Dear Members and Friends,

The weather has turned warm again and the view from my window is one of sunshine dancing on the golden leaves of fall. The Japanese maples are garnet-colored and glowing in the sun. Fall is at its height and we all are savoring the beauty of the season. Soon my window view will be brown and grey waiting for the white snows of winter to descend. This change marks the passage of another season of what I have termed the Covid Captivity which has turned Senior College into web-based learning and a Zoom community. We are all anxiously waiting for a return to normalcy and the delight of in-person classes at the Hutchinson Center.

Unfortunately with the Covid Delta variant present in Maine and the number of cases remaining high we are more than likely looking at another session of Zoom classes. The Winterim Curriculum is shaping up to be a varied one with challenging and exciting classes featuring literature to current events. We are hopeful to have the courses pinned down early in December to post on the Website. As always we will miss the coffee and convivial gathering in the Hutch’s Atrium but we can still get together before classes in the comfort of our warm homes. Winterim is a good time to stay in and enjoy new and varied presentations.

At its November meeting, the Board of Trustees voted to plant a tree in Belfast as well as a tree in Israel in memory of our friend, Al Arthur. We are issuing an RFP for services to replace the work that Al had performed for us for many years and we will hopefully have someone in place by the first of the year.

A number of us gathered earlier in the month to bid farewell to Arlin Larson off to live in Georgia. We enjoyed reminiscing with Arlin and hearing his stories of the early days of Senior College. He has a wealth of information about Senior College and it will be good to know that he is just an email away. Before leaving, he completed the compilation of the first year of the Corona Chronicles into a single edition. Our friends at the Hutchinson Center will make a color copy of the May 2020 through August 2021 Corona Chronicles. We will let you know the price of a copy if you would like to have one.

I am sure you are making plans for family dinners and visits on Thanksgiving. I for one will have some family members visit for the annual feast and I am glad because I always enjoy preparing the traditional dishes requested over and over again. Nutmeg muffins always get a number of votes and sweet potatoes with candied pecans runs a close second. Even with vegans and vegetarians in the family I still cook a turkey with dressing or stuffing as we called it in Virginia. If oysters are available I will make oyster dressing which is my favorite. Thanks to a Senior College friend I have quince chutney in my freezer as well as poached quince which adds a wonderful, tartness to apple pie and sweet quince jelly for morning toast.

Whatever your plans are for this holiday I wish each of you a wonderful time with family and friends. Langston Hughes, famous poet of the Harlem renaissance, captured the time of Thanksgiving so perfectly in his poem.

Thanksgiving Time

When the night winds whistle through the trees and blow the crisp brown leaves a-crackling down,
When the autumn moon is big and yellow-orange and round,
When old Jack Frost is sparkling on the ground,
It’s Thanksgiving Time!

When the pantry jars are full of mince-meat and the shelves are laden with sweet spices for a cake,
When the butcher man sends up a turkey nice and fat to bake,
When the stores are crammed with everything ingenious cooks can make,
It’s Thanksgiving Time!

When the gales of coming winter outside your window howl,
When the air is sharp and cheery so it drives away your scowl,
When one’s appetite craves turkey and will have no other fowl,
It’s Thanksgiving Time!

Message from
the President

Dear Senior College members and friends,

August seems to be flying by and while fall is still a way off there are subtle but distinct changes that remind us to start thinking about the end of this season of sunshine, boating, flowers, gardens, out of town guests and all that the summer months signify.

I still think of August as “getting ready to return to school month,” whether packing for my own trip to college, school shopping for my boys (all hovering on the up or downside of 50), or taking grandchildren to buy a special back-to-school outfit. Today the grandchildren are working young professionals! The youngest is in his junior year in college and wouldn’t let Bebe buy him clothes (send a check, please). Yet still I have that unique feeling that it is time to get ready for classes to resume.

That is one of the reasons I found Senior College so enticing when I moved to Belfast six summers ago. After a long summer hiatus, in September I signed up for two courses on Thursdays and headed back to a challenging and interesting class at the Hutchinson Center. I met new friends and felt that the session flew by far too quickly. Now this September I am looking forward to saying hello to familiar classmates and friends, welcoming new enrollees, and greeting the friendly staff at the Hutch. Now after more than a year of Zoom classes I was particularly excited to return to classes at the Hutchinson Center.

But just as our plans were being finalized, we realized that the Delta Variant of Covid 19 was spreading rapidly across parts of the country and much to our surprise Waldo County was listed as a hotspot. After much discussion and a review of the situation the Senior College Board voted on August 11 to cancel in-person classes at the Hutchinson Center.

The vote was unanimous and we all were disheartened having to do this. We realize that while Zoom can be very effective, many of you are not fond of the concept. However, we will take steps to enhance our Zoom classes this year. We will work to make them appealing and provide time for class chats. We can’t provide cookies and drinks but we can provide a social platform so you can visit with friends. We believe you will find a Zoom course to your liking so plan on giving one a try this fall. In addition, as a member of Belfast Senior College you can enrol in any class taught at any Senior College in Maine (See below to access classes throughout the state).

Jim Owen of the Board expressed our feelings so perfectly that I want to share his words with you:

“I am so sad about going back to zoom, but facing reality and protecting the health of our membership is more important than the warmth and energy of face to face classes and cookies. Thankfully, we know our Senior College can not only survive, but can even be creative and more flexible in some ways, thanks to zooming.”

On Thursday, September 30 at 12:00 noon we will come together for the Annual Meeting. This, too, will be a Zoom meeting and I cannot stress how important it is for you to attend. Together we can weather this latest storm and plan on a future Session back at the Hutch with classes, cookies, and coffee (tea too!).

Remember you must register for the 2021-2022 year in order to cast a vote and be a part of the Annual Meeting. We need each of you to sign up and join us!

Best to you and yours. Please stay safe and healthy,

Nancy Perkins

Fall Classes

Our Fall Zoom curriculum will be posted shortly. With Zoom you are not limited to just two classes. There will be additional courses added so check back frequently.

To preview classes at other Maine Senior Colleges Click here.

You can also subscribe to this monthly newsletter which includes class offerings, news of member organizations, and interesting tidbits from around the state.

Corona Chronicles

While we were considering a name change for this publication to reflect the end of the pandemic, given the current status it shall remain Corona Chronicles for the time being.

Please consider sending us something to share, photographs, works of art, essays, book reviews, short stories, poetry, reflections…anything you produce for it will reflect the variety of talent and interests of our incredible membership.

Send your material to:
Nancy Perkins nanella133@gmail.com
Janet Williams williajanet@gmail.com

Senior College Online

Spring 2021 with Senior College

“Oh to be in England now that April’s here” wrote English poet Robert Browning in 1845 in his poem Home Thoughts from Abroad. I memorized this poem back in 8th grade and each April those words resonate with me.

Geoffrey Chaucer in his prologue to The Canterbury Tale wrote:

When April the sweet showers fall
And pierce the drought of March to the root, and all
The veins are bathed in liquor of such power
As brings about the engendering of the flower ….

It is almost like Chaucer knew what being here in Maine was like.

Yet centuries later another well known English poet had a somewhat different view of this month. T.S. Eliot wrote in The Wasteland:

April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.

Whatever your feelings for this fourth month of the year it does set the stage for glorious May when nature bursts forth in her most festive attire. April to me is a month of promise that winter is really over and that summer warmth will be here soon.

This April many of us celebrate not only the end of winter but the completion of our vaccinations. While we may all have had our vaccines and are anxious to return to “live” activities, the Senior College Board will be following the Covid 19 updates during the next few months. We are all anxious to return to the Hutchinson Center, gather in the lobby for coffee and cookies, and greet friends and familiar faces. But the Board wants you to know that while we are anxious we shall remain cautious and only return when we believe it will be safe!

There is a possibility that we may be able to return to face-to-face teaching this fall at the Hutchinson Center. The Curriculum Committee invites all prospective Instructors to submit proposals for the fall session.

If you are interested in teaching a class but would like to discuss the possibility before submitting a proposal don’t hesitate to contact Deirdre Good at deirdregood@mac.com or Nancy Perkins at nanella133@gmail.com.

In the meantime there are several classes still open in this Spring session. This past week I thoroughly enjoyed learning the ins and outs of growing asparagus. And now that it is April I joined the evocative class on Jane Austen’s England. I am really looking forward to the six-week course on “The Places You’ll Go” and as a proud grandmother I am excited about the segment featuring my granddaughter, Nellie LaValle, describing her Fulbright year traveling in China. Following this presentation a great lineup of fellow members will take us to Russia, Istanbul, Iceland, Galapagos, Bhutan & Nepal, Vietnam & Cambodia, and Bolivia. For tea lovers there is still room in my class on the History of Tea as well as space in the course on Monarch butterflies, both later in May. Time is running out so don’t hesitate and register for one of these interesting and educational offerings!

Finally, nearly a year’s work has come to fruition with the award of $10,000.00 to Waldo County Community Action Partners (WaldoCap). Last year the Senior College Board approved awarding surplus funds to organizations making a difference to seniors in Waldo County. A small ad hoc committee explored several options and in the end felt that through a variety of programs our dollars could best be used to support programs and services to seniors as they strive to lead meaningful and productive lives with the help and support of WaldoCap. Ron Jarvella chaired the committee as it worked with the staff from the nonprofit and is pleased to report that computer skills training will be one of the services provided.

We are still publishing the Corona Chronicles after nearly a year. In reading back over some of the issues I am honored to be part of an organization of so many talented, inspiring, and insightful individuals. We will continue to send out the Chronicle as long as we receive material from you. If you haven’t contributed please send us a book, movie, or other review, a poem, a photograph, a photo of an original piece of your art, or even a recipe you have loved to share with all. All the back issues are archived on the Senior College website under What’s Happening.

Next issue: the Merry month of May!

Nancy Perkins, President

Ad Hoc Committee on Technology

A few months ago the Board approved an Ad Hoc Committee to deal with and strategize on issues facing the organization dealing with virtual learning. The Ad Hoc Technology Committee has met twice. They have prepared detailed Zoom instruction sheets for class hosts, instructors and participants. These drafts were sent to the Curriculum Committee, which will review them at their next meeting. When finalized, these documents will be available on the Senior College website for easy access by class hosts, instructors and participants.

Elizabeth Sterner, Committee Member, Board Member

We are enjoying our senior college classes: Jack and Digital Photography. Our classes provide fabulous learning experiences that give us explanations and tools that we would not have found out on our own except with much effort and probable frustration. And they propel us to think about and build on what we already know. I discovered that Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis is the setting for much of Jack, was built by Almerin Hotchkiss. Mr Hotchkiss also designed and built The Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn NY in which I have spent many happy hours bird watching, walking around the graves, and looking out at views of Brooklyn Harbor. The Green-Wood cemetery opened in 1858 and was visited by thousands of New Yorkers since there were as yet no public parks. I am continuing to ask myself the question posed by our Senior College instructor: why Marilynne Robinson set so much of Jack in Bellefontaine Cemetery over the course of a single night, and I am proposing answers to myself that I would never have thought of without the class.

While none of this is may be useful for a newsletter it keeps me mentally and physically alive in ways I value highly.

Deirdre Good, Chair, Curriculum Committee, Board Member

Nominating Committee

I am happy to report I have selected three non-Board volunteers willing to serve on the Nominating Committee this spring and summer as the committee meets to fill positions on the 2021-2022 Board of Directors. Members-at-Large Mary Rackmales, Paul Sheridan, and Barney Lutsk have agreed to join Board officers on the Nominating Committee. The group will recruit and select individuals for board service.

Jim Owen, Chair, Nominating Committee, Board Member

WARNING!

The telephone scammers are out in full force. Just this week there have been numerous reports of calls purporting to be from Social Security, Medicare, and Amazon. And, of course, the constant calls from SPECTRUM, which seem never-ending.

DO NOT ENGAGE!

Message from
the President

Dear Senior College members and friends,

Suddenly it is the middle of July! I hope everyone enjoyed a festive fourth and celebrated with family and friends. I believe we all had a lot to celebrate this year and I felt a new sense of pride and patriotism as I watched the fireworks broadcast from Washington and New York. Soon after the fourth both of my only siblings (younger brothers) came to visit us with their wives. This was the first time we had been together since before the pandemic so it was a special time of reminiscing about our childhoods, our parents, and our offspring. They both fell in love with Belfast and realized that I had made a very good decision moving here from the D.C. area.

In past years the Board did not meet in July but this year with the reopening of the Hutchinson Center for classes and the new registration program CourseStorm it was determined that a meeting was needed. One issue that continues to occupy much of our time is finding someone willing to handle publicity for the organization. If you have had experience and would be willing to write simple press releases for local publications you will be warmly welcomed.

Several Board members had an excellent meeting with Kim Wilson-Raymond and Michelle Patten of the Hutchinson Center. They are as happy to have us back as we are to be back. Classes will begin on Thursday, September 23 and we have scheduled the Annual Meeting of Senior College on Thursday, September 30 between morning and afternoon classes. We will be able to serve refreshments during class breaks and Bell the Cat will once again furnish us with coffee, tea, and cookies!

Jim Owen, Chair of the Nominating Committee, is pleased to announce that the Committee has completed its charge and hasz selected a slate of individuals that bring a wide range of talent and expertise to the Board of Trustees. Jim and his Committee deserve the gratitude of all members for their work in choosing the slate which will be announced next month in accordance with our By-laws.

By mid-August the Fall class schedule will be online and registration will begin. Deirdre Good and the Curriculum Committee are to be commended for an excellent selection of unique and diverse courses! Many of you will, like me, have a difficult time just selecting two. In addition we are hopeful several Zoom courses will attract Senior College friends from around the state as well as local members and perhaps potential new “younger” working members. Check the website in August for the Fall curriculum. I urge you to sign up ASAP and bring a friend to enjoy the day of learning and camaraderie at Senior College!

Please don’t forget that you can also select a Zoom course at any of the other Maine Senior Colleges. Your Belfast Senior College membership entitles you to register and pay only the course fee for either Zoom or in person classes. For a look at upcoming courses around the state check out the current newsletter at: https://www.maineseniorcollege.org/mscn-newsletter

Best to all,
Nancy Perkins

Summer Classes

There is still time to sign up for a couple of summer classes. Paul Sheridan is presenting a Zoom Class “What is New, What is Old, and What Can be Better in Photography?” beginning July 19th for four weeks. Anne Gass will discuss her book We Demand: The Suffrage Road Trip on August 18th on Zoom.

Check out the details and register here.

Ann Mullen
Memorial Grove
Dedication

On Thursday, July 22nd there will be a gathering at 4 p.m. at Wales Park (Main and Congress Streets) for the dedication of the Ann Mullen Memorial Grove. For those of you who did not know Ann she was the diminutive, white haired woman who pulled her red wagon filled with gardening supplies around town from The Post Office to Grove Cemetery with but one objective: to beautify Belfast. In recognition of her dedication to this mission the Belfast Garden Club, with assistance from businesses, local government, and many individuals, will dedicate an area of the park for rest and reflection that includes a bench and some of Ann’s favorite shrubs and small trees. The Mayor, members of Ann’s family, and an army of her friends will be there to honor her memory.

Letter from our President Nancy Perkins

Hello Senior College Members,

The lilacs have bloomed, peonies are opening their splendid buds, and summer is nearly here! Except for the recent unusually hot and humid days it is a joy to see the town in bloom!

Beginning July 1, Senior College will introduce a new registration system approved by the Board of Directors. The Board was impressed with the features and the ease of the registration process offered by CourseStorm, a Maine-based company. Other Senior Colleges in the state have been using it with great success. Treasurer, Brenda Smith, will describe CourseStorm and some of the features offered in the article below.

This is the first month in over a year that we have not received a contribution for the Corona Chronicles. We want to continue emailing the Chronicles as long as we receive photographs, original art, poetry, essays, and stories from the members. We have heard from many of you how much you have enjoyed reading the publication and hope you will consider contributing something for the next issue. Please send it to me (nanella133@gmail.com) or Janet Williams (williajanet@gmail.com). All of the past Chronicles are available on the website under the tab “What’s New.”

We are working with staff at the Hutchinson Center regarding rules and protocols of a return to face-to-face classes. We are happy to announce we will hold the first face-to-face class at the Hutchinson Center this summer. Information about the Summer Session will soon be posted on the website at www.seniorcollegebelfast.org. One class will be on campus at the Hutch with additional courses available via Zoom.

We hope that we can present a full schedule of classes this fall at the Hutch providing all who attend have been vaccinated and we receive the go ahead from the Hutchinson Center staff. I am more than ready to return to the campus and am looking forward to seeing all of you. Classes for fall will be posted on the website in July so plan on coming back-to-school at Senior College in September!

My best to all and happy summer!

Nancy Perkins

New Registration System Going Live for Summer Registrations

Senior College is implementing a new registration system powered by CourseStorm that is easy to use and offers members helpful new benefits. This new system is already in place at four other senior colleges and is getting rave reviews. We want to give you a brief overview of what to expect as we move forward with bringing the system on line in Belfast.

Our website will provide a link to our Belfast Senior College page within the new system powered by CourseStorm. The first time a member uses the new system it will ask them some basic questions (name, address, phone number and e-mail address). This information is used to establish the member’s own personal account in the system. These questions will only be asked the first time a member uses the system, though there is the option of updating any of this information at any time should it change.

From there it will ask if you want to become a member. You do not need to be a member to enroll in any summer 2021 course. However, all existing members will need to enter and pay their annual membership fee of $25 prior to being able to register for any fall 2021, winter 2022, or spring 2022 course. This membership is only paid once during the academic year. The system will remind you that you have already paid if you attempt to pay it a second time. Members who taught classes in the previous academic year or participants who have paid a membership at another senior college are exempt from paying a membership fee.

On the membership page a member will be asked three questions. (1) Please provide an emergency contact person and the contact’s phone number should an emergency situation arise while the member is attending senior college. (2) Write a brief description of a member’s areas of expertise that may be helpful to the senior college’s operations. (3) Lastly, the member will be asked to acknowledge they understand the senior college’s refund policy.

Once a member has paid for a membership, they may review the class listings and choose which classes they would like to attend. A member can enroll just themselves in a course, or themselves and another member in a class. This is useful when spouses, partners or friends wish to enroll in the same class together. The charges for memberships and courses are accumulated and the member will be presented with an online invoice when they are ready to check out. In the new system, a member will use a credit card to settle the amount they owe. (We will no longer be using PayPal). A member may also pay by check if they choose to register in person, once our office in the Hutchinson Center reopens.

Upon registering for a class, the member will automatically receive a confirmation e-mail of their enrollment. Two days before a class begins, the member will receive a reminder e-mail that their class will be starting soon. Each member will have access to their own personal account where they can see a history of all the classes they have registered for as well as any memberships they have paid for. One note here – registration and payment information in our old system will not be imported into the new system, so a member’s account history will start to accumulate with the transactions that they will be entering into the new system.

Inevitably, there may be some questions that members will encounter when using the new system for the first time. Please know that we are here to support our members and to provide assistance as we always have in the past. Please contact Al Arthur, our registrar, if you need any help at info@belfastseniorcollege.org.

Brenda Smith, Treasurer

Senior College Online

The Merry Month of May
Nancy Perkins

Welcome to the “merry month of May.” I find my spirit has burst forth like the spring flowers in Belfast and surrounds. The world is once again filled with wonder and beautiful sights to see and enjoy. It is truly the time of renewal and the time of anticipation for the season ahead. Gardening, sailing, outdoor activities, and wonderful times in the sun await us and now that we are vaccinated we can once again enjoy the company of family and friends.

Renewal is utmost on my mind when I consider Senior College and the need to recruit new members of the Trustees Board. This is the time of year that the nominating committee is busy seeking individuals whose gifts and talents will assure that our organization remains vital and viable.

I hope each of you will think about your experiences with Senior College, classes you have taken, classes you have taught, friends you have made, and the community of which you are a part and give some thought to joining the Board which diligently guides the organization. We need your help and dedication to continue to be unique and inspiring.

The Bridge to Success
Jim Owen, Chair Nominating Committee

Why Not You?

It isn’t too early to think about Senior College’s Annual Meeting in the Fall. Like last year it will be a Zoom meeting since we are all still in pandemic mode. There will be important things to discuss: about having survived a year shifting away from face-to-face classes to equally fine Zoom classes, about our financial situation, and about plans for the Fall.

Also, we will be voting for those members who are willing to join the Board, and who will replace those who are leaving it. The future of Senior College depends on the willingness of volunteers to serve on the Board, to teach our classes, and to serve on our various committees. As many of you know, it takes more than great classes, and coffee and cookies to keep us going.

Senior College’s Nominating Committee has begun the process of recruiting and identifying good candidates for our Board. The Board needs folks with a variety of skills or experience: experience as teachers, financial skills, and good team work skills. However, this year we could really use one or more new Board members with marketing skills, financial skills, and insight into legal matters. We hope that folks with those skills in particular will consider joining the Board.

The strength of Senior College is in the life history, training and experience among our members. Our weakness is that at our age changes happen, to us or our partners. For one reason or another, Board members may not be able to serve out their terms. So it helps to have a pool of folks willing to serve on the Board and our committees. In this edition of the newsletter you will find information about what being on the Board involves, and an application form for anyone who would like to serve on the Board. Yes, you can nominate yourself by filling out the form. You may also contact the Nominating Committee and recommend someone who you believe might be an active and effective Board member. Applications need to be in by May 31, 2021.

The Nominating Committee will review all the applications and narrow down the field. We hope you will apply. We want a diverse, enthusiastic, and skillful Board. By July, the Nominating Committee will share a list of prospective Board members with the current Board, and then at the Annual Meeting in September all members will have a chance to vote for those they wish to see on the Board.

Senior College Online

Message from our President

Dear All,

March entered like a roaring lion but the recent sunny days promise that Spring will be appearing this month! I see tiny green shoots protruding through the snow in my front yard and they are a welcome sight indeed. The winter has passed quickly this year and by the official beginning of Spring I will, like many of you, have had my second Covid vaccine! Waldo Hospital did a superlative job arranging and delivering the shots. It was actually a treat for me to be out with real people! I am now looking forward to a bit more activity while still sporting a mask.

Spring also signals a new session at Senior College and Deirdre Good and the hardworking, dedicated members of the Curriculum Committee are pleased to announce that Spring courses are now open for registration! The Committee is expecting to receive a few more courses so make sure you check the web page regularly.

Once again, there is a wide array of offerings from learning about Monarch Butterflies to African American Poetry. Want to plant and grow asparagus? We have you covered. Still worried about Russian meddling in our elections, are you a Jane Austen lover, or is tea your bag (no pun intended)? Make sure you check out these offerings. Marilynn Robinson fans will want to sign up for a class to learn about her latest novel, Jack. If you have missed traveling over the past year there is the perfect course for you and if you have always wanted to learn how to photoshop don’t miss the opportunity this Spring. While I hesitate utilizing a trite expression “there truly is something for everyone.”

The Board has had a busy few months and I am happy to report that several members recently met with Kim Wilson-Raymond to discuss a possible return to face-to-face classes at the Hutchinson Center. The lovely patio area could accommodate up to twelve individuals in an outdoor class and several of the larger classrooms can safely hold up to twenty-five participants. Perhaps we can start planning on a slow return, phased in over several months and by this time next year join in a number of classrooms together.

Kim most graciously offered any member of Senior College Belfast a 20% discount on any of the upcoming classes or seminars. Her letter is below.

We have convened an ad hoc Committee on Technology that will address the ever growing need for technical assistance for Hosts, Instructors, and Participants. The group is working on information and instructions for the three groups in light of what we believe will be a continued demand for virtual learning. The Hutchinson Center may install several classrooms with the equipment that will allow simultaneous experiences, onsite as well as via Zoom.

By the way, the little yellow dog above is my new companion, Bella. Bella is a “Sato” dog of Puerto Rico. Satos are mutts and generally run wild on the island. They are known for big ears, short legs, and long tails as well as sweet dispositions. A number of organizations are working with shelters in the U.S. to place these animals. We got Bella from The Ark in Cherryfield and are thrilled to have her.

Best to all and stay healthy and safe!

Greetings from the Hutchinson Center!

We’re so grateful that Senior College is returning to the Hutchinson Center. Your presence here is part of what makes the Hutchinson Center such a vibrant place and we’ve missed you.

As a token of our appreciation for Senior College at Belfast, we’d like to extend a special offer to you.

We’re offering a special 20% discount to all members of Senior College at Belfast on all of our professional development programs. You can choose whether you’d like to use the discount yourself or gift the discount to someone else.

To use your special discount, just enter SENIOR21 when you’re registering for a professional development program, in the checkout process. Some details: each member of Senior College can only use their code once. The offer is valid through December 31, 2021 and cannot be combined with other special offers. Feel free to reach out to us at um.fhc.pd@maine.edu or 207.338.8002 if you have any questions.

A full list of all of our upcoming professional development programs is here.

All programs below are being offered online unless otherwise noted. Programs are not pre-recorded–they are asynchronous, dynamic, and participatory.

• Career Transformation Lunch-and-Learn Series
• Building Your Professional Network (Apr. 9, Noon–1 p.m.)
• Resume Building Workshop (Apr. 16, Noon–1 p.m.)
• Improving Your Interview Skills (Apr. 23, Noon–1 p.m.)
• Grant Writing Essentials (5-part program, May 21, 28, Jun. 4, 11 & 18, 9 a.m.–Noon)
• Mediation and the Art of Conflict Transformation* ( 5-part program, Jun. 14–18, 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.) This is being offered in-person.
• Past Trauma, Current Relationships: Integrating Nonviolent Communication and Interpersonal Neurobiology (5-part program, May 10-–14, 9–11:30 a.m.)
• Practical Project Management (5-part program, May 5, 7, 12, 14 & 28, 12:30–4:30 p.m.)
• Public Speaking & Virtual Presentations (2-part program, Apr. 30 & May 7, 1–4 p.m.)
• Racial Equity, Implicit Bias and Diversity Training (1-part program, May 26, 9 a.m.–2 p.m.)
• Summer Restorative Practices (6-part program, Jun. 24, 25, July 23, Aug. 19, 20 & Sep. 24, 9 a.m.–4 p.m.)

Again, we’re so grateful that we’ll be seeing your faces again soon. Until then, stay safe, be well, take care!

Kim Wilson-Raymond and the Hutchinson Center staff

From War Correspondent to Power in Washington

I’ve never been able to resist a pun, good (rare) or bad (the norm). In the title above, the word power is a double entendre — power as influence or clout and Power as the surname of Samantha Power, nominated by President Biden to be Director of the Agency for International Development and a member of the National Security Council.

Ever since my first Senior College course in 2006 “Four Problems from Hell,” based on Power’s 2002 Pulitzer Prize-winning book A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide, I have followed with interest her career as a writer (her memoir The Education of An Idealist was published in 2019), academic (Professor at Harvard), and government official in the Obama administration (Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights at the National Security Council and later US Ambassador to the United Nations).

In his recently published memoir A Promised Land Obama makes clear that Power was not just one aide among many. “Samantha was one of my closest friends in the White House…She evoked my own youthful idealism, the part of me still untouched by cynicism, cold calculation, or caution dressed up as wisdom.”

But Obama also makes clear that this closeness came at a price: “It was precisely because she knew that side of me…that at times she drove me nuts…whenever Samantha got time on my calendar, she felt obliged to remind me of every wrong I hadn’t yet righted (So what ideals have we betrayed lately?).”

As of this writing (February 15) it is not entirely clear when Power’s confirmation hearing will be scheduled. Her role as a leading advocate of US military intervention in Libya (which Obama subsequently called the worst mistake of his Presidency) remains controversial. In addition, her testimony before the House Intelligence Committee in October, 2017 has raised questions about the appropriateness of some of her actions during the final months of the Obama administration.

Whatever happens, Power’s proven resilience and passion will make her a force to be reckoned with regardless of which of her three tracks she occupies in the years ahead.

Bob Rackmales

Senior College Online

Message from our President

Dear All,

Hard to believe it is February already. January was a busy month with new classes beginning, continued planning for the upcoming year, and the fervent hope that the pandemic would show signs of slowing down. While new strains of the virus have been reported, I hear from more and more people that they have received the vaccine or are scheduled to do so very shortly. Here’s hoping that by spring we will all have been vaccinated and that we can begin to contemplate a return to some normalcy by fall.

Winterim classes are well underway with good turnout and attendance. There are still openings in some classes beginning later this month so check the Senior College website. I am personally looking forward to several more classes this session. I am enjoying immensely learning to write and love poetry again, plotting a great novel, really understanding climate change, after having gained a renewed appreciation for the work of Eliot Porter. It is amazing to me what I learn every time I show up for a Senior College course thanks to the hard working members of the Curriculum Committee. Deirdre Good and the group are busy now putting together exciting and inviting Spring courses. Needless to say they would welcome your input or even better your willingness to teach a course.

The Corona Chronicles are enjoyed by many and I urge all of you to consider sending us an article, poem, photograph, book, movie, or music review, original artwork, recipe, recommendations for virtual travel to museums, etc. to share with your fellow members. Back issues are posted online if you missed an issue or you just want to read that poem one more time. Send anything you wish to share to me (nanella133@gmail.com) or Janet Williams (williajanet@gmail.com).

Speaking of Janet Williams, don’t miss the Belfast Garden Club’s member spotlight this month featuring our Senior College Newsletter and Corona Chronicles editor herself. To read about Janet visit belfastgardenclub.org.

Finally, February is Valentine’s month, a wonderful time to celebrate and thank those who have given their time and talent to benefit others. Senior College has, over the years, been the beneficiary of the work of many dedicated individuals who assured this organization would continue to fulfil its mission. Not too long ago I learned that a very special volunteer is finally leaving Belfast for her new home in Scarborough. I have associated Barbara Klie with Senior College since I first walked through the doors of the Hutch. There sat Barbara at a table with the offer to help and she promptly directed me to my first class. Later when I joined the Curriculum Committee I realized that Barbara served as the unofficial secretary of the committee and it was her recording of the proceedings that assured we followed through on contacts for classes. Barbara has been a stalwart member of the Curriculum Committee for a number of years, an attendee of many classes, as well as a two-term member of the Board of Directors. She has dedicated her time, energy, and good will to Senior College Belfast and she will be greatly missed by all who have taken a class, taught a class or just been a part of this endeavor. Thank you and Godspeed, Barbara!

Tidbit from the Treasurer

The Belfast Senior College has weathered the COVID -19 storm far better than we ever imagined. Our finances are strong because many from previous years renewed their memberships and we’ve gained lots of new first time members as well. We are beating our budget numbers and operating with a small profit. As Treasurer of the college I chair the Finance Committee, a wonderful group of volunteers who perform regular oversight of the college’s finances and who provide input into the annual budget creation process. If you are interested in stepping behind the scenes to learn how the college operates from a business standpoint, please consider joining our committee. There are generally four meetings of this committee each year, roughly corresponding with each quarter end. Members with business or finance acumen are especially sought, but this is not a requirement.

Brenda Smith

Belfast Senior College Curriculum Committee has been busy planning the online Spring Semester with an array of history, literature, politics, and general interest courses plus Brown Bag lunches. Taking any (or many) of them will enrich your Spring and our collective experience of isolating in a pandemic. For me, online learning has been the salve to this challenge, and I am so grateful to instructors and participants who are eager and willing to contribute teaching and learning.

Deirdre Good

Senior College shares class with local high schools

Throughout its twenty year history, Senior College of Belfast has been fortunate to have as a resource a dedicated talent pool of extremely qualified instructors. Selflessly giving their time and talents they have made the college an integral part of the Waldo County community. This January one of our instructors is sharing her insights not only with Senior College members, but also Camden Conference attendees and some local high schools. Dr. Susan Conard is presenting a course entitled “What Is Happening To Northern Climates.” Changing climate has been described by some as the greatest existential threat facing our country and the world. If we are to meet that threat, then we must first understand the problem. Everyone, no matter what age, has to participate in the solution. That is why we are so pleased to have local high schools involved in this course.

We have science students from two high schools participating with us in Dr Conard’s class: Belfast High School, and the Ecology Learning Center in Unity, Maine. The Ecology Learning Center is a wonderful new charter school with a mission to develop students who enact and embody ecological principles by making meaningful connections between school and community through service learning and apprenticeships.

This Winter, once a week, these High School students join a virtual Senior College class with fellow students who are easily three, four and even five times older than they. It’s a class, however, where ages melt and merge. Everyone is driven by a common purpose of learning all they can about the science of changing climate and how they can help to meet the challenge of climate change in a fragile world.

Following are a few thoughts from some students of the Ecology Learning Center. They express so completely the concern and strong desire of talented young students to learn and be a part of the solution to the Global Climate issue.

“I think the class is very informational and it’s great that we are learning about this climate crisis that is affecting us and what we can do to help. I’m very thankful for this opportunity to participate in this class.”

“I’m so glad that we have the opportunity to take this class. It’s so nice to get information about climate change outside of the news. I’ve never really understood the intricacies of climate change, just that it exists. This class has been super helpful and informative. I find it a very interesting experience. I think that overall the class is good, but I will say that some of the terms need more explanation.”

“I’ve enjoyed attending the northern climate course, for I have learned a great deal about this topic. I had no idea that there was a quicker warming route in the north due to more land mass than the south. Before this course, I knew the biggest problems, but not all the little things causing global climate warming.”

“I am super excited to be attending this course! It has opened up a vast number of opportunities for me. Each lesson I can actively engage in the material and my knowledge on climate change has expanded hugely. I have been able to apply my studies outside of the class whether that be in art projects, or other classes.”

Senior College Online

Message from our President

Hello everyone,

As I write this on a dreary, rainy Saturday in December I am amazed at the myriad activities within our remarkable organization. The well-attended fall session wrapped up recently with a fascinating presentation on the history of Maine food and many are happily enrolled in Pete Riley’s class on “War, Protest and Great Music,” a special December offering. Over 40 of us visited (via Zoom) the Planetarium at University of Maine in Orono, and six members of the Board of Directors attended a workshop on board development presented by the Maine Association of Nonprofits. The 19th edition of the Corona Chronicles was recently mailed featuring reflections and photographs of our animal friends. Pandemic or not we have stayed happily and busily engaged in Senior College programs and committees.

None of this would occur were it not for those singular and special individuals who volunteer as teachers, hosts, committee and Board members day after day and year after year. It is not easy to thank so many for so much especially during this time of social distancing and isolation. Nothing would be more welcome than the opportunity to personally thank each of you who have made this a successful and exciting fall session.

As 2020 draws to a close we are preparing for the Winterim session that kicks off with Susan Conard’s course on Climate Change, a preparatory presentation to the Camden Conference. We have invited several high school groups to sit in on this important course for we believe this is an issue that will be of major import in their lives. In addition there are, as always, a selection of courses to challenge you, entertain you, educate you, and provide an opportunity to gather via Zoom with friends and neighbors. We hope you will find a course to your liking and sign up today!

This winter a group of Waldo County residents including representatives from organizations (Senior College Belfast e.g.), businesses, University of Maine Hutchinson Center, county libraries, and others have initiated a “One Book” program entitled “Waldo Reads Together” under the umbrella of Aging Well in Waldo County. The group has selected The Nickel Boy by Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead and will be asking everyone to join in the county-wide read. Information on this project may be found at Aging Well in Waldo County.
Books will be made available free of charge for anyone wishing to participate who cannot afford to purchase the book. Following the February reading of the book there will be Zoom discussions concerning diversity, racial justice and equality in America based on this engaging novel.

Finally, we can only hope that 2021 brings a decrease in the incidences of Covid 19, a success of the vaccines, and a renewed sense of hope for a semblance of life as it was. That includes a return to our classes, conversations, and conviviality at the Hutchinson Center.

In the meantime we shall keep calm, carry on and celebrate the upcoming holidays with gladness, joy, and hope!

Nancy Perkins

Sixty attendees came to the online Winter Wonderland session introducing Winterim 2020-2021 courses. Enrollment for these courses is already very good. Our instructors also receive great evaluations: of one recent course a participant said that it exceeded expectations because the subject turned out to be more interesting than the participant had thought it would be. Moreover, “the instructor’s enthusiasm and in-depth knowledge made me look forward to being up and awake enough to attend class at 7.00 am CA time. (That is no small feat!).” Issues with Zoom and online participation are helped by assigning hosts to each class. As for reliability, we can still hope for better broadband coverage across the state. In the meantime, we are working on a great roster of Spring 2021 courses.

Deirdre Good, Chair

Virtual trip to a Planetarium

The Special Events Committee brought a Zoom presentation from the University of Maine Planetarium’s Director, Dr. Laatsch to 47 stargazers on December 10. With the aid of some computer magic we saw groups of stars in constellations connected like dot-to-dot pictures to roughly approximate characters, then with another click became sketched images. Then, we heard the stories of the constellation characters and creatures as imagined in different parts of the world.

If you have interest in the stars there were several books and resources recommended: The Patterns in the Sky: Myths and Legends of the Stars, by Julius Staal is a comprehensive collection of stories about each of the 88 constellations. Find the Constellations by H.A. Rey, the author of the Curious George series of children’s books, is appropriate for grandchildren ages 10-12 as an introduction to stargazing.

Several apps for cell phones are also available that allow you to point your phone to the skies at night and have the visible constellations identified. Some apps are appropriate for iPhones or iPads and some are for android phones. Look them up online to find the one that suits you best: “Sky Map” (for androids), “The Heavens- Above” (for Apple devices), “Sky Safari” (for Apple devices).

The stars you see tonight are the same stars your grand-parents and great grand-parents saw. Take a minute to look up!

Martha Laitin

Finance Committee

Tidbits from the Treasurer

While the pandemic has tried its very best to keep us apart and hunkered down at home, your board members and instructors have done a great job of pivoting to delivering our stimulating classes to an online format using Zoom. Initially we wondered how many of our members would make the transition with us. We cancelled the summer semester entirely and created a “rolling” budget for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2020-2021. We budgeted very conservatively at first, assuming that at least 200 members would renew their memberships. As of today 269 of you have renewed your memberships representing $5,550 in revenue – thank you so much! Accordingly, we have revised our budget upward to 300 memberships.

For the fall semester we offered 15 courses that generated $5,220. This amount exceeded our original course fee projection by 25% – such an encouraging outcome! As a result we are revising our initial course revenue estimate for the year upward by 20%. For winterim we are offering 13 classes and as of today they are 67% enrolled. If you have been thinking about ways to stay busy after the holidays, we hope you’ll consider registering for one of our classes to help us reach full enrollments. Gazing into the crystal ball we are seeing the potential for a spring semester that would match the activity level of the fall semester and are using that as a baseline for our projections.

We have been delighted that several of our members have also made an additional donation to the Senior College. We have not budgeted for donations but certainly appreciate any extra funding people are able to contribute. As of the end of November we are showing, despite every obstacle 2020 has thrown at us, a net profit of $4,000. Not only that but we have nearly $85,000 in checking, savings and CDs in the bank. Overall the Senior College is in a great financial position and is actually prospering during this pandemic. Thanks for helping to keep us vibrant and flourishing.

Brenda Smith

2021 Corona Chronicles

As we begin the 11th month of this worldwide pandemic Senior College will continue to publish the Corona Chronicles which have proven to be popular reading for many of us and friends both near and far. We offer a very special thanks to Janet Williams for putting together the Chronicle month after month!

For this first issue of 2021 we are asking for your reflections, resolutions, hopes, and aspirations for this new year. Photographs, poems, stories, artwork, and statements from the heart are needed. Please forward to nanella133@gmail.com or williajanet@gmail.com. Thank you!

Nancy Perkins

Senior College Online

Message from our President

Dear Senior College Members and Friends,

November has arrived and Fall classes are drawing to a close. Many of us have enjoyed a variety of classes and we are extremely grateful to the team of outstanding Instructors who made our first Zoom session a success.

We also want to extend our appreciation to our roster of Hosts. These individuals have quietly worked to assure that the Zoom classes operated smoothly. This is an essential role in assuring Senior College remains vital and viable. It is reasonably easy to become a Host and we would welcome any volunteers. Please email me at nanella133@gmail.com.

There are still openings for the November 19 class taught by Bangor Daily News columnist and food historian Sandy Oliver. Sandy will present What’s For Dinner In 1820: A Bicentennial Look At Maine Food. Perhaps we can all pick up some new ideas for Thanksgiving dinner!

We are happy to announce that Pete Reilly will be presenting War, Protest, and Great Music, a three week session beginning Wednesday, December 2 at 4:00 p.m. Join Pete with a cup of tea or your choice of libation for an entertaining trip back to a time we all remember well. Who can forget the wonderful sound of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young and countless others who made such evocative and memorable music?

We are extremely excited about our new collaborative effort with the Camden Conference. Sue Conard will present a course dealing with climate change beginning January 11. This six week course will be preliminary to the Camden Conference’s topic The Arctic which takes place in February. (Scroll down for a full description of this class).

Finally, I want to encourage each of you to register for a Zoom class. The feedback from participants has been overwhelmingly positive and all believe Senior College classes are a wonderful antidote to the isolation we are all living with today. If you have questions about Zoom please let us know for there are people who are more than willing to help you learn. Visit the website at www.belfastseniorcollege.org to register for the current classes.

In the meantime stay safe, healthy, and connected!

Nancy Perkins

The Belfast Senior College Curriculum Committee in this time embraces both continuity and change: continuity in that we continue to offer a variety of wonderful courses for body, mind, and soul taught by excellent local people, and change in that all our teaching is online for the foreseeable future. It’s hard to imagine what our lives would be like without Zoom in this pandemic where we must isolate to keep ourselves and our communities safe. Meeting online for shared experiences allows us to stay connected and to sustain connections, friendships, and learning. Now, transferring teaching and learning to an online platform also means we need intentionally to find ways to use online resources to best effect. We learn from others who have been deploying online learning longer than we have, including partners in Maine’s Senior College network, and they offer us tools they already deploy successfully. For a preview of Winterim and some Spring courses, please join us online on Wednesday December 2nd from 10:00-11.00 a.m. (link to be sent out closer to the time).

Deirdre Good, Chair

A Winter Outing at Home

Senior College Special Events Committee has arranged for a special live and interactive Zoom presentation from the University of Maine Planetarium in December. The 45-50 minute show, Legends and Lore of the Sky will be presented by the Planetarium Director, Dr. Laatsch at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, December 10th.

We will be guided through the night sky as it appears in our area and hear the stories from a variety of cultures about constellations such as Orion the mighty hunter, Leo the lion, The Great Bear, and Andromeda, chained to a rock along the coast. We will gain a new understanding of the night view from our window.

The presentation is free of charge for a maximum of 50 Senior College members and friends. Registration for this event will be open until Tuesday, November 24th. Click here to register.

Our Changing Climate

Senior College at Belfast, in collaboration with the Camden Conference, will offer a course this winter entitled What is Happening to Northern Climates? This year the topic of the Camden Conference is the Arctic and its focus will be on the geopolitical implications for a changing Arctic region. The Senior College course will highlight the science forcing those changes and projections for the future. The Camden Conference will take place February 20-21, 2021. The College course will run for six one-hour online sessions, beginning January 11th and ending February 15th, 2021. The course will be an excellent tutorial about how and why our climate is changing. As such, it will be a very strong preparatory experience for those planning to attend the February Camden Conference on The Geopolitics of the Arctic: A Region in Peril.

Severe wildfires, southern hurricanes, extreme weather, the warming Arctic, and melting glaciers are all part of our daily news cycle. It is impossible not to recognize that no matter where we live, our world is being impacted by a global transformation. Senior College at Belfast is pleased to offer a course that will help us understand our changing climate. Perhaps more importantly, it will bring home how climate change in northern latitudes affects us locally AND what we can do!

Lectures and discussions will put in perspective – fire, drought, tropical storms, changes in weather patterns, melting permafrost, land ice versus sea ice and so forth. The course will explore effects of changing greenhouse gases, including vegetation change and, of course, sea level rise in terms that we will all understand. The role and attribution of humans in the process will be examined and explored. We are pleased to present this timely and relevant course at a time when this issue is in the forefront of topical issues of the day.

Nancy Perkins, president of Senior College, is also pleased to announce that the online course will be open and free to local Maine high schools. The Environmental Science class at Belfast High School is already planning to attend. According to Nancy, “Belfast Senior College will be celebrating its 20th year in 2021 and it is so right that we will be marking the occasion working with our local high school to foster intergenerational learning.”