Friday November 20, 2009 Go To Top 10:00 AM Harriet Wilson Project: Harriet Wilson's Our Nig       Contact: Anne Loomis   740-0360        Harriet Wilson, the first African American to publish a novel in the U.S., grew up in Milford, N.H. before the Civil War. The recent rediscovery of her autobiographical novel, Our Nig (1859), has helped restore an important element of New Hampshire's history. Two speakers introduce the book and facilitate discussion--contact Barbara White for more information. Copies of Our Nig are available for free loan through the New Hampshire State Library Book Bag (http://www.nh.gov/nhsl/services/librarians/bookbag/index.html).     Location: Community Church of Durham, 17 Main St. Tuesday December 1, 2009 Go To Top 6:30 PM Cows and Communities: How the Lowly Bovine Has Nurtured New Hampshire       Contact: Amanda Costello   756-2988 x 116        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: Walpole Town Hall, 34 Elm Street   6:30 PM Ten Hours Until Dawn       Contact: Debbie Laffond   635-7581 x 3065        During the height of the Blizzard of 1978 the pilot boat Can Do, with five men onboard, set out from Gloucester to assist a lost Coast Guard boat and an oil tanker in a Mayday situation. Find out what happened on that awful night when seas became skyscrapers and 100 mile per hour winds battered New England. Presented by Michael J. Tougias.     Location: Pelham Public Library, 24 Village Green   7:00 PM Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl       Contact: Deborah Ross   524-4775        New York Times restaurant critic Ruth Reichl shares lessons learned at the hands (and kitchen counters) of family members and friends throughout her life, from growing up with her tasteblind mother to the comfort of cream puffs while away at boarding school on “Mars” (Montreal seemed just as far away) to her most memorable meal, taken on a mountainside in Greece. Reichl’s wry and gentle humor pervades the book, and makes readers feel as if they’re right at the table, laughing at one great story after another. This discussion is led by Frumie Selchen.     Location: Laconia Public Library, 695 Main St. Wednesday December 2, 2009 Go To Top 7:00 PM Survival This Way: Contemporary Native American Poetry       Contact: Thomas Madden   590-1119        The late 20th century saw a renaissance in Native American writing. Poetry was in the vanguard of this literary movement, yet it is often overlooked in Native American literary studies. Abenaki poet Cheryl Savageau will read from the works of Native American poets from diverse tribal traditions, providing cultural and historical context and discussing the many roles played by Native poets in cultural survival.     Location: Durham Public Library, 7 Mill Rd., Unit H Thursday December 3, 2009 Go To Top 7:00 PM Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez       Contact: Robin Sweetser   464-3595        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     Location: Fuller Public Library, 29 School St., Hillsboro Friday December 4, 2009 Go To Top 7:00 PM That Reminds Me of a Story: Yankee Humor and the New England Storytelling Tradition       Contact: Pamela Little   446-7810        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: Jones Hall, 12 Church Street, Marlow Monday December 7, 2009 Go To Top 10:00 AM Tell me a Story About...       Contact: The Fells    763-4789        This is the last in a series hosted by the Fells in partnership with Partners Around Lake Sunapee and funded in part by a Humanities Council mini-grant. How did children celebrate Christmas long ago in New Hampshire? Enjoy stories and crafts from Christmas past and then go outside and decorate a Fells Christmas tree for the birds. Dress for indoor and outdoor activity. This program for preschoolers is free and open to the public, however preregistration is required.     Location: The Fells, 456 Route 103A, Newbury Wednesday December 9, 2009 Go To Top 7:00 PM Maria W. Stewart       Contact: Kim McKee   427-1540        Maria W. Stewart will give her famous speech delivered at the Franklin Hall, Boston, September 21, 1832. She was the first African American woman to author a political manifesto. She broke the taboo against women's participation in public political dialogues and lectured in defense of women's rights. A pioneer black abolitionist, a woman of profound religious faith, and a champion of women's rights, and a forerunner to Fredrick Douglas, Sojourner Truth, Frances Harper, and generations of the most influential champions of black activism, male and female. Presented by Gwendolyn Quezaire-Presutti.     Location: Portsmouth Public Library, 175 Parrott Avenue   7:00 PM The Making of Strawbery Banke       Contact: Ashley Swasey   964-6326        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: North Hampton Public Library, 237A Atlantic Avenue Thursday December 10, 2009 Go To Top 7:00 PM The Great Sheep Boom and Its Enduring Legacy on the New Hampshire Landscape       Contact: Edmond Cooley   353-9325        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.     Location: Middle School at Rivendell, 10 School Rd., Orford Friday December 11, 2009 Go To Top 4:00 PM Sitting Under a Fig Tree: Spiritual Autobiography, Augustine to Lamott       Contact: Cynthia Reardon Phillips   863-6921        Why do we tell the tales of our lives from faith perspectives? Why is faith most vivid when the stories of real people illuminate it? Anecdotes from the life-stories of C.S. Lewis, Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton, Kathleen Norris, Patricia Hampl, Isabel Allende, Maya Angelou and others will give an overview of the genre of spiritual autobiography. What happened at our own childhood kitchen tables will provide insight in our discussions of Eucharist, Passover, and the fast-breaking of Ramadan. Presented by Maren C. Tirabassi.     Location: Goshen Town Hall, 54 Mill Village Rd. North

Sunday December 13, 2009 Go To Top 1:00 PM  -  2:30 PM Second Sunday Speaker Series       Contact:    456-2600        Second Sunday Speaker Series A Time Before New Hampshire This lecture is part of the Second Sunday Speaker Series at Mount Kearsarge Indian Museum which is funded in part by a Humanities Council mini-grant. The series will explore Native American presence in New Hampshire through archaeology, history, culture, and discussion of contemporary issues. This month’s lecture will be presented by Michael Caduto, Director of PEACE, Programs for Environmental Awareness and Cultural Exchange.     Location: Mount Kearsarge Indian Museum, 18 Highlawn Rd, Warner   2:00 PM Crime and Punishment on the Isles of Shoals: The Ballad of Louis Wagner       Contact: Rosina Johnson   763-5803        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: Newbury Public Library, 933 Route 103 Friday December 18, 2009 Go To Top 6:30 PM Homer's Odysseus       Contact: Stephanie Lamotho   547-2388        We begin at Book V with Odysseus weeping on Calypso's island. We then cover the great encounters: Princess Nausika, the Cyclops, Circe, Hades, the Lotus Eaters. We end on Ithaka, with the recognition scenes, confrontations with the suitors, and resolution with Penelope. Themes: the laws of hospitality, mortality and immortality, words before violence, reconciliation, olive wood as a symbol of restored peace and civility, the journey as allegory. Now you can ask Homer what so delayed Odysseus in his return, about the story of Troy, and the reunion with faithful Penelope. Presented by Sebastian Lockwood.     Location: Greenfield Meeting House, 776 Forest Road Saturday December 19, 2009 Go To Top 7:00 PM The Guitar and the Devil: Music, Magic, and Ritual Among Ecuadorian Indians       Contact: Mose Olenik   924-4555        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: Mariposa Museum, 26 Main St., Peterborough Friday January 8, 2010 Go To Top 6:30 PM Growing Up by Russell Baker       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   7:00 PM A Visit with Abraham Lincoln       Contact: Cindy Ritter   499-1504        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: Shonk Recital Hall, Dublin School, 18 Lehmann Way, Dublin Sunday January 10, 2010 Go To Top 1:00 PM Native New Hampshire Before Contact: Archaeological and Tribal Perspectives       Contact: Shawn Olson   456-3244        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: Mount Kearsarge Indian Museum, 18 Highlawn Rd., Warner   2:00 PM Wacky Songs that Made Us Laugh       Contact: Marjorie Allen   253-4615        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: Samuel H. Wentworth Library, 35 Main St., Center Sandwich Wednesday January 13, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM Entering the Realm of Poetry in Seven Easy Steps       Contact: Sarah Tucker   756-9280        Got poetry? You do now. See things, feel things, think things you always saw, felt and thought but all over again for the first time. Poems are not magic, but they may be tricky. Presented by Alice B. Fogel.     Location: Bridge Memorial Library, 48 Main St., Walpole   7:00 PM Journal of a Solitude by May Sarton       Contact: Susan Grant   964-6326        This is a book discussion series titled “New Hampshire Voices.” Look into this best-selling journal of May Sarton to find rich descriptions of daily life in New Hampshire turned by the seasons and of an intense inner struggle toward self-understanding, what Sarton calls her “real” life. In balance with the quiet centeredness of her reflections on nature and friendship are anger, illness, and one disappointment especially: “I have longed for one person with whom everything could be shared, but I am slowly making my peace with the knowledge that this will never happen.” This month’s discussion is led by Holly Perrault.     Location: North Hampton Public Library, 237A Atlantic Avenue Friday January 15, 2010 Go To Top 1:00 PM Your Hit Parade--25 Years Presenting America's Top Popular Songs       Contact: Phyllis Gonyer   444-6050        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: Littleton Area Senior Center, 77 Riverglen Lane   6:30 PM That Reminds Me of a Story: Yankee Humor and the New England Storytelling Tradition       Contact: Stephanie Lamotho   547-2388        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: Greenfield Meeting House, 776 Forest Road

Sunday January 17, 2010 Go To Top 2:00 PM That Reminds Me of a Story: Yankee Humor and the New England Storytelling Tradition       Contact: Tom Paul   927-4847        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: Sutton Town Hall, 93 Main St., Sutton Mills Tuesday January 19, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM Ten Hours Until Dawn       Contact: Ruslyn Vear   673-2288        During the height of the Blizzard of 1978 the pilot boat Can Do, with five men onboard, set out from Gloucester to assist a lost Coast Guard boat and an oil tanker in a Mayday situation. Find out what happened on that awful night when seas became skyscrapers and 100 mile per hour winds battered New England. Presented by Michael J. Tougias.     Location: Amherst Town Library, 14 Main Street Thursday January 21, 2010 Go To Top 1:00 PM Baked Beans and Fried Clams: How Food Defines A Region       Contact: Sandra Perron   826-7793        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: Silsby Free Public Library, 226 Main St., Charlestown Saturday January 23, 2010 Go To Top 2:00 PM Liberty Is Our Motto!: Songs and Stories of the Hutchinson Family Singers       Contact: Mary Ladd   223-3505        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: Pleasant View Retirement, 227 Pleasant St., Concord Tuesday February 2, 2010 Go To Top 7:30 PM Collecting John Paul Jones: America's First Action Hero       Contact: Laura Gowing   778-2335        Everyone knows his name, but few know his story. The real John Paul Jones was born in Scotland and spent more than a year in New Hampshire during the American Revolution. A jealous genius, Jones (not his real name) was a complex self-made naval hero on a quest for glory. Historian J. Dennis Robinson tells Jones' story illustrated with images from his own extensive collection of "Jonesiana." Robinson shows how America rejected Jones, then used his name and image to sell everything from whiskey, cigarettes, and women's clothing... even to recruit for the US Navy.     Location: Exeter Historical Society, 47 Front Street Wednesday February 3, 2010 Go To Top 6:30 PM True Stories from New Hampshire's Black History       Contact: Karen Johnson   427-6671        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: Weeks Public Library, 36 Post Road, Greenland Thursday February 4, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM Rediscovering Afghanistan: Lessons from the Home       Contact: Nancy McCue   476-8895        Using still photography and film images, historical sources, material artifacts, ethnographies, geopolitical data, and personal anecdotes, Rubia Inc. founder Rachel Lehr and Dartmouth Geography and Women and Gender Studies professor Jennifer Fluri share insights garnered from their extensive experiences of both rural and urban Afghan homes and communities.     Location: Moultonborough Public Library, 4 Holland Street Friday February 5, 2010 Go To Top 6:30 PM The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston       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 February 6, 2010 Go To Top 11:00 AM The Great Sheep Boom and Its Enduring Legacy on the New Hampshire Landscape       Contact: Elizabeth Conrad   679-2629        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: Center of NH, 700 Elm St., Manchester Monday February 8, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer       Contact: Robbin Bailey   225-8590        Chris McCandless gives up a bright future, his college education, and material comfort to pursue a life of principle. He ends up dying, alone, in the backcountry of Alaska. The question Krakauer explores is ?Why?? What is it that drives people like McCandless to drop out of society, take enormous risk, and willingly look death in the eye? Into the Wild captures the heart of the ?Journeys to the Edge? theme as it sheds light on some of these questions. Discussion lead by Suzanne Brown.     Location: Concord Public Library, 45 Green Street   7:30 PM Indian Stream Republic       Contact: Neil Benner   315-8413        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: Congregational Church of Amherst, 11 Church St. Tuesday February 9, 2010 Go To Top 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 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 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 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   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 Tuesday February 16, 2010 Go To Top 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 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 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 Thursday February 25, 2010 Go To Top 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

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 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 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 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 American Quilt Traditions       Contact: Louise Pryor   329-5921        Do you love looking at quilts? With her slides and and quilts, Cheryl Savageau will discuss quilts from Anglo (mainstream), Amish, African American, and several Native American traditions, and will "read" them for their cultural context, historical meaning and significance, political, religious, and geographical influences and the differing aesthetics they embody.     Location: Hampstead Public Library, 9 Mary E. Clark Drive   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   7:30 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 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 Monday March 15, 2010 Go To Top 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

Wednesday March 17, 2010 Go To Top 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 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 Wednesday March 24, 2010 Go To Top 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 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 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 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 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 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   7:30 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 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 Wednesday April 14, 2010 Go To Top 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 Tuesday April 20, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM That Reminds Me of a Story: Yankee Humor and the New England Storytelling Tradition       Contact: Joyce Tilton   532-8477        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 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 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 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 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

Wednesday May 19, 2010 Go To Top 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 Tuesday June 8, 2010 Go To Top 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 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 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 August 10, 2010 Go To Top 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 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 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 Tuesday October 12, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM Colonial New Hampshire       Contact: Fran Vincent   253-6250        One hundred and fifty five pins on Professor Jere Daniell's map of New Hampshire mark the towns, cities, and villages he's visited so far to talk about what he knows best -- early New England history. There may be a couple of towns out there who haven't booked him yet. His featured topics have pleased many listeners in talks like "Algonkian New Hampshire," "New Hampshire's First English Settlers," "Why New Hampshire Exists," "The Boundaries of New Hampshire," or "The Wentworth Oligarchy." Professor Daniell also can customize a talk on the history of your community.     Location: Moultonborough Public Library, 4 Holland St.   7:30 PM A Woman That Keeps Good Orders: Women, Tavern Keeping, and Public Approval       Contact: Beverly Glynn   893-4133        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: Salem Museum, 310 Main Street Monday November 8, 2010 Go To Top 7:00 PM Camp Stark: New Hampshire's World War II German Prisoner of War Camp       Contact: Fran Vincent   253-6250        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: Moultonborough Public Library, 4 Holland St. Tuesday November 9, 2010 Go To Top 7:30 PM Our National Thanksgiving: With Thanks to President Lincoln and Mrs. Hale       Contact: Beverly Glynn   893-4133        Sarah Josepha Hale tells the story of her thirty year effort to have Thanksgiving declared a national holiday. President Abraham Lincoln enters at the end of her tale, to read his 1863 Thanksgiving proclamation. Sharon Wood portrays Hale and Steve Wood portrays Lincoln in this living history presentation.     Location: Salem Museum, 310 Main Street

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