June 2022 - More news...

When I think of the word busy, it tends to have a negative connotation. Somedays the high level of activity in my day conquers my outlook on life. On those days, I feel overwhelmed and defeated. However, I realized one day as I was cleaning my son’s white, dirt-stained baseball pants, prepping school lunches, and watching the kids play outside through the window that if I do not stop being busy, I may miss the biggest gifts of life. I also realize that when those gifts of being busy are gone, I cannot get them back. How long will I be required to wash the stains out of baseball pants? How long will packing school lunches be something I have to do? I know one thing: the timeframe of those gifts are not as long as I would like.

No matter how full my day is, if I choose to be present and embrace all that is going on in my world the word "busy" no longer exists. If I just take it all in and realize that these moments, right here – right now are precious – I am no longer busy - I am blessed.

As we head into summer, I highly recommend choosing not to be busy. No matter your age, embrace the moments of packed days of gardening, picnics, participating in social organizations, vising the library, swimming, and driving to destinations near and far. Summer will not last long, do not be busy, just be.

Stop by the library this summer to visit the staff and join in our summer programming. There is something for everyone. I know you will not be too busy. If you stop by to see us, we would appreciate if you could bring a donation for local Veterans. We are collecting now through June 17. See more information about this special collection for our Veterans below. Thank you in advance!

"And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer." —F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

See you at the library!

Holly Bennett

Library Director, Information Conductor, and Community Ambassador

TICKETS GO ON SALE ON FRIDAY, JULY 1ST!

Click HERE for a full schedule and details!

Registration starts June 6th.

Please read this message from Sydney Bennett:

   This summer, I have the honor of attending this year’s session of Keystone Girls’ State, and the 724 Legion Auxiliary Unit has generously agreed to sponsor me. Keystone Girls’ State is a program held at Shippensburg University to provide girls the opportunity to learn how governments and businesses function while gaining leadership experiences. The program also emphasizes service. One of the four projects is a collection for veterans in need. As someone who hopes to serve my country someday in the near future, this cause caught my attention. What if this personal service project turned into a community project? So, I ask that you think of those who have served us and now need us to serve them.

In continued celebration of Memorial Day and recognition of veterans, the library will collect the following items for Coatesville Veterans Hospital through Friday, June 17th:

Boxer briefs - L, XL

T-shirts - L, XL, 2XL, 3XL, 4XL, 5XL

Cotton socks

Sweatshirts - all sizes

Hooded sweatshirts - L, XL, 2XL

Shower gel - No bar soap

Toothbrushes

Toothpaste

Combs

Hairbrushes

Word search books

Crossword puzzle books

Sudoku puzzle books

Chess sets

Checker sets

Markers for art projects

Gift cards for gas and groceries - $10 and $25

All items must be NEW.

Please bring your donations to the library.

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Thank you for your support for our veterans!

And let’s show Keystone Girls’ State just how proud Nazareth is of our heroes! 

Charlie Wagner,

Winner of Iron Pigs ticket vouchers

Sharon Bonner,

Winner of the Birds and Blooms birdhouse and gift certificate

Bessie Moustakas,

Winner of the TOPS gardening basket

Thank you to everyone who purchased tickets and showed their support for the library.

The  Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center, partnered with Highmark Wholecare and Weis Pharmacy, is hosting several COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine and booster clinics at 522 W. Maple Street @Bayard Rustin Way, Allentown, PA 18101.

No appointment required

The vaccines are free, and individuals do not require proof of insurance or residency.

June 27th at 6:00pm EST

Save your spot for a virtual live event with James Patterson, the world’s bestselling author, as he discusses his new memoir, James Patterson by James Patterson: The Stories of My Life.  Find out how a boy from small-town New York went on to become a mega-bestselling novelist – and how he does it.  Patterson has always wanted to write the kind of novel that would be read and reread so many times that the binding breaks and the book literally falls apart.  As he says, "I'm still working on that one."

Register now HERE.

The Memorial Library of Nazareth & Vicinity recently acquired a large set of family photographs courtesy of Rosa Abel. We usually don’t accept photos of people unless they are of significant figures, but these proved to be of interest to us as we open up our archives to a broader understanding of Nazareth’s civic history. Dating from the Civil War to the Roaring '20s, these photographs showcase a number of historic photographic processes, from tintype to silver gelatin. Moreover, the majority of the portraits came from hyperlocal studios, meaning we can track the evolution of photography in Nazareth as we work on dating the photos. The photographs, especially the studio portraits, can be dated by identifying several factors from the developing material and the image itself. Cardstock thickness and color, photographic method, and the dress of the person can all be used to date the photograph to a distinct time period. 

Many of the photographs came from the studio of Isaac F. Hertzog. Along with running a business in photography from his locations in Nazareth and Pen Argyl, Hertzog was infamous for another, somewhat more controversial practice. An article from the September 7, 1917 issue of the Nazareth Item reads: “Nazareth Man Arrested. Accused of Peddling Medicine and Pow-wowing.” The article details the antics of Hertzog, who scammed a woman out of $100 by claiming he could use Pennsylvania Dutch pow wow to track down her stolen items. This was neither the first nor the last reference to Hertzog being caught practicing illegal medicine and sorcery. He was caught and arrested numerous times throughout his career for practicing unlicensed medicine, claiming to be a faith healer, and by running a variety of scams where he’d promise to track down a missing item, or even a loved one. He even sold charms that he claimed would prevent a young man from being drafted. Some of his schemes, which he ran out of a shop location in Allentown, resulted in the deaths or serious injury of his clients. He was an interesting character here in Nazareth, to say the very least.

But at least he was skilled in photography.

If you are interested in viewing these photographs, please email awarnke@nazarethlibrary.org for details.