Sep
27
Tue
Nonfiction Book Discussion Group @ online via Zoom
Sep 27 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Nonfiction Book Discussion Group @ online via Zoom
The next meeting of Thetford’s informal nonfiction book discussion group will take place on Tuesday September 27th at 12 NOON on Zoom.  For the Zoom link, please contact librarian@thetfordlibrary.org
We will be discussing The Physiology of Taste by Brillat-Savarin, translated by M F K Fisher.
The book may be obtained from your local library, via interlibrary loan,  possibly as an audio or e-book via ListenUp Vermont or in New Hampshire,  New Hampshire Downloadable Books. Users need only get a barcode number from their local library to use the services.  Or you can obtain the book from your favorite local bookseller, or via www.bookfinder.com, the aggregator site for booksellers both large and small from all over the world, and for books both new and secondhand.

All are welcome and we look forward to seeing you. 

Oct
3
Mon
Space Lunch @ Latham Library
Oct 3 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Space Lunch @ Latham Library
The show must go on!  – You may have heard, Hurricane Ian has delayed our SpaceX launch, but we’ve decided to carry on anyway.   On October 3, at noon  we will have a Space Lunch.  Join Host Solar System Ambassador for NASA, Cynthia Shelton, Special guest Planetary Scientist Tara Tomlison and our intrepid librarian Emily Zollo for free bagels, NASA swag, and spacey conversation.  All ages welcome.   Bring your questions, your stories, your expertise – wear your Space Gear and prepare to get nerdy.
Oct
20
Thu
A Stitch in Time book discussion series @ online via Zoom
Oct 20 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
A Stitch in Time book discussion series @ online via Zoom
Looking for an expansive topic to ponder during the upcoming months?  A Stitch in Time is the theme for the Fall ‘22/Winter’23 Book Discussion Group.  Four books – two fiction and two non-fiction – explore the wide-ranging and surprisingly significant role of textile fabrication and assembly throughout the lives of women (and men) from past to present day.

The first book, The Other Side of Stone, by Linda Cracknell, is a collection of linked short fiction stories.  Spanning three centuries, it focuses on the people connected to a Perthshire, Scotland woolen mill that dominates their lives, their struggle for women’s rights, and the impact of industrialization on rural Scotland.
The first discussion will be held via Zoom, Thursday, October 20, from noon to 1 p.m.   To register and obtain a book from the library, please email librarian@thetfordlibrary.org or call 802-785-4361.

A Stitch in Time:  The role and significance of textiles/sewing/needlework in women’s lives during different time periods.
 
The Other Side of Stone – Linda Cracknell – A collection of linked short stories that spans three centuries, this book focuses on the people connected to a Perthshire, Scotland woolen mill, their struggle for women’s rights and the impact of industrialization on rural Scotland.
 
All that She Carried – Tiya Alicia Miles – Miles, a Harvard history professor, uses an embroidered message on an old grain sack to unravel the history of three Africa American women whose lives spanned the 19th and 20th centuries, slavery and freedom, and North and South.
The Sewing Machine – Natalie Fergie –  A sewing machine, made at the Singer Factory in Clydebank, Scotland in 1911, links together four generations of family through 2016, while showing how tangible and intangible aspects of our lives are inevitably passed down.
The Dressmakers of Auschwitz – Lucy Adlington – non-fiction – Using their sewing skills, 25 young women in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp organized a fashion workshop to create high fashion designs for elite Nazi women and to save themselves from the gas chambers.

 

Oct
25
Tue
Nonfiction Book Discussion Group @ online via Zoom
Oct 25 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Nonfiction Book Discussion Group @ online via Zoom
The next meeting of Thetford’s informal nonfiction book discussion group will take place at Latham Library on Thetford Hill on  Tuesday October 25th at 12 NOON  on Zoom.   For the Zoom link, please contact librarian@thetfordlibrary.org
We will be discussing The Man Who Listens To Horses by Monty Roberts, the original Horse Whisperer on whom the book and movie were based.
When Monty Roberts was thirteen years old he went off on his own to the deserts of Nevada to watch mustangs in the wild. What he learned about their methods of communication changed his life forever.

The Man Who Listens to Horses reveals his deep love and understanding of horses. We learn how, through his relationship with various horses, he gradually developed the methods which enabled him to communicate in their own language: a silent language of gestures like signing for the deaf.

According to Monty, anyone can learn the language of the horse and anyone can learn his Join-Up(R) methods. In this book he tells you how. This is the bestselling autobiography that spread Monty Roberts’ message across the world and changed his life forever.

The book may be obtained from your local library, via interlibrary loan,  possibly as an audio or e-book via ListenUp Vermont or in New Hampshire,  New Hampshire Downloadable Books. Users need only get a barcode number from their local library to use the services.  Or you can obtain the book from your favorite local bookseller, or via www.bookfinder.com, the aggregator site for booksellers both large and small from all over the world, and for books both new and secondhand.
All are welcome and we look forward to seeing you. 

 

Oct
27
Thu
A Beginner’s Guide to Cemetery Sleuthing @ online via Zoom
Oct 27 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
A Beginner's Guide to Cemetery Sleuthing @ online via Zoom

Cemeteries hold invaluable clues to genealogical research. Etched in stone are names, symbols and abbreviations that not only tell us more about our ancestors but also about their place in time. This program will cover strategies to help locate your ancestor’s burial place, how to make the most out of a visit and how to decipher a variety of symbols. Includes a list of Erin’s favorite cemetery resources. Note: Most of this content covers New England cemeteries, though many symbols can be seen nationwide. To register and receive the Zoom link please email librarian@thetfordlibrary.org .

Erin E. Moulton writes books and tracks dead people. An incorrigible story lover, Erin is the author of Flutter, Tracing Stars, Chasing the Milky Way and Keepers of the Labyrinth. In addition to her creative pursuits, Erin has over 12 years of experience tracking down interesting real-life questions at the reference desk and is a librarian and genealogist. She holds a BA from Emerson College, an MFA in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and a certificate in genealogical research from Boston University. When she isn’t searching for just the right word or just the right clue, she can be found teaching people of all ages about writing, publishing and research. Visit her online at www.erinemoulton.com.

Nov
13
Sun
Community Room Celebration @ Latham Library
Nov 13 @ 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Community Room Celebration @ Latham Library

Join us in celebrating the completion of the Community Room in the lower level of Latham Library!   Enjoy refreshments, share your ideas for using the space, and experience the improvements in air quality and hybrid meeting technology.  Learn about the Lift project, which will make the Community Room accessible to all. Drop by anytime Sunday November 13th from 1-3 pm.

Nov
17
Thu
A Stitch in Time Book Discussion Series @ online via Zoom
Nov 17 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
A Stitch in Time Book Discussion Series @ online via Zoom
A Stitch in Time Book Discussion Series, Fall ‘22/Winter ’23 – second book

It’s easy to take textiles for granted since they’re so much a part of our daily lives.  But, if we analyze them more closely, they reveal insights into the history of capitalism, colonialism, economics, exports, imports, agriculture, labor, religion, art, costumes, cultures, and nearly everything humans have created.
A Stitch in Time is the theme for the Fall ‘22/Winter’23 Book Discussion Group.  Our second book in this season’s series is All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake, by Tiya Miles, a creative historical examination of the lives of three Black women.
Our discussion will be held via Zoom, Thursday, November 17, from noon to 1 p.m.   To register and obtain a book from the library, please email librarian@thetfordlibrary.org or call 802-785-4361.

Nov
19
Sat
HomeShare Vermont Talk and Q&A @ Latham Library
Nov 19 @ 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
HomeShare Vermont Talk and Q&A @ Latham Library

Ric Cengeri from VPR fame is coming to the Latham Library to talk to you about the HomeShare Vermont option in and around Thetford.  Much more than just a housemate or tenant situation, HomeShare Vermont is a mutually beneficial exchange of housing for help.  Chores, sharing a meal, pet care, landscaping, every HomeShare is different.  Open to all ages, HomeShare Vermont takes the guesswork out of finding an appropriate HomeShare pairing.  Thetford resident Cynthia Shelton has been a participant in the program and will host the event and help answer questions.  Learn more about it at www.homesharevermont.org. Bagels and other snacks provided.  

Nov
29
Tue
Nonfiction Book Discussion Group @ online via Zoom
Nov 29 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Nonfiction Book Discussion Group @ online via Zoom
The next meeting of Thetford’s informal nonfiction book discussion group will take place on Tuesday November 29th at 12:00 Noon via Zoom.
We will be discussing What a Fish Knows by Jonathan Balcombe.
Do fishes think? Do they really have three-second memories? And can they recognize the humans who peer back at them from above the surface of the water? In What a Fish Knows, the myth-busting ethologist Jonathan Balcombe addresses these questions and more, taking us under the sea, through streams and estuaries, and to the other side of the aquarium glass to reveal the surprising capabilities of fishes. Although there are more than thirty thousand species of fish—more than all mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians combined—we rarely consider how individual fishes think, feel, and behave. Balcombe upends our assumptions about fishes, portraying them not as unfeeling, dead-eyed feeding machines but as sentient, aware, social, and even Machiavellian—in other words, much like us.

What a Fish Knows draws on the latest science to present a fresh look at these remarkable creatures in all their breathtaking diversity and beauty. Fishes conduct elaborate courtship rituals and develop lifelong bonds with shoalmates. They also plan, hunt cooperatively, use tools, curry favor, deceive one another, and punish wrongdoers. We may imagine that fishes lead simple, fleeting lives—a mode of existence that boils down to a place on the food chain, rote spawning, and lots of aimless swimming. But, as Balcombe demonstrates, the truth is far richer and more complex, worthy of the grandest social novel.
Highlighting breakthrough discoveries from fish enthusiasts and scientists around the world and pondering his own encounters with fishes, Balcombe examines the fascinating means by which fishes gain knowledge of the places they inhabit, from shallow tide pools to the deepest reaches of the ocean.

Teeming with insights and exciting discoveries, What a Fish Knows offers a thoughtful appraisal of our relationships with fishes and inspires us to take a more enlightened view of the planet’s increasingly imperiled marine life. What a Fish Knows will forever change how we see our aquatic cousins—the pet goldfish included.
The book may be obtained from your local library, via interlibrary loan,  possibly as an audio or e-book via ListenUp Vermont or in New Hampshire,  New Hampshire Downloadable Books. Users need only get a barcode number from their local library to use the services.  Or you can obtain the book from your favorite local bookseller, or via www.bookfinder.com, the aggregator site for booksellers both large and small from all over the world, and for books both new and secondhand.
All are welcome and we look forward to seeing you.   
Nov
30
Wed
Local Author Event: Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling @ Peabody Library
Nov 30 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Local Author Event: Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling @ Peabody Library

Thetford author Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling will read from A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear: The Utopian Plot to Liberate an American Town (And Some Bears).

Once upon a time, a group of libertarians got together and hatched one of the most ambitious social experiments in modern American history—the so-called Free Town Project: a plan to take over an American town and completely eliminate its government. In 2004, they set their sights on Grafton, NH, a flyspeck town with only one paved road, buried in the woods of New Hampshire’s western fringe.

When freedom-focused libertarians across the US—from as far as California to as near as Massachusetts—descended on Grafton, state and federal laws became meek suggestions. Soon the wilderness-thick town lost public funding for pretty much everything: fire dept, the schoolhouse, library, and perhaps most importantly wildlife services. As the people were ignoring laws and regulations on hunting and food disposal, their newly formed off-the-grid tent city caught the attention of some unruly neighbors: the bears.

Armed with a pen and journalist’s notebook, Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling—a seasoned journalist who has covered everything from Maine’s stately Governor’s Mansion to the mud hut of a witch doctor in Sierra Leone—was drawn to Grafton in hopes of uncovering the truth behind this fantastical tale of bear vs. libertarian. In his  book A LIBERTARIAN WALKS INTO A BEAR:  The Utopian Plot to Liberate an American Town (And Some Bears), Hongoltz-Hetling details how this tiny town became a radical social experiment—until the bear attacks started. Along the way he meets a band of interesting characters: Jessica Soule, a Vietnam-era veteran who became an acolyte of the controversial Reverend Sun Myung Moon; Adam Franz, a poker-playing communist who dreamed of founding a survivalist community; John Connell, a Massachusetts factory worker on a mission from God; and, of course, John Babiarz, the firefighter libertarian who opened Grafton’s doors to the Free Town Project and then spent the next decade trying to explain it to his nonlibertarian neighbors.  This book is a sometimes funny, sometimes frightening tale of what happens when a government disappears into the woods. Complete with gunplay, adventure, and backstabbing politicians, this is a quintessentially American story, a bearing of our national soul.

Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling is a freelance journalist specializing in narrative features and investigative reporting. He has been named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, won a George Polk Award, and been voted Journalist of the Year by the Maine Press association, among numerous other honors. His work has appeared in Foreign Policy, USA Today, Popular ScienceAtavist Magazine, Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, the Associated Press, and elsewhere.