SPRINGFIELD, Vt. – Alan Rumrill, Director of the New Hampshire Cheshire County Historical Society of Keene, N.H., will present the next OLLI – Osher Lifelong Learning Institute program “Yankee Spy! New Hampshire’s Jonathan Hale in the Civil War” on Tuesday, Nov. 1 at 2 p.m. at the Nolin Murray Center next to St. Mary’s Church on Pleasant Street in Springfield.
Cheshire County native Jonathan Davis Hale left New Hampshire to seek his fortune in the mid-1800s. He gained wealth in his adopted state of Tennessee, only to lose it all when the Civil War began because of his support for the Union. Consequently, he served as a spy for the Union throughout the war. His amazing life story is a tale of wealth, happiness, patriotism, danger, loss, and, finally, heartbreak and poverty.
Rumrill has written books and articles and presented over 1000 programs on regional history. He has previously presented programs to the Springfield OLLI group.
There is a Membership 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 or by phone by calling 1-802-656-5817.
The next program on Nov.15 will be “Traditional Hand Tool Crafts, Wood Types and Local Forest History” presented by Wade Smith of the Mill Hollow Craft School of Keene, N.H.