400 READS Beat the Heat this Month at Your Library with these awesome programs.

400reads Beat the Heat this Month at Your Library

By Leslie Marinelli | Forsyth County Public Library

It’s July, it’s blazing hot outside, and you want fun, enriching things to do that won’t break the bank. Forsyth County Public Library to the rescue! Here are 10 ways FCPL can help you chill out on the cheap this month:

Get free prizes for summer reading!

It’s not too late to participate in the library’s reading incentive program which runs through July 31, 2022. Studies show that reading incentive programs “gamify” reading, making it more fun and less of a chore. The rewards and recognition of reading achievements help motivate many children to keep reading. With incremental prizes like free books and coupons for free delicious treats from local restaurants, kids can’t help but strive to reach new reading goals. Our summer reading incentive program is fun for the whole family and all ages are welcome to participate. Get started at forsythpl.beanstack.org

Stop summer slide.

Keeping kids intellectually stimulated with reading and engaging activities is the best thing you can do to prevent learning loss over the summer. We have materials and resources for every type of learning preference. Try our online children’s resources like BookFlix and Weston Woods Plus to mix things up and make reading more interactive.

Enjoy free museum and park passes.

Use your library card to check out free passes to the Center for Puppetry Arts, Chattahoochee Nature Center, Georgia State Parks, Zoo Atlanta, and more!

Take advantage of our free, quiet, professional meeting spaces.

Reserve a free study, conference, or meeting room and enjoy your next Zoom meeting without the sound of kids or barking dogs in the background.

Work faster with free high speed Internet access.

Need to use a computer? We have desktops and laptops for use in the library and Chromebooks you can check out for up to two weeks. Free access to our high speed Wi-Fi network is available in our libraries during open hours and in our parking lots from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. daily.

Make your next road trip a breeze!

If hearing “Are we there yet?” on repeat in the car isn’t your idea of a good time, hit the library (in person or online) and stock up on digital or CD audiobooks for the whole family. Younger children not quite reading on their own will love our VOX™ Books which have embedded digital audio players with headphone jacks.

Shop the cheapest bookstore in town!

Located in each library, the FCPL Friends and Advocates Bookstores sell gently used materials at a fraction of their

retail price. All sales support library programming for all ages and divert tons of books from landfills each year. In July all educational materials are 50% off at our Friends stores. Donations of used materials and Friends volunteers are always needed!

Take a deep dive into oceans of possibilities.

Our libraries are beautiful all year round, but the staff and volunteers of FCPL have really outdone themselves this season decorating for our summer reading theme, “Oceans of Possibilities.” We hear visitors audibly gasp every day when they first experience our incredible deep sea decor. From creatively crafted coral reefs, to floating smacks of jellyfish hand-crafted from recycled materials, to a giant one-eyed 3D kraken and life-sized paper sculptures of sharks, whales, and octopuses, the immersive underwater vibe at each branch is guaranteed to ignite your imagination.

Keep your cool.

Forsyth County Public Libraries are some of the coolest spots in town… literally. There’s a reason the stereotypical librarian uniform includes a cardigan sweater: libraries are very well air-conditioned! Best of all, unlike a trip to the movie theater or water park, chilling in the library won’t cost a thing.

With four branches and a Bookmobile, you’re likely just a short drive to the nearest Forsyth County Public Library. We’re open seven days a week and you don’t need a library card to enjoy our facilities or programs, but a library card is required to borrow materials, reserve meeting spaces, and utilize many of our online resources.

Forsyth County Public Library cards are available at no charge to all Forsyth County residents, property or business owners, government employees, and students and school employees. Anyone not eligible for a free library card may obtain an out-ofcounty library card for $60 per year.

Parents of Forsyth County Schools’ students can also opt in each school year to allow their student to use their FCS ID # as their public library card. Be on the lookout for that option when you’re filling out your back to school paperwork this year.

We have an incredible line up of free programs planned this month for all ages. Below are just a few of the highlights. Please see our online events calendar at forsythpl.org/events for specific locations and times.

FOR KIDS IN GRADES K-5

July 8 – Voyages of Sinbad presented by Mr. Damon’s Shadow Puppet Theater July 11 – Creepy Crawlies! presented by Smithgall Woods July 13 – Books & Brushes presented by Johns Creek Arts Center July 22 & 25 – Animals Around the World presented by Wildlife Wonders July 27 – Jennifer Daniels, Children’s Musician Extraordinaire! July 28 – Magic with Ken Scott July 28 – Shark Science presented by Discover Science Center (grades 3-5 only)

FOR TWEENS AGES 10-12

July 12 – Let’s Build Character! writing workshop presented by author Alexis Abbot July 14 & 19 – Improv Workshop for Teens with Dad’s Garage July 21 & 25 – Art Workshop with artist Lara Maclean

FOR ADULTS

July 10 – Crappie Fishing on Lake Lanier (Southern Fishing Series) July 10 – Flying the Black Flag: Terror on the High Seas presented by University of North Georgia Associate Provost Dr. Eugene Van Sickle July 12 & 13 – 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Escape Room July 13 – Creating Rain Gardens presented by UGA Agriculture and Natural Resource Educator Shannon Kennedy July 16 – Create a Pinecone Bouquet art workshop presented by Lara Maclean July 18 – Lures for Bass Fishing (Southern Fishing Series)

Leslie Marinelli is the Communications Manager at Forsyth County Public Library where she was a children’s librarian for four years. Prior to her work at the library she was a writer and editor who has been featured in The Huffington Post, CNN’s Headline News, Parenting Magazine, and Northside Woman. Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Leslie has lived in Forsyth County for 19 years, is a mother of three, and can often be found shouting “DROP IT” while chasing her rescue pup, Birdie.

For more information about FORSYTH COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY or any of our resources or upcoming events, please visit WWW.FORSYTHPL.ORG or connect with FCPL on social media @forsythpl.

Kenneth Widner talks Tuesday, June 7, at his Hall County home about two of his infamous uncles; John and Clarence Anglin. He shows a picture he says is of the two brothers taken in Brazil in 1975. The two Anglin brothers escaped from Alcatraz prison 60 years ago on June 11-12.

Hall County man has this to say about his uncles’ escape from Alcatraz 60 years ago

By Jeff Gill | Photos Scott Rogers

The escape from Alcatraz remains, for many, one of American history’s biggest prison mysteries.

Did the three prisoners make it to safety in the choppy waters of San Francisco Bay the night of June 11-12, 1962?

For Ken Widner of Chestnut Mountain, there is no mystery. He believes the men, including uncles John and Clarence Anglin, not only survived but went on to live out their lives in South America.

“Do you want to see a picture of them in Brazil?” he said during an interview at his South Hall home.

From a stack of papers, letters and pictures he has collected over the years, Widner pulls out a 1975 color photo showing two men standing next to an enormous anthill.

“I’ve got five independent groups that have done research and studies on it. They will all say [it’s the brothers],” he said.

Whether the Anglin brothers and a third inmate — Frank Morris — survived the treacherous escape from “The Rock,” as Alcatraz Island is famously known, is still debated today.

A 1979 movie starring Clint Eastwood, “Escape from

Kenneth Widner opens a letter from James Joseph “Whitey” Bulger Jr. Tuesday, June 7, at his Hall County home. Widner corresponded with Bulger while researching his two uncles who were in prison at Alcatraz at the same time as Bulger.

Alcatraz,” depicts the escape and ends on a note that the prisoners were never found. Documentaries have been made, as well, including one in 2015 on the History Channel.

The story of Widner’s uncles “has always been a part of my life,” Widner told the Gainesville Times in 2015. “I was just a year and a half old when the escape occurred. As far back as I can remember, this has been a topic.”

The escape is scheduled to be featured in July on “Expedition Unknown” on the Discovery Channel, Widner said.

The website for the adventure show, hosted by Josh Gates, confirms it’s “cracking The Rock as Josh retraces the greatest prison break of all time and proves there’s more to the 1962 escape from Alcatraz than the FBI maintains.”

Widner, 61, recreates what he believes was the watery escape route taken by his uncles, using a kitchen table, a smartphone and his finger.

With the phone representing Alcatraz Island and his finger tracing the path of the men, he described an intricate plan, one involving the prisoners clad in black and hauling a raft made from rain coats, avoiding detection by a guard tower and using 125 feet of extension cord to hitch onto the rudder of a prison boat in the bay.

“When that boat pulled out, they were right behind it,” Widner said. “They release the [extension cord], and all of the sudden, the current is taking them [away from Alcatraz].”

With the pre-arranged help of someone driving a boat and later flying a plane, “off they are to Mexico,” he said.

The prison, meanwhile, didn’t last much longer. It closed in 1963.

FBI archives go into extensive detail about the case.

Continued, Page 16

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I’ve got five independent groups that have done research and studies on it. They will all say [it’s the brothers].

- Ken Widner, showing a picture he says is the two brothers taken in Brazil in 1975

Kenneth Widner talks Tuesday, June 7, 2022, at his Hall County home about two of his infamous uncles; John and Clarence Anglin. The two Anglin brothers escaped from Alcatraz prison 60 years ago on June 12.

“The fate of three particular inmates, however, remains a mystery to this day,” the FBI says.

“Plenty of people have gone to great lengths to prove that the men could have survived, but the question remains: Did they?” according to the site. “Our investigation at the time concluded otherwise.”

The FBI believes that, among other things, “with the strong currents and frigid bay water, the odds were clearly against these men.”

Also, “for the 17 years we worked on the case, no credible evidence emerged to suggest the men were still alive, either in the U.S. or overseas.”

The FBI turned the case over to the U.S. Marshals Service in 1979.

The Marshals Service is not nearly as descriptive of the escape as the FBI. A search of its site turns up only four documents — a log of Freedom of Information Act requests and three “Wanted by U.S. Marshals” pages, one for each escapee.

The pages show how the escapees may look today.

As for Widner, he doesn’t believe the brothers, who were serving time for bank robbery and born in Georgia, are still alive today.

“None of the men (in the family) lived past 90, and John would be 92 and Clarence would be 91, if alive today,” he said.

But his 87-year-old mother, Marie Widner, who lives in Albany, may end up being the key to solving the mystery once and for all.

A DNA sample from her is being entered into the database in Brazil. It’s believed that the brothers settled there — as depicted in the anthill photograph — and were married and had children.

“We’re hoping we’re getting a hit on one of their grandchildren,” Widner said. “... That pretty much would close the case.”