Learning in Retirement

Summer 2009 Programs

      * Be sure to register for any number of programs of your choice.



GARDEN IN THE WOODS TOUR

Wednesday, June 3, 2009     
New England Wild Flower Society’s Botanic Garden, Framingham, MA

This is the New England Wild Flower Society’s Botanic Garden. Located in Framingham, it spreads over 45 gently rolling acres and is the largest landscaped collection of wild­flowers and native plants in the Northeast. The Garden is a nationally recognized center for native plant education, research, and conservation.

Strolling along three miles of trails, visitors can view over 1500 varieties of flowers, shrubs, trees, and ferns. Tour leaders guide their groups over these meandering trails, pointing out rare plants and views overlooking ponds, brooks, and special gardens. A golf cart is available for those who cannot walk the trails. Highlights of the tour include Garden history, naturalistic landscape design, identification and uses of wildflowers, habitat displays, and native plant propagation and conservation. There is a museum store that sells nature-inspired gifts, books, and native plants.

There is no food for sale.  Visitors must bring any food they require with them.  A picnic area is available.

WHEN AND WHERE
The bus will be leaving from the Sheldon Lot at 9:00 a.m. SHARP.  We will plan to leave Garden in the Woods about 1:30 p.m. in order to be back about 3:30. Price per person will be $40.00 with a 40-person minimum. The bus holds 50 people. We will fill it on a first come-first served basis.

Contact person: Laura Cranshaw 585-1073, or cranshaw50@yahoo.com

Be sure to register for the Garden in the Woods Tour AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE, BUT NO LATER THAN MAY 15, 2009

Reminder:   to register here for any number of programs of your choice.

THE WORLD OF EMILY DICKINSON

Tuesday, June 23rd, 10:00–11:30 a.m.
Emily Dickinson Museum; The Evergreens
280 Main Street, Amherst

A 90-minute tour of the houses of the Dickinson Museum, both the Dickinson Homestead, where Emily lived most of her life,  and the Evergreens, her brother's home. This tour is an introduction to the world of Emily Dickinson with an emphasis on her life and work.

The Museum is located at 280 Main St., Amherst, just two blocks south of the main intersection of Amherst. Parking is available at meters on Main Street. There is free parking on streets perpendicular to Main. Two handicapped parking spaces are available up the Museum driveway. Up to 40 people can be accommodated at the museum.

Cost: $9.00 per person.     

Contact person: Ruth Hooke 256-8441 or rhooke@uww.umass.edu

Reminder:   to register here for any number of programs of your choice.

CHESTER THEATER PERFORMANCE

Thursday Matinee, July 9 at 2:00 p.m.
Chester Theater
Chester,  Massachusetts
 
"Dov and Ali"
By Anna Ziegler
Directed by Michelle Tattenbaum.

Dov is a Jewish high school English teacher and Ali, a Pakistani Muslim in Dov’s class.  A fearless play that tackles powerful world issues from an intimate, human perspective.

Tickets are $24.50 each

Reminder:   to register here for any number of programs of your choice.

NEW CENTURY THEATER PERFORMANCE

Sunday Matinee, August 2 at 2:00 p.m.
Theater 14 at Smith College, Green Street, Northampton

"Arcadia"
By Tom Stoppard

When the play opened in 1995, winning the 1995 Drama Critic’s Circle Award, the New York Times dubbed it “the richest, most ravishing comedy to date.”   Arcadia is both a comedy of manners set in England at the start of the 19th century and a present day mystery of academia and historical research.

Tickets are $21.00 each

Contact Person:  Pat Goldsher  527-8586 or frances.goldsher@gmail.com

Reminder:   to register here for any number of programs of your choice.

CONNECTICUT RIVER CRUISE

July 10th at 10:30 a.m.Northfield Mountain Recreation Center
          and at 2:30 p.m.Hallmark Museum of Contemporary Photography, Turners Falls, MA

On June 10th, we will cruise the Connecticut River from 11:00 to 12:30, have our brown bag picnic lunch, and then tour the Hallmark Museum of Contemporary Photography in Turners Falls. 
The entire day will cost only $ 15.00 for a seat on the cruise. The exhibits and film at the Northfield Center are free and the Hallmark Museum is free. You may join us at anytime during the day, but those who have paid for the cruise must arrive at 10:30 because the boat will leave promptly at 11:00 a.m.  Please, feel free to bring a guest; there are 60 seats on the cruise, and we must have 30 reservations to charter the boat for our specific use.

Cost:  $15      Bring a brown bag lunch.
Contact Person:  Sara Wright  wright.sara@comcast.net  or telephone 695-2925 or 325-4632.

Welcome Aboard Northfield Mountain's Riverboat!
We have chartered the Quinnetukut II Riverboat for a Interpretive Cruise on July 10, leaving @ 11:00 AM (please be there by 10:30). 
We will step aboard the Quinnetukut II and experience the enchanting French King Gorge and historic Barton Cove home to nesting bald eagles and the site of a former dinosaur track quarry. This narrated, 1-½ hour cruise travels 12 miles round trip, along the most beautiful stretch of the Connecticut River in the Bay State. Our interpreter will acquaint you with the fascinating  natural and geological history of the river as you cruise through a landscape that had its beginnings over half a billion years ago.  You’ll learn of nesting bald eagles, migratory fish, log drivers, ice harvesters, mysterious “deep holes”, and river barges— everything from prehistoric river-users, to the generation of electricity on the river. An on-board interpreter narrates each cruise, offering information on the culture, habitats, and natural history of this spectacular stretch of river.

If you bring your lunch, we can all picnic together before we travel on to Turners Falls for a tour of the Hallmark Museum @2:30 p.m.

The Hallmark Museum of Contemporary Photography (HMCP) strives to foster a greater understanding and appreciation of photography as a vehicle for visual expression by promoting recognition of  practitioners of the fine and applied photographic arts. 
When we tour this museum we will see the exhibitions of Peter Brown “West of Last Chance,”
John Chervinsky “Experiments in Perspective,” and  Bruce Myren
“40th Parallel & Other Adventures,” as well as the permanent collection.

The Northfield Mountain Recreation and Environmental Center also features exhibits on Connecticut River history in the area, and a film documenting the creation of Northfield Mountain Station that you might wish to see.

Contact person: Sara Wright  413- 325-4632  or wright.sara@comcast.net
 
Reminder:   to register here for any number of programs of your choice.

MYSTIC SEAPORT
“the museum of America and the Sea”

Wednesday, July 29, 2009
      8:30 a.m.        leave the Sheldon Field Commuter Lot by bus on Rte. 9 in Northampton
    10:30 a.m.        arrive in Mystic, Connecticut
      3:00 p.m.        leave Mystic
     5:00 p.m.         arrive in Northampton               Restroom is available on the bus

“Welcome aboard American history:” Go aboard the last wooden whaling ship, the Charles W. Morgan, which is presently out of the water, beginning a 3-year restoration. See the museum collection of ship figureheads and scrimshaw carvings, and the largest collection of nautical photographs in the world. Visit the world of the 19th-century mariners,  take a ride in a horse and carriage, or in the “only coal-fired passenger-carrying steamboat in operation.”

There is an extra charge for the Planetarium show (navigation by the stars), and for boat rides and carriage rides, but all the exhibits are included in your ticket.

Walking:  the museum is on 17 acres, with many benches placed here and there, and wheelchairs are available on a first-come first-served basis.

Lunch:  a wide range of options for buying a lunch: Pub (bar), Galley (cafeteria) and Tavern, or bring your own and picnic

Cost:  $45.00 each, payable to the 5CLIR office in Mason Hall, Smith College,    Northampton, MA 01060,  by June 30, 2009,  while space lasts

For more information, visit Mystic Seaport at:  www.mysticseaport.org, telephone 860.572.5309.

Contact person:  Kathy Hazen at 586 8352 or khazen@mapinternet.com

Reminder:   to register here for any number of programs of your choice.

BUS TRIP TO TANGLEWOOD

Saturday, August 8, 7:45 a.m.
The bus will depart at 7:45 a.m. SHARP
               from the Commuter Lot at Sheldon Field (Bridge St./Rt.9) Northampton
               and will return to Northampton about 3:45 p.m.

One of LIR’s favorite summer events is a trip to an open rehearsal at Tanglewood.  This year’s program features the Boston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Julian Kuerti, with  cellist Yo-Yo Ma.  The program includes the Perle’s Sinfonietta No.2, Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1, Faure’s  Elegie for Cello and Orchestra and Bizet’s Symphony in C. The pre-rehearsal talk begins at 9:30 a.m. and the open rehearsal will start at 10:30 a.m.  We will have seats in the shed or you may prefer to bring a folding chair and sit on the lawn.

Cost:   $40 per person includes transportation, driver’s gratuity and admission.
Note:  Open to LIR membership plus one guest per member on a “first come, first served” basis.

Lunch:  You may bring a brown bag lunch or purchase a sandwich and beverage at the outdoor lunchroom. 
Some may want to picnic on the lawn after the rehearsal.  In case of rain, shelter may be found in the cafeteria tent.

Contact person:  Mary Franks 548-9487 or franks@acad.umass.edu

Reminder:   to register here for any number of programs of your choice.

ALL-LIR GET RE-AQUAINTED POTLUCK PICNIC LUNCH

Wednesday, September 9, at noon   ( Rain date, September 10)
At the back yard of John and Gail Gaustad’s house
        20 Ward Avenue, Northampton

At the end of the summer it’s time to catch up with old friends and meet new ones.

Potluck:  A – L  bring main dish, bread, salad, vegetable, or hors d’oeuvres
                 M – Z  bring dessert or fruit

                Utensils and beverages will be provided.
                Bringing your own cup or mug will cut down on paper waste.

Contact Persons:  Gail Gaustad 584-9255, gailgaustad@comcast.net
                             Anne Lombard  586-7509,  aslombard@comcast.net

If in doubt about the weather, call Gail or Anne or check your Email

Reminder:   to register here for any number of programs of your choice.

A TREE WALK AT SMITH COLLEGE

September 15 and 16, 10:00–11:30 a.m.
Lyman Plant House, Botanic Garden, Smith College
15 College Lane, Northampton

Janet Bissell, plant enthusiast and Smith Botanical Garden guide, will lead us on a walk around the Smith Campus, introducing us to the amazing variety of trees collected from around the world.  We will see the Cedar of Lebanon, derived from a population in Turkey. Solomon used the cedar of Lebanon to build the Temple in Jerusalem. The Dawn Redwood we will observe was grown from a seed taken from a small stand in Szechuan Province, China, in 1948. This Metasequoia was long believed to be extinct. We are fortunate to be able to view these and other treasures so close by.

Each walk will have a maximum of 15 persons.  We will hold just the September 15th walk if 15 or fewer people sign up.

Cost:   $5 contribution to the Smith College Botanic Garden.

Contact Person:  Anne Lombard   aslombard@comcast.net  Tel. 586-7509

Reminder:   to register here for any number of programs of your choice.

TECHNOLOGY WORKSHOP: POWERPOINT

Tuesday, June 9th   9:00 a.m.– 4:00 p.m. (other dates and topics to be announced)
Room 212 Seelye Hall, Smith College

LIR’s own Technology Committee will offer workshops on Blogging, Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites accessible via your computer. Don't miss this opportunity to improve your computer know-how (and learn new ways to keep in touch with your grandkids). The workshop on June 9th will be on PowerPoint.

Contact Jim Harvey 259-4404 or  jimharvey@charter.net   for more information.

Reminder:   to register here for any number of programs of your choice.