OTISFIELD — Bell Hill Meetinghouse Association’s 103rd annual meeting will be held at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, July 31, at the meetinghouse atop Bell Hill.

This year’s speaker will be Kevin Hancock, president and chief executive officer of Hancock Lumber Co. and author of “Not for Sale — Finding Center in the Land in Crazy Horse.” Hancock will discuss the Native American culture that set him on a different life course.

Several years ago, at a time when an economic depression was threatening his business, Hancock developed a rare throat condition which permanently affected his speaking ability. At about the same time, he coincidentally decided to visit an Ogala Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. There he became so involved with the people and their culture that he eventually visited on eight more occasions.

In his talk, Hancock will explain how both holistic medical treatment and his experiences with the new culture turned his physical handicap into an asset and changed his life. Copies of his book will be on sale, and he will sign them.

Music for the afternoon will be provided by the Bell Hill Community Singers, composed of singers from the surrounding communities, with Priscilla Delehanty directing and Virginia Noble accompanying. The program will include congregational singing and a prayer for the day.

An ice cream social will follow on the common, featuring Al Haggerty’s hot fudge sauce. The 1839 schoolhouse adjacent to the meetinghouse will be open for the afternoon. Guests are welcome to examine the exhibits inside and to experience what it was like to be a student in an eighth-grade schoolhouse more than 170 years ago.

Both the Bell Hill Meetinghouse and the Bell Hill Schoolhouse are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Bell Hill Meetinghouse Association, established in 1927, owns both buildings.

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