Winchester kicks off 2025 series

WAUPACA – The Winchester Academy, local nonprofit producer of mind-expanding lectures that are like TED Talks, announced their winter/spring line-up of speakers for 2025. These programs are held on Mondays at 6:30 p.m. in the lower-level meeting rooms of the Waupaca Area Public Library. They are free, open to the public and are provided in the spirit of lifelong learning.
The first is on Feb. 3 with Steven Hendrix and his lecture topic is, “What Makes America Great? The Global Perspective.” Until 2024, Hendrix was the U.S. AID Coordinator for Foreign Assistance at the Department of State. As a former high-ranking government official in the last four administrations, Hendrix will share what he has seen and learned from a global diplomatic career which began in the 1980s.
Hendrix asks and addresses, what exactly has America done that makes it a great nation? What natural advantages does it have? What does it do best? What are some areas where it can improve? From a national security perspective, what do we need to know? This frank presentation will highlight how the world views the U.S., and a few positive surprises that continue to make us a country to be envied, along with things the country still needs to work on from a global perspective.

The line-up:
• February 17: “Wisconsin Black Bears and How We Study Them,” Hayden Walkush, Master’s Degree student, UW-Stevens Point.

• February 24: “Waupaca Foundry: A Global Leader in Metal Casting,” Sara Timm, Director of Marketing at the Waupaca Foundry.
• March 3: “Children’s Library International: Viet Nam, Laos, and Cambodia,” Chuck Theusch, Founder of Children’s Library International.
• March 17: “Martha Washington and 18th Century Women’s History,” Becky Liegl, Educator with the School District of Waupaca.
• March 24: “From Wood to Watercraft: Dugout Canoes of Wisconsin,” Sissel Schroeder, PhD, and Tamara Thomsen, Maritime Archaeologist.
• April 14: “Building the City of Waupaca: The Early Years.” Tracy Behrendt, Director of Waupaca Historical Society.
• April 21: “Door County Shipwrecks: Raising Truth from the Depths,” Brennan Christianson, Collections Coordinator of the Door County Maritime Museum in Sturgeon Bay.
• April 28: “From Mountain Water: The Ancient Art of Japanese Papermaking,” Carol Kratz, papermaker.