welcome to the
77th SEASON!
a forum of ideas since 1946
2024 Summer Lecture Series
Join us in the Jaffrey Meetinghouse on Fridays at 8pm for a summer of knowledge, discussion, and ideas.
July 5th
Rob Hannings
America’s Pastime: A Journey Through Local Baseball History
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Baseball, America’s beloved pastime, has woven its way into the fabric of our nation’s history and culture, captivating the hearts and minds of the American people. Rob Hannings, baseball historian, will bring to life the legends and rivalries of our local town baseball teams. He will share memorabilia showing the evolution of baseball equipment, including vintage mitts and uniforms from local teams and players, as well as present-day items. Rob’s baseball presentation will also feature his research on the Nashua Dodgers, where the color barrier was broken in 1946 when Roy Campanella and Don Newcomb joined the team.
July 12th
Annette Polan
Justice Sandra Day O’Connor: A Portrait in Words and Images
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Three days after joining the US Supreme Court, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor hired a fitness instructor and invited the women from her Chambers and a few from the neighborhood to participate in an exercise class in the gym on the Court’s fifth floor. The group included her eventual portraitist, Annette Polan. Thus began a long friendship with the nation’s first female Justice, a pioneer for many who followed her.
Ms. Polan will speak about Justice O’Connor’s upbringing on an Arizona cattle ranch and in Texas, and how her experiences there guided her later when she was appointed to the nation’s highest court by President Reagan in 1981. As one can see from the exercise class experience, O’Connor had a gift of drawing people together, even an instinct for creating a community of people who genuinely cared about each other – from the elevator operators to her colleagues on the Bench. She was also efficient and practical. She had a motto that guided her: “Make the best decision you can with the information you have, and don’t look back.”
Annette Polan will draw on personal and professional experiences to illustrate these and other sides of one of our country’s most influential trailblazers.
July 19th
Nora Suarez Lewis
The Journey from Enslaved to Patriot: Amos Fortune and Other Early African Americans in New Hampshire
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Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us;
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,
Let us march on ’til victory is won.
The Black national anthem, Lift Every Voice and Sing, written by James Walden Johnson in 1900, eloquently captures the solemn hope Black Americans have to one day achieve liberty for all. It is also a poignant nod to the journey people of African descent have taken to be “true to their native land” despite the history of enslavement, racism, and systemic barriers to full citizenship in America.
This talk will recount “the stony road” several Black New Hampshire citizens traveled to realize their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as envisioned for all Americans in the Declaration of Independence.
They served a country that, even today, finds it difficult to fully acknowledge their dignity and equality. And yet, those of African descent chose to give back to their communities by becoming good neighbors, strong leaders, and creative entrepreneurs — exemplary models of civic duty, philanthropy, and love for country — achievements we should not forget.
July 26th
Mark Beckwith
Seeing Beyond Polarization
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Mark’s passion is to invite people to look beneath and beyond their political and theological positions, which in today’s climate of polarization – especially as we approach the November election – can be overly confining and debilitating. He claims that the prophetic voice and action needed today is not to reinforce ideological echo chambers, but to invite people into the mandorla, the Italian word for almond, which is the shape that is created when two circles intersect (think Venn diagram from sixth- grade math). In medieval art, the mandorla represented the intersecting circles of heaven and earth. Today, the mandorla is the intersection between red (Republican)and blue (Democrat); those who favor abortion and those who oppose it; those who think guns make us safer, and those who think more guns put us at greater risk. Drawing on his experience with Braver Angels and gun violence prevention, he will suggest other ways of seeing and acting in these fearsome and contentious times.
August 2nd
Gordon Peery
The Folkway: Fifty Years Out
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In its 20 years in Peterborough, The Folkway presented more than 1,000 performers in more than 3,000 concerts and nourished its patrons with food and drink in a rustic and welcoming setting. Nearly 50 years since its opening, The Folkway remains not only a vivid memory but a continuing influence on life in the Monadnock Region. Hundreds of people – musicians, artists, staff and audience members – have counted The Folkway as among reasons to build lives in the Monadnock area.
After a brief look at what was going on in Peterborough before 1975, we can see how, directly and indirectly, The Folkway ignited an enrichment of already fertile ground. Drawing on the established local arts culture of MacDowell, the Peterborough Players, Monadnock Music and others, The Folkway grew quickly from humble beginnings as a coffee house to an important stop on the national and international folk music scene.
Still, the most remarkable thing is that today, nearly 30 years after it closed in 1995, The Folkway is still a presence. This presentation – a tribute to Folkway founders Jonathan and Widdie Hall and so many who followed their dream – will help us understand how The Folkway came to be part of our lives today.
August 9th
Kerstin Burlingame
America’s Preeminent Sculptor You’ve Never Heard Of: Augustus Saint-Gaudens
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Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907) was an internationally renowned artist,
sculptor, teacher, and leader in American culture. He taught and cultivated other artists, advocated art for all, and brought international recognition to American art. His artistic vision, expertise, and involvement were sought by officials in the United States and Europe. Among his best-known works are the Shaw Memorial, Sherman Monument, Standing Lincoln, Diana, and the 1907 $10- and $20-dollar gold coins.
Join Park Ranger, Kerstin Burlingame, from Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park in Cornish, NH, for a presentation on one of America’s most preeminent sculptors. Established as a park in 1965, Saint-Gaudens NHP is the only National Park Service unit in New Hampshire and the only one specifically dedicated to a sculptor. The park features the home, studios, gallery, and gardens of the late sculptor.
August 16th
Bill Gardner
Will the 60th US Presidential Election be the Last?
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With national polls continually finding half the public lacking trust in the
election results and voters no longer believing it’s an honest process, how long can a free society continue as a democracy?
Starting midway during the first decade of this century, the election process was changed dramatically. The federal government mandated sweeping changes in the conduct of federal elections and provided two billion dollars to the states. It promoted the purchase of modern computer-based voting machines with no paper trail. More than half the country went along. It also required what it called provisional ballots, so no person could show up at a polling place and be sent home without voting. This led to states allowing additional election days both before (called early voting) and after (called provisional voting) the traditional election day. New Hampshire and three other states were exempt from this requirement. The new rules are the reason that the results of elections cannot be determined for days and even weeks after election day. These changes have fundamentally altered how voters view the process, because it is unfamiliar and thought to have little transparency.
Bill Gardner’s tenure as NH “first in the nation” Secretary of State for nearly 50 years provided him with a unique view into candidates, politics and, most important, the election process. He’ll share his many insights and shed light on both the vulnerabilities and resilience of our electoral system.
The Amos Fortune Forum 