In-person

Participants will meet once a month for lunch at various restaurants in the Farmington area. Reservations will need to be firm one week prior to the date. Participants will order from the standard menu and receive separate checks.

First Thursday of the month at 11:30 am.

November 7, 2024

December 5, 2024

January 2, 2025

February 6, 2025

Patricia Overall has been a member of GLI for three years.  She is a retired high school mathematics teacher, who later worked in hotel management and other occupations, including NACA, now NASA, and as a bartender. She has lived in 18 states and obviously enjoys eating out.

In-Person

Gold Leaf has outdoor enthusiasts who want to explore Maine even in the middle of winter. This Gold Leaf opportunity joins the paddling trips, light hikes, walks, and snowshoes of past offerings geared to take advantage of local resources.

We are organizing an activity each month based on seasonal conditions. It may be a snowshoe or hike/walk.

Various members have volunteered to lead the activity of the month and will be sending information about the location and type of adventure a short time before the activity. We will be keeping a close eye on the weather before each event and keep participants posted about changes and “Plan B’s.” Our goal is to be safe, have fun, and get outside!

In addition to the four scheduled hikes, members are invited to join the group walking the Orono Bog Boardwalk, located a short ride from the UMO campus, on November 14. It is a boardwalk, level walking, one-and-a-half miles long, which loops back toward the parking lot. It is self-guided with signs describing the carnivorous plants and terrain, but there will be at least one Maine Master Naturalist in attendance.

The bog walk begins at 1:30. Members registered for the Orono tour but not the winter walk series may still participate in the bog walk as part of the Bangor outing.

For all adventures, you may want to bring water, sun protection (even in winter), walking sticks, comfortable walking shoes or boots, and snacks, plus anything else that will make your adventure comfortable. Specific needs will depend on the outdoor activity and will be included in the pre-activity information package.

Nov 8, Dec 17 (or Dec 19), Jan 9 (or Jan 16), Feb 5 (or Feb 18)-2nd dates are for bad weather.

10 am-12 pm

Each adventure leader is an outdoor enthusiast.

In-Person

If you've wondered about who your grandparents, great-grandparents, and more ancestors were, where they came from, and how they ended up in your hometown, but you didn't know how to find out, this course is for you.

Claudia Bell has been doing genealogy research for almost 50 years. She will help you get started finding those generations, and give you ways to organize your notes.

Today technology makes it easier to research, but even if you don't have a computer, you can find your ancestors.

The course will meet twice. The first class will give some paths to pursue in your search; the second class will discuss your results and answer questions.

10 am

2 sessions:  January 7, 21, 2025

Snow dates: January 8, 22, 2025

Location: North Dining, East End C

Claudia Bell began doing family history research in the 1970s before technology was accessible to all. She spent hours in county courthouses and libraries, and corresponding with relatives.

She has worked on ten of her own family histories, and seven of her husband's. In addition, she answers queries about genealogy for the Farmington Historical Society, and she's a member of the Sandy River Genealogy Society in Franklin County.

In-Person

Join Gold Leaf at Wears & Wares as Lisa Laflin hosts two days of upcycling fun on Wednesday, January 15, and Thursday, January 16, from 2 pm to 4 pm.

All materials will be provided for this fun-filled workshop where participants will design and make creative and functional items out of everyday objects that are often abandoned and left to head to the landfill.

Note: The course Fee for materials is $10.00 payable at the start of the first day of class.

2 Sessions:  January 15, 16, 2025  (Snow dates: January 28 & 29)

2-4 pm

Location:  413 Wilton Rd #1, Farmington, ME 04938

Instructor Lisa Laflin has been upcycling items for years and, along with her sculptor husband Brent, has amassed a collection of interesting items they will share with Gold Leaf. No specific skills are required - just an open mind, concern for the environment, and a love of repurposing things.

In-Person

This program is presented in four sessions.

The first will provide an opportunity to talk about the bread process and some helpful tools and tips for home. The second is the opportunity to begin the wonder of combining simple essential ingredients with attention to a technique for hand-kneading along with rest periods.

In the third, we give our attention to dividing and shaping individual loaves as we prepare to bake. Each day we will sample a bit of bread and enjoy the wisdom of the ages. Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of foods, and good bread with fresh butter is the greatest of feasts.

The fourth day will be devoted to making a pizza.

January 23, 1-2:30 pm

January 31, 1 pm - 5 pm

February 7, 13, 1 pm-5 pm

Location: This class will be held at St. Rose of Lima Parish, 1 Church Street, Jay, Maine

Carpool:  TBD

The preparation of good bread is both art and science, and it is a bit personal. For Father Paul, the adventure of baking began with eating ploys as a child in his grandmother's home and grew as a college student working on a Kansas farm, where he enjoyed handcrafted bread baked in a wood-fired oven.

In Maine, he has been active in the annual Kneading Conference and Bread Fair in Skowhegan and with a local bread guild—Ora Breads—which has been providing fresh bread to the community for some years now. But most of all, trial and error has been his teacher.