Your monthly news & updates
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Comings and Goings @ Lanier
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We are pleased to welcome Jenny Purtill as the new Executive Director for Lanier Library. After a month-long search, reviewing ten resumes and narrowing the field to four well-qualified candidates, Jenny Purtill was the one who "checked all the boxes," according to executive committee member Vicky Jackson who served on the search committee along with Board Chair Harry Goodheart and executive committee members Barbara Smith, Vince Verrecchio and Tim Boyce.
"We were looking for someone who could serve as a visible and positive leader who had the requisite skills to administer and coordinate all aspects of Lanier Library's programs and operations," says Jackson. "Jenny received a BA from Davidson College and a Master's in Library and Information Science from the University of South Carolina. Her work experience includes ten years in libraries, most recently as an elementary school librarian. She has also worked as a development officer in colleges and schools."
Jenny, husband Allan, daughter Syler (17) and son James (12) moved to Tryon in September 2019 when Allan became the Pastor for Tryon Presbyterian Church. Syler is a junior at Polk County High School and James attends Polk County Middle School. When asked how she felt about her new job Jenny told us she felt "excited and just the right amount of nervous" and looked forward to connecting with the library members "who make Lanier Library such a vibrant place."
Member Jack Saunders was introduced to Jenny on a recent visit when Jenny was in for this interview. After congratulating her his first question was "will you change the dog-friendly policy?" Both he and canine pal Black Jack breathed a sigh of relief when Jenny answered in the negative. "I have two dogs of my own," she told us, "and Greeter Dog Nick was one of the first things my daughter, Syler noticed about the library. She loved that dogs were welcome." Jenny's dogs include a yellow lab and a willful lab mix puppy, who Jenny tells us will most likely not be visiting the library anytime soon.
Like any true librarian Jenny proclaims to enjoy all literary genres, but when pushed she admits that historical fiction tops her list.
"Jenny combines the right mix of educational qualifications and relevant experience, on top of strong organizational and technical skills. We felt she was the best match for the library's needs. She has a a keen sense of humor, to boot! In short, Jenny ticked all the boxes and we feel very fortunate to have found someone so well qualified for this leadership position," says Jackson.
Jenny will begin her new duties the first week in March; come in and say hello!
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Lanier Bids Farewell to Peter Franklin
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With the hiring of new Executive Director, Jenny Purtill, the Lanier Library bid farewell to Peter Franklin in his role as Executive Officer at the end of February. Peter was hired in 2017 with Amber Keeran, both working part-time, as the two split the duties of Executive Director. Peter has also served as interim Library Director in the past month since Amber's retirement, taking care of the weekly tasks that keep the library running.
As Executive Officer, Peter was responsible for development and fundraising, including writing grants for the library. He also set the library's budget (with board approval) and kept a close eye on the library's finances. Under his guidance, the library received grants to redo lighting to more energy-efficient LEDs, remedy long-time plumbing problems, and repave the parking lot. Members will recall donation letters and correspondence from Peter as well.
"It was a pleasure to work with Peter over the past three years," said former Library Director Amber Keeran. "When the former board saw his credentials, they knew he would bring great things to Lanier. They had the insight to hire both of us and we were lucky that we hit it off immediately. We worked closely to make the library more financially stable and a vibrant community place again."
Peter won't just be resting in his second retirement, but will continue to be a big part of our community. He currently serves on several boards or committees with other organizations in addition to his duties as Treasurer at Holy Cross Episcopal Church. Peter has also graciously volunteered to continue to head up the library's Mary Alice Monroe fundraisers after successfully getting those off the ground in 2019.
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We wish Peter well and thank him for his service and especially for his support of the Lanier Library!
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Annual Meeting
What Would Winston Churchill Think of Today's World Events?
Sunday, March 29, 3 PM
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Mark your calendar for our 2020 Annual Program to be held on
Sunday, March 29 at 3 pm. Our featured guest will be internationally-acclaimed
Tryon journalist, author and Churchill expert Paul Reid, whose talk will center on
"What Would Winston Churchill's Reaction be to Today's World Events?"
Paul's publisher, Little-Brown, includes the following in his bio: In the early 1990's, Reid began writing political commentary for local Massachusetts newspapers, which led to a regular op-ed column at the Boston Globe. As a freelance writer he covered the Yugoslav civil war, narco-terrorism in Colombia, and the Troubles in Northern Ireland. He graduated from Harvard University Extension School in 1990 with a bachelor of Liberal Arts cum laude. In 1996 Reid joined The Palm Beach Post, a Cox newspaper, as a features writer. Reid was named 1998 Cox Newspapers writer of the year and won the 1998 Paul Hansell award, given by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors, for reporting and writing. In 2003 he was embedded with United States Marines at the start of the Iraq War.
In 2004 he left the Post to complete
THE LAST LION: Defender of the Realm, which was the long-awaited third volume of William Manchester's acclaimed biography of Winston Churchill. Manchester, ill and unable to write, entrusted Paul with the task. The book spent ten weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and was named one of the best books of the year by The Wall Street Journal and by several other media and publishing platforms. Paul has appeared on C-Span, the Diane Rhem Show, Morning Joe, and Face the Nation. In 2015 he was named a Churchill Fellow at Westminster College, where in 1946 Winston Churchill gave his "Iron Curtain Speech."
Join us at the Tryon Fine Arts Center on
Sunday, March 29 at 3 pm for what promises to be a stimulating and unforgettable program. A wine reception will follow at the library. We are grateful to the Polk County Community Foundation's Kirby Grant for the funds to support this program, which is free and open to all in the community.
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Commemorate 130 years of being the cultural heart of the community through programs, literary resources, and just plain good reading with your very own limited edition Lanier Library "First 130 Years" book bag. What a great way to carry your books home or return them on time to the library! And your
$25 donation
helps continue a tradition of programs and services begun in 1890. Show the world you are investing in the next 130 years of programs and literary resources...and, of course, that you love Lanier Library!
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Celebrating Poetry Month
Save the Dates!
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April has traditionally been designated as
National Poetry Month, and here at the library we will be celebrating the art of poetry with
three free events held during the month, as well as the conclusion of the 11th annual Sidney Lanier Poetry Competition. All of these events are part of a year-long celebration of the Lanier Library’s 130th anniversary of its founding in 1890.
Thanks to a Free Community Event grant from the Polk County Community Foundation, the Lanier Library is able to bring NC Poet Laureate, Jaki Shelton Green to Tryon to give a reading at the library on
Tuesday, April 14th at 6 pm. Professor Green will serve as the final judge of the Sidney Lanier Poetry Competition, and will announce the winners at the April 14th event.
The second event will be a reading on
Sunday, April 19th at 4 pm by a pair of poets both of whom have multiple connections to the Carolina Foothills. Wendell Hawken and Patricia Corbus each have family in Tryon and they both hold MFA’s from Warren Wilson’s Program for Writers.
The third and final poetry event at the library will take place on
Tuesday, April 28th at
6 pm and will feature readings by three esteemed local poets: DJ Gaskin, Kathy Cantley Ackerman, and Erik Bundy.
All of these events are made possible thanks to a Free Community Grant from the Polk County Community Foundation. The public is cordially invited to attend all of these free events; the receptions following the readings will offer not only refreshment but the opportunity to meet the poets and to mingle with friends and neighbors!
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Join us in planning the event that teases the little brain cells and tickles the palette!
Few meetings and a minimum amount of time away from your latest novel is a promise!
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2020 Cocktails and Clues Cold Blooded Planners and Repressed Murderers Who Love a Party Sought
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Plans will be underway soon for the 5th annual Lanier Library Cocktails and Clues and we are looking for some fiendishly clever planners to join us in making this the merriest murder mystery yet.
It has been deemed "the most fun you can have in a library without your reading glasses" and Cocktails and Clues co-chairs Clare O'Sheel and Gloria Underwood are looking for some
fresh blood
to join them in the master planning for a murder and the planting of some literary red herrings to challenge partygoers.
If you have ideas for a fiendish murder but are squeamish about actually carrying it out, this committee is made for you! If you have always believed you could stymie Poirot, join us for planting the clues. Or if you have some ideas for a killer menu item or just want to be part of the most mysterious and fun event of the year, let us know--there is a
volunteer list at the circulation desk and we are
dying
to meet you!
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During the yearlong commemoration of its 130th anniversary, Lanier Library is celebrating members in this monthly column. The profiles here will introduce you to community members who carry the Lanier card, continuing a cultural tradition begun in 1890.
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Karandal Gary
“In 2013, I was given my membership as a high school graduation gift from Jim Jackson,” says Karandal Gary. “I’d never been here and didn’t know why it would be any different from the library at school. When I first came in, I wandered around, exploring aisles, books and movies, finding comfortable places around corners. I thought ‘nice people work here.’
“The atmosphere grew on me. Now it’s my place with a feeling of belonging.”
For Karandal, a walk from the east side of Tryon to Melrose and Chestnut Streets is almost a daily routine. He can be found most days researching on the Internet and elsewhere in the historic building pursuing his passions for history, geography, civics, political science, and current events. When not learning, he helps the staff put up new magazines and fiction, recycle old newspapers, and lift heavier loads. “I like the DVDs too, like “Selma.” So many. I enjoy researching movies to recommend or to donate.”
Sandra McCall, Circulation Specialist, comments, “Karandal likes to connect with others and amazes me daily with the depth of his knowledge and interests. He is a great conversationalist.”
“My favorite section is non-fiction,” notes Karandal. “That’s what I really like to read.” He also admits to having read the complete Harry Potter series.
Karandal Gary, member and volunteer since 2013, looks forward to being part of Lanier Library for years to come.
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Here are the links to our lists of book orders and newest acquisitions. Feel free to contact the library to put your name on the hold list for these books. You can call us, come in person, or log in through the catalogue on the website using your library card number for PIN as well. And, as always, let us know if there is a book or DVD you think would enhance the collection.
Check out Sandra's latest book display, another double display. The first is
"Celebrate Our Natural World" (featuring books from Felburn Collection as a companion to the Pearson's falls talk and case display) The second is
"Our Strength is Our History: Honoring Women's History Month".
And think about contributing to our ongoing "Members' Favorites" display scattered throughout the shelves. Give us a few sentences about a book you would like to share with others to become part of the "Favorites" team.
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Review
The Truants
By Kate Weinberg
Truant: One who shirks duty.
There’s always a feeling of risk when a book’s cover notes, “This is her first novel.” Sometimes it means you’ll slap it closed after page thirty; sometimes you’ll stay up too late, needing to read more and drinking too much wine. Like Donna Tartt’s own first,
The Secret History
(to which Weinberg’s book is frequently compared), The Truants falls firmly in the latter camp.
Narrator Jess Walker has had what most would consider an ideal childhood, brought up in an old Victorian schoolhouse, surrounded by caring (if distant) parents, four rowdy siblings, and a Labrador retriever named Gladstone. But Jess feels estranged from all of them, in her words is, “a bystander, a witness, an observer.” When she reads
The Truants,
a book of literary criticism by Dr. Lorna Clay that heralds the artistic spirit and excuses the excess that such a spirit must inevitably embrace, Jess’ desire for a passionate retreat from the banal at last has a focus. At nineteen, she sets off to college in East Anglia, determined to study under Dr. Clay.
In her seminar on Agatha Christie, Jess finds Lorna the stuff of dreams—wildly beautiful and achingly charismatic. She’s also infused with mystery: What exactly happened in Cambridge that caused her to leave? Despite the warnings of others, Jess falls instantly under the professor’s thrall and forms a strong bond with three fellow students who share her obsession. What follows are months filled with the passion Jess has sought, but fraught with jealousy and betrayal, with drugs and suicide attempts. And maybe murder. Suddenly, Lorna’s belief that great artists must destroy their personal lives in order to create feels more like prophecy.
I very much enjoyed this book, finding it strongly reminiscent of Spark’s
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
(though much darker) and, as mentioned above,
The Secret History
. The twisty plot is sinister and elaborate, leading the reader through a bendy labyrinth of lies and half-truths until the very closing pages.
Review by Nancy Pemberton
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Book Lovers Club
Saturday, March 7, 10 am
The next meeting of Book Lovers is on Saturday, March 7 at 10 am in the Holmes Room. The meeting is open to all, the only requirements: a love of reading, discussing what you read and discovering new books!
Here is the link to the books recommended by group members at the last meeting:
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NeedleArts @ Lanier
Saturday, March 14
10 am - 1 pm
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Spend a relaxing morning with like-minded needle artists. Whether you have taken a class at the Royal School of Needlework or are just beginning a new hobby bring your knitting, crochet, needlepoint, cross stitch or embroidery project and enjoy the company of, and learn from others for a few hours the
second Saturday of the month
. It is also a great place to resurrect those unfinished projects of long-ago!
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Nonfiction Book Club
March 15, 1:30 PM
The group will read
Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet by Mark Lynas.
Books selected for the next three months of 2020 also include:
April-
Vagabonds: The Story of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison’s Ten-year Road Trip
by Jeff Guinn
May-
Being Mortal
by Atul Gawande
June
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Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee
by Casey Cep
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Tryon Lacemakers
Saturday, March 21
9:30 - 1:00 PM
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The Tryon Lacemakers meet the
third Saturday of the month,
and are pleased to welcome visitors interested in watching the intricate, fascnating process of lacemaking.
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Thursday, March 5 at 6 PM
Live@Lanier
Pearson's Falls: Guardian at the Gate
The rainbow feathered parrot said “hello.” Andy Ruff, bending at the side of a sedan with its California plate, looked past the middle-aged man in the driver’s seat and pondered a response to the exotic greeter perched on the passenger’s shoulder.
In his tenure as Operations Manager at Pearson’s Falls, Andy has been surprised, challenged, intrigued, educated, and entertained. A major perk of the job is greeting and chatting with an average 90 visitors a day and sharing his knowledge of fauna and flora. He has rarely been at a loss for words, but on the “day of the parrot,” he had to pause to think of what to say to a talking bird.
At the next Live@Lanier on
Thursday March 5, 6 PM, Andy Ruff, “Guardian at the Gate,” will tell you how he handled this invasive species as well as anecdotes about other visitors.
For example, when a groom in black tux and a bride in white lace stopped at the admission booth and announced they were getting married at the waterfall, Andy was enthusiastic with abundant well wishes but cautioned about snags on her veil and damp ground on her hem during the quarter-mile ascent.
Jim Welch, former TV anchor and host of NatureScene, will join Andy to help you better understand the treasures Andy is guarding.
Both men feel personally protective of the eight species of salamander, 39 bird species, 13 types of fern, 140 or so Hemlock trees, seven types of Trillium, and other wild flowers that they find fascinating despite their abundance.
“Guardian at the Gate” is the latest in Lanier’s Felburn Nature and Wildlife Collection series. The program is free and open to the public. Members and visitors can also browse the collection downstairs in the Le Duc Room,
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Tuesday, March 17 at 12 noon
Live@Lanier
The Electoral College with Olin Sansbury
It is one of the most maligned institutions of the American political system, but the Electoral College is embedded in the US Constitution. US presidential elections are determined in the final analysis by how the popular vote is distributed through the prism of the Electoral College, so candidates and voters need to understand and appreciate the institution’s impact. Olin Sansbury, who has taught
government and international studies courses for several
decades, will describe the institution’s history and explain
how it functions in today’s world.
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It was standing room only for the "hike" along the Blue Ridge Escarpment with Jim Stelhik and Margie Brooks. In addition to learning that we all live on the escarpment, the beautiful photos by Margie Brooks brought to life the tremendous array of breathtaking waterfalls, birds and flora that is right in our backyards.
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Jeff and Amber retired on the same day. Both active community volunteers, they enjoyed greeting their many friends and colleagues at the Saturday morning party.
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The library hummed with good cheer all morning long as members--friends--stopped by to thank Amber for her many contributions to the library during her three-year tenure, and to wish her and husband Jeff Jenkins well in their retirement. It was a time for hospitality chair Pam Herres to introduce her successor Jane Armstrong to the delights of hosting parties filled with the luscious contributions of volunteer bakers, and for neighbors to catch up on their latest author discoveries and community doings. In short, it was the perfect farewell atmosphere for a Lanier Library treasure.
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Lanier Library member Barb Oklesen caught Greeter Dog Nick in his ambassador role at Harmon Field, telling Charlie and Barb's husband John Fowler about the treats at the library. We look forward to them visiting soon!
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Annabelle demonstrates her best library behavior for Duke, who approved of her control and asked her to visit again.
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Duke was back at the library Sunday training to be an alternate Greeter Dog in case Nick is unavailable. A little too enthusiastic a greeting for Annabelle, who was visiting with Beth Rounds, but we're feeling positive about Duke's aspirations.
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Nick (and Steve) also act in an international ambassadorial capacity, here bidding farewell to new friends from Seoul, South Korea, Oakjoo Cheek and daughters Jude (7) and Emily (9). The family joined the library soon after arriving for a two-monthslong visit to dad Robert Cheek's parents, who reside in Tryon. We enjoyed their weekly visits to the children's room and wish them a safe journey home and a return visit soon.
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We welcome well-behaved dogs, and while the staff all love dogs, not everyone who comes into the library does, so we appreciate all pets being on a leash.
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Pearson's Falls: Past, Present and Future
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This month’s display case features Pearson’s Falls and Glen — Polk County’s natural “gem”. For 90-plus years, the Falls has been owned and maintained by the Tryon Garden Club and is visited by over 25,000 people each year. Enjoy looking at the items in the March display case, organized by Tryon Garden Club Historians Robin Rice and Joy Soderquist. We hope you learn something and are inspired to visit the Falls this spring.
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100 Rescue Stories by Photographer Vince Verrecchio
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Thank you to Vince Verrecchio for sharing some of the photos of the rescue dogs and cats he has met and photographed at the Foothills Humane Society over the past three years. Although the program planned to accompany the display was cancelled due to inclement weather we look forward to learning more about FHS and its residents at its rescheduled date in June. Stay tuned.
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Lanier Library | 828-859-9535| thelanierlibrary@gmail.com
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