Hulls and Hops – A Speaker Series

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23, 2026

Larry Stevenson

The History of Storm Boats and Storm Boat Motors in WWII

Larry Stevenson will present a fascinating lecture entitled The History of Storm Boats and Storm Boat Motors in WWII”. These fast, maneuverable boats played a critical role in one of the war’s most significant river crossings, helping soldiers move quickly and quietly under dangerous conditions. Larry will explore the history and engineering behind these remarkable boats and their role in wartime operations—an especially fitting topic as the New Hampshire Boat Museum will build a Storm Boat as part of its educational programming.

Larry’s lifelong interest in boats and engines is rooted in both personal history and perseverance. He met his wife, Jane Barcalow, while attending Adrian College in Michigan, and together they built a life that took them around the world during Larry’s career with UPS before settling seasonally in West Boothbay Harbor, Maine. While caring for Jane during her battle with ovarian cancer, Larry found comfort in memories of his Michigan childhood, when he saved his lawn-mowing money to buy his first outboard motor. That nostalgia grew into a collection of hundreds of vintage outboards—many gathered during a 6,500-mile journey the couple took together during Jane’s remission. After her passing in 2013, Larry chose to donate much of the collection to museums, ensuring that the history and joy behind the engines could be shared with the public.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 2026

Ernest Thompson

Academy Award–Winning Writer

Ernest Thompson is an Academy Award–winning writer whose work spans theatre, film, television, and literature. Best known for writing On Golden Pond, he has received an Oscar, two Golden Globes, a Writers Guild Award, and a Broadway Drama Guild Award for Best Play, and his work has also been nominated for a Tony, an Emmy, and a BAFTA. Recently inducted into the New Hampshire Literary Hall of Fame, Thompson has written more than 35 plays produced around the world. In 2019, he directed and starred as Norman Thayer, Jr. in his sold-out, deconstructed production of On Golden Pond at the charming Winnipesaukee Playhouse in Meredith, NH, close to where his iconic movie was shot.

Thompson’s newest novel, Out Clause  will be released date May 5, 2026. He continues to write, direct, and act, and will soon direct his long-awaited film sequel, Home On Golden Pond, as well as his timely, provocative, and hilarious indie, Parallel America, in which he will again costar with New Hampshire’s Emmy-winning Gordon Clapp. Through his films, plays, songwriting, and teaching—including the internationally renowned Write On Golden Pond workshops—Thompson remains one of New Hampshire’s most celebrated and influential literary and theatrical voices. Copies of Out Clause and Book of Maps along with the script version of On Golden Pond will be available for sale at the Museum.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2026

Robert G. Goodby, PhD

Paddling Through Time:

The Long History of Canoes in New England

Robert Goodby is a professor of Anthropology at Franklin Pierce University in Rindge. He holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from Brown University and has spent forty years studying Native American archaeological sites in New England. He is a past president of the New Hampshire Archeological Society, a former Trustee of the Mount Kearsarge Indian Museum in Warner and served on the New Hampshire Commission on Native American Affairs. His book A Deep Presence: 13,000 Years of Native American History received a 2022 Benjamin Franklin medal from the Independent Book Publishers Association and the New Hampshire Writer’s Project 2023 People’s Choice Award for Non-Fiction

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2026

To Be Announced