Board Meeting: Monday April 23, 2012 at 8:30 am

Fort Plain Free Library will be holding our monthly board meeting at the library on Monday, April 23, 2012 at 8:30 am!

Fort Plain Free Library Board Meeting

The regular Fort Plain Free Library Board Meeting will be held on Monday February 27, 2012 at 8:30 AM in the library.

eBooks now available

Beginning today, Fort Plain Free Library patrons can download eBooks for your computer, eBook reader, and other compatible devices. Browse the collection, check out with your library card, and download to PC, Mac®, and mobile devices including iPod, iPad, Kindle, Sony Reader, and many others. With thousands of titles to choose from, the new collection is guaranteed to have something for everyone. You can download best-selling novels, well-known classics, self-improvement guides, and much more. Titles will automatically expire at the end of the lending period. There are no late fees! Visit http://mvls.lib.overdrive.com to get started.

Library Closings

The library will be closed on the following days:
Thursday, January 12, 2012 from 10AM to 1PM
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Monday, January 16, 2012

E AudioBooks Now Available

E AudioBooks are now available from the Mohawk Valley Library System at the Fort Plain Free Library. In order to access the OneClick Digital site go to http://fortplainny.oneclickdigital.com/ This URL will only allow patrons with a barcode from our library to register for an account. Once patrons have registered, they do not need their barcodes again, just their username and password. Loan periods are 15 checkouts at a time, 21 day loan period, and items can be renewed 3 times for 21 days each time. If anyone had technical problems, Recorded Books is providing support. It will be up to the patron to contact Recorded Books directly.

Summer Art Camps

A series of Summer Art Camps for children going into grades 6 to 8 have been scheduled on Wednesdays, July 13, 20, 27, and August 3,from 9:30 - 11:30 at the Canal Street Studio, 200 Canal Street, Fort Plain in cooperation with the Fort Plain Free Library. Each week, a different painting technique will be Illustrated including Adire Eleso which simulates tie dyeing on July 13 with King Lion's Gift; Japanese brush painting or calligraphy on July 20 with The Spider Weaver; hieroglyphics on July 27 with Tutankhamen's Gift; and beadwork on August 3 with Tremolo ~ The Mohawk Creation Story. Participants are encouraged to sign up for all, some, or one of the sessions.
Register for the basic Summer Reading Program online at http://ny.evanced.info/fortplain/sr/homepage.asp for your chance to win a collection of age appropriate free books. Funding for this program was made possible, in part, with a contribution from the Montgomery County Youth Bureau.                    

One World, Many Stories

This summer you and your children are invited to explore the theme One World, Many Stories duringthe Fort Plain Free Library'sSummer Reading Program that will run from June 19 through August 20. The Summer Reading Program will help to keep children reading during vacation by offering free activity sessions that will include stories, crafts, and special presentations for children of all ages. This year, basic record keeping will be done exclusively online either from your home computer or from the library. All ages, pre-school through adult, are encouraged to take advantage of this method of recording books read and even of posting a short review to share particular favorites with others. The online reading tracker at http://ny.evanced.info/fortplain/sr/homepage.aspwill be available June 19, and anyone who registers will be entered into a drawing to win an age appropriate collection of books at the close of the program.

We are particularly excited to once again partner with the Youth Recreation Summer Program to offer this opportunity to their participants. On Friday, July 8, the Summer Reading Program will kick-off with a performance of One World, Many Stories with musician Cathy McGrath, at 2:00, at the Fort Plain High Schoolfor all attending the Youth Recreation Program. Families from the community are, of course, welcome to join us. Beginning on Wednesday, July 13, and continuing through August 10, children who have completed kindergarten, grades 1 and grades 2will be bused from Youth Rec to the library to share in the Summer Reading Program's weekly activity session featuring stories, crafts, and book selection. Children will be able to borrow books, and parents are encouraged to help their youngsters keep track of their selections and bring them to the program on Wednesdays so that they are returned to the library each week. In addition, a series of Summer Art Camps for children going into grades 6 to 8have been scheduled on Wednesdays, July 13, 20, 27, and August 3,from9:30 - 11:30. Watch the papers for specifics of these and other exciting offerings.

Should you have any questions about any aspect of the Summer Reading Program, please stop in at the Fort Plain Free Library or call 993-4646 during regular library hours.

May I?

As a child I would ask, "Can I have a cookie?" I was always quickly corrected, "Do you mean may I have a cookie?" May 15^th is touted as National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day. As synonymous as milk and cookies is NESTLE® TOLL HOUSE® semi-sweet morsels and chocolate chip cookies. This product has been on the market since 1939, and there is a very interesting history and recipe collection on its web site. There are also several books devoted to this little piece of perfection, one of which, NESTLE® TOLL HOUSE® Best Loved Cookies, is available through the library system. A quick perusal of the Fort Plain Free Library shelves finds the following offerings…Double Chocolate Crisps in the Taste of Home Baking Book and Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cake in the Better Homes and Gardens 9 x 13: The Pan That Can book.
On May 11^th, the Fort Plain Free Library was honored to receive the Mohawk Valley Library System's Library Recognition Award at the system annual meeting in recognition of this past summer's Twain Along the Mohawk event. The award honors the efforts of a library to improve, expand, or enhance services to its community and the region. As stated in the citation, "Books have the ability to bring communities together as we have all seen with the success of community reads. The Fort Plain Free Library took this idea with a twist for its Twain Along the Mohawk program last summer, joining the author and his words with a celebration of community."
On Tuesday evening, May 24, from 6:00 – 8:00, the library will present Fort Plain's Finest Foodies. The program, by public request, will bring together samples and provide demystification of complicated sounding recipes. Participants are invited to bring a prepared appetizer, entrée, desert, etc. that sounds "gourmet" but is, in reality, easy to make. They will hand out copies of their recipes and explain the finer points of its preparation. Plates and service will be provided. The program is free and open to all. For more details, drop by the library.
So, what is the difference between may and can? Anyone may (to imply permission) go the library where they can (to imply ability) learn something new!

Two Weeks For the Price of One

    April 10^th through 16^th is National Volunteer Week. Our mother was always a volunteer, though we didn't attach any special significance to the word. It was just what she did. And when we were pressed into service, volunteered so-to-speak, we thought that we were doing what all offspring of volunteers were supposed to do. After a couple of years of weekly trips to the nearest library in the next town, our mother decided we needed a hometown library. One of my earliest memories of volunteering was sorting boxes of books in the large room above the Redman's Hall in the small town where I grew up. After that, Mom decided to start a volunteer ambulance core, and I was enlisted to draw a depiction of the half-scale Cadillac ambulance for the fund drive. I could go on and on with our mother's efforts, but the point of this tale was her simple definition of volunteering. "Doing something to make the world a better place."

    April 10^th through 16^th is also National Library Week. Libraries make the world a better place. The authors whose works of fiction and non-fiction entertain and inform strive to achieve this goal. A volunteer can help to make the library a better place. There are often singular or routine tasks that can be performed by volunteers, thus freeing up staff to accomplish other tasks. The Summer Reading Program at the Fort Plain Free Library is one program that particularly lends itself to this type of service. Should you be interested in volunteering in any capacity, stop in at the library and leave your name, phone number, what you would be interested in doing, and we will get back to you. You never know where a simple act of volunteerism might lead. When Mom and my sister became Candy Stripers at the hospital, my sister went on to become a nurse and hospice volunteer. After a career in business and years of volunteering, my youngest sister went all the way and started her own non-profit, staffed by volunteers. Mom's library efforts (now housed in our old eight-room schoolhouse) started me down the printed path. As for that Cadillac ambulance I drew, it eventually materialized and arrived just in time to deliver my firstborn!

    On Tuesday evening, April 26^th, from 6:00 – 8:00, The Fort Plain Free Library will host a program on Iris Folding. Participants will learn how to create beautiful, spiraling patterns using this simple technique. While this program is free, open to the public, and presented by volunteers, seating is limited.

For further information, please call the library at (518) 993-4646.

NetLibrary Access

Did you know that as a cardholder at the Fort Plain Free Library, you are able to download digital versions of popular bestsellers, book club favorites, and books by award-winning authors free of charge? Over 1,200 titles are available with an additional 30 added each month. Books may be downloaded to your home computer and to many portable listening devices including portable music players, portable media centers, pocket PC's, and some select smart phone devices. Books you choose are circulated for three weeks and are guaranteed to be available whenever requested.

The download service is available 24/7 from the NetLibrary web site that provides access to the downloadable audio book collection that the library has purchased and made available to patrons. First time users must create an account following the directions at http://netlibrary.sals.edu/. After creating an account, users will be able to log in directly to the audio book website without going through a verification process.

Further information on this opportunity or tips for getting started will be provided in person at the library or by calling the library at (518) 993-4646.

Yer Old Sod!

An Irish Country Courtship (Patrick Taylor), Death of a Gentle Lady (M.C. Beaton)…I spent most of February reading myself through Ireland. Just when I thought I was ready to revisit Jan Karon's Mitford, North Carolina, where did she take her readers but to Ireland via In the Company of Others? Aside from catching a glimpse of people of another time and place or catching up with already familiar characters in their time and place, there is often another gift to be found when reading fiction. I came away with several thoughts beyond the storylines of these excellent books. It's nice to read about people who are satisfied with what they do and care about the people in their charge. They are sturdy, unpretentious, and dependable. They and their likes are the foundation of a community. Moreover, they slow things down for us and, by example, teach us to appreciate the people we know and the beauty of the world around us.

While on the topic of the Irish and upcoming St. Patrick's Day, The Little Book of Irish Family Cooking by Ruth Isabel Ross offers up two interesting recipes, Apple Amber and Bread and Butter Pudding. Check the book out of the library and try one of these recipes for the upcoming holiday. Irish Crochet Techniques and Projects is available on interlibrary loan for those who are a little experienced in crochet. You may want to Google "Mountmellick," Irish Whitework, embroidery as well.

A friend sent me her favorite St. Patrick's Day recipe for Corned Beef Casserole.
Take ten ounces of medium wide egg noodles, par cook, drain, and place in large bowl.
To this, add one twelve ounce can of corned beef, shredded, eight ounces of sharp, diced cheddar cheese, one can of cream of chicken soup, and one cup of milk.
Pour into a greased 2 ½ quart casserole and top with ¾ cup buttered breadcrumbs.
Bake at 350 degrees for forty-five minutes.
Serves six. Very good!

On Tuesday evening, March 15^th, beginning at 6:00pm, Sherri Byrne will present a program dealing with natural fragrances in the home. She will offer recipes for furniture polish, rug deodorizer, bath salts, dusting powder, and potpourri. Materials are provided by the library, but enrollment is limited to fifteen, so please register at the library prior to the program to make certain there is a spot for you.

For further information on programs or publications, please call the library at (518) 993-4646.

The Old Erie Canal in Fort Plain

A Power Point presentation featuring images of the Erie Canal in the mid to late 1800's

The Big Chill

I recently read that the Miriam Webster dictionary company word for the year 2010 was austerity. It brings to mind the native Mohawks for whom the word austerity was a fact of life in February of a bad year. When the Palatine Germans arrived, bringing with them their own lifestyle, pre-planning for the austerity of late winter was slightly more attainable. The harsh existence of ages passed was accepted as day to day life. Yet each culture still found the time and the means to express the beauty of the world around them. With the Palatines in mind, the Fort Plain Free Library will present a program on pierced paper Valentines on Wednesday, February 9^th, beginning at 6:00 pm with local artist and instructor Joanne Resch. Participants will create a project reminiscent of German Fraktur work. The program is free and open to the public but seating is limited.
An upcoming program tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, March 15, beginning at 6:00 with Sherri Byrne will focus on herbal fragrances. More details will follow next month. Art and herbs, two ingredients of life, expressed and utilized by every culture that has come into this valley. Through our libraries, we can learn about their continuing influences on our everyday life.
If Cornell Cooperative Extension had been around two centuries ago, it probably would have offered a program called Save Energy, Save Your Energy. Today it's called Save Energy, Save Dollars and on Thursday, February 10^th, from 1:00 – 2:30, Craig Clark of Cornell Cooperative Extension will offer local residents practical advice on how to lower their utility bills through no-cost/low-cost means.
Those of you who haven't been chilled enough by the weather might enjoy reading At the Mercy of the Mountains: True Stories of Survival and Tragedy in New York's Adirondacks by Peter Bronski. As for myself, I'm taking an armchair flight to the warmer climate of Ballybucklebo, County Down, Northern Ireland via An Irish Country Courtship, the fifth book in the Irish Country series by Patrick Taylor.
For further information on any of these programs or publications, please call the library at (518) 993-4646.
Submitted by Sally Taylor, member of the Board of Trustees

Tidbits & Tidings--January, 2011

I thought that this month's topic had found me when I was gifted with a sixty year old magazine. I was going to begin with the subject of January, named for Janus who in Roman mythology was the god of portals, of beginnings and endings, and how this May, 1948 publication seemed to be serving that very function. I was going to expound upon what I learned regarding our society at that time via the articles, photos, and advertisements; what anyone could learn about us by simply reading a publication of a certain time. I spent two evenings immersed in the 184 page issue, half-expecting to wake up like Christopher Reeves in Somewhere in Time. Alas, it will have to wait because….
    This morning I read about a new project called culturomics. Harvard linguists and Google engineers have teamed up to build a database of more than 500 billion words gleaned from five million books published over the last four centuries. It's touted as a new and powerful tool to study cultural change; a beginning that I'm sure will expand to include other facets of our cultural DNA. In the meantime, it's www.culturomics.org, and we would appreciate your comments on this new site.
While looking through the local history section at the library, I found a new title, An Historic Resource Survey, Village of Fort Plain funded by a Preserve New York Grant awarded to the village of Fort Plain by the Preservation League of New York State and the New York State Council on the Arts. As stated in the introduction, this survey assesses the village's "historic resources in a consistent fashion and determines what steps might be taken to further their enhancement and preservation." All properties fifty years old or older are included in the assessment. Included are a description of existing conditions, an historical and architectural overview, a description of historic building styles, photographs of all properties older than 50 years, potential National Register eligibility for these properties, as well as conclusions and recommendations in regard to future planning and development of the area. Full of all kinds of intriguing facts, maps, and photographs, the Historic Resource Survey is available for your perusal and enjoyment during the long winter months ahead.
Looking back over 2010, our craft workshops ranged from redwork embroidery to beaded ornaments and boasted enthusiastic audiences. Looking ahead, potpourri, pin-broidery, pierced paper (typical of early German valentines), and the yo-yo quilt motif are some of the programs in the works for 2011. Meanwhile, in shelf space or cyberspace, the prose and poetry, rhyme and rhetoric contained within the Fort Plain Free Library silently awaits another New Year and the sound of patrons seeking the finest works humankind has to offer.

Time Traveler

Imagine what our ancestors might have thought if someone told them that all they had to do to get to California was get in a huge aluminum cylinder with fixed wings and strap themselves in. No wagon train, no endless weeks on the trail, no horses or oxen…just noise and an invisible power propelling them down a cement runway until the earth seems to fall away and they are rising higher and higher…they level off and the plane seems to stop! I don't have to imagine this scenario. It's how I feel every time I have to fly. But we do what we have to do, in order to do what we need or want to do, in the time we have to do it in.
Now, returning to my home place and a lifestyle that straddles past and future, projects planned and books piled, I am ready to face winter. I would recommend a newer novel, New York, by Edward Rutherfurd and Fall of Giants by Ken Follett, and, though I haven't read it yet, The Autobiography of Mark Twain, edited by a team led by Harriet Elinor Smith. How fitting that this author with his extensive imagination would pen his autobiography with instructions that it wasn't to be published until a hundred years after his death. The first of three volumes is 700 pages and covers the years 1870 – 1906. What an end to our celebration of Mark Twain's visit to Fort Plain. Well, almost end….
On Wednesday, December 8^th at 2:20 and again on Tuesday the 21^st at 6:00, the Fort Plain Free Library will host a Gilded Gimcrack workshop. Each participant will create a beaded ornament cover reminiscent of The Gilded Age, a phrase coined by Mark Twain to describe a time and way of life. This program is free and open to the public. Each class is limited to ten participants so those who would like to be guaranteed a place may want to pre-register at the library. A refreshment featuring Mark Twain's favorite dessert will be served.
There are new offerings almost daily in the book sale as well as some remaining needlework books. In a tight economy, a gently used book would make a great Christmas gift as well as some handmade gift or baked offering. The library's collection will give you thousands of ideas.
For further information on any of these programs or publications, please call the library at (518) 993-4646.

The Side Show

Hopefully, October will end drier than it began for all the Halloween trick-or-treaters. Nothing like a crisp, quiet, and dark evening to bring out the imagination! The bakers out there might want to peruse the recipe for Party Monsters on page 28 of the October/November issue of Taste of Home. These hilarious treats are from What's New Cupcake? by Alan Richardson and Karen Tack. For those who are into needlework, this month's American Spirit magazine has an article on a graveyard quilt. The library book sale has been given dozens of embroidery and craft magazines. It's time to plan some winter projects as well as to stock up on reading material for those cold days ahead.
The Glass Castle, a superbly written work by Jeannette Walls, provided a thought-provoking evening for the recent book discussion. I believe that we are all a memoir in the making to our family and friends and even unto ourselves; that we should allow this thought to gently guide us through our days. Most of the people I know have more purposeful lives than some of the "celebrities" that make the news.
I read that it is the fifty-fifth anniversary of the green bean casserole. This is also the fiftieth anniversary of the Thanksgiving that my mother (who was normally a wonderful cook) decided to experiment with the stuffing by adding a generous amount of garlic. The aroma and taste permeated the bird to its wingtips and leached into the gravy. The sides circulated the table and filled plates and stomachs. I decided it's time to add something new to our family's Thanksgiving this year. I perused the library shelves and found Sides by Melicia Phillips with offerings such as Glazed Onions (page 80) and Broiled Stuffed Mushroom Caps with Parmesan (page 96). While these two side-dish offerings sound good, I know that there are hundreds of other ones of the shelves and dozens of time-tested sides to be found in our library patrons' kitchens. To this end, we invite area cooks to bring in recipes for their new or old favorite side-dishes to share with others. Toward Thanksgiving, we will draw a recipe at random from the entries and present that person with a gift certificate from the Plain Food Coop. Please make sure your name and phone number is on the recipe.
On Sunday afternoon, October 17^th, the library will host a book discussion on The Complete Stories of Dorothy Parker from 2:00 – 4:00 pm. Barbara Ungar will facilitate this discussion. Copies of the book are available for loan through the library; the title may also be acquired as a book on CD by placing a request either on line or at the library. In addition, a Flower Fairy Wreath workshop will be held on Tuesday evening, October 19^th, from 6:00 – 8:00 pm. Supplies for this free program are furnished by the library, but seating is limited.
For further information on any of these programs or publications, please call the library at (518) 993-4646.

A Remembrance of Things Past

    As I have often said, our lives are full of rites and traditions. Some of our childhood ones are tied to national celebrations. The new Easter bonnet, for instance. Others are more personal. Take our family pot cupboard cleaning. It usually occurred in late summer or early fall, though not every year. The adults calculated the timing for this chore, formulating a plan of action after the late news one evening and fine-tuning it the next day. Nearing the time (it always seemed to happen in the afternoon), the sky over distant New York City grew dark, the flag pointed ominously to the west, and the adults would send us to the pot cupboard. We no sooner lined up the roasters, pots, and bowls across the archway, than we heard the wind pick up. Then it arrived, the hurricane-driven rain slamming against the east-facing front of the house, attacking the windows right through the screens, driving the sheets of water on the tinned shed roof uphill, under the flashing and shingles, then down through the archway between house and what had once been an enclosed porch, now dining area, into the waiting pots and pans.

    Outside, our familiar valley was lost in rain, and wind, and eventually evening. We sat around the table, candles and flashlights readied, eating supper. With the passing of the outer edge of the hurricane, pots were emptied, rinsed, dried and returned to the readied cupboard. The family would turn in for the night, lulled into sleep by a now gentler rainfall on the tin roof outside the bedroom windows.

    The weather, like a good book, allows us to be one with our ancestors. Many of our seasonal rites are borne of an instinct for survival. For those of you who knit, the library has several books and publications with patterns for socks, scarves, and hats to keep you and yours warm during the rapidly approaching winter. For those preparing to hibernate, it's time to hit the used book room and choose your reasonably priced supply of winter reading.

    The zucchini recipe swap filled the folder with countless delicious recipes and cleared out many of our gently used cookbooks. Now that you've eaten, baked, and frozen enough zucchini to take you over the winter, you might want to peruse the library bookshelves for fall recipes.

    By all accounts, Twain Along the Mohawk provided a good meal and great entertainment for area families. While generations come and go, an author sometimes remains, his work often uplifting, inspiring, or even timeless. A man given to humor, Samuel Clemens would have enjoyed the evening and been humbled by the enduring popularity of his works. The Kanzashi program, too, was abloom with participants, all of whom took home a finished project. Watch the papers for news of our next craft program.

    Finally, the Fort Plain Free Library will host a discussion of Jeannette Walls' The Glass Castle on Wednesday evening, September 29^th, at 6:30 at the library with Jennifer Hill as facilitator. Copies of the book are available for loan through the library; the title may also be acquired as a book on CD by placing a request either on line or at the library. For further information, please call the library at (518) 993-4646.

Twain Along the Mohawk

On a hundred degree day in northeast New Jersey, in the summer between fifth and sixth grade, during the interval between tomboy and teenager, I took refuge in the cool, earthy dampness under the hedge in our front yard. There, I opened my book and rejoined my two companions Huck and Jim who were waiting for me, hiding in the tall grass of my imagination. It was the summer of Mark Twain, and two of his works, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. When the school year began, the books were returned to their space on the shelves that lined the staircase. Occasionally over the years, I would touch each in passing, knowing that Huck and Tom, Jim and the Mississippi were still there, unchanged and unspoiled, should I want to go back and visit them.

Now as promised in an earlier column, our special event for the summer is called Twain Along the Mohawk. This year marks the 100^th anniversary of Mark Twain's death. Something you might not have known is that Twain visited Fort Plain in 1868 during a lecture tour promotingInnocents Abroad. The August 14^th program to be held in Haslett Park will start off at 4:30 with a short presentation about life in Fort Plain during that time period by Sandy Cronkhite, followed by a reenactment of Twain's 1868 speech The American Vandal Abroad, and a free community picnic sponsored by the library in cooperation with Manna House, after which Gary Van Slyke will present a concert featuring period song. So bring your blanket or lawn chair and spend an enjoyable evening in 1868. In the event of rain, all activities will take place at the Reformed Church.

Lest the Mississippi fade with summer, the Margaret Reaney Memorial Library in St. Johnsville will hold a discussion on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn on October 9^th at 10:00 am. Barbara Unger will be the guest facilitator. For more information, call Dawn Lamphere at 568-7822.

I am told that in some places cars are locked during this weather, for fear someone might leave zucchinis in the back seat. This vegetable has been a staple for thousands of years. It's a low calorie food with excellent levels of vitamins and minerals. In can be used in any of a hundred ways, and if you don't believe this, come in and peruse a cookbook. Speaking of cookbooks, anyone who brings in a zucchini recipe during the month of August will be treated to a free cookbook of his or her choice from our used cookbook stash.

We will travel halfway around the world for another program in August. On Wednesday, August 25^th, at 6:00 pm, we will explore the technique of Kanzashi, a centuries old folded flower technique used to create Japanese hair ornaments. Utilizing Kanzashi in Bloom by Diane Gilleland, we will create a flower and view the various applications available to us today. For more information on any of our offerings, please call the library at (518) 993-4646 or visit the library blog at http://www.ftplib.blogspot.com/.
Submitted by Board of Trustee member Sally Taylor

There’s No Place Like Home

I recently traveled to South Carolina, home of some of my descendants. I took along the novel A Thousand Country Roads by Robert James Waller. In this poignant epilogue to The Bridges of Madison County, Robert Kincaid takes to the road for a last trip, searching for something to give meaning to the rest of his life. On my return trip, during a marathon layover in Washington /Dulles Airport, I finished the book and still had time to ponder the following thoughts: Is an unfinished work more memorable or satisfying than one that comes full circle?
Don't we spend most of our life seeking those things that give meaning to the rest of our life, and what part does an early and continued exposure to books play in this?
And would Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep consider doing the sequel?
Finally airborne, we approached the vicinity of New York City at 30,000 feet. As always, I recalled a trip home several years ago, before our lives changed, when our pilot descended so low and banked so steeply around the top of the Empire State Building that I might have seen King Kong, had he not fallen off the building innumerable times during a marathon weekend of The Million Dollar Movie a half century ago, a weekend after which the top of the Empire State Building visible from my bedroom window took on a new meaning. But I digress.
We then headed north up the ribbon of the Hudson River as night encroached, a view I have never forgotten. This evening, too far removed from the land, I again drew on the thoughts of that distant evening. I thought about the many people who traveled west through New York State, via wagon, canal, or train on route to a new life. It is the stuff books are made of.
Upcoming events at the library include:
July 22 Annual Fort Plain Free Library Ice Cream Social during the County Line Rebels concert in the park beginning at 7:00
July 19, 26, Mondays with Monet. Summer Art Camp for children in
August 2, 9 grades 2 – 4 with Joanne Resch
July 27, 28, A Day in the Life….Summer Art Camp for children in
29 grades 4 – 6 with Joanne Resch
July 28 Science in the Summer. Science fair led by GE volunteers for grade school children and their families, 10:00 – 11:30
August 3 Canal sailing schooner Lois McClure docked at Lock 15 and available for public boarding, 11:00am – 7:00pm
August 11 Basics of Checking/Credit Cards 101 with Jenny Stasack from SEFCU, 1:00 – 2:30 at the library. Please register by Monday, August 9^th, by calling the library at (518) 993-4646
August 14 Mark Twain will be dropping by Fort Plain. That's all I'm going to say about that now, but stay tuned….
For information about any of these summer offerings, drop by the library or call (518) 993-4646 during regular library hours.
Submitted by Board of Trustees member Sally-Jean Taylor

There's A Summer Place...

June is National Dairy Month and National Rivers Month. Residents of our area have a lot in common with these national observances. We live in a dairy farm area and on the beautiful Mohawk River!
The recent Redwork class was well-attended. Most of the handwork we do today bridges the ages. Lacework, knitting, crocheting, and the various forms of needle arts started when the world was a very different place. Among the Fort Plain Library’s new arrivals is a work that spans the decades…Thunderstruck by Erik Larson is the true story of two men, Hawley Crippen and Guglielmo Marconi, a nearly perfect crime, and an invention that changed the world. The Taste of Home Ultimate Five Ingredient Recipes Cookbook will not only take you through National Dairy Month with recipes such as Fourth of July Ice Cream Cake, but through the rest of the summer as well. With other offerings like Ball Park Baked Beans and Lazy Lasagna, the book combines a short shopping list of common ingredients with uncomplicated recipes that are sure to become a regular addition to your menu.
I wonder what Dr. Seuss would say about summer reading? Perhaps…
Read a book,
in the park, in the dark,
in your lair, in the air,
read a book most anywhere!
The Fort Plain Free Library 2010 Summer Reading Program, Make a Splash—Read!, will be held June 28th through August 13th. The basic program encourages children to read during the summer months and keep track of the titles completed. A free book will be given to each participant for every five books read and recorded on the online reading tracker at http://ny.evanced.info/fortplain/sr/homepage.asp. Activity sessions will be held weekly on Wednesdays beginning at 10:00 at the library and will include stories, crafts, and special presentations, many for the whole family. The program kick-off performance will be held Wednesday, July 7, at 1:30 at the Fort Plain High School and will feature musician Allen Hopkins with Songs of the Erie Canal.
It’s going to be a great summer at the Fort Plain Free Library! We look forward to seeing you here.