Www.meridenlibrary.org
October 2016
Meriden Public
Library News
Alice’s Ordinary People
Library
Closed
Oct. 10
Mark Your Calendars
Nov. 3—”Cataclysms on the
Columbia” by Frank Donovan
Nov. 3—Imperial Russian
Fabergé Eggs by Marina
Forbes
Nov. 7—General Foulois by
Sylvester Salcedo
Nov. 9—National Parks by
Jack Brooks
Nov. 10—Legends, Lore and
True Hauntings in Meriden
by Julie Griffin
Nov. 12—Italian Cuisine
Made Simple by Chef
Kashia Cave
Inside this issue:
College Admissions
2
CT CCC Camp
3
Marc Berger/RIDE
How True Islam
Remedies Ignorance &
Violence
4
Changes as you age
Italian Immigrants to
Meriden
Anton Dvorak
5
Friends News
6
Children’s Programs
7/8
Join us for a free
documentary
movie
screening of
Alice’s
Ordinary
People
on
Saturday, October 15 at
2:30 pm in the Griffin Room.
Alice’s Ordinary People, is
the story of Alice Tregay,
who was an important part
of the civil rights movement
in Chicago. Film maker
Craig Dudnick will introduce
the film with a question and
answer period after the
movie.
Craig Dudnick is a 1980
graduate of Northwestern
University.
In 1982, he
received a national award
for his camerawork on the
s yndicated
television
program, PM Magazine.
The following year, he
founded Imagine Video Productions, eventually gaining
clients from Europe, Japan,
and at ABC News. For the
latter he covered the
Democratic National Convention in 1996. At
Northwestern, Craig grew
close to Mrs. Viola Hillsman
and her husband Tinsley,
while working with them in
the kitchen of a campus
fraternity. A lifelong friendship ensued, an account of
which was broadcast on the
NPR radio program, “The
Story with Dick Gordon.”
After Mrs. Hillsman passed
away at age 100, a number
of her friends shared
personal accounts of their
struggles against racial
discrimination in Evanston,
Illinois which became the
basis
for
Craig’s
documentary, Evanston’s
Living History.
A second film, Alice’s
Ordinary People, told of
Alice Tregay – a woman
who taught politics as part of
the Civil Rights Movement,
who refused to stand still for
injustice and who brought
others together to change
what was; an effort that
would eventually lead to the
election of the first African
American President.
Alice’s Ordinary People has
been acquired by hundreds
of libraries—worldwide—
including Harvard University,
the University of Cape
Town, South Africa and the
University of Edinburgh,
Scotland.
All are welcome to this free
program. Funding for this
program is provided by the
Friends of Meriden Public
Library.
Edgar Allan Poe Live Reading & Historical Reenactment
You are invited to the
Meriden Public Library on
Monday, October 24 at 6:45
pm as Campbell Harmon
portrays Edgar Allan Poe.
This one hour program
includes dramatic performances of The Tell-Tale Heart
and The Raven.
(continued on page 2)
Meriden Public Library, 105 Miller St., Meriden, CT 06450 (203) 238-2344
Meriden Public Library News
Edgar Allan Poe Reenactment (cont.)
Photo by Christopher
Zajac of the Record
Journal. Costume
created by
[email protected]
Campbell
speaks
in-character as Poe with
the audience about the
author's life, his death, and
his profound influence on
American
literature;
dispelling the myths that
have surrounded his
legacy to show how his
works continue to affect us
today.
This program is suitable
for all ages. Funding is
provided by the Friends of
the Meriden Public Library.
College Admissions Workshop
Are you a high school
student or parent of a high
school student? Stressed
about
the
college
admissions process? Join
us on Monday, October 3
at 6:30 pm in the Griffin
Room.
College
Adm issions
Consultants will hold a
seminar to help. Some of
the topics to be discussed
are: preparing for the
college
admissions
process, qualities colleges
are looking for in an
applicant, deciding where to
apply, how to write an
impressive college essay,
and how to be proactive if
wait-listed or denied.
This program is free and
all are welcome. If you
would like to reserve a
seat,
contact
the
C om m u n i t y
Services
Department at (203) 6306349. Funding for this
program is provided by the
Friends of the Meriden
Public Library.
Medicare Seminar
Medicare and Medicare
Advantage Plans are confusing, but they don’t need
to be! Come to the Library
on Wednesday, October 5
at 1:00 pm in the Griffin
Room and get some
answers.
David Pallotta, President
of
DHP
Benefits
Consulting Group, has
over 20 years of insurance
experience and will be at
the library to provide an
educational presentation
to help make sense of
Medicare,
Medicare
Advantage plans and
federally funded programs.
DHP Benefits offers no
cost services to help you
understand your options
and select the best plan
for your specific needs.
They are there to assist
throughout the year and
re-evaluate your needs for
the Annual Election Period
each year.
This program is free and
all are welcome. To
reserve a seat, contact the
C om m u n i t y
Services
Department at (203) 630-
Classic Book Club
The Classic Book Club will meet at the Library on Thursday, October 13 at 1:30 pm in
the Cook Room. October’s selection is Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh. All are
welcome for lively discussion.
Scrabble
Monday, Oct. 17 and 31
2:00 pm in the Cook
Room
All are welcome.
Page 2
Chess Club
Wednesday, October 26
6:30 pm in the Seminar
Room
Www.meridenlibrary.org
Connecticut Civilian Conservation Corps
Camps: Their History, Memories and Legacy
Martin Podskoch will
present the program
“ Connec tic ut
Civilian
Conservation
Corps
Camps: their history,
memories and legacy” on
Wednesday, October 26 at
7:00 pm in the Griffin
Room.
This author talk and
Powerpoint presentation
will discuss the CCC
experience for the men
who passed through its
cleansing days of hard
work, Army discipline, and
camaraderie to help
support their families
during
the
Great
Depression.
The CCC was a public
works program
that
operated from 1933 to
1942, as part of Pres.
Franklin D. Roosevelt’s
New Deal. It targeted
young men and veterans
in relief families who had
difficulty finding jobs during
the Great Depression,
providing unskilled manual
labor
related
to
e n v i r o n m e n t a l
conservation
and
development of natural
resources in rural lands.
This volume is the second
state CCC project Marty
has completed. New York
State was the first. He
learned from the first
research process the skill
set needed to complete
such an all-encompassing
project. He interviewed
many old men whose fond
memories of their youth in
the CCC remained strong.
Marty Podskoch has
authored
six
other
books: Fire Towers of the
Catskills: Their History and
Lore, Adirondack Fire
Towers: Their History and
Lore, the Southern Districts, Northern Districts and also Adirondack
Stories:
Historical
Sketches and Adirondack
Stories II: 101 More Historical Sketches. His travel
book, The Adirondack 102
Club: Your Passport &
Guide to the North
Country, was published in
2014.
All are welcome to this free
program. Funding for this
program is provided by the
Friends of Meriden Public
Library. If you would like to
reserve a seat, contact the
C om m u n i t y
Services
Department at (203) 63063419.
Retirement by Design
Bill Passarelli, financial
advisor for Edward Jones,
will present the program
“Retirement by Design” on
Tuesday, October 11 at
7:00 pm in the Marion
Cook Room.
This
40
minute
presentation will illustrate
how you can translate your
vision for retirement into
tangible goals. Whether
you are 10 or 40 years
from retirement, you'll
learn investment strategies
to help design the
retirement you want. We'll
also discuss how you can
add flexibility to your
strategy to help you
handle unexpected events
and how you can keep
your strategy on track.
This program is free and
all are welcome. If you
would like to reserve a
seat,
contact
the
C om m u n i t y
Services
Department at (203) 6306349.
Free Computer Classes
The Library offers free
computer classes monthly on
Wednesday afternoons from
2:00 to 3:00 pm. The schedule
for October is:
Page 3
October 5 – Email 2
October 12 – Internet
Searching
October 19 – Job searching on
the internet
October 26 – Basic computers
Class size is limited.
To reserve a seat for a
class, contact the
Information Desk at
(203) 238-2346.
http://www.cccstories.com/
connecticut_ccc.html
Meriden Public Library News
Marc Berger/RIDE music program
Meriden Public Library will
be
h os t in g
a
du o
performance of Marc
Berger’s RIDE program on
Saturday, October 29 at
1:00 pm in the Griffin
Room.
RIDE reflect “his romantic
connection
to
the
American West and
exploring the value of its myth
to contemporary music.” (marcbergermusic.co
m)
Marc loves to explore the
deserts and mountainous
areas of the West. His
recordings included in
Marc has performed at
popular folk festivals and
opened for national acts
such as Bob Dylan. One of
Marc’s songs was heard
on a regular basis at
Richie Havens’ concerts
and his music has been
played on national television.
All are welcome to this free
program. Funding for this
program is provided by the
Friends of Meriden Public
Library.
How True Islam Remedies Ignorance and Violence
Ahmadiyya Muslim
Community, Connecticut
Chapter
Join us for a
enriching
presentation by Zahir
Mannan from the Ahmadiyya Muslim
Community, Connecticut Chapter,
on the essentials of True
Islam,
it's
healing
message, and how it's
practice of "love for all,
hatred for none" is
reversing rhetorics and
winning the hearts of our
compatriots on Thursday,
October 20 at 6:30 pm in
the Griffin Room.
Let's effectively counter
the rising hatred and
bloodshed by coming
together to educate
ourselves about each
other and unite in
collaboration to build
bridges of justice and
peace instead of dividing
walls. We call you to an
interactive discussion and
exhibition with leaders of
the CT Chapter of the
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community,
Muslims who
believe in the Messiah.
Page 4
Their House of Peace
Mosque in Meriden was
shot at last November and
they responded by transforming the former foe into a
warm
f rie nd
thr o ug h
demonstration of the Holy
Quran.
In
a
world
plummeting deeper into
darkness, let's resurrect the
purpose of religion by
uniting at last with our
Creator and each other in
understanding, prayer and
unified action for righteousness.
An
ample amount of time
will be invested for
Questions and Answers
from and to the audience,
and
complementary
literature will be available.
Professionally, Zahir is the
Internship Director and
Head Teacher at the Early
Learning Program, Inc. at
Central Connecticut State
University, and a previous
Associate
Research
Scientist at Yale University
School of Medicine where
he co-authored numerous
papers published in
acclaimed
scientific
periodicals on acute
pancreatitis.
Zahir holds a Bachelor's of
Science Degree in Biology
& Human Psychology and
a Family Development
Credential. He lives in
Middletown with his wife
Syeda Sana Shah and his
two children. He and his
wife were awarded the
2016 Exemplary Early
Childhood Parent Couple
Leadership Hero Award by
CT Parent Power. He is
studying to become an
Interfaith Chaplain.
Zahir Mannan serves on a
voluntary basis as the
elected Faith Outreach
Director and Holy Quran
Education & Voluntary
Devotion Director for the
Ahmadiyya
M u s l i m This program is free and
Community, Connecticut all are welcome.
Chapter.
Www.meridenlibrary.org
The Changes As You Age
What happens as you get
older? Dr. Mohammed
Qureshi, a gerontologist in
private practice, will
discuss the changes that
comes with aging on
Friday, October 21 at 1:00
pm in the Griffin Room.
Dr. Qureshi will talk about
the physical, mental and
medical issues you have
as you age as well as the
impact of strokes on older
people: the types of
strokes and their effects on
stroke victims; recovery,
rehabilitation, and caring
for stroke patients at
home.
This program is free and
all are welcome.
Italian Immigration to Meriden
Meriden Historical Society
and Meriden Public Library
will be hosting the program
“Italian Immigration to
Meriden” presented by
Christine Pittsley from the
Connecticut State Library
on Thursday, October 13
at 6:30 pm in the Griffin
Room.
Sometime in the 19th Century, the residents of Columbia, Italy, up and
moved to Meriden CT. So,
many of our notable residents of Italian descent
share a history that goes
beyond a standard immigration story. Our guest
speaker,
Christine
Pittsley, was born in
Meriden to a family whose
roots are in that same
village. She invites us to
come listen to that little
told story and share
anecdotes if you would like
to.
All are welcome to this free
program.
An Italian immigrant family, 1911.
Photo by Lewis Wickes Hine, courtesy
Library of Congress.
Anton Dvorak—The Happy Soul
Dvorak was the happiest
and least neurotic of the
Romantics. He was barely
literate and hardly a deep
thinker (locomotives were
his chief passion outside of
music). The cheery Czech
was greatly influenced by
his native folk culture
which inspired him to write
a plethora of tuneful compositions.
play excerpts of his music
on Tuesday, October 4 at
1:00 pm in the Griffin
Room.
Jeffrey Engel, who teaches
music at Northwestern
Community College, will
detail Dvorak’s life and
All are welcome to this
program cosponsored by
Castle
Craig
Adult
Learning Center.
http://www.classiccat.net/dvorak_a/
biography.php
Meriden Poetry Society
The Meriden Poetry Society will meet Wednesday, October 19, 2016 at 1:30 p.m. in the Marion
Cook Room. Christine Beck, the Poet Laureate of West Hartford, Connecticut will be the guest
speaker. Ms. Beck holds a Masters of Fine Arts Degree from Southern Connecticut State
University and a BA and JD from the University of California at Berkeley. Currently she teaches at
both Southern Connecticut State University and the University of Hartford. She is the President
and Founder of the Greater New Haven Chapter of the Connecticut Poetry Society and has
served as the editor of a number of publications. She has also served as a board member or
judge of numerous journals including: Connecticut Review, Passager, Connecticut River Review,
and Centrifugal Eye. Her collection "The Charlotte Chronicles" won a mini-chapbook award and
was published by Centrifugal Eye in 2013. She is the author of BLINDING
LIGHT which was published in 2014.
All poets and those interested in poetry are invited to attend this meeting. Refreshments will be
served.
Page 5
Meriden Public Library News
Friends of the Meriden Public Library
Notes from the September Friends of the Library meeting
PRESIDENT NEWS
Frank Ridley will be acting President to finish the term of resigning president, Roger Vandal.
OCTOBER BOOKSALE
The Friends will hold their fall $5-a-bag booksale in the bookstore from October 17
through October 22. The sale will be during regular bookstore hours. Bags will be provided.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Volunteers are needed to help run the bookstore, assist with the mailing of the monthly newsletter and lend a hand in the sorting room. If you have a few hours free per week, please call the
Bookstore at 203- 639-1505 during business hours or leave your
name with someone working. Susan Chappo, Volunteer Coordinator,
will get back to you with ways and times that you can help.
In addition, help is needed for set up and break down for the
booksale. Set up will be on Saturday, October 15 th and break down will
be Monday, October 24th.
LIBRARY DIRECTOR’S REPORT
This summer, there were more readers participating in the Summer Reading Challenge than
in the past. In addition to receiving prizes for participating, children were given a gold coin for each
book read. The children then donated their coins to one of three non-profit
organizations. The
Friends, in support of summer reading, donated $.25 per gold coin to the organizations. The Meriden
Humane Society, the CT Nature Conservancy, and the Barka Foundation were the lucky recipients!
The museum passes have been popular this year. The library requested the renewal of the
following passes: Barnes Museum, Connecticut Historical Society, New Britain Youth Museum and
Hungerford Park, CT Zoological Society (aka Beardsley Zoo), Old Sturbridge Village, Peabody Museum, Children’s Museum and Roaring Brook Nature Center (West Hartford), Imagine Nation Early
Learning Center.
In addition, the library requested Friends’ funds from their Meriden Foundation Grant to subsidize adult educational and cultural programming. The fall series has begun with a variety of programs:
music, an Edgar Allan Poe reenactment, college admissions assistance, guest speakers for the
Writer’s Network, Fabergé eggs, cooking programs, and a documentary on Alice Tregay, an important
player in the Civil Rights Movement.
NEXT MEETING
The next Friends of the Library meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 18 at 6:30 pm in the
Marion Cook Room. We hope to see you there (and bring a friend.)
Writer’s Network
The Writer’s Network will host
writer Marian Lanouette on
Wednesday, October 26 at
7:00 pm in the Marion Cook
Room. Ms. Lanouette will
discuss developing character.
One of ten children Marian
Lanouette/Merry Holly took up
writing to explore new and
adventurous places. While her
friends traveled on planes for
vacation, Marian/Merry traveled
in books. With an overactive
imagination she started creating
her own characters and stories.
Romance and mysteries are her
favorite genres.
The Season of Anthologies are
Marian/Merry’s brain child. The
books in the series include the
following; Season of Magic
Holiday Box Set (2014), Season
of Love (2015), Season of
Surprises Holiday Box Set (2015)
and Season of Thrills mystery/
suspense/ thriller box set (2015).
Season of Promises debuts this
fall (2016).
All are welcome. Funding for this
program is provided by the
Friends of Meriden Public Library.
Meriden Public Library, 105 Miller St., Meriden, CT 06450 (203) 238-2344
La Biblioteca Pública
de Meriden presenta
Cuentacuentos/Bilingual
Story Hour
Fall Session
(Sept. 12—Nov. 21)
MONDAYS
6:30pm
Grades K-2 Yoga Storytime
TUESDAYS
10:30am
Terrific 2’s & 3’s (with caregiver)
11:15am
3’s & 4’s Preschool Storytime
6:30 pm
2’s & 3’s Bedtime Storytime
(with caregiver)
10:30 am
2’s & 3’s Wiggles, Rhymes
& Storytime (with caregiver)
1:30 pm
3’s & 4’s Explorers!
WEDNESDAYS
Sábados a 10:30am
8 y 22 de octubre
Saturdays at 10:30am
October 8 and 22
La hora del cuento es un programa divertido para
familias y niños. Leyendo juntos los niños se preparan
para ir a la escuela y tener éxito. Todos están invitados
a celebrar cuentos y juegos divertidos en español y en
inglés. Habrá refrescos y bocadillos.
Story hour is a fun program for families and children.
Reading together helps prepare children for success in
school. Everyone is invited to listen to stories in English
and Spanish and participate in games and crafts.
Refreshments and snacks will be served.
3’s & 4’s Reading Stars!
6:30 pm
All first time participants may be asked to show proof of age.
Storytimes will begin the week of September 12th.
MONDAY NIGHT
CARD DUELS
October 24
6-7:30 pm Cook Room
Do you play Yu-Gi-Oh!, Pokémon or
Magic: The Gathering? Come play
with your friends at our monthly card
duel. Bring your own deck or learn
how to play from one of our
members.
Homeschool CRAFT
MINECRAFT MEETUP
Animal Mask
Thursday, October 27
4-5 p.m. Griffin Room
Friday, October 14
11am-12pm
Come play with others in person or virtually on our LION
Libraries server. We will have a few computers available
with Minecraft or bring your own. Sign up not required
unless you want to reserve computer. Reserve computer
online through our event calendar. Open to ages 5-17.
Come meet with other homeschool families and
prepare a geometric paper animal mask. Students will
cut, color and tape durable paper masks from
templates representing a wolf/fox, rabbit or bird.
Program most appropriate for K-3 Grade.
To register, call (203) 630-6347.
Please have
template desired in mind when calling.
Meriden Public Library ● Tomie dePaola Children’s Library ● 105 Miller St. Meriden, CT 06450
Phone: (203) 630-6347 ● E-mail: [email protected]
Start on Stories
Thursdays at 10:30am
This program is designed for babies and children
through 2 years old accompanied by a parent/
caregiver. Stories, music, and play are incorporated
into an hour-long
program beginning at 10:30 am.
Registration is ongoing.
Register by calling
(203) 630-6347
or e-mail us at
[email protected]
Homeschool
Social
Friday, October 7
10:30 am
Griffin Room
With the right ingredients, playdough can
conduct electricity! Children will get an
introduction to the basics of electricity
through hands-on play with a Squishy
Circuit kit, conductive and insulating
dough. Registration required. Space is
limited.
‘The Jungle Book Movie’
Saturday, October 8
2:00 p.m. in the Griffin Room
Crafternoon: Metal
Tooling Folk Art
Wednesday, October 12
4-5 p.m. Griffin Room
Kids are invited to create a colorful metal wall-hanging.
Metal tooling is a centuries-old art in which a soft metal
is worked with a rounded tool on the backside in order to
create a raised design on the front. Mexican and
South American artists call this art form repajado. All
supplies will be provided. Ages 8-12.
Day of the Dead
Drop-in Craft Activity
Tuesday, November 1
3-6 p.m. Children’s Library
PreK - 2nd Grades
Decorate a paper sugar skull face mask.
All materials provided.
Limit one mask per child, please.
No registration necessary.
After a threat from the
tiger, Shere Khan, forces
him to flee the jungle, a
man-cub named Mowgli
embarks on a journey of
self discovery with the
help of panther,
Bagheera, and free
spirited bear, Baloo.
(PG: 1 hr. 46 min.)
Halloween
Party
Monday, October 31
10:30– 12 Noon
Griffin Room
Come enjoy a festive holiday storytime and
variety of craft and activity centers! Dress
in costume for even more fun! Open to ages
2-5 years old. Registration required. Snacks
will be served.