AUGUSTA — John H. Twomey will speak about his recent book, “Retiring To, Not From — From Massachusetts Professor to Maine Farmer” at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 20, at the Maine State Library, 230 State St. A potluck supper is set for 4:30 p.m., the Kennebec Historical Society’s annual meeting and election of officers and directors will begin at 6 p.m.

The talk is the Kennebec Historical Society’s September public presentation, “Intimate Details of Life on a Remote Farm in Maine.”

The discussion will encompass many aspects of life on his farm and his comments will be accompanied by a slide presentation.

Twomey and his partner Leigh Norcott live off grid in a 19th century Maine farmhouse. They raise vegetables, fruits, chickens and brook trout, and enjoy hiking and cross-country skiing on the many trails on the farm.

Their lives include many aspects of life from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. Twomey and Norcott live quietly and in touch with the natural world that surrounds them.

Since 1978 Tomey has worked on maintaining and improving wildlife habitat on the farm’s 125 acres. He will discuss these efforts, focusing attention on his work in the fields, brushy areas and woodlands.

After 37 years as a professor at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Twomey retired in 2009 and moved, with his partner to Montville. There they live simply and deliberately on the farm he has owned since 1978.

The farm operates on solar power, and the couple work together as they produce almost all of their own food, and firewood. An avid naturalist, Twomey has for years worked to maintain and improve the wildlife habitat on the farm. He does so by carefully scheduling the mowing of his fields and brushy areas, by planting, transplanting, grafting and pruning hundreds of apple trees, and by planting thousands of white and chestnut oaks. Having seen farms sold and developed in his hometowns in Connecticut and Massachusetts, he long ago set his sights on owning and nurturing an old New England farm, a traditional home place.

The presentation is co-sponsored by the Maine State Library and free to the public (donations accepted).

For more information, call 622-7718.

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