AUBURN — Retiring after more than 30 years in public education, Penelope Jessop has joined the board of directors of the Androscoggin Historical Society.

Jessop is a certified master naturalist and has continued working with students of all ages by sharing with them her passion for learning. Trained as an elementary school teacher with degrees from Westbrook and Wheelock colleges, she plies her trade in the field at Thorncrag Sanctuary as a nature interpreter, where she helped create the Nature Week Summer Program of the Stanton Bird Club; in the Lewiston Public Library with the Book Reach Program and a monthly Nature Program; and as a guide and volunteer for her friends at the Garden, a memory care unit affiliated with Thornton Hall in Brunswick.

She has been an active member of the Androscoggin Historical Society, creating and hosting a program at the society’s Knight House, offering children the experience of daily life in the 19th century.

She has also portrayed, under the tutelage of Donna Berry, a schoolmarm in the 1850, one-room West Auburn School, recently acquired by the Androscoggin Historical Society.

Jessop anticipates exploring and developing educational outreach programs for the society, especially those involving young children.

Penelope Jessop