Online

In this 6-week course, we will look at what happened during the Nazi era to see what might happen here now. How did the various religions rally? What could isolated individuals do? What did preventing infection from fascist ideology involve? How was non-fascist culture preserved? What tricks did the Scandinavians have? What heritage was left to us by Americans in that era?   

Defiance/disobedience/resistance—all the same activity—involves many very different methods. 

February 17, 24, March 3, 10, 17, 24

10:00 am, EXCEPT March 10, which will be at 1:00 pm 

Sandy Garson was working as a journalist in the early 1980s when she discovered the hidden history of Germans who fought Hitler. She went to Germany, met resistance survivors, and found those who had emigrated to the US.

She also researched resistance movements outside Germany. The book she began was never published in 1986 because nobody wanted to hear about “good Germans". But now we know they existed and their stories loudly resonate, so she has been sharing them as inspiration.

In-Person

County government in Maine is our oldest form of governance. Counties were created even before towns, intended to deliver essential services that individual communities could not provide on their own.

Today, that framework is both rooted in history and unexpectedly forward-looking, as smaller towns face new pressures in education, fire and police protection, and the demands of a changing economy.

Date: March 19, 2026

1 PM - 2:30 PM

Location:  Franklin County Emergency Management Agency, 140 Main Street, Suite 1, Farmington, ME

Amy Bernard, MPA, is Franklin County's Administrator, and Fenwick Fowler is a County Commissioner representing Farmington.

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.