NORWAY — The Norway Memorial Library will offer an evening of stargazing with Tom Hoffelder from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 24.
Hoffelder is a retired aeronautical engineer and local astronomer.
For the last 43 years he has owned at least one telescope and as many as four at one time. He will share a presentation on the basics of identifying what is in the night sky, including all that is going on in the sky this summer with a total lunar eclipse, Mars at opposition, Delta Aquarid meteor shower, Venus at greatest eastern elongation, and Neptune at opposition. His talk will allow for audience questions; light refreshments will be served.
Also on the July agenda, there will be a special presentation on postcard collecting as a fun hobby 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 31.
For serious collectors or those who simply enjoy looking at them to reminisce, the history of Maine can be seen through postcards, presented by University of Southern Maine professor Libby Bischof, Ph.D., an associate professor of history at University of Southern Maine. She explores American society through the lens of history — and the lens of a camera. A 19th-century American cultural historian, Bischof specializes in the history of photography, particularly in Maine.
Attendees may also enjoy a photographic display in the reference room — “A Step Back in Time: Norway Lake and Village” — and a glass display case of vintage postcards of Norway places called “Greetings from Norway, Maine.” Both displays are loaned from Norway Historical Society.
There are two glass case displays currently at the library in conjunction with two summer programs. The first is “1968: 50 years ago — the Year that Changed America.” The display features old yearbooks, magazines and memorabilia of that year as well as information in connection to the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy. Tributes to them and quotes about civil rights and justice connect to the “Let’s Talk About It: Race and Justice” book discussion series that goes on until the end of July.
These programs are free to attend and open to the public. For more information, please call 207-743-5309 ext. 1.
