Friends
OF THE
St. Petersburg Main Library
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 6 • 3745 9th Ave. North, St. Petersburg, FL 33713 • Visit www.splibraries.org
League of Women Voters Present Election Program at Main Library on Sept. 24 Voters of the St. Petersburg United States Congressional, Florida In 1920 following passage Area and North Pinellas Legislative, and county races such as of the 19th amendment to the County, The Guide https:// school board, courts and special fire/ United States Constitution vote.lwvspa.org is a useful, rescue districts. Amendment 4, if passed, giving women the right to online resource for voters would extend a renewable-energy tax vote, the League of Women seeking comprehensive, break to property owners on installed Voters of the United States nonpartisan, fact-based solar devices. was born. It was created as Raechel Garafalo will be the election information a nonpartisan organization Raechel Garafalo to offer information to new voters and including: candidates’ biographical featured speaker at the Saturday, develop a way for members to study information and their verbatim responses September 24, free program hosted issues, reach consensus based on an to issue-based questions, explanation by Friends of the Main Library open discussion of the facts gathered, of referendums and amendments beginning at 2 p.m. The meeting and develop from the facts a position on appearing on the August and November will also include a League of Women which to advocate for or against an issue. ballots. It also tells when, where and Voters staffed table providing The League does not advocate for nor how to register and vote as well as links voter education materials and an opportunity to register to vote. endorse political parties or candidates for to other voter resources. Friends of the Main Library will offer The August 30 Primary is critical office locally, statewide, or nationally. The League of Women Voters of the in determining outcomes for select light refreshments following the program. St. Petersburg Area (LWVSPA) was founded in May 1939. Men were admitted MAIN LIBR ARY HAP P E NINGS to membership in 1974. The St. Petersburg League’s website https://LWVSPA.org includes a calendar of events, directory of St. Petersburg Area League board members (with photos and short biographies) in addition to a list of committees and issues for action, located under the “ABOUT” tab on the home page. Have you ever wondered what and silver; Asian Dynasty antiques Especially important and timely that Epergne Cranberry Glass and art; rare and collectible books; information for voters is found in the Candelabra/Flower Holder or Tiffany and antique jewelry will evaluate online League of Women Voters 2016 Silver Tea Set is worth? Plan to your treasurers. Donations of $5 for Pinellas County Voter Guide (The Guide), attend the popular antique evaluation a single item or $12 for three items under the “VOTE” tab. fair in January. Local antique dealers accepted. Mark your calendar and Produced by the Leagues of Women specializing in antiques, glass, china enjoy the fun.
4th Annual Antique Evaluation Fair Set for January 14th
The Friends of the St. Petersburg Main Library, established in 1961, recognizes the value of our great library and celebrates all it has to offer. Friends’ membership dollars and donations support the library’s outstanding collections, resources and programs — free and accessible to all. —1—
• FRIENDS OF • THE ST. PETERSBURG MAIN LIBRARY Board of Directors Lorraine Franckle — President Mozelle Bell — Secretary Marie Rickey — Treasurer Janis Froelich Jim Hance Sheryl Long
Library Staff Mika S. Nelson — City Director Lila Denning — Director of Main Library Angela Falsey — Adult Services Coordinator Paula Alexis —Youth Services Coordinator
We have openings on our Board of Directors. To inquire, contact Friends of the Library president Lorraine Franckle at LJRMD@tampabay.rr.com
Visit and “Like” us at facebook.com/ StPeteLibraryFriends
Goal: Zero Waste Through Recycling — President’s Message By Lorraine Franckle —
Dear Friends of the Main Library, The city of St. Pete began picking up curbside recyclables in July 2015, making this program one year old. The items you place in you recycling bin are taken to the Pinellas County Solid Waste Management facility on 114th St. N where they are sorted and packed into bales of paper, plastic and metals, and sold to innovative companies that reuse these basic materials to produce new products. This program has been successful in diverting tons of materials that previously would have been incinerated into new products. The remainder of our garbage (what we put in the trash can) is burned in the three large incinerators at the same facility. You can see the chimneys from I-275. All the collected garbage (minus the recyclables) is dumped together and burned! There is no sorting of these items. They are all burned together. We do generate electricity from this process. However, I would like to start you thinking along another line. This trash contains large amounts of food waste from homes, restaurants, schools, sporting events and grocery stores. If we could
Refuse to Energy Plant
separate food waste into a third bin, minus its associated packaging, these organic materials could be converted into compost that can then be put back into the soil. There are companies locally that do this. Now! Here! Locally! Cities including San Francisco, Austin, and San Diego have as their goal ZERO WASTE BY 2020. They are currently working through the process and progress is being made. On Saturday, Oct 15, Jan Tracy from Pinellas Solid Waste Facility will show us where AWAY is when we throw something away. There is a huge educational process upfront but it is possible. School children from kindergarten on up are being taught to sort their lunchroom trash into appropriate bins. Could St. Pete get on board with this program?
SUMMER READING PROGRAM A SUCCESS No child was left out of the summer program at the main library. There were activities for kids of all ages up through g r a d e 12 . E l e m e n t a r y students submitted bookmark designs with a theme of Sports or Being Active. Ten winners were chosen from the kindergarten through 2nd grade entries, and ten winners were chosen from the third through fifth grade entries by the Morean Arts Center Staff. Each winner received a copy of his winning bookmark and saw his/her bookmark on display throughout the library system. The winners were
recognized at the kickoff event. There were incentive games for preschoolers and elementary students, and a joint game for middle and high school students. Preschool activities were parent/child-focused and included “visit the library,” “sing counting songs,” “read your child a bedtime story,” and “do fingerplays and action rhymes.” Preschoolers won a book or soap bubbles for completing their game. Elementary students were asked to do tasks like “read a book by an author who’s new
to you,” “read a sports book,” “draw a picture to display at the library,” or “find a joke book & learn some new jokes.” Elementary students who completed ten activities won a prize book and an invitation to the On Your Mark, Get Set...Read! party. Students in Grades 6 - 12 who completed eight activities such as “check out a tutorial on Lynda.com,” “attend a library program,” “read for 1 hour,” or “watch a movie based on a book” won a prize book and an invitation to the party. Steve Turner brought
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African drums, drum pads and other rhythm instruments to the library. Everyone (kids and adults alike) played drums or danced! It is very noisy, chaotic and fun! John brought lizards, a snapping turtle, and snakes including a 16 foot yellow python to show. He told the kids about their life cycle, eating habits and activities. The children were mesmerized! (Only John touched the reptiles.) Your donations helped make these activities possible. Thank you, Friends of the Library.
LO VE THE S T. PETERSB URG M AI N L I B RARY ? J OI N U S ! Friends of the Main Library Membership Form We are a 501(c) (3) nonprofit group whose purpose is to support the library through volunteerism, fundraising, activities, and sponsorship of programs and services. Your membership offers you the opportunity to get involved, share thoughts and lend your talents to the library, a priceless resource. Here is what we do: • • • • •
Support the library to help make it a vital part of our community Fund summer reading programs Purchase books, equipment, furnishings, and other materials Support library programs for new parents, children of all ages, teens, adults, and families Host author visits, guest speakers and cultural events
To join the Friends and support library programs and services, please complete this application and mail it with a check payable to Friends of the Library at 3745 Ninth Ave. N, St. Petersburg, Florida 33712-6001 Name ___________________________________________ Phone ____________________________________________ Date ____________________________________________ Email______________________________________________ Address _________________________________________ City, State, Zip__________________________________
Membership Choice
Individual $20
Total Enclosed $___________ I can help with: Hospitality
Family $30
Life $150
Business/Corporate $100
(Membership is annual January through December.) Fundraising
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DON’T MISS THIS SPECIAL PRESENTATION OF FRIENDS OF THE MAIN LIBRARY
League of Women Voters Election Presentation With Raechel Garafalo Saturday, September 24th • 2:00 p.m. T H A N K Y O U TO O UR 2016 ME MBE R S! Alton & Mary Babineau Andrew & Marion Barnes Mozelle Bell Greg & Bertie Bloxom Norman Bungard Dr Charles & Nancy Christ Harry & Margaret Eisenaugle Jadwiga Elliott Christa Fairbrother Neil & Lorraine Franckle Janis Froelich Stewart & Betty Goldie Leslie Greene
James Hance Debbie Haslam Doris Heitlerl Edith Holtzclaw Francis Gallagher Larry Hooker Trudy James Bonnie Jorgenson James Kennedy Keith Kewley Constance Cone Peter & Kathy Lefferson Dr Morris & Marilyn Levine
Anne Long Sheryl Long Deborah Lopez Ray Luck Cheryl MacNeill Maryanne Mulder Carolyn Nygren David Query Jean Reed Marie Rickey William Rollins Ronda Russick Dolores Scalels —3—
Jimmy & Joann Schmal Laura Schmid Sharron Scott Linn Sennott Harold & Francis Shattenberg Sydney Shollenberger Lorraine Smith Dolores Smith Harriet Steub Amy Stiff Barbara Tyson Kathryn Voskuil Peter & Helen Wallace
Cane River Documents One Family’s Resolve To Be Free — Reviewed by Jim Hance — In 1995 Lalita Tademy ( pronou nced the same as “academy”) was a vice president of Sun Microsystems, running a business unit within the large corporation. She was featured in Fortune’s “People on the Rise” list, as well as Black Enterprise and Ebony, and in 1998 she was named an African-American Innovator in the New Millennium at the Silicon Valley Tech Museum of Innovation. Suddenly Tademy decided
Author Lalita Tademy
to leave her career behind. She couldn’t explain why, except that her work was beginning to feel stale. “I was starting to feel as if this was not what I was supposed to be doing,” she said. She had no plan moving forward, so she began a genealogical search of her ancestry in Louisiana to pass the time. After a year and a half of rummaging through courthouse archives and peoples’ attics, she hired a professional genealogist, primarily to decipher the
records written in French. The genealogist came up with the key to what Lalita would do next: a bill of sale for a slave named Elizabeth, Lalita’s great-great-greatgreat grandmother. The bill showed her that her ancestors were black slaves. A closer inspection of the document showed that some of her ancestors were white slave owners. With further study, the people from her past began to “speak to her,” and she set her mind to telling their stories. The result is a volume of historical fiction, Cane River, which documents the changing social setting of rural Louisiana from 1800 through the Civil War, through Reconstruction and into the 20th century. The book is a captivating blend of fact and fiction which brings to life four generations of her family’s women who are exceedingly strong and adept at loving and supporting their mixedrace families in a chaotic society torn asunder by the emancipation of slaves. The new “freedom” of the slave was fraught with persecution, bigotry, killing, terrorism, plundering and unjust legal proceedings which forced “‘Thank you’ are the finest words that anyone can say. They show gratitude, humility and understanding.” — Alice Walker
the separation of the races, and the breakup of families of mixed races. Though the characters in the book endure great suffering, Tademy was determined not to portray them as victims. “One of the things I was mindful of was that I did not want a victim mentality in this book because these were people who went through unbelievable hardship and obstacles and they kept going. And they not only survived, they thrived. Her novel reveals the horror of racial violence, but also the strength of the human spirit. Particularly when it’s family-pulling-family and community-pulling-
Though the characters in the book endure great suffering, Tademy was determined not to portray them as victims. community, you get beyond, you move forward, and you get to the point where you can rise. It’s a book about a tough period of time, but it’s very redemptive to me, and I draw an enormous amount of strength from these people.” Tademy’s readers will undoubtedly draw strength from them, too. The story begins in 1834 where we meet the cook Elisabeth and her nine-yearold daughter Suzette who is
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destined for service in the house, not the field. As she has been house raised, both maid and companion to the young ward of her employer, Suzette has a hunger for something other than what’s on offer and is dismayed when her mother discourages her aspirations. Though she lives to see freedom, Suzette’s life is not easy and, after a time, when her master dies and her family is broken up, she discovers why her mother took such a circumspect stance. She bears two children by a Frenchman, Eugene Durant. The focus of the book shifts to Suzette’s daughter, Philomene, who determines she will marry a slave from another plantation, Clement, though she is being relentlessly pursued by a French plantation owner, Narcisse Fredieu. The wedding takes place, and she bears twins with Clement, but a cholera outbreak and the death of the Clement’s owner allow Fredieu to send Clement and a daughter away to Virginia, and to bury the other child who succumbed to the disease. Philomene is led to believe both of her children have died, and she angrily stops speaking to Continued on next page
SPFESTIVAL 2016 Through Month of September Will Feature Visual Art, Performing Arts & Family Art The SPFESTIVAL 2016, a celebration of the arts in St. Petersburg throughout the month of September, kicks off on Sept. 1 with SHINE: St. Petersburg Mural Festival showcaseing creative and inspiring murals at various locations around the city. SPFESTIVAL 2016 features events and activities produced by local and national artists, arts organizations and arts-related businesses in and around the city. There will be weekly spotlights on all the arts including fine arts, performing arts, and a family arts festival taking place on Sept. 24, in conjunction with the Central Avenue Solstice Festival, and an art walk. John Collins, executive director of St. Petersburg Arts Alliance, is organizing the talent and events for SPFESTIVAL 2016. His plans include artist “popups” at various locations — impromptu
Cane River
Continued from previous page
everyone for months. Finally, she develops a strategy to control her destiny and speaks to Narcisse about it. Philomene has the power of “glimpsing” or premonitions of things to happen, and also she is skilled in argument. Philomene gets Fredieu to build her a cabin of her own, and plants the idea that their children should be free. She bears eight children with Fredieu, and the first one, Emily, is sent to a convent in New Orleans where she learns to read and write both French and English. Fredieu feels the societal pressures to separate himself from his “mulatte” family, and marries a white woman which seems to improve his social standing.
performances in public locations by performance artists which are intended to surprise and amaze walkersby. Dozens of artists will be involved. The St. Petersburg Arts Alliance is the umbrella organization serving the arts and cultural community — advocating for the arts, facilitating the growth of the arts community, and driving arts-related economic development in St. Petersburg. The Suncoasters of St. Petersburg, Inc. has been gathering donations and sponsorships in support of the festival.
The focus of the book changes again to the next great matriarch of the family, Emily. A friend of Fredieu, Joseph Billes, calls on Emily at the convent and a romance ensues. They marry, have five children, and Billes goes on to become a successfully
Philomene has the power of “glimpsing” or premonitions of things to happen, and also she is skilled in argument. landowner and developer. Billed is threatened with death for his family and manipulated by racist people in the community including his own cousin who force him to send his family away to a new home, and he remarries
When visiting restaurants, galleries or businesses in downtown St. Petersburg next month, pick up a free map to studios and galleries that are participating in the art walk. More than four dozen studios will be open for Saturday visits by the public, exhibiting or demonstrating mixed media, clay, glass, painting, jewelry, classes and workshops on weekends and throughout the month of September. Look for promotions for SPFESTIVAL 2016 in the local media in the weeks ahead, as well as the Main Library. For more information on SPFESTIVAL 2016, visit stpetefest.org “Compliments cost nothing but can make someone feel like a million bucks. A word of encouragement can make the difference between giving up or going on.” — Delores Cannon
a white woman to improve his status in the community just as his friend Fredieu had done. This eventually leads to the death of Bille and his white wife by undetermined cause, and their estate is transferred to the cousin, leaving Emily out of the will. Bille had foreseen this, and surreptitiously provided her with cash that sustained the family. In all, we chart seven generations of strong women — from Suzette’s mother Elisabeth all the way to author Tademy — in a spellbinding matriarchal tale. Tademy colors all of the detail that history cannot provide and her family story springs to life. Does Cane River illustrate precisely how it was for these women? It hardly matters. The author keeps us rapt with
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a well-told story. With Cane River Lalita Tademy became a New York Times bestselling author, it became an Oprah book pick in 2001, and was translated into eleven languages. She has followed the novel with Red River in 2007, and Citizens Creek in 2014. Than ks to Dwight Dupree of Henderson, Louisiana and Bradenton, Florida for recommending this book to me. THE REVIEWER,
Jim Hance, is a new Friends of the Main Library board member, and produced this newsletter. He is a publications designer for OPS and promoter of Florida music and dance events. Jim can be contacted at j-hance@wowpromotions. com and Facebook.
FRIENDS OF ST. PETERSBURG MAIN LIBRARY
Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID
3745 Ninth Ave. N. St. Petersburg , FL 33713-6001
St. Petersburg, FL Permit No. 1145
SE PT EM BER 2016 NEW S LETT E R Main Library Phone: 727-893-7724 Main Library Website: www.splibraries.org Main Library Hours: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday: 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Tuesday & Thursday: 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. Saturday: 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Sunday: Noon – 6:00 p.m.
Friends of the St. Petersburg Main Library Calendar Sept. 24 | 2 p.m. League of Women Voters Election Presentation Oct. 15 | 2 p.m. Where Your Trash Goes When You Throw It Away Nov. 12 | 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. St. Petersburg Writers Book Fair Dec. 3 | 2 p.m. St. Petersburg College Madrigalians Jan. 14 | 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Antiques Evaluation Fair —6—