New England Lighthouses and the people who kept them" with Jeremy D’Entremont.

February 5 at 6:30 on Zoom.

Registration is required. (see below)

Everyone knows that there's something about lighthouses that gives them broad appeal, but their vital role in our history and culture is little appreciated. Our early nation was largely built on maritime economy, and lighthouses were part of the system that made that possible. Due to automation, traditional lighthouse keeping is a way of life that has faded into the past. Jeremy D'Entremont tells the history of New England's historic and picturesque lighthouses primarily focusing on the colorful and dramatic stories of lighthouse keepers and their families.

REGISTRATION is made through this link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/hw3WtdJ_SUOBOJkpIn9wGA

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting on Zoom. If you do not have Zoom on your computer, you should download it prior to the program.

The Original Bucky Lew, Basketball’s First Black Professional Player with author Chris Boucher.

April 2 at 6:30 pm at Beaman Library,

8 Newton Street, West Boylston, MA

Harry “Bucky” Lew should be more than a footnote. Google him and you’ll see he became basketball’s first Black professional way back in 1902, but he achieved much more.

In a career that spanned 25 years, Lew integrated every role in the professional game, from player to coach to manager to referee to team owner.

And the Worcester area had a front seat to all of this history. It hosted the initial meeting of the first Massachusetts pro league in 1898 as well as the revival where Lew was offered a franchise in 1915.

Join Bucky's fellow Lowellian and basketball fan Chris Boucher to hear more about the man whose story is only now being told in full for the first time.

The Original Bucky Lew is Chris’ third book. It’s available wherever good books are sold, including on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1613098960

And if your nearest bookstore doesn’t have it, ask them to stock it!Chris Boucher, author of the book "The story of Harry Haskel “Bucky” Lew, Basketball's First Black Professional Player" will speak about Bucky Lew's amazing career. In 1902, at 18 years old, he took to the court with the NE Basketball League, becoming the first Black Professional player in the country.

2025 Spring Programs

Jeremy D’Entremont has been photographing and writing about lighthouses for almost four decades. He is the author of more than 20 books and hundreds of articles on lighthouses and maritime history, and he has appeared on Public Television and other local and national TV and radio. He is the historian for the U.S. Lighthouse Society and hosts the Society's podcast, "Light Hearted." He is a past president of the American Lighthouse Foundation and founder of Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouses.

What possessed a woman from the elite of eighteenth-century New England society to conspire with American and British soldiers to murder her husband at the midpoint of the American Revolution? The story of Bathsheba Spooner has alternately fascinated and baffled residents of Worcester County for centuries. Beyond central Massachusetts, the tale is largely unknown. It was, in fact, the most sensational “true crime” tragedy of the American 1700’s.

Bathsheba Ruggles Spooner (1746 – 1778)was the first woman in American history to be executed following the Declaration of independence.

This program is co-sponsored by Beaman Library and the West Boylston Historical Society.

Bathsheba Spooner: A Revolutionary Murder Conspiracy with author Andrew Noone.

March 4 at 6:30 pm at Beaman Library,

8 Newton Street, West Boylston, MA