July Events in Mechanics' Hall, Laura Webb,Tuesday Book, Carl Senna

July 4th, First Friday Downtown Artwalk, July Artist in the library Laura Webb will open her exhibit to the public-5:00-8:00 pm. And will be on display in the library for the month of July for viewing during library hours. 
Laura has settled in Portland maine and looks forward to showing her artwork around the state.She also has a pet portrait business and accepts other commissions, for more about Laura and her art go to

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/lmwebb.html

First Tuesday Book Club will be on the second Tuesday, July 8th because of holiday conflicts.

   Tuesday Book Club, July 8th-Paris Was The Place- by Susan Conley(Maine Author)

For more about the author and book

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1240463.Susan_Conley

Meeting will be held in the library, 519 Congress St, second floor , elevator accessible. Bring your lunch, dessert and refreshments provided. 

All are welcome, pre-reading of the book is not required, for more info ;library number-773-8396 or e-mail-mcma1857@gmail.com

NOONTIME EVENT in the Library, Weds.July 16th, Author Carl Senna                                                        Carl Senna, author, editor, newspaper columnist and writing instructor will give a noontime talk about his forthcoming book on EMMA EDMONDS. She was a soldier, spy and nurse during the Civil War. After leaving her home in New Brunswick Canada to escape an arranged marriage by her father, she crossed the border to the United States and began a new life of service, intrigue and adventure. For more about Carl and his book go to  http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/author/carl-senna/
Meeting will be held in the library, 519 Congress St, second floor , elevator accessible. Bring your lunch, dessert and refreshments provided. 

All are welcome, pre-reading of the book is not required, for more info ;library number-773-8396 or e-mail-mcma1857@gmail.com

MCMA events in June

First Tuesday Book Club June 3rd

The Sheen on the Silk -by Ann Perry

The Sheen on the Silk is an epic historical novel with a heart- stopping love story at its core, and a deep spiritual quest. It is set in the gorgeous, cosmopolitan and enlightened city of Byzantium, in the twilight years of its Empire. Surrounded by the fierce Ottomans to the East, Saladin and the infidels to the South, the barbarian European tribes to the North and the powerful Venetian Empire to the West, Byzantium’s Emperor badly needs an ally. The city has never recovered from its sack by the Venetians in 1204, and now, in 1272, it’s in acute danger. Another Crusade is being mounted, and Byzantium is in its path.

This is the city into which Anna arrives. A handsome woman with an unhappy past, she has just learned that her brother has been imprisoned for murder. Unable to believe that he’s guilty, she will stay in Byzantium until she can find out the truth and secure his release. However, she needs a way to move freely in all levels of society. This isn’t something she can do as a woman and as a stranger. She will pose as a eunuch; this cadre, while past its heyday, still has power and influence. And she will work as a doctor.

As the future of Byzantium grows ever darker, Anna struggles to navigate the complex truths of her brother’s guilt or innocence, the intrigues of the powerful, long-simmering revenge plots... and the even more perilous currents of her heart and her spirit. Only in Byzantium’s darkest hour does she discover the truths that will lead to salvation for Byzantium and the soaring path to the forgiveness and love of God.

http://www.anneperry.co.uk/books/other/69/

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

Ron Romano lecture on Bartlett Adams,Thursday June 5th at 7:00 pm in the Mechanics’ Hall ballroom

In 1800, Bartlett Adams (1776 - 1828) arrived from Massachusetts to establish Portland’s first stone-cutting shop.  He joined the Charitable Mechanic Association in 1815, and became a Trustee in 1822.  Bartlett made mantlepieces, door jambs and hearthstones, but his more visible impact is at Portland’s historic Eastern Cemetery and other early burial grounds in Maine.  Bartlett and his apprentices are responsible for at least 700 - about a third - of the gravestones found today at Eastern Cemetery.  

Ron Romano is a tour guide and Board Member for Spirits Alive (the Friends of Eastern Cemetery group)and a MCMA member.  He presented a slide show of his original research on the life, times, and work of Bartlett Adams at a well-attended lecture at USM in February.  We’re happy to offer members and friends of the MCMA an opportunity to hear Ron share his findings on Thursday, June 5... 7:00 pm, free and open to the public.

Interview with Ron Romano on CTN-Channel 5 with Lesley MacVane
http://ctn5.org/content/maine-charitable-mechanic-association

June 6th, First Friday Downtown Artwalk,5:00 to 8:00 pm

Steve Hrehovcik ,June Artist in the library and opening his exhibit of Pen & Ink drawings and paintings on the June 6th First Friday Downtown Artwalk.

For more info on Steve Hrehovcik, go to his web site listed below

http://www.kennebunkartstudio.com

May events in Mechanics' Hall

 First Tuesday Book Club,May 6th

Mountains beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder (biography)
“[A] masterpiece . . . an astonishing book that will leave you questioning your own life and political
views . . . Kidder opens a window into Farmer’s soul, letting the reader peek in and see what truly makes the good doctor tick.”
—USA Today
This compelling and inspiring book shows how one person can work wonders. In Mountains Beyond Mountains, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Tracy Kidder tells the true story of a gifted man who loves the world and has set out to do all he can to cure it.
In medical school, Paul Farmer found his life’s calling: to
cure infectious diseases and to bring the lifesaving tools of
modern medicine to those who need them most. Kidder’s magnificent account takes us from Harvard to Haiti, Peru, Cuba, and Russia as Farmer changes minds and practices through his dedication to the philosophy that “the only real nation is humanity.” At the heart of this book is the example of a life based on hope and on an understanding of the truth of the Haitian proverb “Beyond mountains there are mountains”—as you solve one problem, another problem presents itself, and so you go on and try to solve that one too.
“Mountains Beyond Mountains unfolds with a force of gathering revelation,” says Annie Dillard, and Jonathan Harr notes, “[Paul Farmer] wants to change the world. Certainly this luminous and powerful book will change the way you see it.”..............http://www.tracykidder.com/books/mountains/

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 

ZOO CAIN ART EXHIBIT-"Mixed up Media Show"
May artist in the library, viewing -Tuesday, Wed. and Thursday, 10:00 am-3:00 pm

April Events in the Mechanics' Hall

First Tuesday Book Club,April 1st

Any Title by Jane Austen  (our classic selection) @ Noon

Thursday, April 3rd member Lesley MacVane will have a private opening for her art exhibit “2X2X4” on the second floor in the old class room next to the library, 2 Families- 2 Generations-4 Artists. 

Members and friends are invited, exhibit opens at 5:30 pm

Friday,April 4th

First Friday Artwalk and April artist in the library, Tess Morford, exhibiting Ceramics and Pottery.

5:00-8:00 pm Friday and during library hours

 Wed.,April 16, 2014 will be our Annual Members Meeting in our beautiful Ballroom, starting at 5:00PM.

There will be a full program and refreshments, more details to follow!       

Please plan to attend.

MCMA TRAVEL LECTURE                                             

   Monday, April 21st, 2014

       The Heart of San Francisco

Filmed & Presented by-Sandy Mortimer

    The multi-award-winning producer and travel lecturer Sandy Mortimer once again performs her cinematic magic as she guides viewers through one of America's most picturesque cities, San Francisco. Not only does she capture the city's iconic images, from the Golden Gate Bridge, Cable Cars, Golden Gate Park, Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, Coit Tower, Nob Hill, to Alcatraz, but what elevates this program to more than a guided tour is her ability to capture the heart of San Francisco, its people and neighborhoods, its geography of steep hills offering unforgettable vistas of the Bay, its skyline of unique architecture, and a history of moving forward for over 100 years since the devastating 1906 earthquake. Produced by Sandy Mortimer. 2012 JSCA 80 min.

Where?

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

MCMA March Events

First Tuesday Book Club, March 4th

      Any Title by Elizabeth Strout   (Maine author)

http://www.elizabethstrout.com/about/

About Elizabeth Strout  

Elizabeth Strout was born in Portland, Maine, and grew up in small towns in Maine and New Hampshire.  From a young age she was drawn to writing things down, keeping notebooks that recorded the quotidian details of her days.  She was also drawn to books, and spent hours of her youth in the local library lingering among the stacks of fiction.  During the summer months of her childhood she played outdoors, either with her brother, or, more often, alone, and this is where she developed her deep and abiding love of the physical world: the seaweed covered rocks along the coast of Maine, and the woods of New Hampshire with its hidden wildflowers.

During her adolescent years, Strout continued writing avidly, having conceived of herself as a writer from early on.  She read biographies of writers, and was already studying – on her own – the way American writers, in particular, told their stories.  Poetry was something she read and memorized; by the age of sixteen was sending out stories to magazines.  Her first story was published when she was twenty-six.

Strout attended Bates College, graduating with a degree in English in 1977.  Two years later, she went to Syracuse University College of Law, where she received a law degree along with a Certificate in Gerontology.  She worked briefly for Legal Services, before moving to New York City, where she became an adjunct in the English Department of Borough of Manhattan Community College.  By this time she was publishing more stories in literary magazines and Redbook and Seventeen.  Juggling the needs that came with raising a family and her teaching schedule, she found a few hours each day to work on her writing.

First Friday Artwalk, March Artist in the Mechanics’ Library Virginia March-"Art on the Spot".  "If you have a frame that needs new life, bring it in and let Virginia's inspiration fill it with magic."  

Virginia A. March

2014

“I just turned nine on February 4^th.  I love to draw.  From the age of four I would use every scrap of paper I could find to draw on.  I have done a little art in acrylic, oil pastels, and collage but I prefer colored pencil drawings.  My best style of drawings are animated characters.  Although I love drawing my other love is fashion.

My dream is to do fashion or interior design.  I like drawing scenes inside a house.  I love clothes and creating outfits.  Drawing gives me the chance to create fashions, design and have fun.

I hope you like my art”.

MCMA TRAVEL LECTURE
Monday,March 24, 2014 Buddy Hatton presents
“The Treasures of Taiwan”
For more info checkout http://www.buddyhatton.com

“Taiwan hasn’t yet made it to the top of everybody’s “to visit” list, but, it’s partially a result of people not quite knowing what Taiwan has to offer. See what lies on this small island – a world of contrasts and mixed cultural influences you’re not likely to find anywhere else on the planet. Taiwan offers a hi-tech society, a culture filled with traditions and an aboriginal soul. Partial highlights in Taipei: Chiang Kai-Shek and Sun Yat Sen Memorials, Elephant Hill, Dragon Boat Races, Ye Liu Scenic Park, Grand Hotel, Yang Ming Shan Sulfur Springs, Fish Markets, Taipei 101, Shilin Night market for the infamous stinky tofu. Sun Moon Lake; Taroko Gorge National Park; Wulai Hot Springs.”

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 

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