SPRINGFIELD— Henry Duffy will present the OLLI-Osher Lifelong Learning Institute program on Tuesday April 10. ‘The Cornish Colony’ will be presented at 2 p.m. at the Nolin Murray Center next to St. Mary’s Catholic Church on Pleasant St. in Springfield, Vermont.
Duffy is the curator at Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site in Cornish, New Hampshire. He will tell the story of how at the end of the nineteenth century the village of Cornish flourished as the center for Classical arts in America. The great sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens settled here because of the striking natural beauty of the Ascutney region. He became the focal point of a gathering of artists, writers, musicians, political scientists, and even the President of the United States, that came to be known as “the American Athens.”
As curator of the home, studio and gardens of American sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, who lived from 1848 to 1907, Duffy is well versed to describe the historic collection housed there. The artist’s studio contains over 10,000 sculptures and studies. The collection also includes examples of the artist’s monumental work -The Shaw Memorial, Admiral David Farragut, The Puritan, Lincoln, and The Adams Memorial.
The following OLLI program will be two weeks later on April 24, and will be ‘The Granite Cutters’ Story: A History of Vermont’s 200-Year-Old Granite Industry.’
OLLI-Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, affiliated with the University of Vermont, is a local membership program geared towards seniors 50 years and older who want to engage in meaningful learning, “just for the fun of it!” People of all ages are welcome to attend.
The OLLI series programs are selected with input from the local members and carry varied themes from semester to semester including history, art, music, literature, health, nature, science, travel and current events.
Programs are held at 2 p.m. on Tuesday afternoons and last about an hour and a half.
Membership is $45 for the semester which includes 9 programs. Non-members are encouraged and welcome to attend individual lectures for a single program fee of $8. Memberships, as well as single program fees, may be paid at the program.
Brochures have been distributed throughout the area towns at businesses, the local libraries, town halls and Chamber of Commerce offices. The complete Springfield and state-wide program list is available on the internet atwww.learn.uvm.edu/olliChoose State-wide programs from the menu, and then scroll to Springfield.
For weather-related changes to the schedule you may check the above mentioned website or SAPA TV, (802) 885-6248 or call (802) 885-3094.
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