Library News

Jacob Edwards Library

November 2022

Library Hours

Monday & Thursday 9 am - 8 pm

Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday 9 am - 5 pm

Saturdays 9 am - 1 pm

Curbside pickup is available during library hours!

The Library will be closed on

Thursday, November 24th and Friday, November 25th for the Thanksgiving holiday and on Tuesday, November 29th at

1:00 pm for staff development.

Museum Pass Program

Did you know you can borrow passes that will give you discounted admission to local attractions with your library card? Details about each pass we offer can be found on the Museum Pass page on our website. 

November Art Exhibit

Clay Work by Linda Early

Meet & Greet

Thursday, November 3rd

6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Sponsored by Friends of Jacob Edwards Library.

The Jacob Edwards Library invites you to an exhibit of the clay work by Linda Early of Nature's Gallery. Linda is an established artist who creates functional and decorative art.

From the artist:

"Clay is an amazing medium, offering endless opportunities for creativity and exploration.

I often go into my studio with no real idea of what I will create. I let the clay speak to me. Whether it be a slab of clay or thrown on the wheel, It directs me. I may throw several forms and put them on the shelf to set up for trimming later. Once it is trimmed, I look at the shape and start to alter it. Cutting, pinching, or sculpting and letting my thoughts wander. Many times It is covered and left for a few days because it has not revealed itself yet. Sometimes an idea will come to me in the early morning, as the sun rises and I am waking from a dream state. It seems to come from a dream and as I wake it develops and excites me. I try to do a quick sketch of my thoughts, so I don’t lose that thread before I am able to get to my studio, where my projects and my clay await me. 

I am blessed to live on a property that offers views of fields, woodlands, and creatures that fascinate and inspire me. Hand-building offers freedom to work untethered from my wheel, so I can sit outside and appreciate my inspiring surroundings while playing with clay. Birds of all kinds are abundant in my sanctuary - I’ve had visitors including hummingbirds, blue herons, and everything in between! These have been the inspiration for my comfort birds. Initially, I started making the birds as adornments for larger pieces. Because of the unique firing technique I employ, I have to do a lot of buffing on them. One day I realized this part of the process was actually therapeutic for me, like petting a cat. Taking it a step further I began rubbing in lavender and realized it worked well as a room diffuser. I began warming them and adding the oil to them, making them wonderful for relaxing and therapeutic, as well as a unique decoration.

I have always been attracted to art and my search for the most enjoyable medium took many years. I played with many art forms. I worked in acrylic, oils, and watercolor. I explored woodturning and experimented with metal.  In 1996, I started my love affair with clay when I took my first pottery class at the Worcester Center for Crafts. I went into my first class with the intention of working on the potter's wheel but found the art of hand-building most fascinating, It challenged my creativity and I found it almost an out-of-body experience. The creative process is a journey that takes you to places limited only by your imagination.

I don’t refer to myself as a potter; I say I am a clay artist. My work is not confined to one specific style or theme but almost always leans toward nature and feels and looks organic. I tell people interested in learning about pottery “it is endless what you can create using clay, if you can imagine it you can create it.

Feeling, molding, and shaping clay soothes my mind. Everything I make comes from my head, hands, and my heart. Creating is my passion, sharing it is my joy."

Old Buildings and Old Connections

Wednesday, November 9th

2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

There is a rich social and architectural history in Southbridge. This presentation will be a brief introduction to some of the historical highlights and notable architecture in the town of Southbridge's early years. Looking at why people settled here and how they grew the town over the years - the economic side will also be discussed, especially the manufacturing and mill buildings that came to be so important. 

Megan Garlie grew up in Southbridge in an old AO house and always was interested in the history around it. She moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, and completed her Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Anthropology with a minor in German. During her undergrad, she attended a bioarchaeological field school at the Fortress of Louisbourg, a National Historic Site in Nova Scotia, Canada, where that year approximately 35 of an estimated 1,100 individuals were excavated from Rochefort Point, an area under threat from coastal erosion. She then moved to St. John's, Newfoundland to attend Memorial University, where she recently completed her Masters in Archaeology, with a focus on Bioarchaeology. Her thesis is titled: An Isotopic Investigation of the Diet and Origins of 18th and 19th Century Individuals from Newfoundland and Louisbourg, Nova Scotia. She worked for two Cultural Resource Management companies as an archaeologist and excavated various sites across New England, before coming to work at Jacob Edwards Library. 

JFK in Southbridge with Dick Whitney

Thursday, November 10th

6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Sponsored by Friends of Jacob Edwards Library.

The Optical Heritage Museum is pleased to premier a restored movie clip from JFK’s famous Senatorial campaign stop in Southbridge in September of 1958. Dick Whitney will show this movie for the first time in public and is looking to capture recollections from that day. Anyone who has stories (firsthand or otherwise) is encouraged to attend. There will also be a discussion of what transpired that day, along with Museum artifacts on JFK’s lasting connection to Southbridge/American Optical. Come join us for this historic premiere!

Dick Whitney graduated from the University of Massachusetts (Amherst) in 1973, where he earned his BS degree in Astronomy. He started work with American Optical in their Central Testing laboratory in September of 1974 and has nearly 48 years of continuous service with the company (now Carl Zeiss

Vision. Dick has been very active in ANSI and ISO standards work since 1991. He is Chair of ANSI Z80.1 spectacle lens committee and has been very involved in ANSI /ISO / Vision Council committee work for 30 years. Dick chairs the Vision Council Lens Technical Committee, a role he has held since 1997. He was inducted into the Vision Council Hall of Fame in Las Vegas in September 2016

Dick is also the Executive Director of the Zeiss-sponsored Optical Heritage Museum in Southbridge. The Museum was originally founded in 1983 to celebrate AO’s 150th Anniversary. Dick has worked to restart and grow the Museum for nearly 20 years, and thanks to Zeiss it reopened 8 years ago. It has greatly expanded and more info can be found at:

www.opticalheritagemuseum.com

Dick lives in Southbridge with his wife Peg Whitney, whom he married in 1977. They have two grown children, Christopher and Erica, and a 7-year-old grandson Nolan. He is the former Chair and currently a member of Jacob Edwards Library Board of Trustees in Southbridge, a member of the Board of Directors of Venture (an agency that serves handicapped individuals) and founding Board member of the Southbridge Business Partnership.

Thursday, November 17th

6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

JEL is pleased to announce the return of our book club!

Multiple copies of the monthly selection in various formats will be on hold -

ask for a copy at the Information Desk!

November's title is Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan.

The Firekeeper's Daughter

Angeline Boulley

"Eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. She dreams of a fresh start at college, but when family tragedy strikes, Daunis puts her future on hold to look after her fragile mother. The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming recruit on her brother Levi’s hockey team.

Yet even as Daunis falls for Jamie, she senses the dashing hockey star is hiding something. Everything comes to light when Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, thrusting her into an FBI investigation of a lethal new drug.

Reluctantly, Daunis agrees to go undercover, drawing on her knowledge of chemistry and Ojibwe traditional medicine to track down the source. But the search for truth is more complicated than Daunis imagined, exposing secrets and old scars. At the same time, she grows concerned with an investigation that seems more focused on punishing the offenders than protecting the victims.

Now, as the deceptions—and deaths—keep growing, Daunis must learn what it means to be a strong Anishinaabe we (Ojibwe woman) and how far she’ll go for her community, even if it tears apart the only world she’s ever known."-- Provided by publisher.

The award-winning Teen Health & Wellness provides middle and high school students with up-to-date, nonjudgmental, straightforward curricular, and self-help support. Visit the "Calm Room" - A curated collection of tools to help relax, de-stress, and refocus.

The Jacob Edwards Library subscribes to multiple online databases which can help you with everything from schoolwork, finding up-to-date health information, to learning a new language, or preparing for your driving test. Check them out here!

TAG Meeting

Tuesday, November 15th

3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Join our Teen Advisory Group (TAG) and help us improve our library services for teens. At monthly TAG meetings, you will weigh in on library programs, services, and materials, earn volunteer hours, make new friends, and build your leadership skills. Open to Southbridge students/residents ages 12-18.

New Hope Workshop

Saturday, November 19th

11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Have you started dating? Are you curious about what makes a healthy relationship? Do you know how to set healthy boundaries? What is consent? Find out the answers to these questions and more from New Hope, your local Domestic Violence Agency.



Welcome to the Children's Page

November 2022

Create Your Own

Picture Book



Saturday, November 12, 2022

at 10:30am

Gingerbread House Workshop

Monday Nov 28, 2022

6:00pm-7:00pm

Registration Required

call 508-764-5427 to save your spot!

Monday Night

STEAM Club

Join us on Monday evenings at

6:30pm for STEAM Club! Activities include art, playdough, puzzles, building circuits, kinetic sand, tinkering and much more!

Lego Club

Tuesdays

3:00pm - 4:30pm

Saturdays

10:30am-noon

CRAFTY WEDNESDAY

All Day

Join us anytime from 9am to 5pm

Storytime with

Ms. Liz

Wednesdays & Fridays

at 10:30am

Tinkering Thursday

Join us on Thursday afternoons from

4:00pm - 5:00pm



What is Tinkering?

"to take things apart, put things together, figure out how things work, and attempt to build and make creations using tools."

Wishing our patrons a very happy Thanksgiving!

Jacob Edwards Library

508.764.5426

[email protected]