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.

Who Wrote the Book of Love?

A lot of people gave new homes to a lot of books during the Fort Plain Free Library’s Spring Market Book Sale. Some visitors were unaware that we even had a used book section. Books are added to this collection as donations are received and shelves are weeded. Consider this conundrum…No matter how many people have possessed a given book, the next reader will find the words as new as the day they were penned by the author and given life by the press. Moreover, the book’s content, whether educational or entertaining, will enrich every one of its readers at a different time and in a different way for the duration of its shelf life.
The same might be said for the focus of the holiday that has just passed, Mothers’ Day. Our mother’s love for each of her four works was new and individual. Inspired by a way of life she experienced long before we were born as well as an ongoing process of learning, the wisdom our “author” imparted to us was dedicated to helping us prepare our own life story. Moms or books, the classics remain with us long after the author has died and the copyright has expired.
On Wednesday, May 19th, at 6:00, the library will sponsor a program on Redwork, a type of decorative embroidery popular from the 1860’s to the depression, and so named because it was most often rendered with Turkey Red thread. Each participant will learn the history of Redwork and have an opportunity to create a Penny Square, a decorated piece of fabric that began to appear in the 1880’s and stayed popular for the next half century. This program is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. Refreshments will be served.
Submitted by Board of Trustee member Sally-Jean Taylor

A Person of Letters

I’m sure that the U.S. Postal Service did not have me in mind when they decided to sponsor National Card and Letter Writing Month in April, but, in fact, both the entity and the subject have played an important part in my life. Oh, the power of a piece of paper, envelope, and stamp! At one time, the letter was the mainstay of communication. Mail carriers delivered twice daily to homes in Fort Plain. People met through newspapers that had a section dedicated to that subject. Men on the frontier corresponded with women in the hopes of wooing them west. We all remember the movie Sarah, Plain and Tall, based on the Newbery Award winning book by Patricia MacLachlan that tells the story of a mail- order bride who comes to enrich the lives of a frontier family. Other good books based on letters include The Greatest Generation Speaks: Letters and Reflections by Tom Brokaw that includes the correspondence and reminiscences of ordinary citizens and gives us an intense and personal look at a momentous period in our history, and From A to X: A Story in Letters by John Berger, telling the story of the love that exists between a woman and her jailed lover, a political prisoner.
My sister and I have always corresponded. At Christmas, we each sent the other a Knowles collector’s plate, Norman Rockwell’s Reminiscing in the Quiet, depicting an elderly woman sitting in the attic with old letters on her lap, reflecting on the part they played in her life. Today our electronic correspondence is handy, and yet it reminds me of jet contrails, words in passing, defined only for a moment before fading into nothingness. In the spirit of the written greeting, the Fort Plain Free Library will host a card making workshop with instructor Loralee Whitlock on Thursday evening, April 22, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. While this workshop is free and open to the public, space is limited.
So how did the U.S. Postal Service affect my life? My husband was a letter carrier. Though not visibly given to sentiment, he was keenly aware of his part in delivering an anticipated letter to an anxious parent, a birthday card to an elderly grandparent. I like to think it was prompted by his personal experience…awaiting one of the two thousand letters we exchanged over the three years that we dated a half-century ago!
Submitted by Sally-Jean Taylor

Erin Go Bragh!

The nice thing about living in this country is that at any given time an ethnic culture is being celebrated somewhere. Like many Americans, I can celebrate several—Scandinavian, English, and Irish. On March 17th, we will again celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. I’m not an expert on the Celtic culture. What I know is what I grew up with—The Quiet Man with Maureen O’Hara and John Wayne and Yankee Doodle Dandy with James Cagney. When I moved to the Mohawk Valley, I learned the important role that the Irish played in building the Erie Canal. An interesting book on that subject is How the Irish Built the Erie by Harvey Chalmers, available for loan at the library. Later on, Frank McCourt again visited the Irish in America with his memoirs Angela’s Ashes, Tis, and Teacher Man.
In Celtic Art in Cross Stitch, author Barbara Hammett combines over 75 beautiful designs with a rich history of Celtic art. This style developed over centuries and reflects the varied influences from Mediterranean to Viking that the Celts came into contact with throughout their history. As a result of St. Patrick’s mission to Ireland in the fifth century, the country became a center of learning and scholarship. Monks decorated the four gospel books and carried this Book of Kells across Europe. Today, the Celtic style with its combination of abstract painting and satisfying shapes keeps it a perennial favorite all the world over.
A new offering, Apologize, apologize! by Elizabeth Kelly is available in book or unabridged compact disc. It tells the story of a wealthy Irish family living on Martha’s Vineyard. While I do not have the gift of hyper-articulate conversation so often attributed to the Irish and the characters in this coming of age novel, I can assure you that it is everything the book cover says and more!
Those interested in celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, may stop by the library on March 17th for some Irish Soda Bread accompanied by a copy of my mother’s recipe.
Finally, we hope you will join us on Tuesday, March 23, from 1:30 to 2:30, as Beverly Schilling, Senior Consumer Fraud Representative from the Office of the Attorney General presents a Consumer Protection Forum intended to inform citizens about their rights as consumers and who to call when those rights have been violated. Schilling will also discuss scams to avoid and what to do if you fall victim. No registration is required for this free event that is open to any interested individual.

February Tidbits & Tidings

I am told that the origin of St. Valentine’s Day is attributed to two Christian martyrs of that name. Thirteen centuries after their deaths, St. Valentine’s Day was declared an official holiday by Henry VIII who, I believe, had a wife or two who met the same end as the Valentines. Fortunately, after that era, things got better for this holiday. There was a time, in the youth of my marriage, that I had my “martyr moments.” During one of these, I complained to my husband that he never sent me flowers. A dozen roses from the florist soon arrived. They were then followed by a bill addressed to me! If by any chance there is a young bride out there who has a similar complaint, choose your words carefully. The difference between “send” and “buy” is about twenty-five dollars.

Words, spoken, written, or read, make us what we are. The Literacy Volunteers of Schoharie County is working in the area to recruit potential volunteers to serve as tutors in western Montgomery County. When these individuals are trained, Literacy Volunteers will then begin recruiting students. Potentials volunteers or other interested parties may call them at (518) 234-2576 or visit their website at www.lvasc.org.

For those of you who didn’t get roses, the library will hold a class on making a paper rose Wednesday evening, February 17, beginning at 6:30 pm. Participants will make a lovely red, crepe rose. The program is free and open to any interested adult. While registration is not required, space and supplies are limited.
By the way, February is also Library Lover’s Month. Have you hugged a special book lately?