AUBURN — The Androscoggin Historical Society will present 11 programs during its 2013-14 season. Topics will range from 19th-century boom times in Lewiston to the role of women doctors in local history and the story of a yacht club in landlocked Auburn.
Six of the programs will be presented at the society’s headquarters, in the Androscoggin County Courthouse at the corner of Turner and Court streets. Two will be tours of local cemeteries, one will be at the Auburn Public Library and two will be at other locations.
There is no admission charge for these programs, although donations will be accepted.
The first will be Sept. 14 at 2 p.m. when AHS member Jim Sargent will lead a walking tour of Oak Hill Cemetery in Auburn that will include the resting places of a Civil War general, a lady with a civic vision, a military hero and a founding father.
On Sept. 24, Daniel Buck Soules of Auburn will discuss his 40 years in the antiques, art and appraisal industry, which included 11 years as an independent appraiser on the PBS television show, “Antiques Roadshow.” This program will be at 7 p.m. in the AHS headquarters.
On Oct. 19, at 2 p.m. John Henderson will return as Cornelius Murphy to discuss local Irish lore on a tour of Mt. Hope Cemetery in Lewiston and tell the stories of a few of his “friends.”
Oct. 22, Beverly Robbins will present a program about mourning traditions of the late 1800s and influencing factors such as the Civil War. The program will be at 7 p.m. at AHS.
Nov. 19, author and historian Doug Hodgkin will discuss how Lewiston’s industry and population expanded rapidly during and after the Civil War, creating a thriving new “boomtown.” The program at AHS will start at 7 p.m.
Feb. 8, Ann Thomas will lead a workshop at 2 p.m. at Auburn Public Library to explore problems that amateur genealogists can expect to meet in their quests for information.
Feb. 25, area high school students and/or teachers will take part in a program about how today’s high school students view the subject of history; 7 p.m. at AHS
March 25, in keeping with the St. Patrick’s Day season and Women’s History Month, John Henderson will trace the roles Irish women have played in the development of Lewiston and Auburn; 7 p.m. at AHS.
April 22, Annette Dorey will share discoveries about the lives and careers of 187 forgotten Maine women portrayed in her new book, “‘Miss Dr. Lucy’ and Maine’s Pioneering Female Physicians, 1850s to 1920.” The program is at 7 p.m. at AHS.
May 27, James S. Leamon, professor emeritus, Bates College, will discuss Revolutionary War loyalists of Maine, and in particular, the Rev. Jacob Bailey. This is the annual AHS dinner meeting. The location will be announced.
June 21, Bruce Hall will talk about how generations of local boys and girls have learned to sail at the Taylor Pond Yacht Club, which was founded in 1942; 2 p.m. at the club.
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