Sherry Wilson will present an encore of her talk “Princess Alice: Guttersnipe to Living Legend,” for the Five College Learning in Retirement program. Wilson’s presentation on Friday is one of 12 encore talks taking place between Oct. 14 and Nov. 18.
Sherry Wilson will present an encore of her talk “Princess Alice: Guttersnipe to Living Legend,” for the Five College Learning in Retirement program. Wilson’s presentation on Friday is one of 12 encore talks taking place between Oct. 14 and Nov. 18. Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Each semester a committee of Five College Learning in Retirement selects 12 presentations which are of general interest to the public from the seminars offered the previous semester. Free access can be provided by the 5Clir office manager, who can be reached at fclir@fivecolleges.edu

The latest encore presentations begin Friday and continue through mid-November. The schedule includes:

■Friday, Oct. 14, 10 a.m.: Chuck Aulino leads a discussion entitled “George Thomas — the greatest general of the Civil War?”

Though largely overlooked by history, George Thomas was a standout as a great battlefield commander.

■Friday, Oct. 14, 11 a.m.: Sherry Wilson presents “Princess Alice: Guttersnipe to Living Legend.”

“Princess Alice” was Alice Roosevelt Longworth, daughter of Teddy Roosevelt and wife of a powerful Speaker of the House.

■Friday, Oct. 21, 10 a.m.: Rachel Borson, “Ashkenazi Jewish Cooking.” This was a memoir-style presentation of her culinary roots.

■Friday, Oct. 21, 11 a.m.: Julie Schlack. “Diane di Prima: the Invisible ‘Beat’”

Like her contemporaries in the Beat movement, Diane di Prima both reflected and shaped the cultural trends of the late 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.

■Friday, Oct. 28, 10 a.m., James Lee, “The US and the International Slave Trade.”

An examination of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade from its origins with Portuguese and Spanish trade to South America to the development of an agricultural economy in North America that required abundant low-cost labor.

Friday, Oct. 28, 11 a.m., Jessie Tropp. “The History of Plastics, from Miracle to Menace.” This presentation will give an overview of the good, bad, and ugly of plastics in our world.

■Friday, Nov. 4, 10 a.m., Nancy Eddy. “Harry Hopkins: FDR’s confidant and implementer.” Harry Hopkins, director of the WPA, shared FDR’s commitment to public service and is known predominately for the WPA.

■Friday, Nov. 4, 11 a.m.: Elisa Campbell. “East Broad Top Railroad.”

The EBT is a narrow-gauge railroad in central Pennsylvania that was built in the mid-19th century to haul freight and later added passenger service. In 2021 work began to truly bring it back as a major historic site and tourist train.

Friday, Nov. 11, 10 a.m., Jamie Elkin. “Geometric Art in the Arab World.” An overview of the techniques, history and story behind the geometric art found throughout the Muslim/Arab world, created between 750 and 1680.

Friday, Nov. 11, 11 a.m.: Diane Liebert. “The Shelburne Museum.”

This presentation describes the Shelburne Museum, an eclectic museum of art, design, and Americana, located on 45 acres on Shelburne, Vermont.

Friday, Nov. 18, 10 a.m.: Richard Nicholl. “Growing up in the UK in the 1950s and 60s.”

■Friday, Nov. 18, 11 a.m., Richard Parrish. “Plastics: how they are made and the Petrochemical Industry.”