BETHEL — As part of a year-long series of public events, the Bethel Historical Society has scheduled two programs during September.

The society will hold its annual meeting Thursday, Sept. 12, starting with a potluck supper at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will begin at 7:30, during which officers and trustees for 2013-2014 will be elected and the BHS Historic Preservation Award presented.

Following the meeting, Dr. Stanley R. Howe, BHS Executive Director Emeritus, will talk about his ongoing work on the first biography of William Bingham II (1879-1955), a project sponsored by the Bethel Historical Society and supported by grants from the Betterment Fund, the William Bingham Foundation and the Bingham Trust.

The meeting and lecture are free and will take place in the Mason House exhibit hall, 14 Broad St.

The society will sponsor a lecture and book signing by David B. Field, retired University of Maine professor of forest resources, on Saturday, Sept. 21. Field will present a program about the Appalachian Trail in Maine, as it is today and how it came to be.

Author of the book “Along Maine’s Appalachian Trail” (available in the BHS Museum Shop), he has maintained six miles of the Appalachian Trail for 54 years.

He also has served as an officer of the Maine Appalachian Trail Club and on the board of managers of the Appalachian Trail Conference.

Following his lecture, which will begin at 1:30 p.m. in the Mason House exhibit hall, Field will be available to sign copies of his book.

The free program is part of the Bethel Historical Society’s 2013 Lecture Series, “Trails, Trials and Tourism: Capturing the Maine Experience,” which is supported, in part, by a grant from the Maine Humanities Council.

Before or after the program, visitors may enjoy the Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce’s Harvest Fest on the nearby Bethel Hill common.

Members and friends are reminded that the society’s special summer exhibit, “Pictures Serene and Sublime: Traditional White Mountain Art Recaptured,” in addition to the period rooms in the 1813 Dr. Moses Mason House, will continue to be open for viewing from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, through Saturday, Aug. 31.