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BETHEL — The official launch of the biography of William Bingham II, Bethel’s greatest philanthropist, will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 17 at the Dr. Moses Mason House.
The book, written by Stanley R. Howe, the society’s executive director emeritus, discusses Bingham’s early life in Cleveland, Ohio, the origin of his great wealth, his discovery of Bethel as a summer residence, and his lifelong search for meaning, friendship, and solitude.
In other upcoming events, to mark the 100th anniversary of the first land bought in Maine for what would become the White Mountain National Forest, the Bethel and Gilead, historical societies will co-sponsor a talk at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, June 24, at the Gilead Town Hall, 8 Depot St., Gilead. The speaker for the free program will be David Govatski of Jefferson, N.H. A forester and environmental consultant, Govatski worked for the U.S. Forest Service for more than30 years and is co-author of “Forests for the People: The Story of America’s Eastern National Forests.”
On Tuesday, June 27, the society will open an exhibit, “Small-Town Motion Pictures: The Jay S. Hoar Collection of 1930s Movie Posters.” On view at the Robinson House, the exhibit features 20 window card posters from the Golden Age of Hollywood films and will be on view until Sept. 29. The display’s title recognizes the donation by Jay S. Hoar, a Rangeley native who taught for nearly 33 years in the English department of the University of Maine at Farmington. Hoar grew up in the life of the small-town theater, beginning at the age of 5, by tipping up all the seats mornings after a showing for a nickel.
Because of the timing for this year’s Art Fair on the village common, the society will inaugurate guided tours of the Mason House period rooms from 1 to 4 p.m. Thursday, June 29 and continued, Thursday through Saturday, with the same hours, until Saturday, Sept. 2. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for children 6 to 12, and under 6 free. Families can attend for a maximum of $10. Admission is free to members, free.
The historical society is also partnering with the Ski Museum of Maine through the establishment of a satellite museum at the society’s Robinson House, beginning in June 2018. Both organizations have worked closely together on exhibitions and programs in the past, and this new collaboration will underscore the Ski Museum’s presence in Bethel while encouraging its members and visitors to explore the rich history of alpine and Nordic skiing in this section of western Maine, according to the society.
