hit Parade--25 Years Presenting America's Top Popular Songs       Contact: Diane Rice   735-5365        The radio and television program "Your Hit Parade" chronicled American popular music from 1935 to 1959. Presenter Calvin Knickerbocker will outline the quarter century during which the show served as a "tastemaker," featuring songs inspired by the Great Depression and on to the advent of rock and roll. We'll explore the show's relationship with sponsor American Tobacco and Lucky Strike cigarettes and hear about the artists the show helped launch and promote, from Frank Sinatra to Pat Boone. Knickerbocker will treat you to excerpts from original recordings of the songs that "Your Hit Parade" showcased on its weekly Saturday night show, from one-hit wonders to classic numbers still familiar today.     Location: Andover Elementary & Middle School, 20 School Street Thursday April 22, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM After Frost: Poetry in New England       Contact: Betty Tidd   524-6042        Robert Frost has long dominated the public's image of New England poetry. For many, both inside and outside the region, Frost has come to personify the "New England poet." But who are the poets of today? Can we so easily put faces on the myriad voices that continue to expand the poetic tradition of our region? How have evolving conceptions of the self, the community, and the landscape spurred new images and visions? The goal of this series is to share with audiences the variety and vitality of our region's poetry, using the works of Robert Frost as a touchstone for exploration. Discussion lead by Jennifer Lee.     Location: Gilford Public Library, 31 Potter Hill Road   7:00 PM Brewing in New Hampshire: An Informal History of Beer in the Granite State       Contact: Rosanna Dude   526-6804        We will explore the fascinating history of New Hampshire's beer and ale brewing industry from Colonial days, from when it was home- and tavern-based, to today's modern breweries and brew pubs. Unusual and rare photos and advertisements document this changing industry and the state's earliest brewers, including the renowned Frank Jones. A number of lesser-known brewers and breweries that operated in the state are also discussed, including the only brewery owned and operated by a woman before the modern era. Illustrations present evidence of society's changing attitudes towards beer and alcohol consumption over the years. Whether you're a beer connoisseur or a "tea-totaler", this lecture will be enjoyed by adults of all ages. Anticipating an oft-asked question... Sorry, there are no beer samples given out at this lecture. Presented by Glenn A. Knoblock.     Location: Wilmot Public Library, 11 N. Wilmot Rd. Saturday April 24, 2010 Go To Top 1:30 PM Writing from Home: The View from Mary's Farm       Contact: Sherry Bailey   432-6140        Novelist Howard Frank Mosher writes, "Ms. Clark shows us how the small and large satisfactions of living close to nature can inform a life with grace, meaning, and beauty." As Edie Clark talks about the view from home and reads from her essay collection, we hear echoes of other writers who took nature as their subject: Frost, Thoreau, Dickinson, and Berry.     Location: Derry Public Library (Meeting Room), 64 East Broadway, Derry Monday April 26, 2010 Go To Top 12:00 PM Old Time Rules Will Prevail: The Fiddle Contest in New Hampshire and New England       Contact: Marion Barnett   927-4673        Fiddle contests evolved from being endurance fiddling events to playing a set number of tunes judged by certain specific criteria. Whether large or small, fiddle contests tried to show who was the "best," as well as preserve old-time fiddling, and raise money for local organizations. In recent years, the fiddle contest has declined significantly in New Hampshire and Vermont due to cultural changes and financial viability. The greatest legacies of the fiddle contests were recordings made at live competitions. A sampling of these tunes is played during the presentation, as well as some live fiddling by the presenter Adam Boyce.     Location: Kearsarge Presbyterian Church, 82 King Hill Rd., New London Tuesday April 27, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM Cows and Communities: How the Lowly Bovine Has Nurtured New Hampshire       Contact: Katrina McCurley   863-2172        Cattle were essential to the survival of the earliest New Hampshire settlements, and their contributions have been central to the life and culture of the state ever since. From providing dietary sustenance to basic motive power, bovines have had a deep and enduring bond with their keepers, one that lingers today and is a vital part of the iconography of rural New Hampshire. Where are New Hampshire's cows today? What are they doing for us now? Some answers will surprise you. Presented by Steve Taylor.     Location: Grantham Town Hall, 300 Route 10 South, Grantham   7:00 PM Liberty Is Our Motto!: Songs and Stories of the Hutchinson Family Singers       Contact: Richard Butler   876-3980        Originally from Milford, NH, the Hutchinson Family Singers were America's most popular musical entertainers for much of the mid-19th century. They achieved international fame with songs advancing social reform and political causes such as abolition, temperance, women's suffrage, and the Lincoln presidential campaign of 1860. Chautauquan, musician and singer Steve Blunt (in character as John Hutchinson) tells the Hutchinsons' story and shares their music with audiences of all ages. Selections include: "The Old Granite State," "Get Off the Track!" and "Tenting Tonight on the Old Campground." You'll help sing the chorus, perhaps, "Huzza, Huzza, Huzza!"     Location: Community House, 160 Main St., Marlborough   7:00 PM West of Kabul, East of New York by Tamim Ansary       Contact: Susan LeClair   783-4386        This story takes readers on a worldwide journey with America as both a point of departure and a point of return. Expatriate writers and characters and the cultural and political aspects of globalization are included in this eclectic and timely book. Discussion lead by Sandra LeBeau.     Location: Elkins Public Library, 9 Center Road, Canterbury Wednesday April 28, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM Covered Bridges of New Hampshire       Contact: Ellen Knowlton   424-5021        Covered wooden bridges have been a vital part of the NH transportation network, dating back to the early 1800s. Given NH's myriad streams, brooks, and rivers, it's unsurprising that 400 covered bridges have been documented. Often viewed as quaint relics of a simpler past, they were technological marvels of the day. It may be native ingenuity and NH's woodworking tradition that account for the fact that a number of nationally noted covered bridge truss designers were NH natives. We will discuss covered bridge design and technology, learn about their designers, builders, and associated folklore. Highlighted by images of NH bridges, past and present, we will witness their ultimate transition from commonly used structures to historic icons. Presented by Glenn A. Knoblock.     Location: Merrimack Public Library, 470 Daniel Webster Highway

Thursday April 29, 2010 Go To Top 4:00 PM Cows and Communities: How the Lowly Bovine Has Nurtured New Hampshire       Contact: Mary Kronenwetter   763-4789 x 5        Cattle were essential to the survival of the earliest New Hampshire settlements, and their contributions have been central to the life and culture of the state ever since. From providing dietary sustenance to basic motive power, bovines have had a deep and enduring bond with their keepers, one that lingers today and is a vital part of the iconography of rural New Hampshire. Where are New Hampshire's cows today? What are they doing for us now? Some answers will surprise you. Presented by Steve Taylor.     Location: The Fells, 456 Route 103A, Newbury   7:00 PM At Bertram's Hotel by Agatha Christie       Contact: Mitzi Turgeon   532-7301        This book explores the tension between the passive, protected role traditionally assigned to women and the active, risk-taking behavior expected of the detective. In the "normal" mystery narrative, the woman is a helpless potential victim whom the male detective must protect. The tension which results when the detective is a woman permeates even such juvenile series as Nancy Drew. Women mystery writers exhibit various responses to such social expectations. This series will also examine how the problems of the female detective have changed over time. Modern female detectives must confront the same corruption that male detectives always have, and the series will ask whether they exhibit the same emotional repression that "hard-boiled" male detectives have established as standard for the genre. Discussion lead by William Doreski.     Location: Jaffrey Public Library, 38 Main Street   7:00 PM Old Time Rules Will Prevail: The Fiddle Contest in New Hampshire and New England       Contact: Jan Eskedal   367-8758        Fiddle contests evolved from being endurance fiddling events to playing a set number of tunes judged by certain specific criteria. Whether large or small, fiddle contests tried to show who was the "best," as well as preserve old-time fiddling, and raise money for local organizations. In recent years, the fiddle contest has declined significantly in New Hampshire and Vermont due to cultural changes and financial viability. The greatest legacies of the fiddle contests were recordings made at live competitions. A sampling of these tunes is played during the presentation, as well as some live fiddling by the presenter Adam Boyce.     Location: Madison Library, 1895 Village Rd., Madison Saturday May 1, 2010 Go To Top 10:30 AM Native New Hampshire Before Contact: Archaeological and Tribal Perspectives       Contact: Jennifer Yakunovich   622-7531        Northern New England was home to native peoples for almost 10,000 years before European contact. Natives were faced with the after-effects of an ice age, the emerging changes in ecosystem and climate, and new choices regarding materials for making tools, clothes, and shelter. This "prehistoric" time was anything but stagnant or sedentary; rather, it was a time of tremendous movement, energy, innovation, and survival. This program may include local Indian history depending on the location of the presentation. Presented by David Stewart-Smith.     Location: Millyard Museum, 200 Bedford Street, Manchester Thursday May 6, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM Petticoat Patriot: A Woman in the Continental Army       Contact: Niki Reed   642-3355        In 1778, sixty dollars a year in gold was a tempting offer to army recruits. Deborah Sampson thought so. Chautauquan Joan Gatturna, combining her research and theatrical skills, brings to life the story of Deborah Sampson, a young woman who disguised herself as a man in order to serve in the Continental Army for 17 months during the American Revolution. Unlike many better known women of the era, Deborah's claim to fame is not as the wife of a famous man, but as a poor young woman who made her own way in the world in a daring fashion.     Location: Mary E. Bartlett Library, 22 Dalton Rd., Brentwood Monday May 10, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM 400 Miles Down the Connecticut River       Contact: James B. Atkinson   675-6003        The Connecticut River originates in New Hampshire and forms its western boundary. This 400 mile long river played an important role in New Hampshire's development during the days of the first settlers, the French and Indian Wars, and other key historical moments. Today it represents an environmental success story. Presented by Michael J. Tougias.     Location: Cornish Town Office Building, 488 Town House Road Tuesday May 11, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM Amoskeag: Life and Work in an American Factory by Tamara K. Hareven and Randolph Langenbach       Contact: Jackie Hamblet   383-6775        Experience through this book the stamina and strength of the intrepid New Englanders: a young couple who, in the mid-1700s, are the first European settlers in the rough wilderness of Tamworth, N.H.; the quiet community of a Maine seacoast village in the late 19th century; thirty-seven Manchester mill workers who share stories of work and everyday life in the early 20th century; and a naturalist who weaves his year-long observations of Cape Cod into a natural history classic. These books offer intimate insights into life in New England, and into formative experiences in the shaping of American national identity. How would we respond today to the challenges recounted in these books? Series created by the Moultonborough Public Library. Discussion lead by Frumie Selchen.     Location: Bartlett Public Library, 1 Main Street   7:00 PM Brewing in New Hampshire: An Informal History of Beer in the Granite State       Contact: Susan LeClair   783-4386        We will explore the fascinating history of New Hampshire's beer and ale brewing industry from Colonial days, from when it was home- and tavern-based, to today's modern breweries and brew pubs. Unusual and rare photos and advertisements document this changing industry and the state's earliest brewers, including the renowned Frank Jones. A number of lesser-known brewers and breweries that operated in the state are also discussed, including the only brewery owned and operated by a woman before the modern era. Illustrations present evidence of society's changing attitudes towards beer and alcohol consumption over the years. Whether you're a beer connoisseur or a "tea-totaler", this lecture will be enjoyed by adults of all ages. Anticipating an oft-asked question... Sorry, there are no beer samples given out at this lecture. Presented by Glenn A. Knoblock.     Location: Elkins Public Library, 9 Center Road, Canterbury   7:00 PM New Hampshire Cemeteries and Gravestones       Contact: Marcia Schmidt Blaine   536-4847        Rubbings, photographs, and slides illustrate the rich variety of gravestones to be found in our own neighborhoods, but they also tell long-forgotten stories of such historical events as the Great Awakening, the Throat Distemper epidemic, and the American Revolution. Find out more about these deeply personal works of art and the craftsmen who carved them. Learn how to read these stone "pages" that give insight into the vast genealogical book of New Hampshire. Presented by Glenn A. Knoblock.     Location: Plymouth Historical Society Museum, 9 Court St.   7:00 PM What NH Thought Was Funny Two Hundred Years Ago       Contact: Arthur Garvin   648-6279        What makes you laugh? It depends on who you are, where and when you live, what you know, and how you think. In early post-Revolutionary New Hampshire, the various attempts at humor that survive in print seem to focus mainly on three "funny" topics: the learned professions, the Scots and the Irish, and sex. Using primarily the Farmer's Museum, a Walpole-based newspaper published by a coterie of lawyers and "wits," Charles E. Clark will explore the jokes and anecdotes intended to tickle the NH funny bones of the day. He will also offer some explanation of the cultural circumstances that made them "funny" and show how and why the regional sense of humor matured after these crude beginnings over a fairly short time.     Location: Old Baptist Meetinghouse, Route 4, Salisbury Wednesday May 12, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM A Night of Music with Two Old Friends       Contact: Susan Wren   863-2306        Over the centuries, immigrants from the British Isles have come to the Americas, bringing with them their musical styles, tastes, and instruments. Using the concertina, bodhran, mandolin, octave mandolin, guitar and banjo in their performances, Two Old Friends sing and play traditional Irish songs and tunes. They perform American country music the way it was conceived in the early twentieth century and demonstrate how these tunes are often derived from the songs of the Irish, but have been influenced by other cultural and ethnic groups (particularly African American) to create an original American sound.     Location: Grantham Town Hall, 300 Route 10 South, Grantham   7:00 PM Cows and Communities: How the Lowly Bovine Has Nurtured New Hampshire       Contact: Amy Carter   323-8510        Cattle were essential to the survival of the earliest New Hampshire settlements, and their contributions have been central to the life and culture of the state ever since. From providing dietary sustenance to basic motive power, bovines have had a deep and enduring bond with their keepers, one that lingers today and is a vital part of the iconography of rural New Hampshire. Where are New Hampshire's cows today? What are they doing for us now? Some answers will surprise you. Presented by Steve Taylor.     Location: Cook Memorial Library, 93 Main St.,Tamworth

Thursday May 13, 2010 Go To Top 6:30 PM That Reminds Me of a Story: Yankee Humor and the New England Storytelling Tradition       Contact: Ann Robinson   474-2044        Good stories never die, they evolve from teller to teller. New England has a rich and ongoing storytelling tradition from folklore to "Bert and I" to stories about your family, your life, or the town you live in. Humorist Rebecca Rule will prime the pump with stories she's collected at small-town gatherings, often at historical societies and libraries, over the last ten years, plus a classic or two. Our "discussion" will be the stories that listeners offer up, and as one story leads to another -- humorous, serious, thought-provoking, or just plain entertaining -- we practice and preserve our stories and tradition. And laugh, a lot.     Location: Seabrook Library, 25 Liberty Lane   7:00 PM Camp Stark: New Hampshire's World War II German Prisoner of War Camp       Contact: Linda Salatiello   286-4526        During World War II, 300 German prisoners of war were held at Camp Stark near the village of Stark in New Hampshire's North Country. The history of this camp tells us much about our country's war experience and about our state. Presented by Allen Koop, Dartmouth College.     Location: Line Tavern, 520 Sanborn Rd., Sanbornton   7:00 PM The Great Sheep Boom and Its Enduring Legacy on the New Hampshire Landscape       Contact: Rebecca Courser   456-2437        In a brief 30-year period in the early 19th century the New Hampshire countryside became home to hundreds of thousands of sheep. Production of wool became a lucrative business, generating fortunes and providing the only era of true agricultural prosperity in the state's history. It left behind a legacy of fine architecture and thousands of miles of rugged stonewalls. Farmers overcame enormous challenges to make sheep husbandry succeed, but forces from beyond New Hampshire were to doom the industry, with social consequences that would last a century. Presented by Steve Taylor.     Location: Warner Town Hall, 5 East Main St. Friday May 14, 2010 Go To Top 6:30 PM That Reminds Me of a Story: Yankee Humor       Contact: Dorothy Heald   483-2701        Good stories never die, they evolve from teller to teller. New England has a rich and ongoing storytelling tradition from folklore to "Bert and I" to stories about your family, your life, or the town you live in. Humorist Rebecca Rule will prime the pump with stories she's collected at small-town gatherings, often at historical societies and libraries, over the last ten years, plus a classic or two. Our "discussion" will be the stories that listeners offer up, and as one story leads to another -- humorous, serious, thought-provoking, or just plain entertaining -- we practice and preserve our stories and tradition. And laugh, a lot.     Location: Auburn Historical Museum, 102 Hooksett Rd., Auburn Monday May 17, 2010 Go To Top 7:30 PM The White Mountain Huts: Past & Future       Contact: Judy Landry   726-3081        The Appalachian Mountain Club's Hut System is a unique institution in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Learn how the huts and their people have formed a world apart, a mountain society with its own history, traditions, and legends. Presented by Allen Koop, Dartmouth College.     Location: Campton Historical Society, 519 NH Route 175, Campton Tuesday May 18, 2010 Go To Top Cows and Communities: How the Lowly Bovine Has Nurtured New Hampshire       Contact: Honey Hastings   878-0862        Cattle were essential to the survival of the earliest New Hampshire settlements, and their contributions have been central to the life and culture of the state ever since. From providing dietary sustenance to basic motive power, bovines have had a deep and enduring bond with their keepers, one that lingers today and is a vital part of the iconography of rural New Hampshire. Where are New Hampshire's cows today? What are they doing for us now? Some answers will surprise you. Presented by Steve Taylor.     Location: Temple Town Hall, 423 Route 45 Wednesday May 19, 2010 Go To Top 2:00 PM Leaving the Troubles Behind: Images and Narratives from Northern Ireland       Contact: Mose Olenik   924-4555        With the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, the people of Northern Ireland experienced the first real indication that the 30-year nightmare quaintly referred to as "The Troubles" might well be over. A decade later, however, militant political murals still adorn the walls of buildings throughout Belfast and Derry. These images provide a vivid backdrop for tales of everyday life during the years of sectarian violence; they are tales that at once reflect a painful past and anticipate a harmonious future. Through photographs and stories from Northern Ireland today, this program will explore the impact of civil strife on a resilient people, and the ways in which narratives and images can help to heal the wounds of war. Presented by Kathleen S. Cain, Merrimack College.     Location: Mariposa Museum, 26 Main St., Peterborough   7:00 PM The Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing       Contact: Katie Doherty   752-1113        Sir Ernest Shackleton's voyage in 1914 to explore the South Pole ended when his ship Endurance was crushed by ice. Lansing recounts this suspenseful survival adventure: the captain and crew survived for months on floating ice in the harsh Antarctic climate before escaping in a lifeboat. This reading discussion is lead by Craig Doherty.     Location: Fortier Library, White Mountain Community College, 2020 Riverside Dr., Berlin   7:30 PM Daniel Webster: New Hampshire's First Favorite Son       Contact: William Earnshaw   472-3866        New Hampshire's Daniel Webster was instrumental in the development of national political and legal policy in the formative years of the American Republic. His national and international diplomacy and his oratory skills cast him as a national leader and a world-class statesman. This program reviews Webster's life and career with attention to his NH ties. Presented by Richard A. Hesse, Franklin Pierce Law Center.     Location: Bedford Public Library, 3 Meetinghouse Road, Bedford Thursday May 20, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM Old Time Rules Will Prevail: The Fiddle Contest in New Hampshire and New England       Contact: Paul Giblin   898-7064 x 18        Fiddle contests evolved from being endurance fiddling events to playing a set number of tunes judged by certain specific criteria. Whether large or small, fiddle contests tried to show who was the "best," as well as preserve old-time fiddling, and raise money for local organizations. In recent years, the fiddle contest has declined significantly in New Hampshire and Vermont due to cultural changes and financial viability. The greatest legacies of the fiddle contests were recordings made at live competitions. A sampling of these tunes is played during the presentation, as well as some live fiddling by the presenter Adam Boyce.     Location: Kelley Public Library, 234 Main St., Salem   7:00 PM The Great Sheep Boom and Its Enduring Legacy on the New Hampshire Landscape       Contact: Betty Tidd   524-6042        In a brief 30-year period in the early 19th century the New Hampshire countryside became home to hundreds of thousands of sheep. Production of wool became a lucrative business, generating fortunes and providing the only era of true agricultural prosperity in the state's history. It left behind a legacy of fine architecture and thousands of miles of rugged stonewalls. Farmers overcame enormous challenges to make sheep husbandry succeed, but forces from beyond New Hampshire were to doom the industry, with social consequences that would last a century. Presented by Steve Taylor.     Location: Gilford Public Library, 31 Potter Hill Road   7:30 PM That Reminds Me of a Story: Yankee Humor and the New England Storytelling Tradition       Contact: Richard D'Amato   673-2156        Good stories never die, they evolve from teller to teller. New England has a rich and ongoing storytelling tradition from folklore to "Bert and I" to stories about your family, your life, or the town you live in. Humorist Rebecca Rule will prime the pump with stories she's collected at small-town gatherings, often at historical societies and libraries, over the last ten years, plus a classic or two. Our "discussion" will be the stories that listeners offer up, and as one story leads to another -- humorous, serious, thought-provoking, or just plain entertaining -- we practice and preserve our stories and tradition. And laugh, a lo     Location: Milford Town Hall, 1 Union Square

Monday May 24, 2010 Go To Top 6:30 PM Baked Beans and Fried Clams: How Food Defines A Region       Contact: Jen Leger   224-7113        Baked beans, Indian pudding, fried clams, and lobster rolls... so many foods are distinctive to New England. Does food have anything to say about who we are as a region, about who we are as New Englanders? Bean-hole beans, johnnycakes, chocolate chip cookies, and pork pies -- you can find them all over the country now, but they all originally came from New England like so many of the customs and mores familiar to all. The presentation is informative, humorous, and chock-full of fascinating nuggets about the history of our regional foods. It includes reference to some of New England's more famous foodies -- Fannie Farmer, Hayden Pearson, and Julia Child -- and includes an analysis of how the changing times of New England have affected the way we eat. Presented by Edie Clark.     Location: Baker Free Library, 509 South St., Bow Tuesday May 25, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM The White Mountain Huts: Past & Future       Contact: John L. Dickey   267-6098        The Appalachian Mountain Club's Hut System is a unique institution in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Learn how the huts and their people have formed a world apart, a mountain society with its own history, traditions, and legends. Presented by Allen Koop, Dartmouth College.     Location: Gilmanton Old Town Hall, 1800 NH Rt. 140, Gilmanton Iron Works Thursday June 3, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM The White Mountain Huts: Past & Future       Contact: Debra Reilly   673-3330        The Appalachian Mountain Club's Hut System is a unique institution in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Learn how the huts and their people have formed a world apart, a mountain society with its own history, traditions, and legends. Presented by Allen Koop, Dartmouth College.     Location: Brookline Public Library, 16 Main St., Brookline Tuesday June 8, 2010 Go To Top 6:30 PM First Light by Philip R. Craig and William G. Tapply       Contact: Betty Tidd   524-6042        This debut of the first Brady Coyne/J.W. Jackson story is written by two acclaimed crime novelists and fishing buddies who know Martha's Vineyard intimately. Told in alternating chapters by each author's protagonist, the suspenseful search for two missing women evolves through a story studded with local island lore, a love of fishing, and details of parenting young children, meal preparation (three recipes are included), and persistent investigation. Discussion lead by Jennifer Lee.     Location: Gilford Public Library, 31 Potter Hill Road   7:00 PM Baked Beans and Fried Clams: How Food Defines A Region       Contact: Arthur Garvin   648-6279        Baked beans, Indian pudding, fried clams, and lobster rolls... so many foods are distinctive to New England. Does food have anything to say about who we are as a region, about who we are as New Englanders? Bean-hole beans, johnnycakes, chocolate chip cookies, and pork pies -- you can find them all over the country now, but they all originally came from New England like so many of the customs and mores familiar to all. The presentation is informative, humorous, and chock-full of fascinating nuggets about the history of our regional foods. It includes reference to some of New England's more famous foodies -- Fannie Farmer, Hayden Pearson, and Julia Child -- and includes an analysis of how the changing times of New England have affected the way we eat. Presented by Edie Clark.     Location: Old Baptist Meetinghouse, Route 4, Salisbury   7:00 PM Italian Gardens: Then and Now       Contact: Nancy McCue   476-8895        "The garden is a home's most important room." Cornish resident Charles A. Platt (1861-1933), architect, artist, and landscape designer, practiced what he preached. A jump ahead of Edith Wharton and Maxfield Parrish in admiration of these gardens, Platt photographed and applied Italian design principles for villas and gardens so that Americans could follow them. A PowerPoint presentation describes and illustrates Italian gardens as Platt photographed them in 1894. Rephotographed in a pilgrimage a century later, we'll explore what these gardens look like today, from the same vantage point, and discuss the history of designed spaces. Presented by James B. Atkinson.     Location: Moultonborough Library, 4 Holland St., Moultonborough Wednesday June 9, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM Brewing in New Hampshire: An Informal History of Beer in the Granite State       Contact: Maggie Ford   526-7245        We will explore the fascinating history of New Hampshire's beer and ale brewing industry from Colonial days, from when it was home- and tavern-based, to today's modern breweries and brew pubs. Unusual and rare photos and advertisements document this changing industry and the state's earliest brewers, including the renowned Frank Jones. A number of lesser-known brewers and breweries that operated in the state are also discussed, including the only brewery owned and operated by a woman before the modern era. Illustrations present evidence of society's changing attitudes towards beer and alcohol consumption over the years. Whether you're a beer connoisseur or a "tea-totaler", this lecture will be enjoyed by adults of all ages. Anticipating an oft-asked question... Sorry, there are no beer samples given out at this lecture. Presented by Glenn A. Knoblock.     Location: New London Historical Society Meeting House, 179 Little Sunapee Road Thursday June 10, 2010 Go To Top 10:30 AM Susan B. Anthony, the Invincible!       Contact: Maryann Lacasse   332-2567        Susan B. Anthony, the Invincible! is a dramatic history lesson. Anthony's life (1820-1906) is revealed decade by decade, paralleling social developments and major movements in the US. We hear of the Panic of 1837, the Dred Scott case, the Anti-Slavery Society, the Civil War, the 14th and 15th amendments. She recounts her journeys across the country as she establishes a network of lieutenants working for women's suffrage in Wyoming, California, Oregon, and the Washington Territory. We witness her involvement in the fight for women's rights in factories, schools, colleges, courtrooms and voting booths. Miss Anthony was willing to endure being caricatured, criticized, even threatened because she believed in equal rights for all, and she was willing to devote her life to that cause. Presented by Sally Matson.     Location: Rochester Country Club, 94 Church Street Monday June 14, 2010 Go To Top 2:15 PM Covered Bridges of New Hampshire       Contact: Cathy Herman   229-1185        Covered wooden bridges have been a vital part of the NH transportation network, dating back to the early 1800s. Given NH's myriad streams, brooks, and rivers, it's unsurprising that 400 covered bridges have been documented. Often viewed as quaint relics of a simpler past, they were technological marvels of the day. It may be native ingenuity and NH's woodworking tradition that account for the fact that a number of nationally noted covered bridge truss designers were NH natives. We will discuss covered bridge design and technology, learn about their designers, builders, and associated folklore. Highlighted by images of NH bridges, past and present, we will witness their ultimate transition from commonly used structures to historic icons. Presented by Glenn A. Knoblock.     Location: Havenwood Heritage Heights (Auditorium), 33 Christian Ave., Concord   7:00 PM 400 Miles Down the Connecticut River       Contact: Fran Vincent   253-6250        The Connecticut River originates in New Hampshire and forms its western boundary. This 400 mile long river played an important role in New Hampshire's development during the days of the first settlers, the French and Indian Wars, and other key historical moments. Today it represents an environmental success story. Presented by Michael J. Tougias.     Location: Moultonborough Library, 4 Holland St., Moultonborough Wednesday June 16, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM The Life of Pi by Yann Martel       Contact: Katie Doherty   752-1113        Pi Patel is the precocious 16-year-old son of a zookeeper and a practitioner of Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity, all at the same time. Pi survives a shipwreck, but is left stranded on a lifeboat with a wounded zebra, a hyena, an orangutan, and a bengal tiger named Richard Parker. As Pi drifts on the open sea, Martel's fluid narration draws the reader into a bizarre and engaging tale of survival and self-discovery. This reading discussion is led by Frumie Selchen.     Location: Fortier Library, White Mountain Community College, 2020 Riverside Dr., Berlin Thursday June 17, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM Your Hit Parade - 25 Years Presenting America's Top Popular Songs       Contact: Mary Lucy   367-4535        The radio and television program "Your Hit Parade" chronicled American popular music from 1935 to 1959. Presenter Calvin Knickerbocker will outline the quarter century during which the show served as a "tastemaker," featuring songs inspired by the Great Depression and on to the advent of rock and roll. We'll explore the show's relationship with sponsor American Tobacco and Lucky Strike cigarettes and hear about the artists the show helped launch and promote, from Frank Sinatra to Pat Boone. Knickerbocker will treat you to excerpts from original recordings of the songs that "Your Hit Parade" showcased on its weekly Saturday night show, from one-hit wonders to classic numbers still familiar today.     Location: Madison Library, 1895 Village Rd., Madison

Tuesday June 22, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM Songs of Old New Hampshire       Contact: John L. Dickey   267-6098        Drawing heavily on the repertoire of traditional singer Lena Bourne Fish (1873-1945) of Jaffrey and Temple, New Hampshire, Jeff Warner offers the songs and stories that, in the words of Carl Sandburg, tell us "where we came from and what brought us along." These ballads, love songs and comic pieces reveal the experiences and emotions of daily life in the days before movies, sound recordings, and for some, books. Songs from the lumber camps, the decks of sailing ships, the textile mills and the war between the sexes offer views of pre-industrial New England and a chance to hear living artifacts from the 18th and 19th centuries.     Location: Gilmanton Academy, 503 Province Road, Gilmanton Thursday June 24, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM Old Time Rules Will Prevail: The Fiddle Contest in New Hampshire and New England       Contact: Seth Stearns   279-1236        Fiddle contests evolved from being endurance fiddling events to playing a set number of tunes judged by certain specific criteria. Whether large or small, fiddle contests tried to show who was the "best," as well as preserve old-time fiddling, and raise money for local organizations. In recent years, the fiddle contest has declined significantly in New Hampshire and Vermont due to cultural changes and financial viability. The greatest legacies of the fiddle contests were recordings made at live competitions. A sampling of these tunes is played during the presentation, as well as some live fiddling by the presenter Adam Boyce.     Location: Center Harbor Schoolhouse Museum, 94 Dane Road Wednesday June 30, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM Big House, Little House, Back House, Barn       Contact: Amy Markus   525-4411        Through architecture unique to northern New England, this illustrated talk introduces history common to New Hampshire farmers and focuses on several case studies that show how farmers converted their typical separate house and barns into connected farmsteads. Thomas Hubka's research demonstrates that average farmers were, in fact, motivated by competition with farmers in other regions of America who had better soils and growing seasons and fewer rocks to clear. The connected farmstead organization, housing equal parts mixed-farming and home-industry, was one of the collective responses to the competitive threat. Professor Hubka is available to survey your farmsteads before his presentation so that he might integrate town-specific photos and stories into his presentation. (Special Note: Seasonal availability July through September)     Location: Hancock Town Library (in the Daniels Room), 25 Main Street Tuesday July 6, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM Native American History of New Hampshire       Contact: Arthur Garvin   648-6279        The Pennacook Indians of the Merrimack Valley were the largest and most powerful coalition of native people on the northern New England frontier during the 17th and 18th centuries. They, along with their Abenaki allies from Maine and Canada, held off Europeans for almost 90 years during a succession of "Indian Wars," culminating in the end of the French and Indian Wars in 1761. During this time, Indians and colonists exchanged and encountered each other's cultures, religions, trade goods, and even kinship. This program may include local Indian history depending on the location of the presentation. Presented by David Stewart-Smith.     Location: Old Baptist Meetinghouse, Route 4, Salisbury Wednesday July 7, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM Big House, Little House, Back House, Barn       Contact: Nancy McCue   476-8895        Through architecture unique to northern New England, this illustrated talk introduces history common to New Hampshire farmers and focuses on several case studies that show how farmers converted their typical separate house and barns into connected farmsteads. Thomas Hubka's research demonstrates that average farmers were, in fact, motivated by competition with farmers in other regions of America who had better soils and growing seasons and fewer rocks to clear. The connected farmstead organization, housing equal parts mixed-farming and home-industry, was one of the collective responses to the competitive threat. Professor Hubka is available to survey your farmsteads before his presentation so that he might integrate town-specific photos and stories into his presentation. (Special Note: Seasonal availability July through September)     Location: Moultonborough Public Library, 4 Holland Street Thursday July 8, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM Big House, Little House, Back House, Barn       Contact: Donna Denniston   763-9302        Through architecture unique to northern New England, this illustrated talk introduces history common to New Hampshire farmers and focuses on several case studies that show how farmers converted their typical separate house and barns into connected farmsteads. Thomas Hubka's research demonstrates that average farmers were, in fact, motivated by competition with farmers in other regions of America who had better soils and growing seasons and fewer rocks to clear. The connected farmstead organization, housing equal parts mixed-farming and home-industry, was one of the collective responses to the competitive threat. Professor Hubka is available to survey your farmsteads before his presentation so that he might integrate town-specific photos and stories into his presentation. (Special Note: Seasonal availability July through September)     Location: Springfield Town Meetinghouse, 23 Four Corners Rd Tuesday July 13, 2010 Go To Top 6:30 PM The Shape of Snakes by Minette Walters       Contact: Betty Tidd   524-6042        Of the author Amazon.com says, "With uncomfortable accuracy, her novels bring to the surface those creepy, crawly parts of the human psyche that most of us would rather keep hidden." In a 20-year quest for the truth, schoolteacher Anne Ranelagh has quietly collected evidence about the suspicious death of her neighbor, "Mad Annie," a black woman with Tourette's syndrome. This thriller touches on the ugliness of human nature: prejudice, bigotry, hatred, and violence. Discussion lead by Suzanne Brown.     Location: Gilford Public Library, 31 Potter Hill Road   7:00 PM The Great Sheep Boom and Its Enduring Legacy on the New Hampshire Landscape       Contact: Marcia Schmidt Blaine   536-4847        In a brief 30-year period in the early 19th century the New Hampshire countryside became home to hundreds of thousands of sheep. Production of wool became a lucrative business, generating fortunes and providing the only era of true agricultural prosperity in the state's history. It left behind a legacy of fine architecture and thousands of miles of rugged stonewalls. Farmers overcame enormous challenges to make sheep husbandry succeed, but forces from beyond New Hampshire were to doom the industry, with social consequences that would last a century. Presented by Steve Taylor.     Location: Bill Batchelders Barn, 452 Fairgrounds Rd., Plymouth Thursday July 15, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM Big House, Little House, Back House, Barn       Contact: Mary Lucy   367-4535        Through architecture unique to northern New England, this illustrated talk introduces history common to New Hampshire farmers and focuses on several case studies that show how farmers converted their typical separate house and barns into connected farmsteads. Thomas Hubka's research demonstrates that average farmers were, in fact, motivated by competition with farmers in other regions of America who had better soils and growing seasons and fewer rocks to clear. The connected farmstead organization, housing equal parts mixed-farming and home-industry, was one of the collective responses to the competitive threat. Professor Hubka is available to survey your farmsteads before his presentation so that he might integrate town-specific photos and stories into his presentation. (Special Note: Seasonal availability July through September)     Location: Madison Historical Society Museum, East Madison Road Monday July 19, 2010 Go To Top 7:30 PM Songs of Old New Hampshire       Contact: Judy Landry   726-3081        Drawing heavily on the repertoire of traditional singer Lena Bourne Fish (1873-1945) of Jaffrey and Temple, New Hampshire, Jeff Warner offers the songs and stories that, in the words of Carl Sandburg, tell us "where we came from and what brought us along." These ballads, love songs and comic pieces reveal the experiences and emotions of daily life in the days before movies, sound recordings, and for some, books. Songs from the lumber camps, the decks of sailing ships, the textile mills and the war between the sexes offer views of pre-industrial New England and a chance to hear living artifacts from the 18th and 19th centuries.     Location: Campton Historical Society, 519 NH Route 175, Campton Tuesday August 10, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM Baked Beans and Fried Clams: How Food Defines A Region       Contact: Dennis Herman   522-5332        Baked beans, Indian pudding, fried clams, and lobster rolls... so many foods are distinctive to New England. Does food have anything to say about who we are as a region, about who we are as New Englanders? Bean-hole beans, johnnycakes, chocolate chip cookies, and pork pies -- you can find them all over the country now, but they all originally came from New England like so many of the customs and mores familiar to all. The presentation is informative, humorous, and chock-full of fascinating nuggets about the history of our regional foods. It includes reference to some of New England's more famous foodies -- Fannie Farmer, Hayden Pearson, and Julia Child -- and includes an analysis of how the changing times of New England have affected the way we eat. Presented by Edie Clark.     Location: Wakefield/Brookfield Historical Society, 2851 Wakefield Rd., Sanbornville   7:30 PM Civilians of Gettysburg, 1863       Contact: Beverly Glynn   893-4133        Most students of the Battle of Gettysburg, and indeed, most of the books (past and present) about the battle, address the military events leading up to and taking place on July 1-3, 1863. Civilians of Gettysburg presents another point of view, in the first person, in period dress. Lew Gage portrays Charlie McCurdy and presents a young boy's perspective. Ginny Gage portrays Sarah Broadhead, a young woman at the time of the battle living with her husband and daughter. Both roles are based on original diaries and reminiscences of civilians living in the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in the summer and fall of 1863. Lew and Ginny will talk briefly about the demographics of the town in 1863, what it was like before, during, and after the famous battle.     Location: Salem Museum, 310 Main Street

Monday August 16, 2010 Go To Top 7:30 PM New Hampshire Cemeteries and Gravestones       Contact: Judy Landry   726-3081        Rubbings, photographs, and slides illustrate the rich variety of gravestones to be found in our own neighborhoods, but they also tell long-forgotten stories of such historical events as the Great Awakening, the Throat Distemper epidemic, and the American Revolution. Find out more about these deeply personal works of art and the craftsmen who carved them. Learn how to read these stone "pages" that give insight into the vast genealogical book of New Hampshire. Presented by Glenn A. Knoblock.     Location: Campton Historical Society, 519 NH Route 175, Campton Tuesday September 14, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM Banjos, Bones, and Ballads       Contact: Jan Cote   783-4090        Traditional songs, rich in local history and a sense of place, present the latest news from the distant past. They help us to interpret present-day life with an understanding of the working people who built our country. Tavern songs, banjo tunes, 18th century New England hymns, sailor songs, and humorous stories about traditional singers and their songs highlight this informative program. Presented by Jeff Warner.     Location: Elkins Public Library, 9 Center Road, Canterbury Thursday September 16, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM Civil Liberties vs. Security in Post 9-11 America       Contact: Gail Nessell Colglazier   772-2622        As the federal government continues to address new national security issues in the wake of September 11, 2001, the uneasy balance between security and civil liberties is receiving renewed attention. What are the trade-offs and considerations facing citizens and non-citizens alike? Presented by Richard A. Hesse, Franklin Pierce Law Center.     Location: American Independence Museum's Folsom Tavern, 164 Water St., Exeter Monday September 20, 2010 Go To Top 2:15 PM Your Hit Parade--25 Years Presenting America's Top Popular Songs       Contact: Cathy Herman   229-1185        The radio and television program "Your Hit Parade" chronicled American popular music from 1935 to 1959. Presenter Calvin Knickerbocker will outline the quarter century during which the show served as a "tastemaker," featuring songs inspired by the Great Depression and on to the advent of rock and roll. We'll explore the show's relationship with sponsor American Tobacco and Lucky Strike cigarettes and hear about the artists the show helped launch and promote, from Frank Sinatra to Pat Boone. Knickerbocker will treat you to excerpts from original recordings of the songs that "Your Hit Parade" showcased on its weekly Saturday night show, from one-hit wonders to classic numbers still familiar today.     Location: Havenwood Heritage Heights (Auditorium), 33 Christian Ave., Concord Thursday September 23, 2010 Go To Top 4:00 PM Hill Country Abandonment: 19th-Century Sandwich, NH       Contact: Mary Kronenwetter   763-4789 x 5        The population of early 19th century Sandwich was prosperous and growing. Farmers, the vast majority of the population, produced a sizeable marketable surplus. However, just before the Civil War, the population of Sandwich (and much of New England) declined precipitously. What happened to the inhabitants of Sandwich? Learn how this community reflected a region-wide "abandonment" of hearth and home. Presented by Marcia Schmidt Blaine, Plymouth State University.     Location: The Fells, 456 Route 103A, Newbury Tuesday September 28, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM Introducing America to Americans: Documentary Photographs of the 1930s       Contact: John L. Dickey   267-6098        Among the most iconic images in American history are the documentary photographs taken during the Great Depression by Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Russell Lee, and others for the Farm Security Administration, a New Deal program. Roy Stryker, the organizer of this effort, expressed its goal as "introducing America to Americans." This discussion and slide presentation examines these documentary photographs and how they served to define the era. Presented by Martin L. Fox, New Hampshire Institute of Art.     Location: Gilmanton Old Town Hall, 1800 Rt. 140, Gilmanton Iron Works Thursday September 30, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM Wacky Songs that Made Us Laugh       Contact: Rosanna Dude   526-6804        Popular songs with humorous lyrics have kept us laughing since colonial times. We need comic relief and songs provide some of the best (sometimes unintentionally). Excerpts from hilarious songs help chart the evolution of musical humor from the 1920s to the 1980s. Selections poke fun at WW II enemies, diets, television , sex, Christmas, summer camp, religion, and many aspects of life. Laugh as you recall wacky moments from the past and discover new ones. Presented by Calvin Knickerbocker.     Location: Wilmot Public Library, 11 N. Wilmot Rd. Tuesday October 5, 2010 Go To Top 6:30 PM Witches, Pop Culture, and the Past       Contact: Karen Johnson   427-6671        In 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, 19 people were executed and hundreds imprisoned during a witch hunt we still discuss today in everyday conversation, pop culture, and American literature. History, tourism, and performance collide when Salem tells its witch stories. "Truth"-- both moral and macabre -- vies with spooky thrills for its authentic place in history. Presented by Robin DeRosa, Plymouth State University.     Location: Weeks Public Library, 36 Post Road, Greenland Wednesday October 6, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM A Night of Music with Two Old Friends       Contact: Sally Kriebel   726-3596        Over the centuries, immigrants from the British Isles have come to the Americas, bringing with them their musical styles, tastes, and instruments. Using the concertina, bodhran, mandolin, octave mandolin, guitar and banjo in their performances, Two Old Friends sing and play traditional Irish songs and tunes. They perform American country music the way it was conceived in the early twentieth century and demonstrate how these tunes are often derived from the songs of the Irish, but have been influenced by other cultural and ethnic groups (particularly African American) to create an original American sound.     Location: Thornton Town Hall, 16 Merrill Access Rd., Thornton Thursday October 7, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM A Woman That Keeps Good Orders: Women, Tavern Keeping, and Public Approval       Contact: Donna Denniston   763-9302        Government regulations, licensing, handling drunks, controlling the flow of information: why would the government allow women to run a tavern? When her husband died in 1736, Ann Jose Harvey became the owner of a prominent Portsmouth, New Hampshire tavern and sole guardian of at least seven small children. For at least twenty years, Ann Harvey ran the increasingly prosperous tavern. Using documents related to Ann Harvey Slayton's 18th century tavern, we will explore the world of female tavern keepers. A tavern was potentially the most disruptive spot in town. Why would a woman want to keep one? Why would her community approve of it and why would the government allow it? Presented by Marcia Schmidt Blaine, Plymouth State University.     Location: Springfield Town Meetinghouse, 23 Four Corners Rd