Senior College, a movement that began several years ago nationwide, has 12 sites in Maine. The nearest is Western Mountains Senior College in Bethel.

For an annual membership fee of $25, people age 50 and older may sign up for one or more courses during the spring and fall semesters at a cost of $35 each.

Upcoming courses, which generally last six weeks – starting the week of April 14 – include:

• A Planet Under Stress, Seeing Our Lives in New Ways.

• Six Contemporary Poets.

• Senior Writers Workshop.

• What Engineers Think About.

For more information, phone 364-7535 or 824-3209.

Plans are also under way to start a Rumford Senior College. Those interested should phone Jane deFrees at 364-7535

Bluegrass and potluck

The River Valley and Bethel area are home to about a dozen historical societies, some with museums devoted to artifacts from their respective towns, some with items chronicling much of the rest of the state.

All feature speakers during their monthly meetings, with some focused purely on the town, while others take in a broader area of the region.

In Carthage, historical society members and guests on April 20 will hear and learn about old-time and bluegrass music. But first is a potluck supper at 5:30 p.m. followed by the program an hour later at the Old Berry Mills School.

The Rumford Historical Society, which meets the third Wednesday of each month in the Municipal Building, will hear “the rest of the story” from Bill Weston, a retired paper mill worker who will speak about the former Continental Bag Mill, an industry that was phased out during the 1930s because of labor problems and the Depression. The mill is now being renovated into the River Valley Technology Center. The society meeting begins at 7 p.m. April 21.

In Dixfield, a “what-cha-ma-call-it” night begins at 7 p.m. on April 8 at the Dixfield Historical Society House on Main Street. With these occasional nights, members and guests bring old-time hand tools and kitchen tools, photos and other historic memorabilia to share and learn about.

Other historical society programs for April include a “Do You Remember” night on April 10 at the Woodstock Historical Society Museum on Route 26 and a discussion on one of Peru’s early families, Oscar and Amy Putnam, at the Peru Historical Society by Richard Powell on April 13.

Berries, berries, berries

Barbara Murphy, an Oxford County education extension agent, will be back in Rumford beginning April 7 when she will present a series of free programs on growing strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. Some residents took advantage of her expertise a couple of years ago when she led a series of classes on how to grow great tomatoes. The classes will take place from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Rumford Public Library. The April 7 class takes up strawberries; April 14, raspberries; April 21, blueberries. The extension office needs to know how many to plan on so people interested should call 1-800-287-4882 to preregister.

More opportunities

Other learning opportunities for April include a program and book signing by Jennifer Loomis, an award-winning wildlife photographer and author, who will speak at 7 p.m. in Bingham Auditorium of Gould Academy in Bethel on April 21. The program, the final of four in a recent series, in sponsored by the Mahoosuc Land Trust.

Eileen Adams is a Sun Journal staff writer.