Swampscott resident Jonathan Leamon retired in 2016 and began looking for “things to do and volunteer opportunities.” He remembered his parents participating in a local continuing education program in 1992 called Explorers.
“I signed up for a bunch of classes, for things that I was interested in and never had time to study when I was in college or after,” Leamon said.
Leamon studied French from elementary school through college, but noted, “If you don’t use it, you forget it.” So he was able to participate in a language learning course.
“Part of it’s the comradery, but also you learn a lot,” Leamon said. “It’s just nice to be able to talk with people…It’s a variety of courses, and to me, there’s something for everyone.”
Swampscott residents are encouraged to register for the volunteer-based organization Explorer Lifelong Learning’s courses offered this fall, with many of the class offerings starting right after Labor Day. The local program is one of more than 400 similar lifelong learning organizations across North America.
Classes are generally scheduled for four to six weeks, and membership is offered for a full year or single semester. Members are able to enroll in as many courses as they wish.
“Typically they ask you to teach in your field, so one of the guys was a physicist and his course was very much like physics courses that I took…It was about household items, but all of the principles that we learned harkened back to when I studied physics, so it was fun,” Leamon said, who is now the vice president of the Explorers group and is set to become president after Gay Porter’s term.
Many courses are offered in person, while some have virtual sessions. There’s a variety of formats, from lectures, discussions and participatory classes, ranging in topics within the arts, sciences, languages, foreign affairs and current events.
This fall, Swampscott-based Roz Eschelbacher is hosting a book club on Mondays over Zoom, and the group will cover six books ranging from illustrated biography to historic non-fiction and adventure novels. Dr. Peter Barker, who has a family physician practice in Swampscott, will hold a “how your body works” discussion of the four body systems.
Leamon will teach “More Frank Lloyd Wright,” a continuation of his personal research and a class he has previously offered through Explorers.
“I did a lot of in-depth research. I think I read about 40 books, and I spent a full semester writing the first course,” Leamon said. “After offering the course for a few semesters, I actually split it in two, and I had 44 hours of material over the two semesters.”
After restructuring the courses to appeal to people who may be traveling and interested in attending but not available for the entire semester, Leamon focused new courses on different subject areas within Wright’s work.
This fall’s course will explore Wright structures not covered in earlier sessions, including several Usonian homes. The group will also discuss the housing development that Wright designed for Pittsfield in 1942 that was never built.
“It’s really getting in depth,” Leamon said.
Other courses for the fall include a course in November by Paul Crosby called “Why Can’t You Just Stop?” that focuses on addiction, substance abuse and recovery. Dr. Linda Medwid will host an ancient Greek religion course on Tuesdays. Michael Goldman will host a “Politics 2025” lecture course on Thursdays about where the country is politically and what’s to come.
The fall academic term begins in September, and those interested can sign up at explorerslli.org/home/explorers-membership-and-registration-form/. The full course catalogue for this semester’s courses is available at explorerslli.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Fall2025catalog.pdf.
“If you like learning, you’re never too old to learn,” Leamon said. “The courses are very interesting.”
