Frances Mapes Nickerson, wife of Samuel M. Nickerson III, came to Brewster in 1947. She was elected to the board of the Brewster Ladies’ Library Association and later served as its president. After her 14 years on the board, she further gave of her time and talents to catalogue books, volunteer for summer evening hours, oversee landscaping of the library grounds, and even take charge of fixing the roof.

Mrs. Nickerson’s legacy of volunteer service was followed by a major bequest to the Brewster Ladies’ Library. Because of her generosity, the BLLA is able to offer an annual lecture by a prominent speaker that is free of charge to our community. Our hope is that these annual lectures will cover a wide array of subjects and generate engaging discussions about literature.

Past speakers have included:

• Michael Beschloss, 2024

• Geraldine Brooks, 2023

• Robert Woodward, 2022

• Valerie Plame, 2019

• Robert Edsel, 2018

• Denise Kiernan, 2017

• Byron Pitts, 2016

• Laura Ling, 2015

• William Kamkwamba, 2014

• Doris Kearns Goodwin, 2013