FAIRHOPE, Ala. — ESILL, the Eastern Shore Institute for Lifelong Learning, has turned 30 years old and the public is invited to a party to help celebrate. A 30th anniversary party is planned for Friday, Oct. 19, 7 p.m., at the Fairhope Unitarian Fellowship Hall, 1150 Fairhope Ave. Former and current members, students, instructors and the general public are invited to attend.

ESILL began in 1977 as the brainchild of Donald M. Lester, a retired clinical psychologist, who believed that intellectual stimulation and continuing development were the ingredients of a long and enriched life, said Dot Bremer.

“Mr. Lester was sure that a healthy retirement was not marked by mental lethargy. He thought that it was the very time that things of the mind, thoughts put aside for business and family responsibilities, could come to the forefront again,” Bremer said. “His primary focus was on the opportunities this would present for prospective instructors.”

Lester got together with other like-minded retirees to form a unique school that would provide retired teachers and lay scholars the opportunity to teach what they want to teach for the joy of it and where, in his own words, “…learning is for sheer excitement and satisfaction without the stress of bucking for grades, degrees or certificates.”

Lester and his associates began offering courses that same year, pioneering adult education on the Eastern Shore. Since the beginning, ESILL has offered a varied program of courses, with courses that challenge the intellect, challenge the hands and body, or are just entertaining.

“I think we’ve covered about every conceivable subject in the past 30 years,” Bremer said. “Although when I say that, then someone will come up with a new course or a new topic that no one has offered before. That’s part of what makes ESILL exciting and keeps us fresh and new. As more people move to the Eastern Shore, we have a larger and more diverse pool of potential instructors.”

In some cases, ESILL courses have taken on lives of their own.

“Two good examples of that are with the Mountain Dulcimer and Temari, those beautiful Japanese embroidered balls,” said Laurie Wiggins, an ESILL board member.

Wiggins’ father, the late Max Killoch was one of ESILL’s founders.

“In 1994, Stan Hodgin began teaching a course in Mountain Dulcimer. At that time, there was a dulcimer club in Mobile, but Stan didn’t know any other players on the Eastern Shore,” she said. “At the very first class, Stan and another player, Jim Hays (who teaches Mountain Dulcimer for ESILL today), and others in the class decided to form a group to play for fun. That group became the Jubilee Pickers, which continues to meet and play together to this day. There are dozens of dulcimer players on the Eastern Shore today and even an annual Dulcimer Festival, and it all started with the ESILL course in 1994.”

Temari, an ancient and revered art form in Japan, was first taught on the Eastern Shore by ESILL instructor Kim Mumbower in the fall of 1999.

One of her students that year, an elementary school teacher named Blair Heald, became fascinated with the art. She has studied extensively and even traveled to Japan to learn more about it. And of course, she has shared her knowledge with her many ESILL students.

Recently, the Japanese Temari Association awarded Heald certification at the advanced Koutouka level, indicating that she has met the rigorous guidelines set by the association in regard to Temari design, execution and teaching experience.

“Today, many people on the Eastern Shore enjoy making the Temari balls and giving them as gifts, and that’s all thanks to our original ESILL course,” Wiggins said.

Over the past 30 years, ESILL has been managed by dozens of volunteer board members. Current board members and officers are Susan Acree, Dot and Pete Bremer, Art Holder, Ron Heveran, Brenda and Paul Huchingson, Dan Jaksen, Mike Juvenal, Dot Moffitt, Fran Morley, Harry and Jean Phillips, Gene Sellier, Marylee Smith and Laurie Wiggins. Melvin Long is an honorary member.

ESILL’s anniversary party on Friday will honor the instructors, board members and students of the past 30 years with visual displays and will features two presentations. Wiggins will present a short history of ESILL, and special guest (and former ESILL board member) Dean Mosher will do a talk on the history of Fairhope and the new Fairhope Historical Museum, set to open next spring. The public is invited to attend.