In-Person

Maine's Paper & Heritage Museum is housed in the historic home of Judson Record which he built in 1906 for his family.  The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has always been associated with the paper industry. In the museum, you will find an extensive collection of artifacts and interactive displays from the paper industry along with local history from the Jay, Livermore Livermore Falls, Rumford, and other papermaking communities in Maine.  With advanced requests, we can give demonstrations on how to make handmade paper.

October 2, 2023

Car-pooling:  Meet a the Park N Ride lot next to Walgreens, Farmington, ME at 9:15 am.  Lv at 9:25 a.m.  The tour is at 10 am.

Drive Direct:  22 Church St, Livermore Falls, ME

Host:  Mark Stofan

Greg worked for 31 years in various positions in the paper industry and grew up in Jay, Maine just up the hill from the Otis Paper Mill.

In Person

Come enjoy a tour of a beautiful apple orchard nestled in the Western Foothills of Farmington, Maine.  We will take you on an informational tour of our 15+ apple varieties and share with you what it takes to cultivate and care for apples in a successful apple orchard.  During the tour, we will stop and talk about our apple cider production and how we produce cider "just like your grandfather used to".  Afterward, you can sample our 8 varieties of hard cider that we produce (If you are over 21 of course).

Tour 2

October 9,  1pm - 2 pm

A Central meeting place will be determined.

Morrison Hill Apple Orchard has been growing apples since 1944. The Simpson/Hollingsworth family, now in our 3rd generation of apple growers, has been running the orchard since 1986. We began producing fresh cider in 2019 and hard cider in 2020. Jodi (Simpson) Hollingsworth and Chris Hollingsworth have been running the orchard since 2018. Chris & Jodi have worked to build the orchard into a sustainable business, which is not always an easy venture when it comes to farming.

In-Person

The first part of this event will take place on the UMF campus and will include a PowerPoint presentation on Mercer history and architecture.  On the second date, participants will tour the Mercer Museum

October 12, 2023, 10:00 am-11:30 am

North Dining Hall Middle Section B  

October 20th at 1:30 PM.  Mercer Museum Tour,  77 Main Street, Mercer, Maine

Butch Tracy is a local historian and genealogist, President of the Mercer Historical Society, and a member of several historical, genealogical societies, and veteran organizations.  Research projects include Quakers in Franklin County, Indians in the Sandy River Valley, Black Pioneers in Maine, and histories of Brighton, Mayfield, and Osborn, Maine.

In-Person

This trip will include a tour of the 1814 Belgrade Town Meeting House, one of the oldest in Maine, which, from 2019-2023, underwent extensive renovations to restore its interior to what it looked like 1814-1832. It now houses an amazing collection of artifacts related to Belgrade's history as a farming, mills, and ice harvesting town and since 1874, a summer resort for family camps, youth camps, inns, and hotels from the modest to the most expensive, as well as boat building shops and health spas. We will start at the Belgrade Historical Society's History Room for a half-hour presentation, then spend about 1.5 hours in the old Town House for curated talks on the diverse exhibits. There will be an optional group lunch for all who would like to do this.

October 23, 2023

10:30 am - 1 pm

Belgrade Town Meeting House

990 Augusta Rd, Belgrade, ME

Eric Hooglund has been a Gold Leaf member since 2014 and a presenter of several Gold Leaf classes since 2014. He is a retired college professor and still an active editor of the scholarly journal MIDDLE EAST CRITIQUE and the Belgrade Historical Society Newsletter.

In-Person

This course will be a comprehensive tour of the Town's Wastewater Treatment Facility and a step-by-step explanation of how it operates. The tour will include the collection system, treatment facility, and all the State and Federal laboratory testing requirements. This course will be a comprehensive tour of the Town's Wastewater Treatment Facility and a step-by-step explanation of how it operates. The tour will include the collection system, treatment facility, and all the State and Federal laboratory testing requirements.

October 30, 2023

269 Farmington Falls Road, Farmington, ME 04938

Stephen has been in the wastewater field for over 39 years and has a State of Maine Grade 5 Biological Treatment Certification which is the highest grade Maine offers. Stephen has been the superintendent at Farmington for nearly 10 years.

In-person

Margaret Chase Smith had a 32-year congressional career. The library houses numerous papers, documents, and photos from her time in Congress.  The house and library are at 56 Norridgewock Avenue in Skowhegan.  The program will start at 11 a.m.  We can meet at the UMF Facilities lot at 10 a.m. for carpooling.

November 7, 2023

11 am - 12:30 pm

Address: 56 Norridgewock Ave, Skowhegan, ME 04976

Nicole Potter curator, joined the staff in 2021. She earned her B.A. in English Literature and Religious Studies from St. Lawrence University and her M.S. in Library and Information Science from Syracuse University School of Information Studies. Nicole’s specialization is cultural heritage preservation.

In-Person

The Maine Mineral and Gem Museum is a fascinating and interactive museum tucked away in Bethel Maine, which rivals small museums in bigger cities. The quality and quantity of samples are stunning and the displays are interesting and very well done.

The cost per person is $10.00, (this is discounted from the regular $15 admission) payable at the admissions desk on arrival. We will spend roughly 2 hours (flexible) visiting the museum (you can wander the museum on your own; there is much to “ooo and ahhh” over) From tourmaline to talc and mica to meteorites, you will come away with new knowledge and appreciation of the minerals and gems of Maine!

If interested, after the visit, participants can stay for lunch at a local restaurant (if available)

November 27, 2023

10:00 am

Snow date:  Friday, December 8, 2023

Self-Guided

Maine Mineral & Gem Museum, 99 Main St, Bethel, ME 04217

Carpool at the Park & Ride next to Walgreens at 8:30 a.m.