Altamont Library Notes for Thursday, April 5, 2018
It’s been a rough few weeks here in Altamont, as several prominent members of our community have passed away. Judy Newcomb, Everett Rau, Lee Capuano, and Barbara Harris each contributed to the Altamont Free Library in their own ways and will all be missed tremendously.
In learning about Everett’s death, I thought about a story he told me once about the first time he entered our building, which was then still serving as the Altamont train station. This was back in the mid-1920s, and he was traveling with his beloved grandfather from Altamont to Albany on the train.
He told me about how his grandfather had picked him up so that he could see into the telegraph station. Ev had never seen a telegraph before.
They got on the train and took it into Albany, got out at another train station that isn’t a train station anymore, and walked up State Street to the New York State Capitol. In the capitol, Ev and his grandfather looked through a collection of historical flags belonging to various New York State regiments from the War of 1812 through the recently concluded First World War.
Ev told me that when they found a particular flag they’d been looking for, his grandfather started crying, because his grandfather had fought under that flag some 60 years earlier in the American Civil War.
What an astonishing thing, to be able to hear that story while sitting in the same spot where 90 years earlier, the teller had once been held aloft by a veteran of a war that ended 150 years ago. Everett was a living repository of history, and we should all be grateful to Laura Shore for doing the work of collecting and editing Everett’s stories into a wonderful book that she published a few years ago called “Stand Tall Against the Odds.”
Of course, Lee Capuano and Barbara Harris and Judy Newcomb were also living connections to an earlier time, each with their own stories and perspectives on the events they witnessed and the communities they inhabited. We all are.
Perhaps you might consider seeking out those stories that live inside your friends, neighbors, and relatives, and writing them down or recording them so that you can always have them. Here at the library, we’re honoring the memory of another Altamont luminary by trying to capture as many stories as we can for the Marijo Dougherty Oral History Collection.
We may have to say a sad goodbye to our friends, but that doesn’t mean that we have to say goodbye to their stories.
Whispering Tree Concert
Please join on Friday, April 6, at 7 p.m. for the next installment of the SongTeller Sessions concert series. Our performer this month will be The Whispering Tree.
Based in Beacon, New York, the Whispering Tree duo has traveled the world, honing its contemporary folk sound. This show is certain to be one that you don’t want to miss. These concerts are free and all-ages appropriate, so bring your whole crew.
Book discussion
On Monday, April 9, the First Monday Book Club will meet at noon to discuss “Homegoing” by debut Ghanaian-American novelist Yaa Gyasi. (Yes, I know that the ninth is the second Monday of the month, but we’re meeting a little later than usual in April.)
This highly praised and much-awarded novel follows the lives of the descendants of an Asante woman, across decades and continents. This is sure to be a fascinating discussion, so please join us.
Irena Frinta book-release party
At 95 years old, longtime Altamont resident Irena Frinta has just published her first novel, “The Lives and Loves of Three Women.”
On Thursday, April 19 at 7 p.m., Irena will be reading from her novel and discussing her life and work. Join us to celebrate her achievement; buy a copy and have it signed. Light refreshments will be served.
Teen Reading Contest
Attention, teen readers! Are you interested in winning some Teen books and/or book swag?
If so, check out our new Teen Reading Contest. Here is it how it works: Come check out a book from our young-adult section that you have never read before, read it, then come back and fill out a short review of the book.
You will then be entered into our raffle to win some bookish prizes. For any questions please email us at or come in and see us. Happy reading and good luck.
Book sale and donations
On Saturday, May 5, Altamont Free Library will hold our annual book sale in conjunction with the Parent-Teachers’ village-wide garage sale.
From noon on Wednesday, May 2, until Friday, May 4, we will be very grateful to accept book, CD and DVD donations, which will either be added to the library’s collection or sold to raise money for library programs and we will be happy to make up a receipt for you for tax purposes if you like. (Sorry, but we will not be running a garage sale this year, so household goods will not be accepted.)
Please don’t forget to visit us during the sale to find your next favorite book.