To celebrate Mother's Day on May 8th, Left Bank Books in Searsport will welcome author (and mother) Glenna Johnson Smith as our fifth Lyceum speaker.  Mrs. Smith's new book entitled Old Maine Woman features the 91 year old lady's eloquently humorous essays and short stories about the complexities, absurdities, and pleasures of everyday life in Maine.  Raised in the 1920's and 30's in the small coastal Hancock County town of Ashville, Smith later married a farmer and moved up north where she had to learn to love life life under the big sky and among the rolling potato fields of Aroostook County. There she taught school and raised three fine sons, one of whom, Mr. Steve Smith, grew up to be a superb high school history teacher at Belfast Area High School.

Thinking about learning a language, but never thought about American Sign Language?  Learning American Sign Language (ASL) can give you the skills you are looking for and the courses are being offered in Belfast this summer.

CSD 101 and 102 (beginner ASL and advanced ASL) are being offered at the UMaine Hutchinson Center this summer, beginning in May. Both of these courses are 3 credit University of Maine credit bearing courses.

Museum Seeks Additional Helpers on Volunteer Day to Prepare for May Opening

 An association of Yale alumni has selected Penobscot Marine Museum as the beneficiary of its annual day of service. The museum has responded by turning the May 14 event into a broader Spring Cleanup & Volunteer Day, with the goal of preparing its campus for opening day.

On May 14, blue-hatted members of the Yale Alumni Association of Eastern Maine will converge on Searsport to rake garden beds, move boats, prep woodwork for painting and perform other tasks. "Community service is an important tradition at Yale," said Steven M. Feinstein, the group's coordinator. "Every year, Yale alumni groups around the world select organizations to assist on the Yale Day of Service. For 2011, we're delighted to work with Penobscot Marine Museum, one of the premier cultural institutions in Maine."