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(Many thanks to Bartlett Woods Board Member and Photographer Roberta Baumann for these two video clips from the party!)
Category: testing for blog page
A 99th Birthday Bash
June 19th, 2026 by Lori SchaferEnglish High Tea at Bartlett
May 11th, 2026 by Lori Schafer
MOTHER’S DAY AT BW 2026
At Bartlett Woods, Mother’s Day was celebrated with grace, laughter, and the timeless charm of an authentic English high tea.
Residents and guests gathered together in a beautifully decorated dining room adorned with delicate floral touches, soft pink accents, and elegant table settings that transformed the afternoon into something truly special. Authentic English tea cups and saucers graced each table, while tiered trays overflowed with traditional treats including warm scones, delicate tea sandwiches, pastries, cookies, and other classic English favorites. UK-born resident Madge lent many beautiful objects from her personal collection, and gave guidance to the staff during the planning process.
The gentle clink of china and the aroma of freshly brewed
tea created an atmosphere of warmth and refinement, reminiscent of a traditional countryside tea service. Live harp music softly filled the room, adding an extra touch of elegance and serenity to the celebration. Residents shared stories of motherhood, family traditions, and cherished memories while enjoying the simple pleasure of conversation around the table.
Staff members carefully prepared every detail to ensure the afternoon felt both elegant and welcoming. The event was not only a celebration of mothers, but also a celebration of community, friendship, and the generations of love and wisdom represented throughout Bartlett Woods.
Laughter filled the room as residents admired the beautiful tea sets, sampled sweet treats, and enjoyed the company of friends and loved ones. For many, the afternoon brought back treasured memories of family gatherings, special occasions, and the enduring comfort found in meaningful traditions.
At Bartlett Woods, moments like these remind us that the most meaningful celebrations are often the ones that bring people together around beauty, conversation, and care. The Mother’s Day High Tea was a lovely reflection of the warmth and spirit that make our community feel like home.
Happy Mother’s Day from all of us at Bartlett Woods.
A 100th Birthday
May 2nd, 2026 by Lori Schafer
Marian Ritch White Celebrates 100th Birthday _ Local News _ midcoastvillager.com
Marian Ritch White Celebrates 100th Birthday
ROCKLAND — Marian Ritch White celebrated her 100th birthday with family on Friday, May 1 at Bartlett Woods Retirement Community.
Marian enjoyed the milestone with family during a luncheon at Bartlett Woods, her cherished home for 11 years.
Born May 1, 1926 in Hartford, Conn., Marian has lived in the Midcoast, most notably Camden, Rockport and Rockland, since 1961.
The luncheon included appetizers, salad, main meal and cake and ice cream. There was a champagne toast to Marian for her distinquished life. The Bartlett Woods’ sunroom was filled with purple balloons, streamers and congratulatory banners and time piece clock, while her walker was adorned with two tiaras and a sash that read: “100 and fabulous.”
The hallway from Marian’s apartment to Bartlett Woods’ dining area were lined with 100 balloons and informational placards that represented each decade from the 1920s through 2020s.
In her lifetime, Marian has lived through the Great Depression, World War II, evolution of transportation, rise of mass and social media, far-reaching space travel, groundbreaking societal inventions, a pandemic and the explosion of technology.
Among Marian’s family members who attended her luncheon were her three adult childrlen, Stephen White of Stonington, Conn., Jonathan White of Rockport, and Sarah Waltz of South Thomaston. Marian’s son, Bruce, of Bend, Ore., and her husband, Dr. Henry White for nearly 70 years, had passed away previously.
Other family members at the celebratory luncheon were grandson Brandon, granddaughter-in-law Hannah and great granddaughter Audrey Waltz (age 7) of Turner; grandson Nathan White and his partner Nina Torres of Wilton, Conn.; grandson Parker White of Denver, Colo.; daughter-in-law Maggie White of Stonington, Conn.; and son-in-law Ken Waltz of South Thomaston.
Marian also enjoyed a breakfast in her honor with other Bartlett Woods residents and staff the morning of her special day. Many residents and staff wore purple, Marian’s favorite color.
Marian was the first woman to serve on the Camden School Board (education and music/arts were among the most important aspects of her life, she said) and has been involved with many area organizations and clubs over the years, including the Congregational Church in Camden, Camden Yacht Club and Megunticook Tennis and Golf Club.
Sailing, tennis and classical/choral music have been among her passions during her 100 years of life.
New Board, Full Board
April 25th, 2026 by Lori Schafer
Bartlett ART TALK
April 8th, 2026 by Lori Schafer
Janice Kasper BOLD COAST
Art at Bartlett presents . . .
BARTLETT ART TALK: Janice Kasper
Wednesday, April 22nd (Earth Day!), 10am
at Bartlett Woods Retirement Community in Rockland
The first BARTLETT ART TALK of the 2026 season at Bartlett Woods Retirement Community is slated for Wednesday, April 22nd, at 10am with long-time Maine environmental painter JANICE KASPER. The Art Talk is associated with the current exhibition, “CHICKADEES, ALLIGATORS AND STONEHENGE,” which features contemporary works by painters Janice Kasper, along with Cicely Aikman and photographer Dirk McDonnell. All works are on loan from Caldbeck Gallery, Rockland. Open to the public, the Art Talk is free. Located at 20 Bartlett Drive (just off Talbot Avenue between Broadway and Old County Road), the non-profit retirement community continues its commitment to its Art at Bartlett Program through hosting this special event.
About Janice Kasper:
“My work is directly related to my growing concern over the protection of wildlife and wild lands in Maine” – Janice Kasper
Janice Kasper paints powerfully simple, dramatic oils that represent the repullulating intrusion of man and his technologies upon nature. D. Dominick Lombardi wrote in the New York Times on 09/27/00 that Janice Kasper “can be loosely described as Georgia O’Keeffe with a cause”. Her poignant sense of irony adds an aura of accessibility to her work. Kasper has a BFA in Painting from the University of Connecticut. She has studied with the Artist-in-Residence at Unity College (Leonard Craig) and at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Her work is in collections around the country, including the Portland Museum of Art in Portland, ME, the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, ME, and the Hitchcock Collection at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. A few of her most recent solo and group exhibitions include the O’Farrell Gallery formerly of Brunswick, ME, the Katonah Museum of Art in Katonah, NY, and the L.C. Bates Museum in Hinckley, ME. She received several grants including an Artist Resource Trust Grant, a Maine Percent for Art commission and a Good Idea Grant from the Maine Arts Commission. She has been with the Caldbeck Gallery in Rockland since 1993. Kasper has been published in 8 books and museum catalogues. In 2007, Janice received an artist-in-residence position at Denali National Park in Alaska. She was an artist-in-Residence at Isle Royale National Park in 2009. For further information about Janice, contact: Caldbeck Gallery, 12 Elm Street
Rockland, Maine 04841 tel. 207.594.5935 info@caldbeck.com.
Janice Kasper WINTER DEER
Janice Kasper sketching in the bone yard on Isle Royale National Park, Michigan; photo by Bob Brooks.
Ode to our friends at The Strand Theatre, by KO
March 10th, 2026 by Lori Schafer
CHICKADEES, ALLIGATORS AND STONEHENGE come to Bartlett in March!
March 2nd, 2026 by Lori SchaferThe first new art show of the 2026 season at Bartlett Woods Retirement Community opens on Friday, March 20th, with a reception from 4-6pm. “CHICKADEES, ALLIGATORS AND STONEHENGE” will feature contemporary works by painters Janice Kasper and Cicely Aikman, and photographer Dirk McDonnell. Open to the public, the exhibition will run through August 28, 2026. Located at 20 Bartlett Drive (just off Talbot Avenue between Broadway and Old County Road), the non-profit retirement community continues its commitment to its Art at Bartlett Program through hosting this new exhibition, (on loan from Caldbeck Gallery). Free and open to the public, Sun-Fri, 8am to 5pm.
About the Artists:
Cicely Aikman (American 1923-2013). Born in Texas, where she lived until the age of six, Aikman spent her childhood in Los Angeles – a child of the west – before going to high school in Washington D.C. She studied at the Corcoran School of Fine Arts (1938-40), the University of Chicago (1940-42), and the Art Student League with mentor Morris Cantor (1942-1946). Aikman reflected “This was a serious art education – our only regret was that due to World War ll, we could not go to Europe, in particular to Paris to see, first-hand, the works of Picasso and Matisse.”
After the war, Aikman traveled to Italy by boat with her young son, Paul, and lived in bohemian circles with others, drawn like Aikman, to the cultural life in Rome, Paris and elsewhere. Back in New York, Aikman began showing her work along with her downtown peers, among them Lois Dodd, Rudy Burkhardt and Gretna Campbell at the Pyramid Gallery. In the forties and fifties, Aikman painted winters in the city and summers in Provincetown, MA. She exhibited in New York with Green Mountain Gallery, the Blue Mountain Gallery, the Artists’ Gallery, the Westbeth Gallery, and with the Provincetown Art Association, while raising her son and holding down a series of jobs. She moved to Maine in 1973 with her second husband, Fred Scherer, whom she had met through her work at the Museum of Natural History in New York. Aikman began to show at Caldbeck Gallery in 1990. Her work has been exhibited in numerous galleries and museums, including the Farnsworth Art Museum, The Portland Museum of Art, the Center for Maine Contemporary Art and Roundtop Center for the Arts. Her work “January”, was included in WINTER IN MAINE by Carl Little, published by Down East Books. Aikman maintained a vigorous studio practice, splitting her time between Friendship, Maine and the Indian River in Florida. In 2005, Aikman and Scherer moved to Brattleboro, Vermont where they continued to live and work until 2013. https://www.cicelyaikman.com/
Janice Kasper “My work is directly related to my growing concern over the protection of wildlife and wild lands in Maine” – Janice Kasper
Janice Kasper paints powerfully simple, dramatic oils that represent the repullulating intrusion of man and his technologies upon nature. D. Dominick Lombardi wrote in the New York Times on 09/27/00 that Janice Kasper “can be loosely described as Georgia O’Keeffe with a cause”. Her poignant sense of irony adds an aura of accessibility to her work. Kasper has a BFA in Painting from the University of Connecticut. She has studied with the Artist-in-Residence at Unity College (Leonard Craig) and at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Her work is in collections around the country, including the Portland Museum of Art in Portland, ME, the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, ME, and the Hitchcock Collection at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. A few of her most recent solo and group exhibitions include the O’Farrell Gallery formerly of Brunswick, ME, the Katonah Museum of Art in Katonah, NY, and the L.C. Bates Museum in Hinckley, ME. She received several grants including an Artist Resource Trust Grant, a Maine Percent for Art commission and a Good Idea Grant from the Maine Arts Commission. She has been with the Caldbeck Gallery in Rockland since 1993. Kasper has been published in 8 books and museum catalogues. In 2007, Janice received an artist-in-residence position at Denali National Park in Alaska. She was an artist-in-Residence at Isle Royale National Park in 2009.
Dirk McDonnell (American 1952- 2021) Dirk McDonnell started photographing in the mid-80s with his 35mm camera when he travelled extensively through Mexico. His “historiographic photographs have clarity, emotional depth and edge”, wrote Philip Isaacson in the Maine Sunday Telegram.
McDonnell also traveled to photograph life in a number of disparate places, including Turkey, Holland, England, Italy, France, Ireland, and China. He also concentrated on photographing the Maine landscape in winter, usually working with a large format camera which enabled him to manipulate the image while shooting. He is also represented by Robert Klein Gallery in Boston. Later, McDonnell photographed in Argentina, Death Valley and the Isle of Skye. He worked with digital media. He is in the permanent collection of the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, ME, The Georgia O’Keefe Museum in Santa Fe, NM, the Portland Museum of Art, Bravo Center, Oaxaca, Mexico, The Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, IL, Colby College Art Museum, The Norma Marin Collection at Smith Wellesley, the University of Maine, Machias, ME, the Bruce Brown Collection at the Portland Museum of Art and the New Orleans Museum of Art. McDonnell showed at Colby College in Waterville, the University of New England at Westbrook College, the University of Maine at Machias, at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art, formerly in Rockport, ME and at 162 Gallery, Rockport ME. McDonnell’s work can also be seen at www.dirkmcdonnell.net
For further information at the artists, contact: Caldbeck Gallery, 12 Elm Street, Rockland, Maine 04841 tel 207.594.5935 info@caldbeck.com.
Review of JAZZ GIN MONEY & MURDER
February 13th, 2026 by Lori Schafer
A Roaring Good Time at Bartlett Woods: Residents Step Back into the 1920s for Murder Mystery Night
On February 5, 2026, Bartlett Woods Retirement Community was transformed into a scene straight out of the Roaring Twenties as residents donned feathers, pearls, fedoras, and bow ties to take part in a lively 1920s-themed murder mystery event.
The immersive evening invited residents to step into character, bringing to life a cast of colorful suspects and sleuths. From flapper dresses adorned with fringe and beads to sharp vests and bowler hats, the attention to detail reflected both creativity and enthusiasm. Each participant embraced a role, complete with character names, backstories, and plenty of dramatic flair.
Just as the mystery was unfolding, the evening took an unforgettable turn. Local, internationally renowned mystery writer Tess Gerritsen surprised both the cast and attendees by arriving in character as the evening’s detective. Stepping seamlessly into the storyline, Gerritsen led the investigation, questioned suspects, examined clues, and ultimately brought the culprit to justice—much to the delight of everyone in attendance.
Gasps, laughter, and applause followed as residents realized they were being investigated by one of the world’s most celebrated mystery authors. Her unexpected appearance elevated the experience, blending professional storytelling with community theater in a way few will soon forget.
Throughout the night, laughter echoed through Bartlett Woods as clues were exchanged, alibis questioned, and playful accusations flew. The event encouraged collaboration and conversation, drawing residents together as they worked to solve the mystery while enjoying the theatrical experience.
Beyond the fun of the whodunit, the evening highlighted the strong sense of community at Bartlett Woods. Residents supported one another in costume preparation, character development, and performance, creating an atmosphere that was both festive and inclusive.
Staff members praised the event as a wonderful example of active engagement and creative expression. “Seeing everyone so involved, laughing, and truly committing to their roles was incredibly special,” one organizer shared. “And having Tess Gerritsen join us as the detective made the night truly extraordinary.”
As the mystery was solved and the evening drew to a close, one thing was clear: Bartlett Woods knows how to throw a party worthy of the Jazz Age. The 1920s murder mystery will undoubtedly be remembered as a standout event—proof that imagination, community spirit, and a little drama never go out of style.
JAZZ, GIN, MONEY & MURDER on 2/5/26
February 4th, 2026 by Lori Schafer
Dinner Theatre comes to Bartlett Woods on February 5, 2026
JAZZ, GIN, MONEY & MURDER, an inhouse production organized by Bartlett Woods’ Activities Department and starring over twenty Bartlett residents, will take place during the noon time meal at Bartlett Woods on Thursday, February 5th.
A 1920s murder mystery is the theme, with lots of shady and glamourous characters a la The Great Gatsby style. Sassy costumes, realistic props, and a “who dun nit” suspenseful script will all be set in the “mansion” dining room during a special, multi-course 1920s elegant feast prepared by Chef Aaron and his Bartlett Kitchen Team.
Upwards of 1/3 of the Bartlett residents are taking part, many of whom have a passion for theatre, or even years of practice in the performing arts. Talented artists and writers are also among the production crew. There has been much excitement for weeks, over costumes, character development, and the great many other details of such a production.
This event, another example of the mission of “Art at Bartlett,” promises to be wildly entertaining and definitely memorable. Unfortunately, the event is not open to the public, just our Media Friends! For more information, please reach out Activities Director Amy Sabins at 207 593 1428 or asabins@bartlettwoods.com; also Executive Director Kelly Osborn at 207 593 1259 or kosborn@bartlettwoods.com.
Publicity for FAMILY MATTERS closing reception
January 20th, 2026 by Lori Schafer
