The Winchester Academy

In March of 2017 I was contacted by representative the Winchester Academy, a lifelong learning society, now based in Waupaca, Wisconsin.  The group was founded in Winchester by retired faculty from UW-O and was based on the Scandinavian folk academies.  I was asked if I would give a presentation on William Waters and I accepted the offer.  The date of the presentation was set for July 31, 2017 which meant I had to get busy.  I started by making up outlines and doing more research, but the bulk of the information would come from my blog.  I tried my hand at a power point presentation and found I was inept at it, so I asked my wife for help and she came up with a beauty.

                        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0shJ_XFqpQ
The day of the show arrived, and my wife and I set off for Waupaca so as to be there at four PM.  We checked at the library and met our contact, got the equipment set up and ran a test of the power point, all was ready.  We then went to dinner at a fine restaurant down the street.  Some of the board members were there as well as other interested folks.  One fellow introduced himself to me as Joe Jones and I looked closely at his face.  He was an old college friend with whom I’d done a few shows with but hadn’t seen in years.  The meal was great with lively conversation and opportunity to make new acquaintances.  Afterword we all adjourned to the library for the evening’s program.  The room filled quickly to near capacity, Joe Jones gave a warm introduction, the lights dimmed, and the show was on.  I launched into it with confidence and managed to go on for the better part of an hour, at the end the audience asked questions and some spirted discussion ensued. After the show I met other people, some of whom I had contact with through my research and one fellow I went to grade school with.  I later found out that the presentation was their best attended program of the year.