WESTMINSTER — Author, storyteller, and public broadcasting commentator Willem Lange will speak on “Aging with Humor” on Tuesday, Sept. 17, at the Westminster Institute on Route 5.
Lange's appearance, the final talk at the Institute's “Speaking of Aging” series, is presented by Westminster Cares to help celebrate its 25th anniversary.
Lange will speak at 6 p.m. His talk is free, but donations are welcome. Light refreshments will be served at 5:30 p.m.
Born in 1935, Lange has worked as a ranch hand, Adirondack guide, preacher, construction laborer, bobsled run announcer, assembly line worker, cab driver, bookkeeper, and bartender.
Director of the Dartmouth Outward Bound Center from 1972 until retirement in 2007, Willem also was a building and remodeling contractor in Hanover, N.H.
In 1973 Lange founded the Geriatric Adventure Society, a group of outdoor enthusiasts who have skied the 200-mile Alaska Marathon; climbed in Alaska, the Andes, and Himalayas; bushwhacked on skis through northern New England; and paddled rivers north of the Arctic Circle.
He began writing a weekly newspaper column, “A Yankee Notebook,” in 1981, and is commentator or host for Vermont Public Radio and both Vermont and New Hampshire public television stations.
He's published several audio recordings and nine books, and received four Emmy nominations, winning one for his work as the long-running host of New Hampshire Public Television's award-winning show, “Windows to the Wild.”
In 2007, after 40 years in New Hampshire, he and his wife, Ida, moved to East Montpelier. They have three children and four grandchildren.
Westminster Cares has presented “Speaking of Aging” to explore key issues in aging and to thank the community for 25 years of support. The series is sponsored by the Fanny Holt Ames and Edna Louise Holt Fund.