BETHEL – The Bethel Historical Society has announced upcoming programs in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition, “Barn Again! Celebrating an American Icon.”

Maine humorist Norbert Twichell, a.k.a. Peter Gammons, will be featured Saturday, Oct. 8, at Alder River Grange 145 at 1895 Intervale Road following a harvest supper put on by the Grange in cooperation with the Bethel Historical Society. The price of admission to the supper and program will be $10. Those attending only the supper will pay $7 and only the program $5. The supper will begin at 5 p.m. and the program will follow shortly at 7 p.m. Further information may be obtained by calling the society at (207) 824-2908 or (800) 824-2910.

Historian William H. Bunting will be the featured speaker at a special lecture at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, at Pleasant Valley Grange in West Bethel. Bunting has a lifelong interest in history.

Bunting balanced his formal education with time at sea, working aboard traditional sailing vessels and fishing boats. His first book was published shortly after he graduated from college. “Portrait of a Port: Boston 1852-1914” (Harvard University Press) was followed by “Streamers, Schooners, Cutters and Sloops” (Houghton Mifflin). A long-term photo collection and research project in Maine resulted in the two volume, “A Day’s Work: A Sampler of Historic Maine Photographs,” the first volume appearing in 1997.

With Earle G. Shettleworth Jr., Bunting co-authored “An Eye for the Coast: The Maritime and Monhegan Island Photographs of Eric Hudson” (1998). “Sea Struck,” a book about the final decades of American square-rigged sail, was published in 2004.

A maritime historian by vocation, Bunting lives in Whitefield where he raises Durham cattle and operates an agricultural bulldozing business.

During his presentation, Bunting will show slides and provide commentary regarding some of his photographs used in his “Day’s Work” books relating to work around barns and other farm buildings.

Copies of Bunting’s book, “A Day’s Work: A Sampler of Historical Maine Photographs” will be available for purchase, and for the author to autograph, following the lecture. The program is free and open to everyone.

The Maine Humanities Council presents “Barn Again! Celebrating an American Icon,” an exhibition organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and the National Building Museum with the assistance from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Further information about the society and its activities may be obtained by calling 207-824-2908 or 800-824-2910 or emailing: [email protected] Additional information can also be obtained by checking its Website: www.bethelhistorical.org The mailing address is P.O. Box 12, Bethel, ME 04217-0012.