Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Library Events for October



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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