BETHEL — The Bethel Historical Society on Tuesday announced its lineup of programs for the first half of the year.

According to a news release, in observance of Women’s History Month, the society will invite local historian and author Annette Vance Dorey to speak “about the lives and careers of more than 250 Maine women who had a passion for healing.”

Her talk is set for 2 p.m. March 29 at the Dr. Moses Mason House. She will sign copies of her book, “Miss Dr. Lucy” and Maine’s Pioneering Female Physicians, 1850s to 1920.

In April, the society will celebrate the 100th birthday of U.S. Sen. Edmund S. Muskie, a native of Rumford. A program and book-signing by author Jim Witherell, who wrote a biography of Muskie, will be included.

The society will also invite Pam Weeks, curator of the New England Quilt Museum, to speak at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 26, about the quilts used by soldiers during the Civil War. She will sign copies of her book, “Civil War Quilts,” which contains more than 170 photos of quilts.

Weeks’ presentation will precede the society’s summer exhibit, “Stitched Together in Time and Place: Valentine Family Quilts.” The exhibit will feature quilts owned by the Valentine family of Bethel.

The society will also host its annual Fourth of July Community Picnic and Concert at the Dr. Moses Mason House at 11:30 a.m. It will include a two-hour concert by the Portland Brass Quintet.

For more information on programs, visit bethelhistorical.org.

mdaigle@sunjournal.com