Come practice Spanish in a playful, engaging, communicative setting with Leo Padilla.
Tuesdays, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Meeting in the Program Studio, downstairs from the Children’s Library, near the library’s entrance at Walnut and 4th.
Proof of Vaccination and Masks are required.
Free, and drop-ins are welcome. Speakers of all levels are welcome to attend!
From The Library Foyer, through the Stacks, to Children’s Library, and on to the Gold Mine Thrift Store, exhibits and displays celebrate the rivers that run through our lives and our relationships to them.
This year’s Winter Read is Norman Maclean’s novella A River Runs Through It. Set on Montana’s Blackfoot River 100 years ago, this short novel invites us to think about the changing landscapes of family, rivers, and the west. In this spirit, we invite you to explore the following exhibits and displays:
The new Library Foyer exhibit celebrates the great fly-fishing tradition in the Wood River Valley as seen through the eyes of four women who have earned the badge of Reel Legends on our local waters.
The four women featured in this exhibit were lured to our local waterways for varied reasons. Yet each connects to the pursuit with great passion and reverence for the natural splendor that fly-fishing immerses them into. Join us in exploring, through object and word, the reasons these Reel Legends are called to the water with rod in hand. We celebrate their spirited pursuit of our local waters and gladly bend an ear to hear their fishing stories.
Somewhere during his five decades as a professional photographer, Grant McClintock’s name became synonymous with fly fishing. This status is largely due to the success of two collaborative books featuring “flywaters” of the West.
A passionate fly-fisher since young adulthood, McClintock took on an idea that was sparked at a gathering of friends. Mike Crockett describes the moment as “a pleasant cocktail hour” with the McClintocks in Ketchum. They later enlisted Jack Hemingway, another avid Wood River Valley fly-fisher, in what would become Flywater (1994).
Colorful trout hang suspended in tissue paper water as part of our children’s art project in conjunction with the Winter Read of A River Runs Through It. Our young patrons lent their skills in creating the diverse kinds of fish, some realistic, some imaginative. An authentic spey rod (courtesy of Susanne Connor) and creel basket (courtesy of Juliette Gutierrez) are also on display in the case, located outside the Children’s Library.
Historic images from the Jeanne Rodger Lane Center for Regional History Collections bring the Winter Read to life in the Gold Mine. Six images, including Clayton Stewart at Silver Creek (pictured above), allow shoppers to connect with and enjoy the spirit of the Winter Read and the rivers that run through our lives.
Pretty much everyone knows about Punxsutawney Phil and his propensity for predicting the weather in Pennsylvania.
And pretty much everyone who sheltered in place during the global pandemic had at least an inkling of the Groundhog Day phenomenon – referenced from the 1993 Bill Murray film – where day after day seemed to be exactly the same.
But … can you answers THESE fun questions about groundhogs and their biggest day of the year?
If the groundhog sees his shadow on February 2, it’s because the sun is shining and the weather is cold, therefore he dives back into his burrow for another six weeks to wait until spring really shows up. If it’s cloudy outside, that means now shadow. The clouds insulate us against the chill, and the warmth tells the groundhog that spring will come early.
Groundhog tunnels can be as long as 30 feet, with separate rooms for sleeping, food storage, and – ahem – toilet needs. Their sleeping quarters are always below the frost line, where it’s safe and cozy to hibernate during the freezing months of winter.
Groundhogs have an internal timeclock that wakes them up every morning at 7:00 a.m. Despite the fact that they sleep way below ground, where the sun doesn’t reach, somehow groundhogs know when’s it’s 7:00 a.m. and time to rise and shine.
Yep, groundhog males will roam away from their tunnels to look for a mate. . .just to get to know her a bit. The male may be invited to visit the female’s winter den, but only for courtship purposes. Mating happens later, in the spring, when a window of time opens up that will allow the babies to find food and fatten themselves up before the next winter sets in. In the meantime they each go to their respective winter homes until the sun comes out for good in March.
While Groundhog Day has its origins in German folklore, it was a bear that was predicting the weather in Germany on Candlemas (February 2, halfway between the Winter and Spring Solstices). German immigrants brought the Candlemas tradition to Pennsylvania in the mid-eighteenth century, but they opted for a smaller, gentler creature to predict the coming of spring. Hence, Groundhog Day, which has been celebrated at Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania, for over a hundred years.
Source: Wendie Old, author of The Groundhog Day of Facts and Fun, who also provided the factoids in this blog.
In print, film, and picture books, you’ll find these “groundhog” titles to help shoo away the winter chill for six more weeks. Dig into all the groundhog titles at The Community Library here.
Television weatherman, played by Bill Murray, gets stuck in February 2, 1992, reliving the same day over and over. Nothing he tries gets him out of the time loop. But the more Phil relives the same day, the more he’s forced to look at other people’s lives, and something unusual happens: he begins to care about others. Produced by Columbia Pictures; Adult DVFeatureFilms DV FIC GRO.
This book of facts and fun provides plenty of information about groundhogs and the origin of Groundhog Day. Groundhog riddles and ideas for throwing a Groundhog Day party are included. By Wendie Old; Juvenile Non-Fiction J 394.26 OLD.
After Groundhog announces six more weeks of winter, half his animal friends are disappointed, while the other half are excited. Each animal asks Groundhog to make his prediction in their favor the following year. Rather than being truthful about the fact that he just “calls it like he sees it,” he leads them to believe he can control the weather, accepting their gifts of food and favor. By Kristen Remenar; Picture Books J EASY REM.
It’s almost Groundhog Day, and the town of Piccadilly is all a-buzz because Gretchen Groundhog won’t show herself. This is her first year, and she’s too shy to come out. Only when the town historian’s daughter shares records from the town’s history does Gretchen begin to see that for everyone, the first time is the hardest. Full-color illustrations. By Abby Levine; Picture Books J EASY LEV.
Poor Groundhog just can’t sleep. He tosses. He turns. Finally, he gets out of bed and goes exploring. Outside his burrow he finds amazing sights he has never seen before: glowing jack-o’-lanterns, gobbling turkeys, and sparkling holiday lights. But shouldn’t Groundhog be in bed? With no sleep how will he be able to get up for his big day? By Judy Cox; Picture Books J EASY COX.
In this humorous Groundhog’s Day picture book by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Office: A Day at Dunder Mifflin Elementary, it’s the day before the big event . . . and the Groundhog goes on strike. By Robb Pearlman; Picture Books J EASY PEA.
To an angler, each bend in the river reveals new riffles and pools, glimmering with hope. The pebbles and rocks underfoot create pockets of opportunity. An emergence of insects becomes a call to rise as barely perceptible rings hint of hungry trout.
The perfect cast is an act of grace.
Pam Parker, Community Library Circulation Manager
When we step into the river to fly-fish, we become one with this natural flow, reading water like an ever-changing book. With senses attuned, we cast the fly line back and forth above the water before settling it in just the spot we aimed for. A perfect cast is an act of grace.
Through word, object, and image, the Library Foyer exhibit celebrates four Wood River Valley women who have earned the badge of Reel Legends on our local waters.
Amanda Bauman: Elementary school teacher at The Community School who spends her summers working as a fly-fishing guide
Morgan Buckert: Has worked for almost two decades in recreation and conservation in the Wood River Valley
Susanne Connor: Once flew gliders over the Valley and now guides fly-fishing year around and co-operates a local outfitter
Juliette Guiterrez: Lives steps from the river in Ketchum and might be found styling hair in the morning and casting a fly on the Big Wood that same evening
The Foyer exhibit ends in April 2022.
Media and Digital Librarian Aly Wepplo recommends An Untamed State by Roxane Gay.
I was working at the Circulation desk when Martha Williams, our Director of Programs and Education, dropped An Untamed State into the return bin.
Once she picked it up, she said, she hardly put it down again until it was finished. Three days later, I was making the same recommendation. To everybody.
An Untamed State is the story of Mireille, an American woman with Haitian roots. Her parents raised her in Nebraska and then returned to their home city of Port-au-Prince. Mireille thinks of both countries as home, and she visits her parents often.
On one such visit, Mireille and her husband plan to take their baby son to the beach for the first time. On the way, they are stopped by a gang of kidnappers, who pull Mireille from the car and take her to their hideout. They demand a ransom of one million dollars from Mireille’s father, who owns a successful construction company. He refuses to pay or negotiate.
And Mireille is left with her captors for a harrowing thirteen days.
This incredible novel kept me up till 3:30 on a Saturday night. The story jumps between past and present. It follows Mireille’s relationship with her husband, Michael, from their first accidental meeting through their engagement, wedding, and the difficult pregnancy that brings their son, Cristophe.
“. . .it is the story of the universal gender, race, and class issues that tie all people together.”
This is more than the story of one woman’s kidnapping. It is the story of her captors, who hope to buy their way out of a desperate existence. It is the story of her parents, who fight their country’s problems while also contributing to them. It is the story of Mireille’s husband, an outsider who wants so badly to help and doesn’t know how. It is the story of Haiti and the struggles and triumphs of its people.
And it is the story of the universal gender, race, and class issues that tie all people together.
I loved this book. I hope everyone will read it.
Find it in ebookand in print in Adult Fiction Main – FICTION Gay.
Silver Creek draws nature lovers from all over to fish its waters and walk its paths while looking for wildlife.
This image of Silver Creek from the Sandra Hofferber Collection, shows the riparian area, the land that borders bodies of water, with snow on the ground, ducks on the water, and mountains peeking out in the background.
Historically, the creek has been used for irrigation for farmers along its banks. It was also used for ice harvesting in the winters of the 1900s, when thousands of pounds of ice were shipped via the railroad to other towns like Glenns Ferry in the state.
Today, Silver Creek Preserve is famous for its world renown fly-fishing and the variety of wildlife that it draws. It is also well known for the conservation work and partnerships it has with community members and other organizations.
The Community Library’s Winter Read Exhibit, Reel Legends : Fly Fisherwomen of the Wood River Valley takes a look at four women who share a relationship with fly-fishing areas like Silver Creek, and what the sport means to them. The 2022 Winter Read Virtual Kickoff and the exhibit opening will be on Monday, January 31. Click here for more details about Winter Read and upcoming Winter Read events.
