With the arrival of October, the air is crisp and the leaves begin their annual transition from green to shades of yellow, orange and red.  This month we celebrate " Walktober " at the Jacob Edwards Library, and in the 35 towns in eastern Connecticut and south-central Massachusetts that make up the National Heritage Corridor known as the Last Green Valley.   Join us this month for a variety of programs that celebrate the unique character of Southbridge.

October is also  Red Ribbon Week , and the Jacob Edwards Library has many resources for patrons to learn about making healthy choices.  The Southbridge Town Manager's Substance Abuse Advisory Committee newsletter is available, along with numerous brochures for caregivers and families dealing with substance abuse.  The library also has numerous books, and databases such as  Gale Health & Wellness Resource Center  and   Teen Health and Wellness  that address current health issues.  

Art Exhibition

The Jacob Edwards Library is pleased to host Connected in Nature:  Landscape Paintings by Piya Samant and Doreen LaScola.  A reception will be held on Thursday, October 3, 2019 at 6:30 pm. All welcome! Light refreshments will be served.

Did You Know?

Did you know that the Jacob Edwards Library provides access to over a dozen online databases? Most of these digital resources can be accessed from home - think of them as your 24/7 library!  This month we look at Biography, History & Genealogy.

The Jacob Edwards Library provides online access to Gale databases, including Biography in Context, U.S. History in Context, and World History Context.  Researchers may find thousands of biographies, reference articles, images, maps, video and audio files in these robust resources.   Students may find the World Book Early Peoples and World Book Inventions and Discoveries databases helpful resources for school projects and reports. 

Those researching family history and genealogy have access to the  Ancestry site at the Jacob Edwards Library.  Stop by the Library and speak to the staff to learn how this exciting resource can be used to research your family history.

There is always something going on or something to do at the library! Feel free to drop in anytime!

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Please read on for all of this month's upcoming events and news.

Artwork by Piya Samant.

Artwork by Doreen LaScola.

The Jacob Edwards Library invites you to attend a presentation by author David Vermette on his recently published book "A Distinct Alien Race" The Untold Story of Franco-Americans. All welcome! Light refreshments will be provided by the Friends of Jacob Edwards Library. The author will sign copies of the book after the program. Copies of the books will be available for sale.

In the later-19th century, French-Canadian Roman Catholic immigrants from Quebec were deemed a threat to the United States, potential terrorists in service of the Pope. Books and newspapers floated the conspiracy theory that the immigrants seeking work in New England's burgeoning textile industry were actually plotting to annex parts of the United States to a newly independent Quebec. Vermette's groundbreaking study sets this neglected and poignant tale in the broader context of North American history. He traces individuals and families, from the textile barons who created a new industry to the poor farmers and laborers of Quebec who crowded into the mills in the post-Civil War period. Vermette discusses the murky reception these cross-border immigrants met in the USA, including dehumanizing conditions in mill towns and early-20th-century campaigns led by the Ku Klux Klan and the Eugenics movement. Vermette also discusses what occurred when the textile industry moved to the Deep South and brings the story of emigrants up to the present day. Vermette shows how this little-known episode in U.S. history prefigures events as recent as yesterday's news. His well documented narrative touches on the issues of cross-border immigration; the Nativists fear of the Other; the rise and fall of manufacturing in the U.S.; and the construction of race and ethnicity.

David Vermette is a freelance writer, researcher, and editor.  A Distinct Alien Race: The Untold Story of Franco-Americans is the author's first book and was published in October 2018. This presentation is part of  a tour in the New England states.

Copies of A Distinct Alien Race will be available for sale and a booksigning will follow the presentation.

"Three lighthouse keepers stumble upon gold while they were on their six-week shift on an uninhabited island, 20 miles from the Scottish coast. " -- Movie Licensing website Swank.com.

Rated R. Running time 101 min.

Sponsored by Friends of the Jacob Edwards Library.