Friends of Merrymeeting Bay (FOMB) holds its Annual Meeting on Wednesday, January 14th, 6:00pm at Bowdoin College’s Cram Alumni Hall. The event is free and begins with a potluck supper. Community members are encouraged to bring a dish to share. A brief business meeting and elections follow at 6:30. At 7:00pm historian Jay Robbins will close the evening with a multimedia presentation entitled Steve Powell’s World of Wildlife: In Film & Photo as part of FOMB’s 18th annual Winter Speaker Series.

Steve Powell served as the local Zone Biologist for the Department of Inland Fisheries and Game (now IF&W) and eventually rose to oversee all the Wildlife Management Areas in Maine. He hunted with Governor Muskie and entertained thousands at sportsman's shows. A trapper and outdoorsman, Steve lived in a world of wildlife. In 1968 Steve retired from State service to live out the rest of his life on Green Point Farm in Dresden.

Thankfully, Steve left behind over 11 hours of silent film and over 600 still images documenting his experiences. His nephew, Bob Gleason, turned these films, photos, and boxes of files over to Dr. Charles Burden and Jay Robbins in 2012 for preservation and eventual placement with the State Archives. The films are being fully conserved and digitized, the photos scanned, and the files archived.

Local historian, Jay Robbins of Richmond, will narrate this presentation. He is Bowdoin College's first Environmental Studies graduate (1973), a former Richmond Town Manager, served FOMB on the Steering Committee (1995-2000) and as an archaeologist for Bay Day since 1999. Jay is a frequent lecturer on various local history topics and is a former Executive Director of the Lincoln County Historical Association. He is currently President of the Friends of Swan Island and of the Arnold Expedition Historical Society.

FOMB hosts monthly lectures, film screenings, and other events around the Merrymeeting Bay area through May 2015 as part of our Winter Speaker Series. They are always free and open to the public and supported by Patagonia, Inc. in Freeport. All events are on the second Wednesday of the month at 7:00pm at Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick unless otherwise noted. Next month’s presentation, Chimney Farm: Words from the Watershed, features poet Gary Lawless and takes place on February 11th, 2015.
Visit www.fomb.org to see the full Speaker Series schedule, become a member, and learn more about how you can help protect beautiful Merrymeeting Bay.

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