Beyond the South End

Thomaston Library Gift/

And Other News

 

Submitted by Joanna Hynd, 354 2453

 

 

“Comprehensible and concise, this machine will be a great asset to our community."

says Interim Head Librarian, Joanna Hynd,

pictured here with library volunteer, Donna Tokarz.

Photo by Jocelyn Callaghan

 

Thanks to the Abbott Family, the Thomaston Public Library is proud to offer the use of an Optelec Clearview 300 Video Magnifier to our patrons and community members. This machine was donated to the Thomaston Public Library in loving memory of Walter M. Abbott. We at the library are very grateful to his family for this generous gift. The Clearview 300 enlarges the print of the desired material and projects it onto a screen enabling users to see the document more clearly. It is exceptional for viewing old and deteriorated materials or just enlarging text for the visually impaired. Please stop by and experience the ease of reading with our newest library service.

 

Jess Day of Midcoast music together will be at the library on September 7 at 11:00 a.m.

 

 

Starting September 7 at 11 a.m., the library will hold a weekly story hour for children up to seven years old. The program will include readings and craft time and will also include a special guest from community groups on the first Friday of every month.

For the opening event we will host Jess Day of Midcoast Music Together. Day is teacher and director of the program and has offered classes in the midcoast area since 2008. Her classes are internationally recognized early childhood music and movement programs that promote pre-literacy and all earning.

Please join us in the children’s room where we will sing, dance, and play for a morning of fun and excitement. This free event is sponsored by Dena Davis and funds from the Thomaston Children’s Festival. Children must be accompanied by an adult or family member. For questions, call 354-2453 during library hours.

 

Reflections by Neil Shively 

 

 

“Vivid and bright, these prints truly capture the ever changing face of nature."

 

 

The Thomaston Public Library would like to invite you all to come and view the work of local artist Neil Shively. The collection, entitled Reflections, is composed of unaltered digitally recorded prints. With a variety of colors and patterns, Neil has captured images showing nature at its finest. His art work will be on display on the main floor of the library for the month of September. Contact Jocelyn Callaghan at 354-2453 for more information.

 

It Happened on the Way to War

 

 

 

On September 18th the Thomaston Intergenerational Book Club will discuss It Happened on the Way to War by Rye Barcott.

In 2000, Rye Barcott spent part of the summer living in ten-by-ten-foot shacks in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya. He was a twenty-year-old college student heading into the Marines, and he sought to better understand ethnic violence—something he would likely face in uniform. Barcott learned Swahili and listened to young people talk about how they survived amidst poverty he had never imagined existed. He stumbled into friendship with a widowed nurse, Tabitha Atieno Festo, and a tough community organizer, Salim Mohamed.

It Happened on the Way to War is the gripping story of this unlikely trio’s journey to build a nongovernmental organization in a volatile place and help develop a new generation of leaders from within. Their organization, Carolina for Kibera (CFK), is now a pioneer of the movement called participatory development, drawing recognition from Time magazine as a “Hero of Global Health” and interest from Melinda Gates, President Barack Obama, and other dignitaries, who have visited to see its best practices.

Barcott continued his leadership in CFK while serving as a Marine in Iraq, Bosnia, and the Horn of Africa. Engaged in two forms of public service at once, he fought in wars while waging peace. Grappling with the intense stress of leading Marines in dangerous places, he took the tools he learned building community in one of the most fractured parts of Kenya and became a more effective counterinsurgent. This is a true story of sacrifice and courage, failure and triumph, and the powerful melding of military and humanitarian service. It’s a story of what America’s role in the world could be.

On the third Tuesday of each month, this group of men and women of all ages come together to share their opinions and ideas about the book selection. Extra copies of the books are purchased by the Friends of the Thomaston Public Library from the Annual Appeal funds. We thank you for all donations. Please come and join us at the Thomaston Library on September 18th at 2:30 p.m. in The Thomaston Academy building gym, accessible by elevator. Contact Alice Dashiell, 354-3612, for more information.