In-person

Participants will meet about 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

July 6, August 3, September 7, October 5

Patricia Overall has been a member of Gold LEAF 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 working as a bartender. She has lived in 18 states and obviously enjoys eating out.

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

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.