Tuesday 10-5, Wednesday 1-5, Thursday 1-5, Friday 10-5 and Saturday 10-1
We had a wonderful response to the request for magazine sponsorships. People read it here, there was a sign in the library and a short blurb in the Granville Sentinel. We now have sponsors for Martha Stewart Living, Bon Apetit, Horticulture, American Heritage, Northern Woodlands, Car and Driver, National Geographic Kids, Family Fun, The Conservationist & Country Woman.
Thanks so much to all of you.
Dave Ruch will be giving a special concert entitled “Old-TimeTraditional & Historical Songs of New York State” on June 12 at 7 P. M. at the Pember Library, 33 West Main St in Granville, NY.
When we think of old-time ballads and songs handed down from generation to generation, we might think of places like Kentucky, or North Carolina, or the Ozark Mountains…….Did you know we’ve got them right here in the Empire State, too?
For this special concert, Ruch presents , and tells the stories behind, the songs of real-life “Yorkers” from days gone by — farmers, lumbermen, children, lake sailors, canallers and more — collected through considerable research and interpreted for all to enjoy with guitar, 5-string banjo, jaw harp and more!
A professional musician and educator based in Buffalo NY, Dave gives over 325 concerts & workshops each year for schools, libraries, folk festivals, historical societies, museums and community events across New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio.
This Speakers in the Humanities event, which is free and open to the public, is made possible through the support of the New York Council for the Humanities, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
For more information, please contact the Pember Library at (518) 642-2525 http://pember.sals.edu or visit www.daveruch.com.
The Book Club will be reading The colossus of New York : a city in thirteen parts by Colson Whitehead.
“The Colossus of New York captures the city’s inner and outer landscapes in a series of vignettes, meditations, and personal memories. Colson Whitehead conveys with almost uncanny immediacy the feelings and thoughts of longtime residents and of newcomers who dream of making it their home; of those who have conquered its challenges; and of those who struggle against it cruelties.” “Whitehead’s style is as multilayered and multifarious as New York itself: Switching from third person, to first person, to second person, he weaves individual voices into a jazzy musical composition that perfectly reflects the way we experience the city. There is a funny, knowing riff on what it feels like to arrive in New York for the first time; a lyrical meditation on how the city is transformed by an unexpected rain shower; and a wry look at the ferocious battle that is commuting. The plaintive notes of the lonely and dispossessed resound in one passage, while another captures those magical moments when the city seems to be talking directly to you, inviting you to become one with its rhythms.” “The Colossus of New York is a portrait of life in the big city. Ambitious in scope, gemlike in its details, it is at once an paralleled tribute to New York and the ideal introduction to one of the most exciting writers working today.”–BOOK JACKET.
Here’s a photo of Ryan and me waiting for the parade to begin. Thanks to Tiffany and Ryan for taking part in the parade (and pushing the carts). Thanks to Heather and Alyssa for their help with putting the cake together. Also thanks to Cy for his help in putting the banners on the second cart.
It was great fun. We have some other 100th birthday celebration things planned and we’ll share the details in the Sentinel and here on the blog.
Story Time on Thursday nights will feature Tall Tales and flannel board stories. All children welcome with their caregivers.
Join us on Saturday mornings for Fireside Story Time. Pat O, MaryLou O, and Robyn L will each host one of the story times in June & July. Anyone else who would like to volunteer some time to read to the children, please give a call to the library and we will work you in to our schedule.
Stories will be read near the fireplace in the main room with plenty of room for children and their caregivers to sit on the floor nearby. We look forward to you joining us!
The Memorial Day display here at the Pember was put together by Mike Smith.
He had this to say:
“Our nation was created and has endured through war. The British, with Colonial help, wrested control of the colonies from the French and their Native American allies in the French and Indian War. The fledgling Colonial Army under George Washington then defeated the ‘greatest army on earth’ during our Revolutionary War. Most of the deciding battles in both wars occurred within 100 miles of Granville NY.
“The American fighters in these two wars were, for the most part, farmers, woodsmen, and tradesmen who felt strongly enough in their beliefs of freedom and independence to take up arms and be willing to die for those beliefs. This traditional willingness to fight and die for one’s beliefs created the bedrock on which this great nation of ours has endured throughout the last two centuries.
“Today, America finds itself as the lone superpower on earth. We, as a nation, survived the bloodiest internal conflict (Civil War) any surviving nation has ever endured. We were the deciding factor in ending the ‘war to end all wars’ (WWI). The total human effort of all the citizens of this great nation led to the ultimate defeat of the greatest axis of evil this world has ever known (WWII).
“The one common denominator throughout our history has been the willingness of American men and women to fight and, unfortunately, die for their belief in our way of life. This Memorial Day take the time to listen, or read some of the selections presented here to try to understand the sacrifices our veterans have made to insure the freedoms we all enjoy.”
I remember Genii’s daughter coming in to the library asking if we needed a volunteer. Boy, did we!
Genii came in and helped us with cataloging and transferring all of our books from our old automated system to a new one. She worked hard, always with a sense of humor. Her dedication to books and libraries shows in the children’s room where she devised and implemented our color coding dots system.
She had wonderful stories that she shared with her grandchildren and occasionally she would show us what she had written. She joined the book club at the library and was unafraid to say what she really thought about a book even if it was contrary to what everyone else thought.
Genii died May 12. She was a good friend. I will miss her.
The library’s drop box will be unavailable Tuesday, May 12 until Wednesday, May 13. Fines, for those unable to return items on these days, will be waived. As always, as long as the library is open, items may be returned by bringing them inside.
In celebration of the 400th anniversary of the European discovery of Lake Champlain, the Pember Library will welcome Samuel de Champlain! Using authentic 17th-century French costume and artifacts, historic interpreter Don Thompson will play the role of Champlain, the well-known explorer of the New World. He will share stories of his exploration of the lake that would later bear his name and tell about his experiences with Native Americans. Many of his anecdotes come directly from the writings of Samuel de Champlain himself.
Mr. Thompson and his wife, Carol, have written Seeking the Northwest Passage. That book tells about Samuel de Champlain and Henry Hudson who sailed from Europe four hundred years ago to a place that later became New York State. They were searching for a northern route from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The book, for young readers 9 to 12, is about the two explorers and their adventures.
The book gives background on what little is known of the two explorers’ early lives, and their explorations before 1608. The main focus is on their journeys during the summer and fall of 1609, when their routes took them into what is now New York State. Champlain traveled south on Lake Champlain to help his Indian allies fight their enemies, the Mohawk Iroquois, part of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Henry Hudson sailed his Half Moon up the River of Mountains (as he called the Hudson) hoping it would lead to the Northwest Passage. Although both men explored present-day New York State in 1609, they never met. However, each had an important role in the history of New York.
Donald H. Thompson, presenter, is a retired history teacher who spent 34 years teaching Social Studies and nine years as an historical interpreter.
Carol Thompson is a retired elementary teacher who became interested in the explorers while teaching fifth grade social studies.
For further information about the program contact Ardyce Bresett (518) 642-2525.
In working on May book orders, I came across twelve titles that I thought people here at the Pember might enjoy on audio. The hardcover versions will probably end up on some best-seller lists.
Of those twelve titles, I discovered that four of them are available through SALON, our downloadable audio book service.
If you want to listen to these books, click on eAudioBooks on the left panel. If you don’t already have an Overdrive account, it’s fairly easy to set up. Let us know if you need help…
The four May titles available through SALON are:
8th Confession by James Patterson
Brimstone by Robert Parker
First Family by David Baldacci
Summer on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber