Tuesday October 7th
at 7:00 pm
Sydney Williams: One
Man’s Family – Growing up in Peterborough & Other Stories
These essays—or as Sydney Williams calls them, “musings”—are
evocative of a time and a place—of growing up in a New Hampshire village in the
late 1940s and early 1950s. Sydney Williams was the second of nine children
whose parents were sculptors and who was raised on a small farm, with horses,
goats and chickens—an unconventional life in an unconventional place, but
during a conventional time. You’ll read about the Shetland pony that joined the
family’s Christmas celebrations; about impromptu days taken off from school to
ski; about starting a rubber toy business; about learning the value of charity
from an older sister’s founding of a circus and the value of compassion from a
younger brother’s struggle with disabilities. Throughout the book, Williams
ties his personal experiences to events in the wider world—his father’s return
from war on V-J Day; a neighbor’s reaction to the ban on school prayer; the
significance of Memorial Day celebrations to different generations—and to the events
of his later life, including deaths, births, marital stresses, and school and
family reunions. Williams left Peterborough in 1956 to go off to school, yet
his bonds to Peterborough persist. His brother Willard owns and manages the
Toadstool. Besides Willard, three sisters—Betsy, Charlotte and Jenny—live
nearby. Sydney lives with his wife Caroline in Old Lyme Connecticut. Free and
open to all.
Thursday October 9th
at 7:00 pm
Poet Paul Hostovsky
Don’t miss this chance to hear one of New England’s best
poets read from his work. Paul Hostovsky’s poems are “funny and wise, playful
and sad, carnal and spiritual, locker-room casual and master-class artful.” Come
into the library and check out some of his books – we’ve got quite a few! Paul’s
poems have been featured on Poetry Daily, Verse Daily, The Writer’s Almanac,
and Best of the Net. He has been published in Carolina Quarterly,
Shenandoah, New Delta Review, Bellevue Literary Review, Atlanta Review, Poetry
East, The Sun, and many other journals and anthologies. He has won a
Pushcart Prize, the Comstock Review's Muriel Craft Bailey Award, and
chapbook contests from Grayson Books, Riverstone Press, Frank Cat Press, and
Split Oak Press. He is the recipient of such rebukes as You Never Want To Do Anything and All You Care About Are Your Stupid Clever Poems. He makes his
living in Boston as a sign language interpreter at the Massachusetts Commission
for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Free and open to all.
Wednesday October 15th
at 7:00 pm
The Highest and the
Hardest with Hank Huber
Backpacker Magazine rates the Cactus to the Clouds unmaintained trail as California's hardest dayhike
and 5th hardest in the lower 48 states. It starts near downtown Palm Springs at
the desert floor and climbs 18 miles to the snowy crown of Mt. San Jacinto at
10,834' elevation. Join Hank Huber as the route ascends through multiple
climate zones to the boulder-strewn summit. Not far from the C2C hike is Mt
Whitney in the high Sierras, at 14,500' elevation, the highest mountain in the
lower 48 states. The 3 day technical late winter climb starts at 8,360' and employs
rope travel, ice axes and full crampons ascending through spectacular alpine
terrain. Hank Huber hikes throughout the U.S. and is a maintenance and rescue
park volunteer at his local favorite, Mt. Monadnock. He has hiked in Europe,
has trekked the classic Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru and climbed Mt
Kilimanjaro in Africa. Free and open to all.
Thursday October 16th
at 7:00 pm
Author Paul Hertneky
Writer Paul Hertneky
noticed one day that the art photography he’d done as a hobby was consistently
composed around negative focal points, a dark element sunk within the frame—a
stain, a shadow, a passageway, a black-clad widow. Soon after, he recognized
the same, unconscious attraction in his essays and stories. He guesses that
we're drawn to the shadows, especially when surrounded by light, and the dark
spaces serve portals through which curiosity and imagination can enter. His
stories and essays invite readers into shady corners of sunny islands, the dank
basements of cheery households, and the imploring stares of helpless animals.
Paul Hertneky has been a freelance writer and journalist for 25 years. In
addition to writing prize-winning travel stories, his coverage of the food
world has twice won nominations for James Beard awards. He is now working on a
book set in Greece, chronicling his arrest by the gods of Olympus. He lives in
Hancock with his wife, Robbie. Free and open to all.
Wednesday October 22nd at 7:00 pm
The Hidden Sky Star
Party at the Christmas Tree Farm on Norway Hill
(Rain/cloudy date is Sunday
October 26th at 7:00 pm)
Everyone knows the night sky is filled with stars, along
with the moon and the planets, but there's so much more to see! Join
Scott McCartney at 7:00 pm Wednesday October 22nd on Norway Hill as we explore
the hidden wonders of the sky through a telescope. We’ll look for double stars,
galaxies, and the moons of Jupiter! Dress warmly. Carpool if you can!
Free & open to all. Call the library at 525-4411 if you have questions
about weather conditions. We'll leave a new message on the answering machine if
we are postponing to October 26th. Free and open to all!
Thursday October 23rd
at 7:00 pm at the Harris Center
Of Mallards and Men:
Woodrow Wilson, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and The Migratory Bird Treaty
A century ago, conservationists faced a crisis--the birds of
America were under assault! They rallied
behind a series of laws designed to protect birds from hunting, but each was
defeated. Finally, they turned to
diplomacy and negotiated a treaty with Canada to protect birds in North
America. With support from famous
leaders like Woodrow Wilson and Oliver Wendell Holmes, conservationists won the
day and preserved the nation's birds. In
this illustrated talk, birder and historian Kurk Dorsey will explain the
origins of a law that is still saving our birds after nearly a century. Kurk
Dorsey, a native of Cincinnati, received his PhD in History from Yale
University in 1994. He has taught at UNH since then. He lives in Durham with
his wife, Professor Molly Dorsey, and their two sons. Free and open to all.
Co-sponsored by the Harris Center for Environmental Education.
Thursday October 30th
at 7:00 pm
Film: The Endangered
Giant Sable Antelope
From 1968 to 1970 Runi and Dick Estes studied the sable
antelope, starting in Kenya and visiting subspecies and populations from Kenya
to Namibia, followed by a year in central Angola observing the endangered giant
sable. This was the first study attempted during the rainy as well as the dry
season. At that time there were an estimated 1000-2000 giant sable in the two
reserves set aside for Angola's totem animal. Dick has continued to be involved
in its conservation since then, including visits to Angola in 1982 and several
times since 2001, most recently in 2011. Angola's parks and reserves were
unprotected during the civil war that began in 1975 and continued to 2004.
Occupation by Government and Savimbi armies, postwar poaching and prospecting
for diamonds in the two giant sable reserves have reduced the sable populations
to apparently less than 200. The Portuguese-Angolan Pedro Vas Pinto, who
undertook to save the giant sable, managed to gain funding from Government and
Anglo-American oil companies to establish a large fenced enclosure inside the
smaller reserve, capture by helicopter the nine surviving females there, and
then airlift a bull from the other reserve, to restart breeding. The film
produced by an Angolan cinematographer is all about this extraordinary
conservation effort. Dr. Estes is a well-known authority on the behavioral
ecology of African mammals. An Associate of the Harvard Museum of Natural
History and Research Associate of the Smithsonian Conservation and Research
Center, he is also a member and former chairman of the World Conservation
Union's Antelope Specialists' Group. Free and open to all.
From the Children's
Room
Rennie Timm,
Children’s Librarian
First Wednesday of
the month (new day)
October 1 at
3:15–4:15 pm
Block Party:Lego®
Join us for a hands-on learning opportunity for children to explore
how things work. LEGO® bricks are provided by the library. No
registration required, feel free to drop in anytime. All ages welcome.
Every Thursday at
10:30 am
October 2, 16, 23
& 30
Laptop Toddler
Storytime
Walking and talking, this toddler story time is an
interactive program for all pre-schoolers and their parents or care providers.
We’ll share books, rhymes, songs, finger play & movement. Our goal is to
foster an early love of books and literacy. At the end of the program, there
will be playtime for parents and caregivers to share books, puzzles, or other
literacy activities with their toddler. Dress comfortably as we will be sitting
on the floor in the Children’s Room. No registration required, feel free to
drop in anytime.
Tuesday, October 14 at
3:15 – 4 pm
Arts and Crafts
Creative fun crafts for all ages to make and take. Enjoy
a snack and embrace the spirit of the season. Recommended for elementary
and middle school students. Parents are encouraged to join in the fun with
younger children. Registration preferred.
Last minute drop-ins welcome.
Thursday, October 16
at
READ-A-THON featuring
Libri Foundation Grant Books at 3:30 pm
Check it out, AWARD WINNING board books, picture books, easy
readers, chapter books, fiction and non-fiction, books for all ages. How many
new library books can you read in a half hour? Tell us which books are your
favorite and would recommend to others as a GOOD READ. Cookies, juice and
apples available for all participants.
Parents of toddlers are encouraged to come and read aloud to
their children. Fabulous selection of new picture books to explore.
Saturday, October 25
at 11:00 am
PAWS to READ
Bring a book and your willingness to sit and share a story
with Toven, a Great Pyreness.
Sign up at the front desk or email Rennie at hancockkidlib@comcast.net Children will read to Toven for 15 minutes. Parents are
asked to bring their child to the library 10 minutes prior to the scheduled
reading time. If you are unable to make your scheduled appointment please call
and let us know, so that we can notify any children on the waiting list. This
is a great way to increase reading skills in a loving, non-judgemental and
nurturing environment.
Thursday, October 30
at 2:30-4 pm
Halloween Activities to
be announced. Look for details on our library blog.
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