BETHEL — The Bethel Historical Society will honor Stanley R. Howe, BHS Executive Director Emeritus, on his recent retirement from the society and his 70th birthday from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 25.

The event, hosted by the BHS board and staff, will take place on the grounds of the Dr. Moses Mason House, 14 Broad St., and will be open to the public.

The society’s curator/executive director from 1974 to 2010 and associate director/director of education and research from 2010 through 2012, Howe is a 1962 graduate of Gould Academy. He attended the University of Southern Maine and holds an MA in American history from the University of Connecticut and a PhD in Canadian history from the University of Maine.

Under his leadership, the Bethel Historical Society has evolved from an organization focused mainly on the history of the town of Bethel to one that collects, preserves and interprets the history of western Maine and the White Mountain region of Maine and New Hampshire.

In addition, the society’s endowment, which generates a third of the organization’s operating income, was also greatly increased during his tenure. A writer and lecturer on many subjects relating to Maine history, he has also taught Maine history at the universities of Southern Maine and New England, and served on graduate committees at Wesleyan and West Virginia universities.

During his many years with the society, Howe has been honored on numerous occasions with various citations, including the Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce’s Henry H. Hastings Award for Citizenship and a Gould Academy Alumnus of the Year Award. The Bethel Rotary Club has also recognized him as a Paul Harris Fellow.

Having retired from the regular staff at the end of 2012, he continues to volunteer at the Bethel Historical Society in numerous  capacities, while working on a society-sponsored project that will result in the first biography of Bethel’s greatest philanthropist, William Bingham II (1879-1955).

Several of Howe’s professional colleagues and close friends are scheduled to speak at the Aug. 25 event, and refreshments will be served. In lieu of gifts, he is inviting friends and BHS members to donate to the society’s Annual Fund or Howe Lecture Fund in his honor.