SPRINGFIELD, Vt. – Jennifer Carroll, Education Director of Cheshire County Historical Society in Keene, N.H., will present the OLLI-Osher Lifelong Learning Institute program “Jennie B. Powers: The Woman Who Dares” on Tuesday, March 14, at 2 p.m. at the Nolin Murray Center next to St. Mary’s Church on Pleasant St. in Springfield.
Jennie Powers took a stand against social vices in New Hampshire and Vermont in the early twentieth century. She was a humane society agent in the region from 1898-1936 and arguably the first female deputy sheriff in New Hampshire. Jennie was known across the country as “The Woman Who Dares,” cited by the Boston Post newspaper in 1906 as having arrested more men than any other woman in America. As a photographic activist, she used her camera to document animal cruelty, family violence, and widespread poverty in New Hampshire’s Monadnock region and beyond.
This illustrated presentation introduces us to Jennie’s life story, the work of humane societies at the turn of the twentieth century, and the politics of the Progressive Era (1890s-1920s) from a local perspective.
The weather postponed program from Feb. 28, “Hollywood Vs. Vermont: 100 years of film in Vermont” is re-scheduled for Tuesday, March 21, at 2 p.m.
The following program after that will be on March 28, when Hank Kaestner tells of his travels and birdwatching in “It’s Ghana Be Good,” which is co-sponsored by the Ascutney Mountain Audubon Society.
The programs are held Tuesday afternoons at 2 p.m. and last about an hour and a half. Pre-registration is highly recommended. However, if you arrive without having registered, we will not turn you away. There is a Membership Series Special Fee. Non-members are welcome and encouraged to attend individual programs for a single program fee. You may view the entire semester programs by going to the website www.learn.uvm.edu/olli/springfield. Registration can be done online at this website with a credit card, or by calling 802-656-5817.
If you prefer to register by mail, send your contact information (name, address, phone number, and email address) indicating full series membership or which specific program(s) you wish the attend. Mail this information and your check (made out to University of Vermont-OLLI) to: OLLI at UVM, 23 Mansfield Ave, Burlington, VT 05405. If mailing in the registration, please allow 10-14 days from the date of mailing check to receipt & processing.