Well, it may not officially be winter on the calendar, but on Long Island winter has arrived, with snow on Thanksgiving. So, to celebrate the season, we have a lovely winter exhibit of snowmen, collected over the years by Penny Murley. Stop by the small exhibit case, between the library and small meeting room, and say hello to this wonderful collection of snowmen.
My birthday road trip this year was to Hope, Freedom, Liberty, and Union. My favorite of these wonderfully named towns was Union, with its beautiful downtown common. There were several visual cues in the common referring to “Come Spring,” a novel by Ben Ames Williams published in 1940, which tells the tale of the first settlers of Union, then known as “Sterlingtown.” Sterlingtown became incorporated as Union in 1780, when there were 19 families. “Come Spring” fictionalizes the story of these families.
Despite being 866 pages, the book kept me interested throughout with good characters, humor, and mostly the wonderful descriptions of every day life in these early days of Maine settlement. It also contains one of the longest courtships I’ve ever read in fiction, a wonderful love story, and a strong and likeable main female character.
In Union’s common is a map of Sterlingtown, which can be found in the book endpages, as well as a plaque under a tree dedicated to Ben Ames Williams (1889 – 1953). What a treat to “discover” a Maine author (Williams vacationed in Maine, and set several of his works there) whom I have not read, especially after visiting Union. I need to return there again, now that I’ve read this book that further explores the history of Union.
The Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance (MWPA) announced the winners of the 2014 Maine Literary Awards.
The winners for book awards included Roxana Robinson for “Sparta” in fiction; Al Lamanda for “Sunrise” in crime fiction; Mark D. Diehl for “Seventeen: Book One” in speculative fiction; Lincoln Paine for “The Sea and Civilization” in nonfiction; Peter Korn for “Why We Make Things and Why it Matters” in memoir; Christian Barter for “In Someone Else’s House” in poetry; Lynn Plourde for “You’re Wearing THAT to School?!” in children’s; Maria Padian for “Out of Nowhere” in young adult; Martha White for “E.B. White on Dogs” in anthology; Reeser Manley and Marjorie Peronto for “New England Gardener’s Year” in the John N. Cole Award for Maine-themed nonfiction; and Elizabeth W. Garber and Michael Weymouth for “Maine (Island Time)” for excellence in publishing.
For more information see:
http://mainewriters.org/winners-of-the-2014-maine-literary-awards/#more-2719
There seems to be a plethora of quilts being exhibited in libraries this month. What a wonderful way to brighten up winter in Maine! I stumbled on the first one at the Falmouth Public Library – such beautiful quilts, including one made with old handkerchiefs. These quilts were made by the Cobblestone Quilters, a group of over 85 members who are interested in quilting, fabric art, and sewing. Cobblestone quilters are active in the community donating quilts to Maine veterans, Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital, the neonatal unit at Maine Medical Center, and Meals on Wheels. They make raffle quilts to support Habitat for Humanity, Multiple Sclerosis Society, and the Boys and Girls Club. Over 25 quilts by Cobblestone Quilters are on display during the month of February. These quilts represent a variety of quilting styles, techniques, and fabric choices.
Then I read about an exhibit being held at the Portland Public Library downtown branch:
http://www.portlandlibrary.com/events/words-art-quilts-maine/
This is a traveling exhibit: Members of Art Quilts Maine, a statewide guild chapter dedicated to the exploration of contemporary quilt art, respond to an annual challenge with diverse and colorful results. This year’s challenge, issued in October 2013, is titled, “By These Words . . .” Quilts were to be inspired by Words—poetry, quote, idiom, saying. Eight members met the challenge, and the collection went on view in July at Maine Quilts 2013. Since then they have been on exhibit in Farmington and Skowhegan, and will travel to Waterville when they leave Portland.
Finally, I just came across this exhibit, held at the Wells Public Library, of quilts by Ernest Nason, a local artist who worked as a carpenter for many years. When an injury took him off his feet for a while, he decided to take up quilting.
I leave you with a picture of one of our island quilts, exhibited this summer at the Long Island Historical Society space:
I tend to gravitate towards books written in the 1940s and 1950s, such as Daphne Du Maurier’s books, and the Bennett Island Trilogy by Maine author Elisabeth Ogilvie. I recently read another book from this period, a non-fiction book by another Maine author, Bernice “Bunny” Richmond: “Winter Harbor.” This book has been on my bookshelf at home for many years before we bought the house in 1996, as evidenced by the silverfish eaten cover. Published in 1943 the book tells the tale of Bernice and her husband Reg buying a lighthouse from the U.S. government, and then enjoying their summers on the island where it is located, Mark Island. Bunny starts the book:
“Reg and I are little people. No one ever heard of us, we have no names, we have no wealth, yet something wonderful, exciting and full of adventure happened to us.” Reg inherited $1500 and said to his wife, “Well, Bunny, what would you like to do with fifteen hundred dollars?” Her answer? “I want a lighthouse on the Maine coast.”
Throughout the book you can feel Bunny’s complete joy of exploring Mark Island, where the lighthouse is located, near Schoodic Peninsula down east. So, if you’ve ever dreamt of living in a lighthouse, this is the book for you! (and you can find the book in our very own island library)
[Photo not of Winter Harbor Lighthouse, but of Pemaquid Lighthouse]
The Maine Readers’ Choice Award Committee is pleased to announce the winner for the inaugural Maine Readers’ Choice Award. The 2013 Award recipient is Wiley Cash for his debut novel, A Land More Kind Than Home. The other finalists were Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl and The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers
The award is for the best in adult fiction published in the United States – the finalists were voted on by Maine readers.
Our wonderful island library has all three of these books, so come on down to see if you agree with your fellow Mainers.
For more information on the award see:
http://mainereaderschoiceaward.org/
Next, we head to the Diamond Islands to see what they offer their communities as far as libraries. On Great Diamond Island, Elwell Hall, in the village, has a small library, created by Jane Laughlin. It’s seasonal, open in the summer to Diamond Island Association members and their guests, when the hall, which recently celebrated its 100th anniversary, is open. It’s mostly items donated, including cookbooks, fiction, and children’s books.
On the fort side, there is a small library in the Diamond Cove Association building. Both of these libraries are informal, without a checking out system. Mostly a book swap of sorts. On Little Diamond, there is no physical place for a library, but people do read a lot in the summer, and have an informal book swap.
So, if there is a need for a good book to read, after the ferry leaves, there are opportunities available on Little and Great Diamond Islands.
Cliff Island’s library is probably the only official library in Casco Bay that is housed in a classic turn-of-the-century cottage, built in 1907. Perched on a hillside, just beyond the community hall, which houses the post office and historical society, this beautiful library was named after Floraetta Stone (The Stone Library), a co-founder of the library (1907) and the Cliff Island Library Club which still operates the library. The library offers services in the summer only (although has been known to be open in the winter in the past). The paid librarian, Amy Lent, is also the postmaster (a true Mainer!). Although the library is technically a membership library, it balances being a public library by offering services to anyone who needs it. Books, books-on-tape, CDs, DVDs are offered, as well as classic Maine books – all of which can be accessed through the 
library’s automated catalog. There is even a teen room. Best of all is a wonderful porch where one can sit and enjoy reading, while gazing between the trees at the water. What more could one want!
Many years ago, on a cold winter’s day, a group of us from Long Island visited the Chebeague Island Library. Why? We were visiting various libraries to get ideas for our new library, which we were in the process of planning to build. Then librarian Martha Hamilton was our gracious host, showing us their beautiful library. It was warm and bright and colorful with various areas perfect for curling up with books, and a cozy and cheerful children’s area. It was definitely a delightful visit, which gave us much inspiration for planning our own library.
Today the library continues to be a bright spot for Chebeague residents – the current librarian, Deb Bowman, says…” We try to provide what the community needs or wants. … We have done so much here, dancing, drumming, movies, poetry (lots of poetry), art displays, music, and so much more. Book group, iPad classes, prayer book making,
and it goes on and on.” One clever idea was to dress up the front display table with bedclothes and invite patrons to fill out a card which asked “What do you read in bed?”
Deb says their mission statement drives her vision for the library: “The Chebeague Island Library provides a welcoming center to foster the learning of the entire Island Community. The Library cultivates knowledge and enjoyment and brings enrichment and stimulus to Chebeague through diverse collections, innovative technology, research and educational resources, programs and services in response to Island interests.”
For more information on the Chebeague Island Library see: http://chebeague.chebeague.lib.me.us/
And as you start thinking about doing taxes for the past year, here’s a wonderful way to help out all public libraries in Maine:
Support Maine Public Libraries by donating via your Maine Income Tax form using Schedule CP. Donating $5 or more is this easy.
Here’s how to find out more:
http://www.maine.gov/msl/tax/index.shtml
All proceeds help Maine’s Public Libraries whether it’s …
