Historian Earle Shettleworth will be showing early photographs of Lewiston Thursday.
By Scott Taylor
Staff Writer

LEWISTON – Lewiston Public Library will celebrate its 100th year this spring with special seminars.

The library’s centennial programs kick off at 7 p.m. Thursday with a presentation by historian Earle Shettleworth that looks at early photographs of the city.

“He gave a talk last year to the Great Falls Forum, and it just blew people away,” said Library Director Rick Speer. “This talk is pretty much an expansion of that.”

Shettleworth is director the Maine Historic Preservation Commission. The presentation looks at 75 historic photographs of Lewiston’s architecture, canals and streetscapes in the 1800s.

The library is also hosting an evening of poetry readings performed by area high school students at 6:30 p.m. May 1 and a talk by Kathy Amoroso of Maine Memory Network on May 8.

The centennial celebration winds up in May, with a book signing by Lewiston author Gerard Robichaud. Robichaud’s 1961 novel “Papa Martel” is being re-released this spring and he will be on hand May 15 to talk about it. The book tells the story of a Franco-American family an Groveton, a fictionalized Lewiston. Actors from the Community Little Theatre will be on hand, performing dramatic readings from the book.

Speer said the library will be celebrating all day May 16, giving out cake to patrons.

staylor@sunjournal.com