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The 2023-2024 season of the Great Falls Forum continues Thursday, March 21^st, featuring Pat Webber, Director of the Edmund Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library at Bates College, with a talk entitled “Bates and Lewiston: The Early Years.” This free, public program will take place from 12 noon to 1 PM in Callahan Hall at the Lewiston Public Library.

According to Webber, this talk will be of interest to anyone who is curious about the history of Bates and why Lewiston was chosen as the home for the school. Using pictures to tell stories about the growth of Bates and Lewiston over the years, Webber will highlight the path Bates has forged and some of the key players who made it happen.

Pat Webber is an archivist and the Director of the Edmund Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library at Bates College, where he has been for nearly 18 years. Prior to that he worked in the archives at North Carolina State University. Born and raised in Virginia, since moving to Maine he has developed an interest in local history and has slowly built a tolerance for winter weather. He lives in Lewiston with his wife and two regal cats.

Admission is free to all Forum events and reservations are only required if attending via Zoom. The Zoom link will be posted to the Library website and Facebook prior to the event. This program is a bring-your-own, brown-bag lunch event. Coffee, tea and bottled water will be available on site at the library.

The Great Falls Forum speaker series is co-sponsored by Bates College, Lewiston Public Library, and the Sun Journal. The Lewiston Public Library is located downtown at 200 Lisbon Street at the corner of Pine Street. More information on Thursday’s lecture is available by contacting the Lewiston Public Library at 513-3135 or LPLReference@lewistonmaine.gov.