BETHEL – The annual Fund Committee of the Bethel Historical Society, chaired by John B. Head with members Arlan Jodrey, Dorothy Bartlett, Alden Kennett and June Abbott, has announced that the society has passed the $21,000 level from more than 300 donors.

Annual fund donations support the society’s programming and operations and are welcome in any amount throughout the year. Anyone wishing to make a tax- deductible donation may send it to the society at P.O. Box 12, Bethel, ME 04217-0012.

The society held a valuation day recently. For a $5 donation, Jay Boschetti of Steam Mill Antiques provided a value for one or two items a person. He donated all fees to the society.

The final lecture in the 2007 series, “Maine Character and Character,” sponsored in part by a grant from the Maine Humanities Council, was held on Nov. 8 in the meeting room of the Dr. Moses Mason House.

Society Director Stanley R. Howe presented a centenary profile of Elizabeth Mason Carter and provided some insights into her personality and contributions to the community and beyond. There also was a discussion following the lecture as the audience shared their memories of the Bethel native who lived nearly 100 years.

Social worker, community organizer, publicist, insurance agent, animal welfare advocate and volunteer, political and elder care activist, Carter was a founder of the Bethel Historical Society and the National Kimball Family Association. She also worked for the USO during World War II and the Maine Publicity Bureau during the 1950s, where she became familiar with Maine’s geography.

Howe noted that she left behind numerous memoirs and personal papers that will be of interest to local and regional historians in the future.

For more information about the society, call 824-2908 or 800-824-2910, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.bethelhistorical.org.