February Events at the MCMA

MONDAY, Feb. 3rd, "LOUISIANA STORY" The last Film of the Robert Flaherty(1948) winter film series held at the MHS auditorium

“Documentary film pioneer Robert Flaherty's last feature is his most beautifully photographed work, but it also proved to be his most controversial as well. Sponsored by Standard Oil, the film can be seen as a paean to the minimal effect an oil company can have on the wilderness it seeks to exploit. Flaherty also picked a cast of amateur players to act out a simple story of a young Cajun boy (Joseph Boudreaux) and his parents living in Louisiana's magnificent bayou country almost side-by-side with a huge oil derrick, so the film's status as a nonfiction film has been challenged.The boy is at first disturbed by the clanging machinery, but the workers at the derrick soon show him the benefits of their labors and promise to leave the land unscathed when they've finished drilling. Aside from the arguable message the film's sponsor promotes, Flaherty's film is a continuation of his lifelong exploration of man's relationship to his natural environment, in such films as Nanook of the North and Man of Aran. ~ Tom Wiener, Rovi”.............Internet source..”Rotten Tomatoes”

The film will shown at the;

Earle G. Shettleworth Jr. Lecture Hall

Maine Historical Society

489 Congress St., parking off Brown St. in the rear of MHS

film begins at 7:30pm, Doors open at 7:00 pm             

Admission- Open to the public, free for MCMA members, $5.00  for non-members and $4.00 for Seniors

First Tuesday Book Club, Feb.4th, 2014
The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein
Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: a philosopher with a nearly human soul (and an obsession with opposable thumbs), he has educated himself by watching television extensively, and by listening very closely to the words of his master, Denny Swift, an up-and-coming race car driver.
Through Denny, Enzo has gained tremendous insight into the human
condition, and he see...more......http://www.goodreads.com    Meeting held in the Maine Charitable Mechanic Assoc. Library at noon.
519 Congress St. Portland ME, second floorElevator accessible 
Bring a lunch; dessert and drinks (tea or lemonade) provided.
All are welcome. Pre-reading of the book is not required.
FMI call Pat at 773-8396 or mcma1857@gmail.com

Friday,Feb.7th-First Friday Artwalk, presenting an on going exhibit of ”Pen & Pastels” by artist Marie Galland-Dodin. 5-8:00 pm and on display for the month in the library

Tuesday, Feb.11th, Notice, rescheduled date is Tuesday, Feb. 18th,MCMA library noon time lecture-”Maine Ski Competitions” by Scott Andrews  from the Ski Maine Museum--Maine Charitable Mechanic Assoc. Library at 12;00 NOON

519 Congress St. Portland ME, second floorElevator accessible 
Bring a lunch; dessert and drinks (tea or lemonade) provided.

Friday, Feb. 14th-”Love Your Library and New Members Party on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14 from 4-7 pm in the Ballroom at Maine charitable Mechanic Assn.  All members and guests are invited; new members who have joined in 2013 will be specially acknowledged by the officers and board of MCMA.  There will be music & dancing, refreshments, historical slide show and door prizes. RSVP desired but not required. fmi call 773-8396

MONDAY, FEB. 24TH, 2014-Travel Lecture

 Doug Jones Presents

“Cruising the Orient on the QE 2”  

     Doug Jones, one of America's premier travel film producers, boarded the QE2 halfway through her World Cruise in Sydney Australia. He sailed with her for 40 days through the most exotic ports of the Orient to produce a new film, CRUISING THE ORIENT ON THE QE2.

       The film begins in Sydney Australia. The QE2 sails from Sydney on to Melbourne and Perth before heading to Bali. From Bali the ship continues on to the exotic island nation of Brunei. From Brunei, QE2 sails to Manila and the Philippines. Then the ship makes its way to Hong Kong, where we travel overland to Xian and Beijing. The next stop on the Orient cruise is Tokyo and the wonders of Japan. Then QE2 heads back to the South stopping in Vietnam, Thailand, and Singapore.

CATHERINE Mc AULEY HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM

     631 Stevens Avenue

           opposite Evergreen Cemetery

     Parking Lot off Walton St.

         7:30-Doors open @6:45

  Wheelchair accessible

 Free to members and open to the public, a  $5.00 ($4.00 for Seniors/Students)donation suggested for non-members or guests.Dvd’s of the travel lecture are also usually available  to buy from the presenter.

FMI, CALL THE LIBRARY AT 773-8396 OR

e-mail  mcma1857@gmail.com

January, 2014 Events

     Artist Marie Galland will be exhibiting  her Mixed Media Art Work on the First Friday Downtown Art Walk Jan. 3rd, 5:00-8:00pm and will be on exhibit for the month January in the library.

            MCMA First Tuesday Book Club

     Jan.7th, 2014-Mr.Churchill’s Secretary by Susan E. MacNeal.

Mr. Churchill's Secretary (Maggie Hope Mystery #1)

by Susan Elia MacNeal (Goodreads Author)

3.6 of 5 stars

For fans of Jacqueline Winspear, Laurie R. King, and Anne Perry, Mr. Churchill’s Secretarycaptures the drama of an era of unprecedented challenge—and the greatness that rose to meet it.

London, 1940. Winston Churchill has just been sworn in, war rages across the Channel, and the threat of a Blitz looms larger by the day. But none of this deters Maggie Hope. She graduated a...more

Paperback, 354 pages

Published April 3rd 2012 by Bantam (first published January 1st 2012)

from-goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10161216-mr-churchill-s-secretary

    Meeting held in the Maine Charitable Mechanic Assoc. Library at noon.519 Congress St. Portland ME, second floor

                    Elevator accessible

    Bring a lunch; dessert and drinks (tea or lemonade) provided.  

    All are welcome. Pre-reading of the book is not required.

    FMI call Pat at 773-8396 ormcma1857@gmail.com

                    JANUARY 8TH, 2014

    The next Quarterly Member Meeting is on Wed., Jan. 8, 2014 at 4:00PM in the MCMA Library.

    We have a lot of exciting things going on and this would be the best way to be a part of it.  Come meet the Board and bring your ideas for keeping the MCMA vibrant.

                Hope to see you there,

                                    Donna Knoblock

                                            MCMA Secretary

    Because of the icy conditions on Dec.9th the film Nanook of the North was canceled at the last minute because of the weather's changing conditions making travel unsafe. And the Maine Historical was very gracious and helpful in rescheduling the film to Monday evening Jan 13th, 2014.

                MCMA Winter Lecture Series

    Monday, Jan.13th, 2014, "Nanook of the North" by Robert J. Flaherty

Nanook of the North (also known as Nanook of the North: A Story Of Life and Love In the Actual Arctic) is a 1922 silentdocumentary film by Robert J. Flaherty. In the tradition of what would later be called salvage ethnography, Flaherty captured the struggles of the Inuk Nanook and his family in the Canadian arctic. The film is considered the first feature-length documentary....................The film was shot near Inukjuak, on Hudson Bay in northern Quebec, Canada. Having worked as a prospector and explorer in Arctic Canada among the Inuit, Flaherty was familiar with his subjects and set out to document their lifestyle.....copied from Wikipedia

Monday Jan.27th, 2014

Man of Aran (1934)

Flaherty's 'Man of Aran'

By ANDRE SENNWALD.

Published: October 19, 1934

“Robert Flaherty, the mellow wanderer with a camera, has made a memorable film out of the tragic and beautiful fundamentals of human behavior in his "Man of Aran," which British Gaumont presented at the Criterion last evening. With the fervor of a poet and the skill of a magnificent cameraman he once more examines the theme which lies close to his heart, the grim and ceaseless struggles of primitive beings to preserve their lives against the crushing assaults of their environment. As in his "Nanook of the North," he strips his new work of dramatic artifice and plunges it to the heart of earthy and basic experience. It is bare, cruel and authentically real; it is ardent with life, and it represents the pure cinema at its best. Expelling everything which is artistically alien to the camera, Mr. Flaherty employs only one ally, and that is music.”       

Internet source

The films will shown at the;

            Earle G. Shettleworth Jr. Lecture Hall 

         Maine Historical Society

    489 Congress St., parking off Brown St. in the rear of MHS

    film begins at 7:30pm, Doors open at 7:00pm            

                Admission- Open to the public, free for MCMA members, $5.00  for non-members and $4.00 for Seniors

MCMA DEC.EVENTS.

  Dec.3rd,2013 MCMA-First Tuesday Book Club

Glass castle by Jeanette Walls

“Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn't stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an "excitement addict." Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever”.....from Amazon.com

The MCMA library book club meets on the first Tuesday of each month in the library at 
12:00 noon, bring a sandwich, dessert coffee and tea provided.

  For more information you can call   Pat @ 773-8396 during libraryhours,Tue.,Wed,Thurs.10:00 am to 3:00 pm, 519 Congress St, 0r e-mail  mcma1857@gmail.com

First Friday downtown Artwalk should be festive with Congress St closed to car traffic.It will be a "potpourri" of Authors and Artists on the second Library in Mechanics' Hall, 519 Congress St.,elevator accessible. 

Featuring Artist & Authors

Joanne Fitzpatrick and her Pressed Flower Cards

Author John Moon-"Portland, Then and Now"

Paintings and Quilt work by Madeline Young
On going exhibit of Liz Potter-"Tree Cookie Art"

Author Rebecca Goodale, Chilren's Books(Island Dog) & Art 

Illustrator Michael Connors

Author Illustrator Patrick Harrison-"Quiet Courage"

Monday Dec.9th@7:30 pm

The first of the  three MCMA winter film series  of documentary filmmaker  Robert Flaherty,showing in a new venue at the MHS lecture Hall-Monday Dec.9th@7:30 pm

North (also known as Nanook of the North: A Story Of Life and Love In the Actual Arctic) is a 1922 silent documentary film by Robert J. Flaherty. In the tradition of what would later be called salvage ethnography, Flaherty captured the struggles of the Inuk Nanook and his family in the Canadian arctic. The film is considered the first feature-length documentary....................The film was shot near Inukjuak, on Hudson Bay in northern Quebec, Canada. Having worked as a prospector and explorer in Arctic Canada among the Inuit, Flaherty was familiar with his subjects and set out to document their lifestyle.....copied from Wikipedia

The film will shown at the;

Earle G. Shettleworth Jr. Lecture Hall   Maine Historical Society489 Congress St., parking off Brown St. in the rear of MHS            

 film begins at 7:30pm, Doors open at 7:00pm            

Admission- Open to the public, free for MCMA members,               $5.00  for non-members and $4.00 for Seniors

MCMA NOV. NEWS & EVENTS

MCMA NOVEMBER ARTIST in the Library

LIZ POTTER 
NOVEMBER 1st,2013

“Liz enjoys incorporating her love for nature and her love for art by painting on pieces on natural-edged reclaimed wood. She affectionately calls her canvases “tree cookies”, and the preparation for them is almost as intensive as the art making. Her work is bright and bold, drawing influence from the Art Nouveau movement, comics, and children's books.”

Friday Nov. 1st
519 Congress St. Portland Me. Second Floor 
Elevator accessible 

Art Illustration- Exhibit opens on The First Friday Downtown Art Walk, Nov.1st, 5:00-8:00pm

On exhibit in the
library for the month of November, viewable during library hours; Tues,Wed & Thurs. 10:00 am-3:00 pm, for more info PH.#773-8396 or e-mail at-

mcma1857@gmail.com or check out Liz Potter at - lizpotterart.com 

Nov.5th,2013 MCMA-First Tuesday Book Club

"White dog fell from the sky" by Eleanor Morse

Meet Local author Eleanor Morse Who will be attending 

  “Botswana, 1976. Isaac Muthethe thinks that he is dead. Smuggled across the border from South Africa in a hearse, he awakens covered in dust, staring at blue sky and the face of White Dog. Far from dead, he is, for the first time, in a country without apartheid. A medical student in South Africa, he was forced to flee after witnessing a friend murdered by white members of the South African Defense Force.
  Walking along the road into Gaborone, Botswana’s capital, White Dog following close behind, a chance encounter with an old school acquaintance changes the course of his life”..........For more info-  

http://eleanormorse.com/bkDog.html

The MCMA library book club meets on the first Tuesday of each month in the library at 12:00 noon, bring a sandwich, dessert coffee and tea provided.

  For more information you can call   Pat @ 773-8396 during library

hours,Tue.,Wed,Thurs.10:00 am to 3:00 pm, 519 Congress St.

                                            0r e-mail  mcma1857@gmail.com

Monday Nov.18th-Travel lecture
“Eastern Canada” presented by John Holod and Jodie Ginter

The Canadian Maritimes are a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. Our video includes the Gaspe Peninsula and Newfoundland/ Labrador for a spectacular adventure that should be on every travelers "to do" list! The video includes: Tadoussac - whale watching - St. Lawrence River - lighthouse history - Forillon National Park - Bonaventure Island and Percé Rock.

http://www.rvadventurevideos.com/videos.php#eastcanada

CATHERINE Mc AULEY HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM

     631 Stevens Avenue

           opposite Evergreen Cemetery

     Parking Lot off Walton St.

         7:30-Doors open @6:45

  Wheelchair accessible

Free to members and open to the public, a  $5.00 ($4.00 for Seniors/Students)donation suggested for non-members or guests.Dvd’s of the travel lecture are also usually available  to buy from the presenter.

FMI, CALL THE LIBRARY AT 773-8396 OR

e-mail  mcma1857@gmail.com

OCTOBER NEWS & EVENTS AT THE MCMA

October Art Exhibit in the library-”COUNTERPOINT”- A two person exhibit, Debe Laughlin & Dorette Amell(MCMA member), after opening on the First Friday Artwalk it will be on display through the month of October, Tues, Wed. & Thurs.10;00 am-3:00 pm

    FMI call the library @ 207-773-8396 0r e-mail @ mcma1857@gmail.com

Book Club on Tuesday Oct.8th(second Tuesday this month), Mother of Invention by Pat Taub the author will be attending

“She insists that her daughter call her Mother, not Mom, because “it sounds more dignified,” yet she also confides searing personal secrets to Pati. There is one secret, however, that Pati does not know. Her mother’s death sets the author on a journey of discovery that she recounts with striking candor and droll humor. Taub begins to wonder if the narcissistic Ice Queen she long ago cast in “that scratchy old movie about The Woman Who Ruined My Life” might be “a figment of my own dysfunction.” The mysteries she unravels about her mother, and herself, will change her life forever.”

 Available at:

Longfellow Books, 1 Monument Sq., Portland, ME
Nonesuch Books, Mill Creek Shopping Ctr., S. Portland, ME
Book Review, Route #1, Falmouth, ME

From- http://www.pattaub.com/the-mother-of-my-invention/

Were you aware that many members and past Presidents of the MCMA are buried at Evergreen Cemetery?

The "Charitable Mechanics" tour at Evergreen Cemetery on Stevens Avenue will be on Sunday, Oct. 13, 2013 at 2:00PM.  The price for the tour is $7.00 per person.

Docents from Evergreen has been doing research at the MCMA Library and were excited to confirm that many members are indeed resting at Evergreen.

Docent and MCMA member, Mary Foley, will be leading the tour and you can see more information about Evergreen and other events on their website www.friendsofevergreen.org

Hope to see you at what promises to be a very interesting day.

Donna Knoblock

MCMA Secretary

Monday,October 28th Lecture and film by Portland Fire Department Historians on three  historic major fires

CATHERINE Mc AULEY HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM

631 Stevens Avenue

     opposite Evergreen Cemetery

     Parking Lot off Walton St.

         7:30-Doors open @6:45

  Wheelchair accessible

 Free to members and open to the public, a  $5.00 

donation suggested for non-members or guests.Dvd’s of the travel lecture are also usually available  to buy from the presenter.

Three events for the month of September

1>First Tuesday Book Club will meet  on Sept. 3rd to discuss-"Wild: From lost to found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed"(non-fiction)

2>September Artist in the library and opening on Sept. 6th for the First Friday Downtown Art Walk, will be-Assemblage Artist-Anastasia S. Weigle, "The Dark Carnival Papers"- Tass was the July artist in 2012-exhibiting-"Down the Rabbit Hole"

3>The first Travel lecture is on Monday September 23, 2013, more info on the lectures later will be available.

Sept.3rd-MCMA First Tuesday Book Club

Wild: From lost to found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed(non-fiction)

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

A Best Nonfiction Book of 2012: The Boston Globe, Entertainment Weekly

A Best Book of the Year: NPR, St. Louis Dispatch, Vogue

“At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life. With no experience or training, driven only by blind will, she would hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State—and she would do it alone. Told with suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild powerfully captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her.”

from- 

    http://www.cherylstrayed.com/wild_108676.htm

The MCMA library book club meets on the first Tuesday of each month in the library at 12:00 noon, bring a sandwich, dessert coffee and tea provided.

  For more information you can call   Pat @ 773-8396 during library

hours,Tue.,Wed,Thurs.10:00 am to 3:00 pm, 519 Congress St.

                                            0r e-mail  mcma1857@gmail.com

http://www.anastasiaweigle.com                         September Artist-Exhibiting

               "The Dark Carnival Papers"

September Artist in the library and opening on Sept. 6th for the First Friday Downtown Art Walk, will be-Assemblage Artist-Anastasia S. Weigle, - Tass was the MCMA July artist in 2012-exhibiting-"Down the Rabbit Hole"

-- For more info on Tass please check out her bio's at the sites below.
Anastasia S. Weigle
http://www.anastasiaweigle.com
http://www.inabindstudio.com          

Monday,September 23,2013

 Marlin Darrah presents

    “Italy; A Journey to Venice, Tuscanay, Rome, Naples & the Amalfi Coast”

CITIES OF ITALY: Venice, Florence, Pisa, Rome, Naples & the Amalfi Coast » Marlin Darrah  Shot in beautiful HD in 2009) Italy is a country with a staggering wealth of history, culture and natural beauty. This filmmaker's journey showcases the eternal city of Rome, the incomparable gondola-laden waterways of Venice, the Renaissance treasure that is Florence, and finally the Amalfi coast, which is arguably the most beautiful in the world - with its lustrous villages and lemon groves clinging to side of mountains cascading down to the Mediterranean.......D in 2009) Italy is a ccultu

presented at the

CATHERINE McAULEY HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM

     631 Stevens Avenue

           opposite Evergreen Cemetery

     Parking Lot off Walton St.

         7:30-Doors open @6:45

  Wheelchair accessible

Free to members and open to the public, a  $5.00 

donation suggested for non-members or guests.Dvd’s of the travel lecture are also usually available  to buy from the presenter.

FMI, CALL THE LIBRARY AT 773-8396 OR

e-mail  mcma1857@gmail.com

MCMA August events

 MCMA AUGUST EVENTS

August Artist in the Library and August 2nd First Friday Art Walk exhibit will be Oil Paintings by Fawzi Hasson and his daughter Maha. Fawzi Hasson, an accomplished painter, was born in Baghdad,Iraq in 1954. He is well known in Iraq for his use of colors and remarkable representation of light.He is the son of a shipbuilder and paints ships with remarkable accuracy.He is a teacher and instructor , he brought his family to America in 2008, coming to Portland in 2013. Fawzi’s daughter has followed her father’s teaching and is now showing her own paintings along with her father’s paintings which have been on exhibit at Mainely Frames & Gallery , at 541 Congress St.

First Tuesday Book club, August 6th-”Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

The MCMA library book club meets on the first Tuesday of each month in the library at 12:00 noon, bring a sandwich, dessert coffee and tea provided.

  For more information you can call   Pat @ 773-8396 during library

hours,Tue.,Wed,Thurs.10:00 am to 3:00 pm, 519 Congress St.

                                            0r e-mail  mcma1857@gmail.com

August 14th noon time lunch lecture

“The White Man’s Grave”; A jungle Journal, a story of Sierra Leone, by Mike Plaisted. 

   Mike Plaisted is a Maine native who attended U of Iowa writer’s workshop and is trying to spread an understanding of humanity through this journal. “Though villagers are different from us we have more in common than we have differences. WE all bleed red”.

Bring a lunch, dessert, coffee and tea provided.