The Greater Portland Chapter of the Maine Genealogical Society is offering a free online (Zoom) meeting on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 1 p.m.

The guest speaker will be Roberta Ransley-Matteau of the Osher Map Library who will present “Getting By: The Immigrant Working Class on Main Street in Biddeford, 1880-1932.” The program is about immigrant groups, primarily Irish, Greeks, Albanians, and Chinese, who worked in textile mills as well as owning or working in small businesses.

Ransley-Matteau will focus on Dennis Delany as an illustration of the times. Delany came from Ireland and is an example of a struggling immigrant trying to “get by.” In addition to tracing his family, Ransley-Matteau covers his various occupations (baker, laborer, restaurant “keeper”). He usually got into trouble with the law for smuggling rum, organizing illegal boxing matches, and dog fights. He also was a champion boxer. Delany’s activities were frequently reported in the Biddeford Daily Journal, which is where she found plentiful information about him. She will also discuss some organizations that were active during the time, such as the Know-Nothing Party that was regarded as anti-immigrant.

To register for the free program, email gpcmgs@gmail.com.

Camden Conference to host immigration discussions

The Camden Conference and Kennebunk Free Library will host John Sutherland on Monday, Jan. 30 at 6 p.m. at Kennebunk Free Library. Sutherland will discuss Immigration to America During the Industrial Age: 1800-1924.

A direct cause of modern immigration to the U.S. is the Industrial Revolution and the mass-manufacturing of products, the need to get workers to produce those products, and their export to other nations. The competition from those relatively inexpensive goods meant that hand-craftsmen could not compete, causing more workers to emigrate to the industrialized countries. Immigration also has been a controversial political issue since the late 18th century and remains so. Fear of competition for jobs and bias against certain nationalities drives the controversy.

John Sutherland is professor of history emeritus and former director of the Institute of Local History at Manchester (Connecticut) Community College. He also taught at the University of Connecticut and Eastern and Central Connecticut State universities. Currently an instructor at the University of Southern Maine’s Osher Life-Long Learning Institute, he co-authored with Bruce Stave of UConn, “From the Old Country: An Oral History of European Migration to America.”

The Camden Conference and Kennebunk Free Library will host Kathleen Sutherland on Monday, Feb. 6, at 6 p.m. for a discussion that will be a companion to John Sutherland’s Jan. 30 visit.

Kathleen Sutherland will discuss 21st Century Global Migration and Global Trade.

Migration is caused by people searching for a better material life and safety. What is the effect of this migration process on global trade? We look at the late 20th and 21st century picture and in particular the impact of increased migration to the U.S. from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Discussion will also include the economic impact of migration from Asia and Africa to Europe.

Kathleen Howard Sutherland (Ph.D. Indiana University) is associate professor emerita of political science at Bowling Green State University. She teaches at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Southern Maine. She presented a paper on Somali and Sudanese refugees at the Middle East Studies Association annual meeting.

The program is free and wheelchair accessible. For more information call 207-985-2173 or email  kfl@kennebunklibrary.org.

Artist’s reception planned at Speers Gallery

The Speers Gallery at the Kennebunk Free Library will present Seacoast Moderns: Unexpected, an exhibition of new artwork, through Jan. 30.

The Seacoast Moderns are a group of artists from the New England seacoast area, founded in 2010 within the Kittery Art Association. Their work attempts new modes of representation, often depicts unusual subjects, and ranges from abstract to conceptual to whimsical.

The public is invited to an artist’s reception on Saturday, Jan. 7, from 2:30- to 4:30 p.m. Refreshments will be served.

Unexpected consists of over 25 paintings, prints and 3D assemblages, all with subjects or approaches that viewers are unlikely to have seen before.

The public is invited to view the exhibit in the library’s Speers Gallery through Jan. 30 at 112 Main St., Kennebunk, during regular library hours when the gallery is not in use for library programs. For current hours and gallery access, visit www.kennebunklibrary.org.

PFAS forum scheduled at Arundel Town Hall

The public is invited to attend a special forum focused on PFAS, a widely used, long-lasting chemical. It is present in water, air, soil, and animals throughout the world.

The forum will be held on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 9:30 a.m. in the meeting room at Arundel Town Hall, 257 Limerick Road.

Forever chemicals, aka, PFAS, has been used for decades, but came to the public’s attention in recent years when it was discovered in Maine’s drinking water and food products. Presenters will include Fred Stone, an Arundel dairy farmer who sparked a statewide and national debate on the issue of PFAS, Sen. Henry Ingwersen, a leader in Maine PFAS legislation, and Sarah Woodbury, director for Advocacy for Defend Our Health, a Portland-based advocacy organization to promote issues around safe food, water, and climate-friendly products.

The forum is sponsored by the Democrats of the Kennebunks and Arundel. A brief business meeting will follow the program.

For more information, call Democrats of the Kennebunks and Arundel chair, Shaun Donnelly at 347-276-9551.

York County Republicans announce January meeting 

The York County Republican Committee monthly meeting will be held Wednesday, Jan. 11 at Alfred Town Hall, 16 Saco Road. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Topics to be discussed will include the upcoming national and state Republican Party elections for chair of the Republican National Committee and chair of the Maine Republican Party and the role the Maine National Committee members and York County Republican Committee state committee members will play in the elections later this month. All Republicans are invited to attend the informational meeting on this front-page news topic.

For more information, or to be added to York County Republican Committee email list, email communications@yorkgop.org or call 207-468-2395.

Planeteers announce native plant session

The Planeteers of Southern Maine and the School Around Us will host “Wilding Our Places: Connecting People & Pollinators.”

The event is scheduled for 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28, at Kennebunk Town Hall auditorium. The Planeteers of Southern Maine and School All Around Us partnered with the Kennebunk and Kennebunkport conservation commissions on the event, with support from local land trusts and conservations.

Program presenters include SoMePlaneteers, homesteaders, native plant experts and propagators, master gardeners, some certified in permaculture practices and human ecology, rangers working the Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge and veteran naturalists working at Wells Reserve at Laudholm.

The program will feature multimedia presentations that capture the essence of what and how best to cultivate healthy habitat.

Following program presentations, there will be time to visit with information tables prepared with a variety of resources and tips, free raffles, and pledge sheets ranging from “No Mow May,” “Mow50%;grow50%,” ”Go Dark in June for the Birds,” “Leave the Leaves,” and sign-up sheets for native garden tours, seeding, and work parties, as well as joining “Pollinator Friendly Gardens,” “Pollinator Pathways,” “Homegrown National Parks,” “Free-the-Tree” and “Rabbitat Rescues,” as well as “Pesticide-free Corridors and Landscapes.”

Participants are encouraged to attend in a favorite pollinator costume. The event is free to those 11 years and older. Those younger than 11 should be accompanied by a guardian.

For more information, email someplaneteers@yahoo.com.

Astronomical society announces Jan. 6 meeting

The Astronomical Society of Northern New England will hold its monthly meeting on Friday, Jan. 6, at 7:30 p.m. at The New School in Kennebunk. A business meeting, also open to the public, is scheduled for 7 p.m.

The New School is located at 38 York St., Kennebunk.

The January meeting agenda includes: Bernie Reim’s What’s Up for the Month and Astro Shorts, where attendees and members share questions, activities, news and observations.

The Astronomical Society of Northern New England is a local association of amateur astronomers that meets monthly at the New School. Meeting are on the first Friday of each month, all those interested in astronomy are welcome, from stargazers and hobbyists, to serious observers, astro-photographers, and those interested in astronomical theory.

The society also hosts Star Parties at Talmage Observatory at Starfield on Route 35 in West Kennebunk.

For more information, visit www.asnne.org.

Mid-Week Music series features Neil Young tunes

Mid-Week Music kicks off the New Year with “An Evening Without Neil Young (but with his music)” on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. The monthly concerts are held at the Kennebunkport Historical Society’s Town House School at 135 North St.

Guitarist and pianist Dana Pearson will be joined by drummer Ron Breton for this concert of music by the Bard of Canada, Neil Young. There’ll be plenty of popular tunes from Young’s decades-long career, including “Heart of Gold,” “Helpless,” and “Harvest Moon,” as well as a few obscure songs, like “It’s a Dream” and “Silver & Gold.”

For more information, visit kporths.com/events, email info@kporths.com, or call 967-2751.

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