Library News: Library To Honor Veterans & Fallen Heroes With Events On November 7, 10 & 12
Adult Events
VIRTUAL: JOB SEARCH HELP -- How To Build a Professional Network (*RR)
Monday, November 7, 2pm
Learn the importance and value of building a professional network. It goes beyond LinkedIn and large gatherings of people with stickers that say “Hello my name is…” Although we are taught to control what we can control, the stark fact is that much of our success and satisfaction cannot be done alone. Let’s concentrate on what can be controlled in our immediate environment. We need a sphere of influence to get past the potential roadblocks in front of us. Participants will walk away knowing how to make genuine connections, not name-gathering or meeting checklist accomplishments, that will spur future relationships to advance their careers. Participants will learn key concepts of professional networking: (1) Influence key decision-makers; (2) Drive your own career; (3) Allow the network to do much of the work; (4) Break out of traditional hierarchical business models; and (5) Networking is not as hard as you think. Led by Tom Dowd, a prize-winning speaker, award-winning author, and trainer—all spurred by his need to be more than a painfully shy and introverted individual on a rollercoaster ride of success.
VIRTUAL: Some Of My Best Friends -- A Talk On Race, Social Justice & Good Intentions (*RR)
Monday, November 7, 7pm
Author Tajja Isen will discuss her new book, Some of My Best Friends: Essays on Lip Service, in this Zoom webinar. A fearless and darkly comic essay collection about race, justice, and the limits of good intentions. In this stunning debut collection, Catapult editor-in-chief and award-winning voice actor Tajja Isen explores the absurdity of living in a world that has grown fluent in the language of social justice but doesn’t always follow through. These nine daring essays explore the sometimes troubling and often awkward nature of that discord. Some of My Best Friends takes on the cartoon industry’s pivot away from colorblind casting, the pursuit of diverse representation in the literary world, the law’s refusal to see inequality, and the cozy fictions of nationalism. Isen deftly examines the quick, cosmetic fixes society makes to address systemic problems, and reveals the unexpected ways they can misfire. Isen interlaces cultural criticism with her lived experience to explore the gaps between what we say and what we do, what we do and what we value, what we value and what we demand.
VIRTUAL: Bringing Our Heroes Home -- Inside The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (*RR)
Monday, November 7, 7pm
Retired marine and World War II research analyst Tim Kelleher will talk about the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) and its mission of finding and identifying the remains of missing U.S. service members and to provide the fullest possible accounting of missing personnel for their families. Kelleher will also share some of her field experiences as one of many dedicated investigators who travel the world looking for the missing.
VIRTUAL: The Roosevelts -- Lessons in Leadership (*RR)
Tuesday, November 8, 2pm
Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt led the nation through the two greatest crises of the 20th century. This session examines some of the leadership skills and techniques they used to move the United States and the world towards a better future. Led by Jeffrey Urbin, Education Specialist at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
IN PERSON: Field Trip To Strongwater Farm (*RR)
Wednesday, November 9, 11am
For over a decade, Strongwater Farm -- located at 500 Livingston Street -- has improved the quality of life and health for thousands of children and adults with special needs in the greater Boston area by providing professionally supervised, equine-assisted activities and services. Take a tour of the facility with Kassandra Carefoot, Program Manager and Riding Instructor.
VIRTUAL: Murder & Indigenous Justice In Early America with Pulitzer Prize-Winner Nicole Eustace (*RR)
Wednesday, November 9, 7pm
Nicole Eustace, Organization of American Historians Distinguished Lecturer and New York University history professor, will discuss her Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Covered with Night: A Story of Murder and Indigenous Justice in Early America, which tells of the ramifications of a violent encounter between two white fur traders and an Indigenous hunter in 1722. A historian of the early modern Atlantic and the early United States, Eustace specializes in the history of emotion. She is also author of Passion Is the Gale: Emotion, Power, and the Coming of the American Revolution, and of 1812: War and the Passions of Patriotism, as well as coeditor of Warring for America: Cultural Contests in the Era of 1812.
VIRTUAL: Lynne Reeves ("Dark Rivers To Cross") In Conversation with John Searles ("Her Last Affair") (*RR)
Wednesday, November 9, 7pm
Author Lynne Reeves will discuss her latest book, Dark Rivers To Cross, in conversation with bestselling author John Searles, via Zoom. This thriller sensitively explores inherited trauma and the stories we tell the ones we love. It’s about what one mother is willing to sacrifice for her children. Lena Blackwell has kept her sons sheltered and close by her side for over two decades, working and living at their successful Maine river lodge. She’s raised them to be kind, hard-working, and caring young men—and she’s determined that they never learn of their true origin story, even though that’s meant erasing every connection she has to her own past. When old friends unexpectedly arrive at the lodge, a series of events is put into motion that Lena is unable to halt, jeopardizing the very relationships she’s lied to protect, forcing her to sacrifice everything, even her life, to protect her sons.
IN PERSON: Non-Fiction Book Group: Grandma Gatewood's Walk
Thursday, November 10, 10:30am
Join us for a discussion of Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail by Ben Montgomery. This discussion will be conducted in person in the First Floor Meeting Room. No registration required. Copies of the book are available for check out at the Front Desk.
VIRTUAL: Heroes & Homecomings -- Norman Rockwell & World War II (*RR)
Thursday, November 10, 11am
America's most beloved illustrator created dozens of images related to the second World War. What happens when an artist known for his use of humor tackles the serious subject of war? This program explores how his work departs from earlier artistic interpretations of American conflicts and considers how and why he chose specific wartime themes to present to the millions of readers of the Saturday Evening Post. Led by art historian Jane Oneail, owner of Culturally Curious. Jane holds a Master’s in Art History from Boston University and a Master’s in Education from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. She is a New Hampshire native and has worked at some of the state’s most esteemed cultural institutions, including the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, where she served as Executive Director, and the Currier Museum of Art, where she held the role of Senior Educator.
VIRTUAL: Lessons From Trailblazing New England Women (*RR)
Thursday, November 10, 7pm
Author Patricia Harris will give her popular presentation, "Lessons from Trailblazing New England Women," based on her new book, New England's Notable Women: Stories and Sites of Trailblazers and Achievers, in this Zoom webinar. New England has nurtured countless women who shook off traditional gender roles to forge their own destinies. Their achievements are legion. Narragansett tribal historian Princess Red Wing served as a delegate to the United Nations and co-founded Rhode Island’s Tomaquag Museum. Boston iconoclast Isabella Stewart Gardner had the acute artistic vision to establish the museum that bears her name. Harriet Beecher Stowe ignited public opinion against slavery, arguably hastening the Civil War, as displays in her Hartford home make clear. Pioneering naturalist Rachel Carson jumpstarted the modern environmental movement with her writings about the rocky beaches and quivering tidepools of Southport, Maine. New England's Notable Women shines the spotlight on 45 of these trailblazers and achievers and directs readers to the homes and sites throughout New England where their stories come to life.
IN PERSON: Book Launch For Tewksbury Author Michael Kelley ("The Gunner and the Grunt") (*RR)
Saturday, November 12, 2pm
Tewksbury author and Vietnam War veteran Michael Kelley will celebrate his book, The Gunner and The Grunt: Two Boston Boys in Vietnam with the First Cavalry Division Airmobile, at this book launch event. (Michael released the book in 2020, but the library was unable to host him at the time due to the COVID-19 pandemic.) Michael invites his family, friends, acquaintances and the general public to the event where he'll read selections from his book and answer audience questions. Refreshments will be served. Autographed copies of Michael's book will be available to those interested.
Teen Events
IN PERSON: Leaf Lanterns (Grades 6-12) (*RR)
Tuesday, November 8, 3:30pm
Celebrate Fall by joining us to make your own leafy lantern! For this craft we will be using fake leaves, mason jars, modge podge, decorations, and a flameless tea candle to bring your lantern to life! Supplies will be provided for every registered attendee of this in-person event, so be sure to register below while supplies last! If you have any questions, please email Kate, the Teen Library Assistant, at kjennings@tewksburypl.org. This event is open to anyone in grades 6-12.
IN PERSON: Anime Club (Grades 6-12) (*RR)
Wednesday, November 9, 3:30pm
Join Emily for snacks and anime at our Anime Club meeting in person! This month we'll be watching “My Hero Academia.” MHA is rated TV-14. This event is open to grades 6-12. About: A superhero-loving boy without any powers is determined to enroll in a prestigious hero academy and learn what it really means to be a hero.
Children’s Events
IN PERSON: Nursery Rhyme Baby Time (*RR)
Wednesday, November 9, 10:30am
Join Miss Haley for some early literacy fun with stories, songs, and nursery rhymes at this story time.
IN PERSON: Creativity Corner
Wednesday, November 9, 3:30pm
Join Miss Kat for a unique art project in the Craft Room. This event is designed for ages 6-11 and is a drop-in program.
IN PERSON: Preschool Playgroup
Thursday, November 10, 11am
Introducing our brand new Thursday morning Preschool Playgroup! Learn some literacy skills and have some fun while you're at it! This program is cohosted by Community Teamwork.
