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LEWISTON — The Lewiston-Auburn Kiwanis Club will host writer Alice Bisson-Barnes, who will offer a talk and slide presentation about her research on the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, Wednesday, June 20, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Lewiston-Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, 415 Lisbon St.
Bisson-Barnes’ free presentation — “Peter, Paul and Noel” — will include interesting details and historic photos about Noel Coumont, the much maligned architect of the basilica. While in Maine, she will conduct additional on-site research in order to share what she calls “the true story of Noel Coumont.”
Bisson-Barnes grew up in Lewiston and was an altar server at the church during the 1950s. She was the youngest of 16 children and a 1963 graduate of St. Dominic High School, where she was a member of the Key Club. She currently lives in San Bruno, Calif.
Some historians erroneously believe Coumont was fired because the church is bent, she noted. “I show, using historic photos, how Noel built the church precisely where it is now because that was where the Dominicans wanted it way back in 1906.”
“By the way,” Bisson-Barnes added, “I have a sense of humor and love questions.” For curious audience members, she is “bringing something with me from California that has never been seen before by humans anywhere — not even by myself.”
Thrilled to be back in her hometown, her talk us expected to be entertaining and perhaps amusing, while simultaneously educational about Lewiston’s local gem.
For more info, contact Paul Gauvreau, club president, at pgauvreau4@gmail.com.
