Youth
Program
Mary Newman
David FitzSimmons
Julie
Julie Zickefoose
Zickefoose
Patrick Lay
JoAnn Shade
Diane
Diane Stresing
Stresing
419-289-8188
www.ashland.lib.oh.us
Walt Sturgeon
Sturgeon
Walt
Youth
Program
Steve Harpster
Deborah Fleming
Ian Adams
Beth Duewel
Wednesday, April 26: Mary Newman
Mary Newman holds a PhD in Toxicology from the University Of Cincinnati School Of Medicine, is a former professor at Ohio University, co-author (with husband John
Kachuba) of Why is this Job Killing Me? (Dell, 1999) and numerous articles published in scientific journals, award-winning lily gardener, and wedding cake designer and
baker. Mary lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband. Few things in life have as much universal appeal as flowers. But why in the world would anyone eat them?
Greek, Roman, Persian, Ottoman, Mayan, Chinese and Indian cooks have all recognized the feast for the senses that flowers brought to their dishes. Today, chefs and
adventurous cooks are increasingly using flowers in innovative ways. Edible Flowers: A Global History (Reaktion Books, September 2016) is the fascinating story of how
flowers have been used in cooking from ancient customs to modern kitchens. It also serves up novel ways to prepare and eat soups, salads, desserts and drinks. Monday, May 1: Walt Sturgeon
Walt Sturgeon is a field mycologist with over 40 years of experience studying and identifying mushrooms. His photos of mushroom and fungi, some award-winning,
can be seen in numerous mushroom field guide publications, two of which he co-authored: Waxcap Mushrooms of Eastern North America, University of Syracuse
Press, 2012; Mushrooms and Macrofungi of Ohio and the Midwestern States, Ohio State University, 2013. He was a Contributing Author to the Encyclopedia of
Appalachia, University of Tennessee Press. Walt has received the North American Mycological Association (NAMA) Award for Contributions to Amateur Mycology, and
Northeast (North America) Mycological Federation (NEMF) Eximia Award, both for contributions to the advancement of amateur mycology. He is the past president of
the Ohio Mushroom Society and has associations with many other mycological organizations. Walt is married to Trish, has two children & two grandchildren, and is a
retired social worker.
Monday May 8: JoAnn Streeter Shade
When Ashland resident JoAnn Streeter Shade retired from Salvation Army ministry at the Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center in 2012, she expanded her
interest in writing by developing a variety of resources, including a series of Advent meditations, collections of her newspaper columns, books in support for those in
difficult marriages and women impacted by sexual abuse, creative writing guides, and historical accounts of Eliza Duncan (founder of Massillon, OH) and Eliza
Armstrong, the center of a controversial plan to minimize human trafficking in the 1880s. In doing so, she encountered the expanding field of self-publication (print on
demand), and has successfully published twenty+ books through that avenue, also enjoying assisting more than a dozen local writers in producing their books through
this means. She is a weekly columnist for the Ashland Times-Gazette and is a regular contributor to a number of Salvation Army publications. She is married to Larry,
is the mother of three adult sons, Greg, Drew and Dan, and Lauren, a beloved daughter-in-law, and is Nana to the lovely Madelyn Simone and the delightful
Elizabeth Holiday. She combines her academic training from Ashland Theological Seminary with a writer's eye, a pastor's heart, and a grandmother’s joy through
Gracednotes Ministries.
Wednesday, May 9: David FitzSimmons
David FitzSimmons is a free-lance photographer and writer as well as a Professor of English. David photographs and writes for various magazines, including Ohio
Magazine, Popular Photography & Imaging, and Shutterbug, numerous newspapers, and online publications, including PopPhoto.com. David is the author of Curious
Critters, which has won five national book awards, Curious Critters Volume 2, Curious Critters Marine, and Salamander Dance. He currently is at work on a handful of
books, including Animals of Ohio’s Ponds and Vernal Pools (Kent State University Press, 2010), Waterfalls of Ohio, and several children’s picture books.
Saturday, June 10: Ian Adams
Ian Adams is an environmental photographer, writer and teacher specializing in natural, rural, historical and garden areas. Twenty-one books of his color
photography have been published, including Missouri Botanical Garden: Green for 150 Years, Our First Family’s Home: The Ohio Governor’s Residence & Heritage
Garden, Backroads of Ohio, The Floridas, and Cuyahoga Valley National Park. A Photographer’s Guide To Ohio was released by Ohio University Press in June, 2011.
Volume 2 of A Photographer’s Guide to Ohio was published in May, 2015, followed by the centennial edition of Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens, which was released by
the University of Akron Press in June, 2015. His latest book, Ohio in Photographs: A Portrait of the Buckeye State, co-photographed with Randall Schieber, with text by
John Fleischman and a foreword by Ohio Governor John Kasich, was released by Ohio University Press in March, 2017.
Monday, June 19: Diane Stresing
Diane Stresing grew up in Columbus and learned to love hiking at a young age. (Good thing, since she got kicked out of ballet class and was too soft for sports.)
Living in NE Ohio since 1989, she’s long felt at home on Cleveland’s trails. Diane loves “talking about walking” and meeting other outdoors enthusiasts. The fully
updated, third edition of 60 Hikes within 60 Miles of Cleveland was published by Menasha Ridge Press in January 2016.
Monday, June 26: Patrick Lay
Patrick Lay is a cartoonist from Tiffin, OH. He is the co-creator of Multi-, along with Nick Dutro and is working on his first graphic novel called Ramble. Patrick has
released 3 issues of Multi-, along with a preview of Ramble, mini-comics and been published in the Vagabond Comics anthology. He focuses on all-ages comics
that kids and adults can share. Patrick is working on an MFA in Comics degree from The California College of the Arts in San Francisco. He currently has a BSFA in
Oil Painting from Valparaiso University.
Tuesday, June 27: Steve Harpster
Artist Steve Harpster will be presenting two programs from his books: Drawing Animals with Numbers and Letters with Harptoons at 2:00 p.m., and Drawing
Superheroes and Villains with Harptoons at 4:00 p.m. The first program is geared towards younger kids, kindergarten through 2nd grades, and the second towards
kids in grades 1-6. Every artist will draw with Harpster as he shows how to take letters and numbers and turn them into monsters, animals, and fun characters. Drawing
paper for the event is provided by Harptoons and every artist will get a Harptoons drawing pencil to take home. Harpster has illustrated over 100 children’s books. He
wants to show kids they have the power to draw, create, and imagine their own worlds and stories.
Thursday, July 6: Deborah Fleming
Editor of the Ashland Poetry Press, Deborah Fleming, professor of English, received her PhD from Ohio State University. Her books include Without Leave, a novel
published by Black Mountain Press; Morning, Winter Solstice, a collection of poetry published by Vineyard Press; "A man who does not exist": The Irish Peasant in the
Work of W. B. Yeats and J. M. Synge (University of Michigan Press); and Towers of Myth and Stone: Yeats's Influence on Robinson Jeffers (University of South Carolina
Press). She received the Asheville Award in the Novel, the Vandewater Poetry Award, and a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities. She
teaches creative writing, literature, and composition, and her research interests are W. B. Yeats, Robinson Jeffers, Anglo-Irish literature, modern poetry, and
environmentalist literature. She has been a keynote speaker at the W. B. Yeats Society of New York and the Tor House Foundation Fall Festival.
Monday, July 17: Beth Duewel
Beth Duewel is a writer, speaker, and blogger at fix-her-upper.com. She is a freelance writer for magazines and compilations books and has long been a regular
contributor to P31 Woman magazine. Beth worked as a recreational therapist and a drug and alcohol counselor for many years. She lives in Ashland, Ohio, where she
is happily married to Jerry Duewel. They have three grown children.
Tuesday, September 12: Julie Zickefoose
Julie Zickefoose of Whipple, Ohio, author of the heavily illustrated Letters from Eden and The Bluebird Effect, is a Contributing Editor to Bird Watcher’s Digest. Her
new book is Baby Birds: An Artist Looks Into the Nest (2016), with more than 500 watercolor studies of the development of nestling birds. She loves to encourage
people to watch wildlife more closely and carefully, speaking and leading trips at a number of festivals around the country.