Hybrid

Agatha Christie served as a nurse in World War I. When she turned to mystery writing, she may have used her pharmaceutical knowledge to provide the means of murder in her novels.

The presentation will attempt to communicate Parker's enthusiasm for chemistry generally and for poisons specifically to members of Goldleaf.

A brief analysis of the symptoms of each poison and the presentation of the poison by Christie will be mentioned.

Parker will not provide drinks or snacks :)

Date: 1:00 - 2:30 P.M., April 28, 2026

Location: Education Center, room 107

Chuck Parker taught chemistry in public high schools and as an adjunct for Crowder College, Webb City, and Missouri Southern State University in Joplin until 2017.

He is especially enamored with alkaloids (caffeine is an alkaloid). The more he explored alkaloids and their deleterious effects on people, the more he investigated the use of poisons in mystery novels. Agatha Christie is remarkably accurate with her depictions.

Chuck has typically presented subjects concerning Muslim histories, such as the Crusades, the Ottomans, and the roots of Islamic extremism. However, his chemistry background kept crying for equal time.

In-Person

In this course, we will read and discuss three books for and about young people during World War II. These books include: Snow Treasure (Norway) by Marie McSwigan, Number the Stars (Denmark) by Lois Lowry, and Twenty and Ten (France) by Claire Huchet Bishop. We will focus on one book and its historical foundation during each session of this class.

Dates: May 5, 19, and June 2, 2026

Time: 10:00 am - 11:30 am

Location: Education Center, room 107

Eileen Kreutz and Cathy Wimett are co-presenting this class.

Eileen Kreutz has been interested in and a participant in resistance movements for her entire adult life.

Cathy Wimett taught classes in children's literature for many years.

Hybrid

Eleanor of Aquitaine and Eleanor Roosevelt: Intelligent, strong, courageous. Different times, different circumstances, but more in common than you might think

May 14, 21, 2026

1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Education Center, room 103

Diane Parker is a history geek. Although her main interest is usually in the Spanish-speaking world, she often wanders into broader fields.

After reading about FDR, she disliked the man but admired his wife. Reading about her led Parker to remember a research paper on Eleanor of the 12th century.  Come see if you agree with Diane that the ladies have traits in common.