Midcoast Senior College is pleased to present “Winter Wisdom 2019.” This free lecture series is sponsored by The Highlands. All lectures are open to the public and are held at Curtis Memorial Library on Wednesdays (12:15 pm to 1:45 pm) in January and early February 2018. Further details may be found at our website: https://midcoastseniorcollege.org/winter-wisdom/

The series kicks off on Jan. 9 with “Johannes Brahms, ‘The Young Eagle’” Mr. George Lopez is the Beckwith Artist-in-Residence at Bowdoin College and a familiar performer/lecturer in the Bath/Brunswick Community. He will perform excerpts by Brahms and discuss the conflicted relationship between the composer and his contemporary, Robert Schumann. (Held at Unitarian Universalist Church, 1 Middle St., Brunswick, across from Curtis Memorial Library.)

On Jan. 16 we have “Action Plan for Terrorism.” What can we do to protect ourselves from terrorism? This talk will by Francis Dillon, Brig. Gen., USAF (Ret.) will explore six actions that could assist our country, region, and community in dealing with this threat.

“The Uncertain State of U.S./Cuba Relations” is on store for Jan. 23. President Trump’s decision to discontinue normalizing relations with Cuba has called into question the short- and long–term future of relations between the long-time foes. This talk will explore the factors that contributed to Obama and Raul Castro’s decision to normalize relations, the Trump administration’s apparent about-face and the prospect for future relations. Allen Wells is Emeritus Professor of History at Bowdoin College.

Scheduled for Jan. 30 is “A Changing Casco Bay: An Update on the Health of our Coastal Waters.” Friends of Casco Bay in South Portland works year-round to improve and protect the health of Casco Bay. As Casco Baykeeper, Ivy Frignoca is the lead advocate of this effort. Her talk will provide an overview of current efforts to reduce pollution entering the Bay, address climate change and ocean acidification, and suggest measures to help the Bay adapt to changing conditions. She is a graduate of the University of Vermont and received her JD degree from University of Maine.

“Greece Before the Odyssey: Myth and Realities” is on tap for Feb. 6. In Book 3 of the Odyssey, Homer describes the royal palace of King Nestor at Pylos, in southwestern Greece. This talk will explore the Bronze Age reality behind that epic vision – the earliest Greek history we possess – from the discovery of Nestor’s palace in 1939, to current excavations in Iklaina, one of the towns in his kingdom. Cynthia W. Shelmerdine is Robert M. Armstrong Centennial Professor of Classics, emerita at the University of Texas at Austin, and a Research Associate in Classics at Bowdoin College.

On Feb. 13 we have “Twice A Day Island: The Peterson Canal at New Meadows.” Sometimes referred to as the “canal to nowhere,” this project was constructed by hand in the 1790’s with the expressed purpose of connecting the New Meadows River with Merrymeeting Bay. Its purpose was to allow the transport of logs cut along the Kennebec and Androscoggin Rivers to sawmills on the New Meadows River. This talk will review the origins and history of this project and the people who built it. Brenda Cummings and Timothy Richter serve on boards of Phippsburg Land Trust and Bath Historical Society and lead the annual Peterson Canal walk.

For information, please contact MSC at 207-725-4900 or email mscoffice@midcoastseniorcollege.org.