The library will be closed Sunday, July 4th to honor Independence Day! |
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Your Monthly News & Updates |
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A red cat with a tale has come to Lanier Library included in the generous financial bequest from the estate of Lillian E. and Earl A. Bettinger. The financial gift will benefit the library for years to come. For the duration of a steel sculpture, the cat will help remind Library members and the Tryon community of Lillian and Earl and their generosity.
Lilllian, writing as Lillian Jackson Braun, was the best selling author of 29 novels in her “The Cat Who” mystery series. She dedicated all of her books to “Earl Bettinger, the Husband Who...”, a theater actor who loved contemporary art and design. Their art collection included “Talisman” a feline abstraction in steel by artist Mayo Mac Boggs (3/22/1942 - 3/10/2014), and in July, “Talisman” will be officially welcomed to the library's art collection.
“Talisman” will be officially welcomed to the Library art collection, permanently displayed outside on Melrose Avenue on the TFAC side of the Library. Inside for the month, a collection of Braun’s books will be on temporary display as well as Phyllis Martin’s collection of feline figurines
As an artist, Boggs was the recipient of the Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Award for his abstract work in steel, bronze, stone, and painting. This is South Carolina’s highest honor in the arts. His work has been featured in the presidential libraries of Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford, displayed internationally in corporate headquarters, city parks, libraries, college campuses, schools, and treasured in residential collections.
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"Talisman" by artist Mayo Mac Boogs, an honored professor at Converse College
“I love the look, feel, taste, smell, and sound of steel,” said Boggs. “I grew up watching steel pouring from the blast furnaces.” His father and grandfathers were welders and steel workers.
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Thank you to Robert Lange for the terrific drone photo of our newly-installed solar panels.
Inside Story of Solar Power at Lanier Library
With the generous recent funding for solar panels from the Polk County Community Foundation and the genius of Charles Fritts, the photons pelting the roof of the Lanier Library are today reducing energy cost inside the historic building.
Photons, zero mass particles launched from the hydrogen-to-helium atomic furnace of the sun, hurtle to earth across an average 93,000,000 miles in an average of 8 minutes and 20 seconds. For more than 130 years, the photons merely warmed the shingles of the Grand Old Lady on the Hill. Now, the photons are hitting the photovoltaic cells of solar panels and saving the Library about $2,000 a year on the electric bill.
Each cell is a sandwich of two silicon slices. The top slice is dosed with phosphorous, a negative charge with 15 electrons per atom. The bottom is dosed with boron, a positive charge with 5 electrons. Bombarding photons knock electrons free, generating an electric field at the junction of the silicon slices. Metal conductive sides of the cell channel the flow of electrons into wires. This electricity ultimately powers the lights that browsers and readers need to enjoy the books, art, and artifacts in the stacks, rooms, and galleries.
In 1883, seven years before Lanier Library opened, Charles Fritts invented the photovoltaic solar cell using selenium on a gold backing. In 1941, Russell Ohl re-engineered the cell with silicon. On Monday, June 14, 2021, Duke Power technicians “flicked the switch” at Lanier and applied historical genius to practical work at the corner of Chestnut and Melrose.
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We now have 38 members who have designated the library as their charity of choice with Amazon Smile, and the pennies are mounting! Help us to reach our goal of 50 Smile contributors!
Here is the direct link to the library on AmazonSmile:
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2021 Lanier Library Book of the Month Reading Challenge |
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This month we read a book we never thought we would read. Remember, there is only one rule: the book you read must be a book you have not read before!
You can pick-up a 2021 Lanier Library BOM Reading Challenge book log at the library, or download it here:
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We're still unsure of the prizes, but you can count on a prize for each group this time. You will earn one ticket with your name on it for each monthly challenge accomplished and be entered into the drawing to be held on January 31, 2022. Since we got a late start, the challenge will run from February 2021 through January 2022.
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Here is the link to this month's Bibliotrivia challenge for those searching for even more literary stimulation: Bibliotrivia Questions #9
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Book Lovers, July 3, 10 am
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Book Lovers will meet in the library Saturday, July 3, 10 am. All are welcome. The only requirement is a love of reading, and a desire to discover more books to love!
Below are the books read and recommended at the June Book Lovers meeting.
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Nonfiction Book Club, July 11, 1:30 pm |
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The Nonfiction book club will read and discuss The Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson in the library Sunday, July 11 at 1:30. The group welcomed six new members in June! They meet the second Sunday of the month and all are welcome!
The August choice for the Nonfiction Book Group is The Lost German Slave Girl by John Bailey. There are 9 copies of the book in the Cardinal system through Polk County library. The book will be discussed at the August 8 meeting at the library.
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And here are the links to our June orders and acquisitions. Feel free to contact the library to put your name on the hold list for any you would like to read. You can call us or log in through the catalogue on the website using your library card number for ID and PIN. And, as always, let us know if there is a book or DVD you think would enhance the collection.
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The BOM challenge last month was to read a book by a local author. |
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Magic and Murder Among the Dwarves
Eric Bundy
Many of us were lured to Tryon by the spell of the mountains and a magic that lowered our blood pressure and took us to a peaceful place. Tryon resident Eric Bundy felt that same magic but it took him to an entirely different and more intriguing location--a fantasy landscape that inspired his novel Magic and Murder Among the Dwarves. Tryon as home to other-worldly beings is not a surprising stretch from someone described in his Amazon biography as "living in the magical North Carolina woods where female chipmunks are called chipnuns and mice claiming to be cousins move in for the winter then take the towels when they leave in spring."
Magic and Murder Among the Dwarves is a murder mystery, hero's journey and coming of age story wrapped up in fantasy. Ghosts, demons, sybils, witches and dwarves occupy the same space as humans in the forest beyond a small town in North Carolina which sounds a lot like Tryon, down to the description of the specifics of the town.
The main character, a psychic widow named Amanda Knight, is renowned for her ability to help local law enforcement solve crimes. Her reputation extends to the dwarves who live in the mountain under the townsfolk, and seek her help to find a missing baby and solve the murder of the midwife who delivered the baby. We are introduced to dwarf culture: its rituals, etiquette, and male/female politics, all wound around both a human and a dwarf murder that parallel one another, spinning on the axis of Amanda Knight. It is a compelling read that will leave you looking at Tryon in a whole new light ever after.
While Eric, an award winning author and poet, normally writes paranormal mysteries that include psychics, witches, and ghosts, we can soon look for his medieval mystery series! In the meantime, the paranormal mysteries Magic and Murder Among the Dwarves and it's sequel The Dwarf Assassin can be found in the "Local Authors" section of the library.
Review by Clare O'Sheel
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We are looking forward to a return to in-person programming in August! |
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Join us at the Greene Corner Park, across from the library on Melrose Avenue, for the first of two summer family programs on Saturday, July 24 at 10:30 am. where there will be lots of furry friends and tales of happy endings!
Our second summer family program will be held on Saturday, August 7, so mark your calendars and hold the date for more fun in the park, this time with bubbles!
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Join us on Saturday, July 3 at 4 pm at Upstairs Artspace to learn abut the work of Lanier Library member Carl Plansky. The exhibit, which runs until August 13, opens with a talk by Carl followed by a reception.
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History, Artistry, and “How-to”
of Hand-hooked Rugs with Julia Calhoun
OnLine@Lanier
Thursday, June 3, 6 PM
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On June 3, local business owner Julia Calhoun shared with participants the story of the Mills-Mosseller family and the history of hand-hooked rugs in Polk County. Julia has done an amazing job of continuing this craft begun in Polk County in 1925. Her presentation included a demonstration of the rug making process and images of some of the beautiful designs that can be found around the country. You can view the video of Julia’s presentation here.
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We were thrilled to hear from Josh Kennedy on June 23 for a presentation on Managing COVID in the county. Josh shared information about how the county health department developed a plan for widespread vaccinations in Polk County with the help of many community partners. He also shared about ongoing efforts to encourage residents to get vaccinated, particularly with possible variants to the virus becoming a risk. Josh was kind enough to take questions from our interested participants. You can watch a video of Josh’s presentation here.
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Lanier Library welcomes all library-friendly dogs, but asks that they remain on leash at all times. |
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Two of the cutest faces we've seen at the library this month! Scout Caldwell (above) and our own uber-friendly Greeter Dog, Nick Aldred! |
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Celebrating Cats and the Books of Lillian Jackson Braun
A Collection of Cats
It has been said that “Dogs think they are human, but cats know they are God.” Certainly ancient Egyptians thought that cats were divine: the goddess Bastet, the daughter of Ra and Isis, is depicted as a cat. She was their goddess of protection, fertility, pregnancy, children, ointments and perfume, music, art, war, and of course cats. For many years, cats have hung out with humans, valued for their work ridding human dwellings, barns, foodstuffs, and ships of vermin. They can feed, wash and groom themselves."
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Some 40 years ago I adopted a black cat named Shadow; later I realized that she adopted me. Then came her children Spice and Pepper. Then Bingo, who lived twenty years, came with my husband, Lew. Later on came cats Yum Yum and Koko. One does not own a cat; they may deign to live with you. “Dogs may have owners, but cats have staff.”
These figurines of cats are some of those I have collected over the years. They are made of different materials, from different places, sometimes other countries, as with the Estonian cat figure. Some, I think, that like cats, they picked me. So let me share these Royals with you.
Phyllis Martin
Along with the figurines, Phyllis will share some of her vintage Lillian Jackson Braun (another cat lover) books.
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Sandra's July Shelf Display offers a selection of Books You Never Thought You Would Read to meet your July BOM challenge. She will also help us get a jump on our August challenge with Books You Can Read in a Day.
Sandra's displays are usually designed to be dismantled (and this one still is) but this month she is asking us to add to the display a book you never thought we would read!
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Our June display
Thank you to Juilia Calhoun for her informative program and display that introduced us to the beautiful designs and history behind Mills-Mosseller rugs!
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Thank you to Tryon Garden Club Historian/Archvist and Lanier Library member, Joy Soderquist, for the following introduction to our newest addition to the Lanier Library collection--selected works of Elia Peattie. The new additions can be found on the shelves alongside our Sidney Lanier collection. |
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Elia with youngest son Donald Peattie, who became a noted naturalist. He wrote about his mother: “There was mirth around her like a scent; there were always people around her, or stories of people. She ate of life as if ’twere fruit.” |
Elia and Robert Peattie's descendents, great-grandson Michael Roderick Peattie with wife Nadia, and great-granddaughter Peggy Peattie recently visited Tryon and enjoyed a tour led by Joy and Jerry Soderquist that included the library, the cemetery and Pearson's Falls. |
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Elia Wilkinson Peattie “A Mirth Around her like a Scent”
(January 1862-July 12, 1936)
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In 1884 at the age of 22 Elia Wilkinson Peattie joined the Chicago Tribune as the first ”girl” reporter, the beginning of a remarkable writing career that spanned over 50 years. After four years in Chicago, she and her husband Robert Burns Peattie along with their two young toddlers moved to Nebraska. For eight years Elia wrote editorials for the Omaha World newspaper covering topics of social injustice, the women’s movement, and social reforms.
She became acquainted with such notables as William Jennings Bryan, Hamlin Garland, Willa Cather, and Susan B. Anthony, and was instrumental in forming the Omaha Women’s Club, which empowered women to promote social change and women’s suffrage. She also had the distinction of reading three of her papers at the 1893 World Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
In 1896 Elia returned to Chicago and was hired as a literary critic for the Chicago Tribune. For the next twenty years the “New Woman” movement seemed a perfect fit for Elia who was described as an intellectual woman who entered new careers for middle class women, but who also was a devoted wife and mother to her four children.
Author Suzanne George Bloomfield’s Impertinences: Selected Writings of Elia Peattie, a Journalist in the Gilded Age states that Elia tended a husband with recurring health problems, helped with the family finances, authored numerous editorials, short stories, poems, plays, articles, novels, and literary criticisms. She even coauthored books with her two sons Roderick and Donald.
In 1920 Elia and Robert retired to Tryon residing in their beloved “Dunwandrin” home on Broadway. She became active in community life: serving on the Board of the Lanier Library (Club) and organizing the Tryon Drama Fortnightly, the forerunner of the Tryon Little Theatre. In 1931 Elia served as the Tryon Garden Club President during the Club’s memorable project of purchasing the botanical sanctuary Pearson’s Falls and Glen.
A former Tryonite, Andrew Maunder, recently contributed to the Lanier Library some selected works of Elia Peattie from his private collection. In my conversation with Andrew, he shared the fact that years ago he lived in Elia’s home on Broadway and became extremely interested in Elia and her family’s accomplishments. He knew that the Lanier Library would be a perfect haven for these literary works.
Joy Soderquist, Tryon Garden Club Archivist/Historian
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Back Yard
Carl Sandburg - 1878-1967
Shine on, O moon of summer.
Shine to the leaves of grass, catalpa and oak,
All silver under your rain to-night.
An Italian boy is sending songs to you to-night from an accordion.
A Polish boy is out with his best girl; they marry next month;
to-night they are throwing you kisses.
An old man next door is dreaming over a sheen that sits in a
cherry tree in his back yard.
The clocks say I must go—I stay here sitting on the back porch drinking
white thoughts you rain down.
Shine on, O moon,
Shake out more and more silver changes.
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We caught Luna Baughman reading to her dad, Michael on Father's Day. We could hear her excellent reading from the front desk, but when we peeked into the reading nook in the Children's Room for a photo...no more reading. Happily, Luna had finished the story, so Michael did not have to go home without a happy ending. And we got a picture of Michael coaxing a recalcitrant Luna to read for our Sunday librarian. |
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Lanier Library | 828-859-9535| thelanierlibrary@gmail.com |
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