Blog

Share your outdoor stories
If you have participated in One Book One Valley before, you know that the night with the author is the grand finale after several smaller, related events all around town. I contacted the gentlemen who appear on North Woods Law, hoping they would come talk to us and got no response. I emailed Tim Cotton, a police officer in Bangor and author of The Detective in the Dooryard, he was willing, but not available in October. I even tried to talk my dad into telling us stories.
He has some great ones. He grew up in the woods and worked as a forester for... well, a long time. His former partner is the town forester right here in Jackson. I was raised on stories of the local woods. Dad tells one about riding his snowmobile in the spring and watching a sleepy bear rise out of the snow. There's another when a bear he had just shot for our winter meat, turned and ran toward him! He has several with a paranormal slant too. We suspect a bit of embellishment goes into his stories, but we keep quiet because, well, a good story is just that, isn't it?
I begged and pleaded and offered to ply him with adult beverages for courage - he still declined... but gave me an idea. We live here, don't we? We know the woods better than most. We know how to spot poison ivy and what to do if we encounter a moose on the trail. Why not collect our stories?
I would like to invite you to send me any story you are moved to tell in any format... as long as it involves the woods.
  • You could put on your best NPR voice and use your phone to make an mp3.
  • You could make a video showing props or photos.
  • You could write it down and email me.
  • Or *drum roll* you could offer to come and tell it to a live audience during a program.
I'm hoping to collect enough stories to make some kind of program. Maybe written ones in a photocopied book to check out. Maybe a bunch of videos and audio files edited together. Or maybe we'll find we have enough storytellers to host a Zoom event. Please email me your story in any format or your interest in participating in a storytelling event.
Music on the lawn 9/19

Jeff Warner will perform under the tent Sunday 9/19.

Please join us on the lawn on September 19 at 4pm for Jeff Warner and Banjos, Bones, and Ballads. (We will move to Zoom in case of rain.)

I met Jeff many years ago when I sang in a chorus in Portsmouth. His program was fascinating and wove music and stories so it was sometimes hard to tell them apart. He is appearing in Jackson courtesy of a grant from the NH Humanities and the Friends of the Jackson Library under our tent provided with funds from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the NH State Library. That is a mouthful but we are deeply grateful for all these organizations believing in our work.

Banjos, Bones, and Ballads features traditional songs, rich in local history and a sense of place, present the latest news from the distant past. They help us to interpret present-day life with an understanding of the working people who built our country. Tavern songs, banjo tunes, 18th century New England hymns, sailor songs, and humorous stories about traditional singers and their songs highlight this informative program by Jeff Warner.

Fun for the whole family!

The Heirloom Gardener. Thurs, Sept 16

You are invited to for an evening with John Forti, author of the new book The Heirloom Gardener on Thursday, September 16 at 7pm. Register to receive the Zoom details. If you would like to attend, but are uncomfortable on Zoom, please email or call (383-9731) the Library and ask for Lichen. I'm considering a small viewing party at the Library.

The Heirloom Gardener is John Forti’s newest presentation.  It draws from his new book of traditional plants and skills for the modern world.

Richly illustrated with period images and contemporary woodcuts, his PowerPoint shares inspiration from our long history of heirloom preservation, garden craft and homestead lifeways.  Artisanal lifestyles that are helping us to rebuild vibrant local agricultural economies and celebrate sustainable cottage industries that are contributing to our new, homegrown American arts & crafts movement and backyard environmentalism.

At a time when we could all use a little good news, we hope you will join us for a refreshing look at how you can make a difference in your own backyard and community.

John Forti is a garden historian and ethnobotanist who has directed gardens for Plimoth Plantation Museum, Strawbery Banke Museum, Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and Bedrock Gardens. As a Slow Food Slow Food USA Governor and biodiversity specialist, his preservation work has helped to restore countless native and heirloom plants and has brought traditional artisanal practices to modern thinking.   He has won numerous awards for historic garden preservation, children’s garden design, herbal and historical education and most recently, the Award of Excellence from National Garden Clubs, one of the nation’s most-recognized nonprofits and largest volunteer gardening organization in the world. This book was inspired by his posts as The Heirloom Gardener - John Forti which go out regularly to millions on facebook that value his uniquely curated blend of history, horticulture, environmentalism, poetry, art, kitchen and garden craft. He gardens and lives along the banks of the Piscataqua River.

This event is proudly presented by the Northern NH Library Cooperative which includes Cook Memorial Library in Tamworth, Conway Public Library, Jackson Public Library, and the Madison Library.

Register for The Heirloom Gardener

Thurs, Sept 16 @ 7pm

Register for Zoom details
The Heirloom Gardener book
JOHN
Trustees meeting. Tues, Sept 7 @ 4pm

PUBLIC MEETING NOTICE AND AGENDA
Jackson Public Library Board of Trustees
Tuesday, September 7, 2021, 4:00 pm
MEETING WILL BE HELD AT THE LIBRARY
52 MAIN STREET, JACKSON, NH 03846

MASKS REQUIRED

CONTACT (603) 383-3100 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
1. Discussion of allowing one or more members to participate in meetings
remotely pursuant to RSA Section 91-A:2 III.
2. Approval of minutes from prior meeting.
3. Library Director’s Report, including status of pandemic service plan
and modifications required, if any.
4. Treasurer’s Report.
5. Preliminary discussion of financial implications of NHRS participation by
eligible employees.
6. Friends’ Report.
7. Discuss process for Library Director’s evaluation.
8. Pumpkin People.
9. Other Business.
10. Non-Public Session, if applicable.
11. Next meeting: Tuesday, October 5, 4:00 pm.

Storytime ON for Sept. 2!

While we are not quite sure what Ida is bringing our way, conditions continue to look favorible and we are still ON for Storytime under the tent at 10:30am on Thursday, September 2nd.  Petunia and Meredith will be there, ready to share stories, songs, actions rhymes, and fun!  We will post an update here if anything changes. Otherwise, we hope to see you at the library!

Book donations

We love books around here - you know it, I cannot deny it. We have terrific, dedicated, experienced volunteers who accept book donations on the first Saturday of every month at the Gray's Inn Garage next to Flossie's.

I came in today to find a pile of dusty books in front of our door. To bring them into the building, I had to clean them first. Then I either put them on our shelf in the hall, throw them out, or pack them in a box for our volunteers to hump down to the storage.

Please do not leave donations at the library. When they are here, especially stacked in front of our door it adds to our workload... and (I will take every opportunity to remind you) we are one of the busiest libraries in the state and don't have any free time!

The tent stays through September

I am happy to announce that thanks to the Friends of the Jackson Library, our tent will be staying until September 12th. It has been such a fantastic way for us to gather safely, that we decided we wanted it around for Jeff Warner’s Banjos, Bones, and Ballads on August 20 and then Shark Martin on September 9th. Not to mention our story times! It’s still available to reserve for your chem-free events as well.

Please join me in thanking all the Friends of the Library who provide us so much support all year.

Storytime ON for Thursday 8/19!

While we are expecting wet conditions from Fred on Thursday, August 19th, so far the morning conditions still seem favorable for a storytime under the tent.  Morning rain accumulation looks small and the winds light.  So, please join Meredith and Petunia under the tent at 10:30 am for stories, songs, rhymes, and fun!  If the forecast changes, we will update this post accordingly.

Sad farewell to Tails & Tales

We had our final official event of our Summer Reading Program yesterday. It was bitter sweet after a summer filled with terrific activities with guests from all over the state. Our first story time included 15 families under our tent - an all time record! Families have been picking up wee tea sets and other goodies won in our book bingo challenge as well as prizes for turning in reading logs. We are so grateful to everyone who attended these events as well as the following contributors:

  • Autumn Nomad for sweet prizes from their irresistible treat case.
  • Diary Queen for helping us give away dozens of free cones.
  • J-Town Deli for gift certificates for readers' choice of amazing snacks.
  • Portland Sea Dogs for vouchers to allow summer readers a break to take in some ocean air and baseball.
  • Story Land for passes as for four lucky readers.
  • Our long-time Friend of the Library who donated teeny-tiny tea sets that went to many loving homes.

Several organizations donated their resources to bring us our events. We would like to thank:

And finally, the summer simply would not have been possible without our beautiful tent to oversee it all. The tent was funded by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and administered by the New Hampshire State Library and the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences.

It was such a big success that we are working on finding funding to purchase a tent and other equipment to make our summer-time outdoor space more versatile. If you appreciated having the tent this summer and would like to help it continue, please consider emailing me a letter of support I can include in our grant application.