GARDINER — The Gardiner Library Association will continue its Avis Ames Speaker Series Celebrating Maine’s Bicentennial on the Lower Kennebec Valley with three more presentations in early 2020.
All events are at the Gardiner Public Library, 152 Water St. They are free and open to all.
“There’s a lot of interest in the Lower Kennebec Valley’s history based on the turnout at our bicentennial presentations so far and the lively question-and-answer discussions that follow,” said Tom Farkas of Pittston, president of the Gardiner Library Association. The nonprofit group financially supports the services provided by the Gardiner Public Library and maintains the library building for everyone in its service area of Gardiner, West Gardiner, Randolph, Pittston, Farmingdale and Litchfield.
The early 2020 presentations in the library association’s bicentennial speaker series are:
* Thursday, Jan. 30: “The Colburns on the Kennebec: A Colonial Family on the Maine Frontier and the Arnold March to Quebec,” by Maine historian and author Tom Desjardin at 6:30 p.m. He will discuss events of the Colonial and Revolutionary period on the Kennebec River, focusing on the Colburn family and their influence on settlement, development and military operations in the valley. The author of “Through a Howling Wilderness: Benedict Arnold’s March to Québec, 1775,” Desjardin holds a Ph.D. in U.S. history.
* Thursday, March 5: “Historic Maine in 3-D,” by Maine State Museum Director Bernard Fishman at 6:30 p.m. Fishman is one of the foremost national collectors of stereoviews, 19th century photographs that can be seen in 3-D when viewed through a special viewer. He will offer a Victorian evening of stereoviews of Maine just after the Civil War presented as a projection show in 3-D, with paper glasses provided. Fishman is the author or editor of many articles and publications, most recently “A Story of Maine in 112 Objects.”
* Thursday, April 9: “An Architectural Legacy: Buildings from the Time of Statehood in Old Gardinerstown and Beyond” by Maine Historic Preservation Commission Director Kirk Mohney at 6:30 p.m. This will be an illustrated presentation on the architectural features of the built environment in 1820, featuring buildings from Litchfield, West Gardiner, Gardiner, Farmingdale, Randolph, and Pittston. Images will include those from drawings, paintings and photos of buildings, especially of those that still exist today.
