Volume XXVI I|May2019
Your monthly news & updates
"With a library you are free, not confined by temporary political climates. It is the most democratic of institutions because no one – but no one at all – can tell you what to read and when and how."
Doris Lessing
News @ Lanier
Annual Program with NYT Best-Selling Author Wiley Cash
Sunday, May 5, 3-5 PM
It's almost here-- the not-to-be-missed afternoon with New York Times Best-Selling author, Wiley Cash, Sunday, May 5, 3 pm at the Tryon Fine Arts Center.

The Lanier Library Annual Program is offered each year free to the public thanks to the Kirby Endowment Fund at the Polk County Community Foundation. The Annual Program strives to bring national best-selling authors to the local community that supports them through reading.

“Wiley Cash is one of our most popular authors.” says Amber Keeran, Lanier Library Director. “A native son of the South, he is known for his vivid and deft portrayal of rural southern life and the power that secrets long kept have to disrupt typically sleepy small towns. We are thrilled to be able to bring him to our small town for all to enjoy.”
Join us on May 5 at the Tryon Fine Arts Center to learn more about Wiley Cash, his writing and, of course, from his most recent book, The Last Ballad, Ella May Wiggins and the Loray Mill strike of 1929. The program will be followed by a reception and book signing at the library.

Thanks again to the Kirby Endowment Fund at the Polk County Community Foundation for enabling us to offer this day with Wiley Cash to all in our community.
Support @ Lanier
MARY ALICE MONROE FUNDRAISER FOR THE LANIER LIBRARY
The Lanier Library is excited to host the national launch of New York Times best-selling author Mary Alice Monroe’s latest book, The Summer Guests, 5 pm, June 7th at the Tryon Fine Arts Center AmphitheaterThe Summer Guests is primarily set in the Tryon equestrian community and you may spot some familiar Tryon residents amongst the characters in the book.

“We are extremely grateful to Mary Alice Monroe for partnering with the Lanier Library on this important literary event,” said Peter Franklin, Lanier’s Executive Officer.  “We believe that this book will appeal strongly to members of our community. Not only is Mary Alice a part-time Tryon resident and member of the Lanier Library, The Summer Guests is set in the Tryon equestrian community and features both equine and canine rescue themes.”

The June 7th event is the first in a series of Lanier Library programs that will feature Mary Alice Monroe along some of her friends who just happen to also be award-winning authors. More information about upcoming events will be announced at the June 7th event.
Tickets for this fundraiser benefiting the Lanier Library are available in person at the Tryon Fine Arts Center box office as well as the library. If you prefer to purchase tickets online there is a link provided on our website:


If you have questions about this event or would like to volunteer to help, please contact Peter Franklin at peter.lanierlibrary@gmail.com.

130 by 130
The library is well on its way to adding 130 new members by our 130th anniversary in April of 2020!

 Check out the display in the glass case near the circulation desk. And if you have joined as a new member since August of 2018 and don't see your name, please let us know that we have permission to add your name to our growing number of the "130 by 130 Society"! 
Spring Gift Ideas
With Mother's Day coming on May 12th, Father's Day in June, and graduates to honor as the school year ends, the Lanier Library has the perfect way to celebrate someone special. 

Choose a favorite book and purchase a beautiful Lanier Library book plate to commemorate them. Book Plates are $25 each and are a unique way to remember your loved one for years to come.

Or give them the gift of a Lanier Library membership and enter them into the "130 by 130 Society." A very special membership for a special person!  
People @ Lanier
Lanier Library Board Welcomes Vicky Jackson
A native of Washington, DC, Vicky attended Sidwell Friends School there and then received a BA from Wesleyan University in Connecticut. Vicky was an administrator in higher education. She served as the Administrative Officer in the Computer Science Department at the University of Utah and then moved to Atlanta to become the inaugural Director of Administration in the College of Computing at Georgia Tech.

Vicky and her husband Tom, bought their farm in Landrum three days before the blizzard of '93 and moved there with their horses and dogs full time in the summer of 2000. In addition to reading, Vicky enjoys horseback riding, gardening, and dog agility. She and Tom travel extensively, and have taken many international horseback riding vacations.
Welcome, Vicky, and thanks for joining our Lanier Library Board!

As Vicky joins the Board we thank Barb Okleson, Marla Bailey, and Dan Norris as they rotate off this month. Their service to the library and guidance on the board is most appreciated. Thank you!
2018 Annual Report
An annual financial report of the Association shall be made available at the Library for examination by its members. 
Lanier Library By-Laws  

We offer one more opportunity to review the 2018 Lanier Library Annual Report.


If you would like any additional information, please come by the library. We have collected several detailed documents, financial and otherwise, in a notebook for your perusal.
Books @ Lanier
Here are the links to our lists of newest acquisitions and orders. Feel free to contact the library to put your name on the hold list for these books. You can call us, come in person, or log in through the catalogue on the website using your library card number. And, as always, let us know if there is a book or DVD you think would enhance the collection.



Check out our latest book display offering a sampling of everything Sherlock, on your next trip into Lanier. And think about contributing to our ongoing "Members' Favorites" display. Just give us a few sentences about a book you would like to share with others to become part of the "Favorites".
Book Lovers @ Lanier
The next meeting of Book Lovers is on Saturday, May 4 at 10 am in the Holmes Room . The meeting is open to all, the only requirements: a love of reading, discussing what you read and discovering new books!

We are fortunate this month to have a review from the unofficial leader of the Book Lovers, Board member and chair of the library's Media Selection Committee, Lee Cudlip. And, of course, here is the link to the books recommended by group members at the last meeting:

Review
DESTINY OF THE REPUBLIC
by Candice Millard

Formerly an editor and writer at National Geographic magazine, Candice Millard also wrote the bestsellers: The River of Doubt and Destiny of the Republic. To boot, the Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime sits on one of her bookshelves.

James A. Garfield, an Ohioan, and, born poor, he had gumption and ambition. He was, by turns, a lawyer, a regarded educator, a Union Army General, a U.S. Senator, and only reluctantly did he become our 20th president. 
“An honor unsought,” as he morosely had commented at the prospect.

But short-lived, when, at age 49, and shortly after taking the oath of office, he was gunned down by Charles Guiteau, who, as a frustrated office-seeker and failed attorney, believed he had carried the day for Garfield, when fending off those who supported Ulysses Grant at the Republican Party’s Convention. Particularly, he had, as he believed, squashed Chester Arthur’s machinations, whom however became Garfield’s running-mate and thus the elected Vice-President and successor 200 days in office—barely a blip.


Events @ Lanier
Thursday, May 2 at 6 PM
Live@Lanier with Mountain True Hemlock Restoration Initiative


Hemlocks, the “redwoods of the East” towering in the forests of western North Carolina, are under attack. The invasive wooly adelgid, an aphid-like insect, threatens the survival of the giants that create protective microclimates along the streams and slopes of our mountains. Called “gray ghosts,” dead hemlocks increasingly haunt the wilderness terrain.

The next Live@Lanier program on Thursday, May 2, produced by the NC Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services and US Forest Service, starts at 6 PM.

“Hemlocks: Saving an Ecosystem” opens with a film about the destructive woolly adelgid and continues with the story of local efforts to save hemlocks in the Green
River Gorge. Members of the Hemlock Restoration Initiative and Mountain True staff will invite discussion and questions.

“Hemlocks: Saving an Ecosystem” is the latest program in Lanier’s Felburn Nature and Wildlife Collection series. The program is free and open to the public. Members and visitors can also browse the collection downstairs in the Le Duc Room before the program or any day you are in the library. 
NeedleArts @ Lanier
Saturday, May 11, 10 am
Spend a relaxing morning with like-minded lovers of needlework. Whether you have taken a class at the Royal School of Needlework or are just beginning a new hobby bring any yarn or needlecraft you have and enjoy the company of and learn from others for a few hours the second Saturday of each month. It is also a great place to resurrect those projects abandoned in the distant past!
Nonfiction Book Club
Sunday, May 12, 1:30 pm
For nonfiction lovers – another club for the library which meets the second Sunday of each month, including this Mother's Day! The discussion is on The Soul of America: the Battle for Our Better Angels by Jon Meacham.

The selection for the June discussion is Waking: a Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence by Matt Sanford. 
Live @ Lanier
Tuesday, May 21, 12 noon
“Sherlock’s Secret: Arthur Conan Doyle and the Immortality of Sherlock Holmes”
Wofford professor Dr. Tracy Revels joins us on at noon on May 21 to talk about Sherlock Holmes, as vibrant a character today as he was in 1887. 

Everyone is familiar with Sherlock's cape, his pipe, and his brilliant powers of deduction. But how well do we know the real Sherlock Holmes? How many elements of his character were crafted by his creator, and how many were grafted on by actors (including Tryon’s William Gillette), movie directors, and illustrators? By looking back at the life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, we’ll unravel the mystery of Sherlock Holmes’s creation, discuss the Sherlockian Renaissance, and explore some of the ways the ‘World’s Greatest Consulting Detective’ remains eternally popular.

As a member of “The Survivors of the Gloria Scott”, a Scion Society of the "Baker Street Irregulars," based in Greenville, Revels brings her passion of all things “Sherlockian” to the discussion.

Join us at noon on the 21st for this deep dive into the creation of and reasons for the ongoing popularity of this master of deductive reasoning.
Last Month's Events

The Truth About Antique Brass Instruments

Joella Utley, a collector of brass instruments, and Sabine Klaus, professor of music and curator of Brass Instruments from the National Music Museum at the University of South Dakota presented to a great crowd on April 4 to discuss the approximately 600 brass instruments collected over the years by Joella and her late husband, representing about 400 years of musical heritage.  

Author Jeri Board
“Dark L Syndrome and the Making of an Underground Agent”
A full house of fans was enthralled with author and former Tryon resident Jeri Board on April 16 at noon when she presented "Dark L Syndrome and the Making of an Underground Agent" the subject of her research on her newest novel, From the Wings: A Novel of Women at War.  For those who missed the program, The Bookshelf has copies of the book.
Workshop and Reading with Poet George Bilgere April 27
We celebrated the ending of National Poetry Month with a full day of events with national award-winning poet George Bilgere, who in addition to working with 12 talented local poets in a morning workshop entertained a full house at the Tryon Depot with a reading of his poetry in the late afternoon.

"I love his poetry," said Barb Oklesen in a Facebook posting. "Relatable when I read, hysterical when he reads." A good time was had by all!
Poet George Bilgere moved us with the pathos of being the child of an alcoholic, made us laugh at his wishes for his ex-wife, and think anew on the verticality of amusement parks. Much laughter on a beautiful spring evening.
A delicious buffet of tasty and original light appetizers accompanied the program. Thank you to caterer Mary Prioleau for the perfect accompaniment to a poetic spring program!
Mingling before the reading at the Tryon Depot allowed some folks to catch up while others perused the beautiful paintings by local artist Gary Cooley.
A roomful of poetry lovers celebrated the closing days of National Poetry Month.
Our own Lynn Montgomery with the poet of the evening.
Pets @ Lanier
Suzanne Winslade with Kayla and Bosco visit with Steve Aldred and Nick between non-fiction audio books and our extensive collection of British, American, French and German TV programs.
Bing, the grand-pug of Allison & Mike O'Steen, who visited the library last week.
We welcome well-behaved dogs, and while the staff all love dogs, not everyone who comes into the library does, so we appreciate all pets being on a leash.
Displays @ Lanier
Tryon’s Own Sherlock Holmes-William Gillette
We are pleased this month to have in the case a substantial collection of William Gillette-Sherlock Holmes memorabilia from the collection of Jerry and Joy Soderquist, who coordinated Tryon's William Gillette -Sherlock Holmes Festivals in the '90s.

From Joy's introduction to the display:

One day in 1890 a passenger train was delayed for five hours at the Tryon Depot going up the Saluda Grade. William Gillette a famous American actor was on his way to Asheville to seek recovery from his health aliments. Story goes he was also still grieving for his deceased wife, Helen.
 
Gillette became restless and left the train to stretch his legs. Stepping off the platform Gillette met an old friend, Judge Godshaw who convinced Gillette that Tryon was the perfect place for his health. 
 
Gillette was so entranced with the beauty of the town and the impressive mountain views that after numerous return visits he purchased over six hundred acres which we know as Gillette Woods. He proceeded to build his home Thousand Pines doing most of the woodworking himself. Corresponding with friends and family members in letters he wrote that he has been accepted in as “part of the Tryon community”.
By the spring of 1899, Gillette had rewritten a story by Sir Arthur Conon Doyle into a stage play, “Sherlock Holmes”. The
play opened on November 6, 1899, at the Garrick Theater in New York with Gillette in the leading role. It was Gillette who adopted a curved pipe that he could clamp between his teeth and still have his lines be understood.
Last Month's Display on the Musical History of Poet Sidney Lanier
We were honored last month to have in the case a display of beautiful books and manuscripts from the Sidney Lanier collection of Mike McCue. Thank you, Mike for sharing your treasures with us!
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Lanier Library | 828-859-9535| thelanierlibrary@gmail.com