Upcoming Lectures

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• Pre-Civil War Quilts: Secret Codes to Freedom on the Underground Railroad

  • When
    September 09, 2025
  •  
    1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
  • Location
    Oakwood Village University Woods Arts & Education Center

   

  Pre-Civil War Quilts: Secret Codes to Freedom on the Underground Railroad

  
  

  Tuesday, September 9 from 1:30-3:00 p.m.

  
  

  In-Person at Oakwood Village University Woods

  Arts & Education Center

  
  

  6205 Mineral Point Road

  
  

  Registration is Not Required

  FREE PARKING
  

  
  

  In her lecture Connie Martin tells the history of the Underground Railroad, safe routes used from South to North, and stories of how quilt codes and their meanings, were used to warn of dangers, indicate how transport might occur and who might help as “Friends” on the Underground Railroad. She includes information passed down to her, a sixth- generation descendant of captured slaves forced into slavery in America. She shares her knowledge originating from an information packed family Bible dating back to the 1850’s. It revealed key abolitionists, safe escape routes passing from Kentucky through counties in Illinois. She mesmerizes the audience with her visually stunning slides showing each quilt code within vibrant, fabric, quilt patterns along with instances of special stitching used in over a dozen beautifully hand-crafted quilt replicas; each sewn by her mother for this presentation.

  Connie’s mother, Dr. Clarice Boswell, wrote a book, Lizzie’s Story: A Slave Family’s Journey to Freedom, the foundation of the presentation, and then created and performed this family presentation for 16 years.

  Connie Martin is a retired middle school Language Arts teacher of 32 years, a 35-year Aqua Fitness Master Trainer, senior Fitness Instructor, mother, and G-Ma to four grandkids. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Illinois State University where her thesis was on Integrating African American History in Educational Curriculums.                                                   

  ________________________________________

  Transportation Options:

  
  

  Bicycle:  Bike racks are available

  
  

  Bus: The BRT Route A bus  runs every 15 minutes and stops in front of Oakwood at the Island/Mineral Point station.  

  
  

  Car: 
  

  • Use the Island Drive entrance at 6205 Mineral Point Road.
  •  Veer left and follow the drive to the 2nd driveway with sign “Heritage Oaks Parking Garage.”
  •  Turn right into driveway.
  •   Press the buzzer and the Oakwood desk attendant will buzz you in. There are 70 parking stalls. Park in any visitor or non-reserved stall. Take the elevator up one floor to the main entrance, turn right and walk through the mail box area into the lobby. Ask at the desk for directions to the Performing Arts Center.
  • When you exit the underground parking, the garage door opens automatically.
  • _________________________

  Questions?  Contact lecture organizer Barbara Drake at barbaradrake21@gmail.com

  Show details
• Healing the Heart through Forgiveness

  • When
    September 25, 2025
  •  
    1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
  • Location
    Oakwood Village University Woods Arts & Education Center

   

  
  

  Healing the Heart through Forgiveness

  
  

  Thursday, September 25 from 1:30-3:00 p.m.

  
  

  In-Person at Oakwood Village University Woods

  Arts & Education Center

  
  

  6205 Mineral Point Road

  
  

  Registration is Not Required

  FREE PARKING
  

  
  

  Lisa Rickert has spent 20-plus years working with defense teams on death penalty cases around the country. She has witnessed the pain and trauma of those who have lost a loved one to murder. In the process, she has also explored and uncovered layers of pain and trauma in the lives of those who killed another human being. She has been humbled by those who trusted her with their stories of buried wounds and has been in awe of those who chose mercy in response to unspeakable pain.

  It is Lisa’s core belief that people who forgive contribute to a kinder, more peaceful world.

  Lisa earned her MSW at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  As a social worker, she has worked in the areas of juvenile delinquency, child protection, and sentencing advocacy.  She has always been fascinated by emotional healing practices, particularly the work of Dr. Robert Enright, a professor of educational psychology at UW-Madison, and a leader in the study of forgiveness in the  healing process.                                                                                           

  
  

  
  

                                                     

  ________________________________________

  Transportation Options:

  
  

  Bicycle:  Bike racks are available

  
  

  Bus: The BRT Route A bus  runs every 15 minutes and stops in front of Oakwood at the Island/Mineral Point station.  

  
  

  Car: 
  

  • Use the Island Drive entrance at 6205 Mineral Point Road.
  •  Veer left and follow the drive to the 2nd driveway with sign “Heritage Oaks Parking Garage.”
  •  Turn right into driveway.
  •   Press the buzzer and the Oakwood desk attendant will buzz you in. There are 70 parking stalls. Park in any visitor or non-reserved stall. Take the elevator up one floor to the main entrance, turn right and walk through the mail box area into the lobby. Ask at the desk for directions to the Performing Arts Center.
  • When you exit the underground parking, the garage door opens automatically.
  • _________________________

  Questions?  Contact lecture organizer Barbara Drake at barbaradrake21@gmail.com

  Show details
• Beyond Politics: The Content of Wisconsin’s Character, Past & Present

  • When
    October 09, 2025
  •  
    1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
  • Location
    Oakwood Village University Woods Arts & Education Center

   

  
  

  Beyond Politics: the Content of Wisconsin's Character, Past & Present

  
  

  Thursday, October 9 from 1:30-3:00 p.m.

  
  

  In-Person at Oakwood Village University Woods

  Arts & Education Center

  
  

  6205 Mineral Point Road

  
  

  Registration is Not Required

  FREE PARKING
  

  
  

  Mike McCabe brings a farming background and a lifetime of experience in politics, journalism, nonprofit leadership and public sector management to his writing. He ran a spirited underdog campaign for governor of Wisconsin in 2018. Earlier he started the grassroots group Blue Jean Nation and for 15 years led the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, an independent watchdog group that tracks the money in state elections and works for reforms making people matter more than money in politics. In that role, Mike blew the whistle on wrongdoing by elected officials and earned a reputation as one of the nation’s best political money trackers.

  He was recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists and Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council as the “Citizen Openness Advocate of the Year” for 2012, and the University of Wisconsin’s School of Journalism honored him with its Distinguished Service Award in 2015.

   Over the years, his work attracted the attention of national news networks including ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox, NBC, MSNBC, NPR and Al-Jazeera America, as well as newspapers including The New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today and Wall Street Journal, and magazines such as Time and New Yorker. He also has been a frequent guest on news programs and talk shows on television and radio stations in Wisconsin and around the country. A dynamic and much sought-after public speaker, Mike has made more than 2,000 presentations to a wide range of audiences over the course of his career.

  Mike is the author of three books including Blue Jeans in High Places: The Coming Makeover of American Politics, published in 2014 and currently in its fourth printing, Unscrewing America released in 2020, and Miracles Along County Q released at the end of 2024.  Mike will have these books for sale at the conclusion of his lecture.

                                                                                         

  
  

  
  

                                                     

  ________________________________________

  Transportation Options:

  
  

  Bicycle:  Bike racks are available

  
  

  Bus: The BRT Route A bus  runs every 15 minutes and stops in front of Oakwood at the Island/Mineral Point station.  

  
  

  Car: 
  

  • Use the Island Drive entrance at 6205 Mineral Point Road.
  •  Veer left and follow the drive to the 2nd driveway with sign “Heritage Oaks Parking Garage.”
  •  Turn right into driveway.
  •   Press the buzzer and the Oakwood desk attendant will buzz you in. There are 70 parking stalls. Park in any visitor or non-reserved stall. Take the elevator up one floor to the main entrance, turn right and walk through the mail box area into the lobby. Ask at the desk for directions to the Performing Arts Center.
  • When you exit the underground parking, the garage door opens automatically.
  • _________________________

  Questions?  Contact lecture organizer Barbara Drake at barbaradrake21@gmail.com

  Show details