Stories from the Stacks
The Monthly Liaison: November 2022
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Stories that Hold Our Hands | |
I was eight-years old and I had just finished reading Where the Red Fern Grows. I was alone in my room with the door not-quite-closed while the household pattered around me—a football game played on the TV; dishes rattled in the kitchen. But I had been following the young boy, Billy, and his two hunting dogs, Little Ann and Old Dan, through the forests and hills of the Ozarks. Their devotion to each other had wrapped itself around my heart. And then. . . the end. I pressed my head between my pillows and cried, the book closed around my hand like it was holding it.
It has been decades now since I read Where the Red Fern Grows, but I still feel the ache of it. It is one of my most specific reading memories: I still feel the nubby yarn ties of the bedspread on my wet cheek; I still feel the book in my hand. I still feel the power of a book to hold me for a while in a world alongside the world in which I live – the humming of the everyday house – and the more I live, the more I value the power of imagined spaces to help us navigate the range of human experience.
Only a few years ago, I visited the Idaho Falls Public Library and discovered a statue of Billy, Little Ann, and Old Dan near the front entrance, and I was astonished to learn that the author, Wilson Rawls, had written the book in Idaho Falls. Rawls grew up during the Depression in Oklahoma and the Southwest. He had little access to books until he was well into his teenage years, and he struggled with grammar and punctuation his whole life, but he had a hunger for storytelling that he carried with him as he traveled from place to place working odd construction jobs. He wrote and wrote—but he was embarrassed by his errors, and at one point he burned all his papers.
Rawls was working construction for the Atomic Energy Commission in Idaho Falls when he met and married Sophie, who encouraged his writing and helped him edit it. In a three week fever of writing, he wrote Where the Red Fern Grows. I imagine him sitting at a table, one hand wrapped around a pencil and the other resting on a sheet of paper. I imagine him looking out the window at the sagebrush and mountains of eastern Idaho, and calling to mind the Ozarks of his youth, the howls of dogs, a red fern waving between wild violets and mountain daisies.
I am grateful he kept writing.
And as we move through the darkest evenings of the year, I am grateful for stories that hold our hands through the night.
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Jenny Emery Davidson, Ph.D.
Executive Director
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By Carter Hedberg
Director of Philanthropy
I just finished reading the delightful, and perhaps a little subversive book, Auntie Mame, by Patrick Dennis. You may be familiar with this title, as it was made into a successful Broadway show and then a movie (my favorite) starring Rosalind Russell. Later it was adapted as a Broadway musical, which eventually was made into the movie, Mame, starring Lucille Ball.
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Auntie Mame prompted me to think about Thanksgiving a bit differently this year. | |
At one point in the story, Mame rescues her orphan nephew, Patrick, from the grips of his snobby debutant fiancé Gloria by throwing an engagement party for them and her family … meanwhile inviting several friends from Patrick’s youth. She hopes to break Gloria’s spell over Patrick by reminding him that this eclectic community of workman, scholars, artists, and actors are also his family. Patrick sees Gloria’s true nature and the spell is broken! | |
L-R: My brother Rodney, sister Carol, me, and sister Susen
at Grandma Tesch's home c. 1968
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Auntie Mame prompted me to think about Thanksgiving a bit differently this year. When I reflect on what family means to me, I not only include my husband, brother, and sisters, but, like Mame, I include my community of friends. Many of these people are those I first met when I moved to Ketchum in 2006…some of whom love and care about me like a “real” family member. As I do them. These are church friends, work colleagues, and of course, the many extraordinary friends I’ve made over my years at The Community Library.
The Library is where the idea of community and family thrives, as hundreds of individuals of all ages come through its doors every day. From caregivers with kids making their way to story time, to high school seniors working on their college entrance applications in a conference room, to adults seeking learning opportunities at evening programs, to those who just need a moment to relax by the fireplace. Still others seek a connection with Buffy, DeAnn, or another librarian to find a book, solve a tech issue, or just spend some time chatting. It doesn’t matter what brings someone to the Library, we are here for everyone.
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The end result is a Library where everyone is welcomed…a Library that feels like the best of home! | |
Chihuly Blanket Cylinders Reception, July 2022,
with Jeff Seely, Carter, Leslie Chihuly, and Lynn Seely
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I am very grateful for this community of friends–or family, if you will–because it is this fellowship that has made the existence of the Library possible—by nurturing it, supporting it, and enabling it to flourish. You have taught me lessons on family and the power of a caring community of friends. The end result is a Library where everyone is welcomed…a Library that feels like the best of home! | |
Herald from the Hemingway House | |
House of Light: A Teacher, a Renowned Literary Legacy,
and the Reach of Inspired Learning
~by Ashley Atwood and Robert Wilson
Republished from Rowland Hall's 2021–2022 Annual Report
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Robert Wilson, self-portrait at the Hemingway House, 2022 | |
In May, Upper School science teacher Rob Wilson embarked on an opportunity of a lifetime: a trip to Ketchum, Idaho, to reside in the home of Ernest and Mary Hemingway as a visiting scholar. There, he wrote teaching resources based on his own use of Hemingway in the science classroom, as well as conducted the property’s first biological inventory. It was both a personal journey and a chance for the educator to invite students into his experience, showing them what is possible when you pursue and cultivate knowledge and passion. Read more here. | |
It's a gathering time of year—collecting up our winter gear, gathering with those dear to us, recalling the origins of our land and legacy, and drawing
to our hearts all we have to be grateful for. In the spirit of gratitude and in celebration of Native American Heritage Month, we've curated some titles
in print, digital and audio formats. . .for you to gather as you please.
All free at The Community Library.
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Edited by Jo Harjo
Non-Fiction 811.008 WHE
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by Jo Harjo
Non-Fiction 811.008 HAR
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By David J. Silverman
Non-Fiction 974.4 SIL
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by Richard Wagamese
Non-Fiction 158 WAG
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by Shane M. Chartrand
Non-Fiction 641.59297
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By Dylan Tomine
Non-Fiction 508 TOM
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From the Great Courses
Featuring Sean Kahlenberg
Streaming on Kanopy
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by Oliver Sacks
in Audiobook
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by Larissa Fasthorse
in Audiobook
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by Darci Little Badger
in YA Fiction
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by Traci Sorell
in Juvenile Non-Fiction
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by Darci Little Badger
in YA Fiction
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by Traci Sorell
in Pictures Books/Easy
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by Kate DePalma
in Children's New
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by Dawn Casey
in Pictures Books/Easy
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by Eileen Spinelli
in Pictures Books/Easy
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by Oge Mora
in Juvenile Non-Fiction
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THANK YOU to October Donors | |
An Anonymous Family Foundation
Lesley A. Andrus
Benevity Community Impact Fund
Elizabeth and Frank Breen
Val A. Browning Foundation/Carol Browning Dumke
Patrick M. Campbell
Peter and Quinn Curran
Trudy Dane
James Deering Danielson Foundation
Elizabeth Dietz
Robert Foley
Steve Holzman
Carolyn and John C. Lloyd
Leslie and Jon Maksik
Patrick J. McMahon II
The Mazursky Family Foundation
Ellen Downey and Andrea Nasi
Debra and Jay Platt
Catherine Reinheimer
Sherry Warner-Steinberg and Jeffrey Steinberg
Wood River Women’s Foundation
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Peter and Elizabeth Bulkley in Memory of Corneil Therrien
Julie and Brian Gallagher in Memory of Corneil Therrien
Lynn and Dr. Bruce Kaplan in Honor of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Hoehn
Keeley Nixon in Memory of Corneil Therrien
Kelly and Adam Patrick in Honor of Heather Daves
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Robyn and Todd Achilles
Bigwood Landscape
Daphne Coble and Patrick Murphy
Kathleen Diepenbrock and Kelly Weston
Claudia and John Gaeddert
Kyla Merwin
Elaine H. and Michael T. Phillips
Narda Pitkethly
Gay Weake
Anita Weissberg
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Did You Know You Can Also Give
Out of Your Investments?
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The Community Library is supported by people who believe in the free flow of news, entertainment, and information.
The Library gladly accepts stock donations. Also, you might look at the benefits of making a gift from your IRA (also known as IRA Charitable Rollover Gifts). Money can be transferred directly from your IRA to a 501(c)(3) charity, such as The Library, TAX-FREE! Donors must be 70½ years of age, and a gift from an IRA helps you meet your Required Minimum Distributions.
Strategize now to save on next year’s taxes. Director of Philanthropy, Carter Hedberg, is here to assist you.
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