Your monthly news & updates
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News and Support @ Lanier
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Members' Holiday Party
Saturday, January 4
4 - 6 PM
Don't forget the Lanier Library Members' Holiday Party this coming Saturday, January 4 from 4-6 PM! Come enjoy the best holiday party in town with all of your Lanier friends. We will have background music from Wade Morgan on piano plus all the usual holiday goodies for all to enjoy.
We will again have a Holiday Raffle with gorgeous hand-made book bags designed especially for Lanier Library by Vianne Prowse. Tickets will be on sale this week and also at the party for your chance to win one of our
terrific and unique Lanier Library raffle bags full of our usual great gifts!
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Once again our members and supporters showed their incredible generosity through donations to the Lanier Library's Annual Fund. At last count, the total had exceeded $18,000 and donations have continued to come in daily. From our matching donation challenge early on to the present, members have proven their love of this library! If you would still like to donate, there is time. We will add any donations through January to our Annual Fund.
As a subscription/membership library receiving no public monies and supported entirely by members’ dues, gifts, donations, and by endowments, the support of our members is critical. With exciting plans for our 130th Anniversary celebration, the Lanier Library will continue to bring you interesting literary and informational programs as we have in the past.
Thank you as always for your past and continued support.
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It is with a heavy heart that I announce I will be leaving as Director of the Lanier Library at the end of January 2020. I have come to the decision to once again retire and make time for the most important things in my life. When I came to this position I wasn’t sure how long I would stay but I wanted to put a spark back into this library and make it a community gathering place again. With the help of a wonderful staff, a supportive board, and a loyal membership, I feel I have accomplished that. The many outstanding programs and events – with many more already scheduled for 2020 - have brought new faces into the library and I feel I am leaving it in a good place.
After living in this community for eighteen years, I thought I knew a lot about Tryon and Polk County, but these past three years have taught me more about the history of this town and county than I could have imagined. The things that have taken place or started with this amazing library have been astounding. The five ladies who conceived the idea for the Lanier Library
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were definitely forces to be reckoned with in this town. I am still finding out new things they did every week and will be forever grateful for the education.
So thank you for giving me the opportunity
to add to the history of this amazing place and especially to get to know so many of you! I have truly enjoyed my time here at Lanier and will continue as a supporter along with you. I hope to see you at the events, in the library, or in the community in the years ahead.
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Eleventh Annual Sidney Lanier Poetry Competition
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The 11th Sidney Lanier Library Poetry Competition is off to a great start! Our staff and volunteers are now ready to resume their hard work of collecting entries to be sent to our final judge,
North Carolina Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green
. As the state’s first African American to hold that title, Ms Green is also the fourth North Carolina Poet Laureate to judge our competition. She will be presenting the prizes at our Awards Ceremony at the Lanier Library on
April 14th at 6 p.m
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The deadline for entries to be submitted to our 2020 competition is February 15, and submissions may be sent by mail directly to the Lanier Library at 72 Chestnut Street, Tryon, NC 28782, or online through our website https://thelanierlibrary.org/upcoming-events/sidney-lanier-poetry/ or through Submittable at
https://thelanierlibrary.submittable.com/submit
We look forward to this year's competition and hope to inspire the best poets as well as poetry lovers to take part in our planned events in April.
Full details about the competition are available at
The Lanier Library website. And be sure to share info on our 11th competition with your poetry loving friends!
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CELEBRATING OUR MEMBERS
In the yearlong commemoration of our 130th anniversary, it is only fitting that as a membership library we celebrate members; not only those familiar to many from years of active involvement but also those that just helped us reach our goal of 130 new members.
Throughout 2020 we will help members get a better idea of who else carries the Lanier card. There will be one newsletter profile a month. The first is one of our longest members.
Nancy Ernst came to Tryon in 1951 and owned and operated the Pine Crest Inn with her husband. She became a Library member when she went to work as a Library Assistant in 1980 and stayed 33 years until retiring. Still a member, she says, “it’s simply a friendly old building, intimate, with many voices talking, joking,
“I thought it interesting that Lanier was once for ladies only. In my time, I remember men who gathered on Saturday morning...hearty, good-natured laughing. Only a few times I asked them to take it down a little.”
Nancy notes the three windows looking out to the “Windows of Time” sculpture were originally the Melrose Street entrance. “The card catalog would have been where the present door is. The circulation counter was along the wall that is now the opening to the great hall. The doorway into the administrative offices used to be a wall with a window.
“The offices used to be down the hall where the restroom is now.” She chuckles recalling that there was a high shelf along the hallway keeping controversial books out of easy reach.
Lady Chatterley’s Lover
may have been up there.
“One of my first tasks was to replace children’s books with mysteries, and later add more large print books. Nancy Drew, Bobbsey Twins, Oz...there just weren’t enough requests for them. Our membership was aging. But now, it seems to me, I see younger faces.” She is pleased when entering the new children’s room where there had been art books and business titles.
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Nancy Ernst, one of our members with the most longevity, recalls when the three windows looking out on to Melrose Avenue were originally the front entrance.
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Here are the links to our lists of newest acquisitions (no orders in December). 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,
The Best Books of 20019
culled from the New York Times and other picks. 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
Last Train to London
By Meg Waite Clayton
Based on the true account of the rescue of children from Nazi-occupied Europe to safety in England by train and ferry, this novel highlights the dangerous work undertaken by Truus Wijsmuller, a childless Dutch woman. Determined to help Jewish children, as well as children whose parents openly opposed the Nazis, she planned, organized and carried out the risky undertakings. Through the tender stories of Stephan, a Jewish teenage boy, and his younger brother Walter and their companion Zofie-Helene, a Christian girl whose mother edits an anti-Nazi newspaper, the reader is captivated by their lives, which are torn apart by the terror surrounding them.
As Stephan, Zofie-Helene, and Walter try to survive, they are fortunate to be part of exactly 600 children allowed to emigrate to England because Truus is able to get permission from Adolf Eichmann. Leaving home, parents and all they have ever known behind them is traumatic. For Truus, it is traumatic to be taking the children away from their parents, but all the adults know it is the only way for the young ones to survive.
This is a book that is difficult to put down because of the urgency of the tale.
Review by Lynn Montgomery
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Book Lovers Club
Saturday, January 4, 10 am
The next meeting of Book Lovers is on Saturday, December 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, January 11, 10 am
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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
January 12, 1:30 PM
Zucked by Roger McNamee is the book that will be discussed at the January meeting of the Nonfiction Book Club. The club meets the
second Sunday of the month, January 12, at 1:30 in the Holmes Room.
The group will read
Leadership in Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin at the February meeting.
Books selected for the first six months of 2020 also include:
March-
Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet by Mark Lynas
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-
Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee
by Casey Cep
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Tryon Lacemakers
Saturday, January 18
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 how lace is made.
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Save the Date for the
Lanier Library Annual Meeting
Sunday, March 29
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Mark your calendar for our
2020 Annual Program which will be held on Sunday, March 29 at 3 p.m.. 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?"
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Tryon journalist, author and Churchill expert Paul Reid
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Thursday, January 9 at 6 PM
A Passion for Parrish
At the next Live@Lanier, Thursday, January 9 at 6 PM, J. Alan Peoples will tell why and how he and his wife, Harriet, have filled almost every wall in their Tryon home with Frederick Maxfield Parrish’s book and magazine illustrations, calendar and ad illustrations for Edison Mazda Lamps, Colgate, and GE, and such memorabilia as the artist’s brushes.
Known to many in the Foothills as a winning track and field coach and Tryon's mayor, on this evening Alan won't talk sports or politics, only a husband and wife’s passion for a premier artist from the Golden Age of Illustration.
Alan will be exhibiting pieces from his collection and also discussing the work of Tryon artists who snuggle in with Parrish.
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Caring for Our Forests with
Brian Rogers
Tuesday, January 21, noon
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Caring for our forests to preserve the beauty in our area, District Ranger Brian Rogers informs us on forest management, fire prevention, prescribed burning, and protecting and nurturing this beloved natural resource.
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From Polk County to Hollywood
with Chris Riddle
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It was a full house for Chris Riddle's presentation on his odyssey from Polk County to a variety of jobs that helped him establish a successful career in Hollywood. As you can see, the audience really enjoyed hearing about his experiences.
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Penny Kessler's Mimzy loved meeting Bill McCall's Coffee
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Boscoe gets a treat at the Lanier Christmas tree from owner Suzanne Winslade. She says he was a very good boy this year, Santa!
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Mimzy's first visit to the library was a resounding success. A new friend, a proud pat from mom, and a treat, what could be better!
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Lanier Greeter Dog Nick
We can't have a newsletter without a photo of our own St. Nick!
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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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Just a sampling of some of the Maxfield Parrish items to be on display in January from the collection of J. Alan and Harriet Peoples. In addition, several prints will be on view and possibly available for purchase. The Peoples' have traveled near and far to find the items that fill their home. They will present a program on the well-known illustrator on January 9 at 6 PM.
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Odds and Ends @ Lanier
A Holiday Visit from Our Tuesday School Friends
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Tuesday School students ended their storytime with Miss Amber by viewing the magical world of snow globes, our marvelous December display courtesy of Carla and Josh Tumbleson.
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It wouldn't be the holidays without a class photo in front of the Lanier Christmas tree with Miss Amber.
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A reminder that we are open New Years Eve until 4:30 pm, closed on New Years Day, but will reopen on Thursday, January 2.
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Lanier Library | 828-859-9535| thelanierlibrary@gmail.com
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