About the Bellman Brown Bag Series…
The Bellman Brown Bag series is a humanities program designed to explore ideas, history, literature, art, and culture. The Brown Bag program was developed by Dr. Stewart Bellman in the 1990s. Recognizing the Matthews Opera House as an ideal venue for the exploration of humanities topics, he engaged a line-up of speakers to present programs on a range of humanities topics each month.Dr. Bellman was a professor of English at Black Hills State University, Spearfish, SD. His teaching career spanned thirty years. Bellman retired from BHSU and passed away in November 2002.Programs are presented on the second Wednesday of each month, noon to 1pm. Designed to begin and end within the lunch hour, patrons are invited to bring their lunch, if desired, or simply enjoy an hour of learning and entertainment. This is an opportunity to gain insight into themes that touch our daily lives.
2026 Bellmans…
January 14: National Blood Donor Month – Speaker will be Jennifer Ash 
February 11: National Organ Donor Day (Feb. 14) – Speaker will be staff from Fidler-Isburg Funeral Home 
March 11: National Invest in Vets Week (Mar.1-7) – Speaker is Kevin Bowen 
April 8: Library Workers and National Library Day –  Speaker is Amber Wilde 
May 13: Mother’s Day: Having a Baby in the 1920’s – Speaker is Mary Chantry Nelson 
September 9: The Pandemic of 1918-1919 in Lead, SD – Speaker is Terry Smith 
October 14: Ghost Stories by the Black Hills Story Tellers 
November 11: Presentation on the Spearfish Museum – Speaker is Rosalie Aslesen and Johanna Meier Della Vecchia 
December 9: Piano Duets – Spearfish Piano Duets Club