NEW MSCN HEADER (With border)
Issue No. 16
June 2011
The MSCN Newsletter

Welcome to your June newsletter! 

June illustration

 

Maine Senior College students have been out and about! This month's edition of the MSCN newsletter brings you photos from Gold LEAF Institute's "Welcome, Wabanaki Ways" class trip to Indian Island as well as an article and photo about the "Local Boat Builders" class offered at Downeast Senior College that featured field trips to Hancock Country boat builders. 

 

Congratulations to Senior College at Bridgton, celebrating their 10th anniversary, and moving into their second decade with some changes detailed in their submission.  

 

Please remember to invite your members to enter the MSCN Poet Laureate and Photo competitions. Information on each competition and how to enter is below. 

 

We hope the rainy and foggy May weeks are behind us and the rest of the summer will bring warm breezes and sunny skies.  

 

Sincerely, 

 

Kali Lightfoot

Executive Director

Maine Senior College Network   

 

Gold LEAF Explores Wabanaki Ways


Indian Island 2s

Above and below are photos from a Gold LEAF Institute class trip to Indian Island. The excursion was part of Gold LEAF's "Welcome, Wabanaki Ways!" spring class taught by Jackie Ranco. The series of classes offered an inclusive journey through the ways of the Wabanaki tribes, past and present. It was a class of hands-on history, music, art, oral tradition, and cuisine -- an opportunity to enjoy while learning about 12,000 years of culture right here in Maine.

 

Indian Island 3

 

Indian Island 1  

 

- submitted for Gold LEAF Institute in Farmington by Eileen Kreutz  

 

The 2011 Search Is On:
Who Will Be The Next MSCN Poet Laureate?

quill pen & scroll illustrationDo you write poetry? Are you a member of a Maine senior college? Then you could be the 2011 MSCN Poet Laureate! It's easy to enter -- just submit a piece of your unpublished work (one poem per person, please) to: MSCN, Attention: Kyle Allen, P.O. Box 9300, Portland, ME 04104, or email your poem to Kyle at kallen@usm.maine.edu. Be sure to include your name, contact information, and note at which Maine Senior College you are a member.
 
The deadline for submissions is November 1, 2011. The winner will be announced and their poem will be included in the December MSCN Newsletter, and the 2011 MSCN Poet Laureate will receive an Amazon Kindle e-book reader. We are looking forward to reading some fine poetry!

Downeast Students Enjoy Visiting Hancock Country
Boat Builders

This spring Downeast Senior College students taking a Local Boat Builders class visited four prominent boat-building institutions along the Hancock County coastline. Some of the best boat builders in the country are located there. One trip was to Westmark builders in Surry to see fiberglass construction. Of particular interest was a new research vessel now in midbuilding for the College of the Atlantic, in Bar Harbor.

 

The group, led by Sturgis Haskins, also saw the  Brooklin Boat Yard, located on quiet Center Harbor in that town. The yard is known for its wooden boat construction and restoration. It was acquired by Joel White, son of the late writer, E.B. White in 1962 and is now owned by White's grandson, Steve. In the main shed an 80-foot high tech racing yacht was nearing completion, due for June launching. The Senior College visitors toured all the boat sheds noting the plethora of well-kept vintage wooden boats.

Downeast Seniior College Brooklin Boart Yard

Some of the Downeast Senior College Local Boat Builders class pose with Brooklin Harbor in the background.

 

After a noon lunch at a tiny local restaurant, the group dispersed to sundry visits including a choice cheese and wine shop, the local cemetery, the Brooklin Keeping Society, and a gem of a local library (art work included a handsome Waldo Pierce and original drawings of E.B. White's "Stuart Little").

 

One bang of a day!


The group also traveled  to Morris Yachts, of Mount Desert Island, to look at small fleet of racing sloops under construction for the Naval Academy, as well as  the WoodenBoat School in Brooklin.

- submitted for Downeast Senior College in Ellsworth by Sturgis Haskins

 

You Are Invited to Enter the
MSCN Photo Contest

illustration of photographerThe beautiful days of summer are right around the corner. We hope you will enjoy sunny skies and capture the beauty of summer in Maine with your digital camera. MSCN is having its first photography contest; the theme of the contest is "Outdoor Maine": photos taken of the natural world in our beautiful state. If you are a member of a Maine Senior College you are eligible to enter. One entry per person; photos must be submitted in digital forma, and must be previously unpublishet. Please email your entry as an attachment to kallen@usm.maine.edu. Be sure to include your name, where your photo was taken, and tell us which Maine Senior College you belong to. Deadline for entries is November 1, 2011. The photographer of the image judged the top pick will receive a digital photo frame, and the winner will be announced in the December MSCN newsletter.

Senior College at Bridgton Moves Into Its Second Decade!

Happy FaceSenior College at Bridgton has begun its second decade of programs for the seniors of the Lake Region. Having a membership covering over a dozen towns in the region, Senior College at Bridgton presents three sessions:  fall, winter, and spring, with the intent of maintaining offerings of high academic interest.

 

The quality of courses could not have been accomplished without the time, energy, and creativity of Polly Polstein, curriculum chair. Polly has decided to retire from this position and enjoy the classes  to be planned by the new curriculum committee. Polly has been so important to the first 10 years of programming, that she is being replaced by at lease 6 people who will plan curriculum and coordinate  arrangements for each class. 

 

Peggy Haskell, another retiree, equally important to the growth of Senior College at Bridgton over the past decade, has  acted as registrar and has developed and maintained the all-important mailing list.  Peggy's organizational and computer skills enabled Senior College at Bridgton to grow from a small, satellite of Portland's OLLI to an independent organization, singular in the Senior College Network in that there is no organizational support from other academic or community sponsors. Peggy's work will now be done by two committee members.

 

Some original steering committee  are remaining:  Sandra Collins (treasurer), Mary Jo Koran (secretary), and Dee Miller (committee chair) are continuing in their positions, ensuring a smooth transition into the second decade. JoAnne Harbourt is continuing as web master and is also maintaining an extensive data base, andKaren O'Brien is always on the alert to reach out to potential instructors.

 

Important additions to the steering committee are Barbara Collins and Nadia Hermos (curriculum), Kappy Sprenger (registration), Dotti Mozden (equipment coordinator), and Jim and Sue Dover, Ron Fryer, and Marcia Storkerson who are newly responsible for coordination of classes.The unique blend of talent and experience, old and new, is poised to carry Senior College at Bridgton into another stellar decade.

 

- submitted for Senior College at Bridgton by Dee Miller  

 

Croquet game

This photo was taken at the Claremont Hotel's 33rd annual croquet tournament on Mount Desert Island. The two little brothers are playing against a more seasoned team and are losing badly. They huddle for solace. Everyone was, of course, cheering for them.

 

- submitted by Sturgis Haskins, Downeast Senior College, Ellsworth

In This Issue
Gold LEAF Explores Wabanaki Ways
Who Will Be The 2011 MSCN Poet Laureate?
Downeast Students Enjoy Visiting Hancock County Boat Builders
Enter the MSCN Photography Contest!
Senior College at Bridgton Moves Into Its 2nd Decade!
Croquet on the Lawn
Don't forget to go to the Maine Senior College Network website to find out what is happening around the state!

Maine Senior College Network 
Maine Senior College Network
Links

Acadia Senior College


Augusta Senior College
 
Bridgton Senior College

Coastal Senior College

Downeast Senior College

Gold LEAF Institute

LEARN

Lewiston-Auburn Senior College

Midcoast Senior College

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

Penobscot Valley Senior College

SAGE at UMPI

Senior College UMaine Hutchinson Center

St. John Valley Senior College

Sunrise Senior College 
 
Western Mountains Senior College

York County Senior College
The Maine Senior College Network Display Boards are available to any senior college that would like to borrow them. For more information, check out the link below.

 
 
About Us
Maine Senior College Network
P.O. Box 9300
Portland, Maine 04104-9300
(207)780-4128
(207)780-4317 (fax)
 
Kali Lightfoot
Executive Director
 
Anne Cardale
Director of Communication 
Director of Conferences
fmyers@usm.maine.edu

Kyle Allen
Coordinator
kallen@usm.maine.edu
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Submissions
Please submit your articles and photographs to Kyle Allen at kallen@usm.maine.edu




Deadline:  Third week of each month for the following month's edition