LEWISTON — Dr. Steven B. Rogers presented “Were there German Spies on Monhegan Island after World War I?” Sept. 9 at the LA Senior College Food For Thought session.

Over 90 people attended.

Rogers shared chronological events beginning in the summer of 1915 while the war raged, the Germans attacked submarines, and President Woodrow Wilson encouraged neutrality. Reports arrived in the U.S. Justice Department’s Boston office that there were two German men staying at the Monhegan House and asking questions about the island. One of the men told residents he was an artist, but no one saw any paintings. The other man appeared to fish all day, but no one saw any fish.

The Justice Department assigned an agent to visit the island to investigate. He observed the gentlemen and chatted with them on multiple occasions without disclosing his real identity, but was never able to confirm whether they were spies. Both men left the island by September 1915, but the Justice Department continued to receive rumors after their departure.

Only those who attended Rogers’ presentation can say with certainty what the men were up to.

The next presentation, “Behind the Scenes at a White House Christmas,” will be Friday, Oct. 14. Participants will hear firsthand details of decorating the White House for the 2015 holiday season.