E-News April 2020

Dear Member:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”

Anyone want to go back and read Dickens?

I thought I’d start out with that famous quote from A Tale of Two Cities, which might be the most read novel of all time, because it might just remind us that we’ve seen a lot in our life time and remind us that life’s trials do pass. This might be a challenge like we haven’t seen, but things will change for the better and life will go on. Younger generations may not know that – we have to pass on our strength, our message and our hope.

We were all extremely saddened and disappointed that we had to cancel our Spring Semester. Going forward, while the timing may be a little uncertain, the ending is absolutely certain. The college will be reopening and it will open stronger than ever, because now we know what it’s like not to have it. The learning, the community and the socializing will be more appreciated than ever.

In the meantime, your Board of Directors continues to meet (online of course), committees plan and ideas for the future are being born. So at the present, we’re mostly in a holding pattern – working with budgets, notifying suppliers and a lot of behind the scenes “stuff” that must go on. We will of course keep you posted as our situation develops.

Thank you for being a member.

“This too shall pass” is a Persian adage translated and used in multiple languages. It reflects on the temporary nature, or ephemerality, of the human condition. The general sentiment is often expressed in wisdom literature throughout history and across cultures, although the specific phrase seems to have originated in the writings of the medieval Persian Sufi poets such as Rumi.

Peter Reilly

Senior College Festival of Art cancelled

After consideration of all that is happening with the coronavirus threat, and the many attempts that are being made to protect people from contamination, we have decided that this is not the time to consider bringing a large number of people together. The many uncertainties make it impossible to plan the event and our priority is the same as the Hutchinson Center; the safety of our neighbors and friends. We will look forward to next year’s Festival and hope you will continue to participate, attend, and support our event. Thank you all.

Cathy Bradbury, Chair
Festival of Art Committee

Call for nominations to your Senior College Board of Trustees

Senior College needs to elect two (2) new trustees to serve a three-year term. Please consider nominating a fellow member of Senior College (or yourself!) using the nominating form on the website under “Trustees”:

This brief form lists the duties expected of a trustee and asks for evidence of commitment to Senior College by the nominee as well as some information on the person’s background. (Board meetings are once a month, meeting usually 10 times per year.)

Current board members are: officers Peter Reilly, Martha Laitin, Brenda Smith, and David Boyer, along with Rebecca Jessup, Elisabeth Pollock, Nancy Perkins, Sydney Taber, Arlin Larson, David Greeley, John Economy, Jim Owen, Dick Topping, Jim Taber, Ron Jarvella. Members of the Nominating Committee are composed of the four officers of the board and: Cathy Bradbury, Maggie Reilly, and Fran Torreson.

Each year at our annual meeting we elect five (5) members of Senior College to the Board of Trustees. At this coming annual meeting, our 20th!, three board members eligible for election have volunteered to continue, so we need to elect two (2) new trustees to serve a three-year term.

20-20 Vision for Maine Senior Colleges

The statewide senior college conference at Hutchinson Center has been rescheduled for Saturday October 31. Details will follow as they become available.