JEFFERSON — Marie Sacks, of Whitefield, will present the Jefferson Historical Society program “Circle of Friends,” Wednesday, May 16, at the Jefferson Fire and Rescue Building on Route 32. A short business meeting will precede the program at 7 p.m.

The presentation will feature a story about a group of professional performing artists and musicians who settled on the banks of Clary Lake in the early 1900s. Some of the other artists were Percy Hunt, baritone and husband of Katharine Ridgeway; F. Morse Wemple and George Fergusson, who taught voice with Hunt at the New England Conservatory of Music; and Crawford Peffer and his wife, Ella Harding. Peffer owned the New York and New England Redpath Lyceum and Chautauqua Circuits. Ridgeway and Harding later went on to establish the Katharine Ridgeway Camp for Girls on the Northern side of the lake.

Jefferson resident Katharine Ridgeway was one of several well-known performing artists which will be discussed at the May 16 meeting of the Jefferson Historical Society. Here, her performance for the Redpath Lyceum Bureau in the season of 1899-1901 in Boston, Chicago and New York, is advertised in this poster. Contributed photo

The building is handicapped accessible and refreshments will be offered after the program.

For more information, call 549-5258 or 549-5592.