Events
March 24, 7:00 p.m. – This month we will explore Sullivan’s role in Maine’s achievement of statehood. Please email rsciocchetti@islandinstitute.org for the zoom link.
History Hour meets monthly on Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. Do you have an idea for a program or is there a history that you’d like to share at a future History Hour? Contributions and guest speakers are welcome! Please let us know.
Past History Hour Presentations:
February 24, 7:00 p.m. – Join us for our first History Hour, A Tour Through Time: History of Sullivan & Sorrento in Old Photos. Put on your history hat and join us for a trip through town history and the historic photos in our collection, guided by Gary Edwards.
Watch the recorded slideshow here.
Course description: The course will cover old houses and old house restoration. The small group will meet regularly over Zoom, and there will be as many sessions as are required to (virtually) visit the houses of class members who would like to share. At each 2-hour class session, a participant presents his or her house, and the group works together to learn about and from the house and to solve problems.
This class is for people who have an old house, want to have an old house, or just love old houses–you get to define “old” house for yourself. If someone has an old house and/or is working towards a restoration project, the class could be a good resource as it is an opportunity for one to share his or her house and learn about and from others. Old house lovers without a house project of their own to share may participate in the course, but this should be discussed in advance.
Date/time: Meetings will be determined by the group. The first session will be scheduled once the first person sharing a house and the facilitators are ready.
Course Fee: $80
The Logistics: Class participants need high-speed internet, a computer, and a webcam. We will provide one-on-one support to each participant before it is his or her turn to give a virtual house tour, so do not worry if you are not sure how to lead a house tour over zoom! (We aren’t sure either, so we’re going to figure it out together, and we will hopefully learn as we go.) Some basic options include using pre-recorded photos and videos to share over Zoom and live video components. Support can be provided onsite if this meets the COVID comfort levels of those involved. Classes will be recorded.
Group Resources: What skills or topics would you like to learn? Class instruction revolves around the interests of the participants. (For example, if everyone wants to learn how to glaze windows, we can have a workshop.) Participants create a support group for each other and may find it useful to share questions or challenges as well as tips and tricks they have picked up from their own projects with the group outside of class. We have email to communicate with each other by default and could potentially add another channel such as Slack or Google Chats for more sharing space.
About the Instructor: Les Fossel is one of Maine’s foremost experts on early buildings. His award-winning business has specialized in preserving our early buildings since 1975. He has lectured throughout Maine and the Northeast, including as a faculty member for the University of Southern Maine. For more information on his business, go to www.oldhouserestoration.com.
Les has led hundreds of courses of this kind; the only difference is that this class will meet over Zoom. This means that not only will we all be learning as we go, but also that hopefully we can create a model that can be used in more isolated communities in the future.
Registration is open. Please contact Raina at rsciocchetti@islandinstitute.org.