Contribute Your Memories of the Falmouth Road Race

This year on August 21 Falmouth will host the 50th running of the Falmouth Road Race. As thousands of runners race from the starting line, in front of the Captain Kidd on Water Street in Woods Hole, they wind past Nobska Light, up Surf Drive, around Falmouth Harbor, to the finish line in Falmouth Heights.

At the Falmouth Public Library we have large collections of postcards of local landmarks along the path of the Road Race. We’ve created a Map so you can follow the runners’ route, with a glimpse at past views of the buildings and seashores they’ll see as they run.

Many Falmouth residents and visitors have run the Road Race over the years. The Falmouth Road Race web site has a wonderful year-by-year recap of the 49 races to date. Does it spark memories in you?

We’re building a digital archive of Road Race Memories at the library, and we’d love to hear your story.

Dig out your old photos, or take a picture of your collection of mugs and t-shirts, and write us a few lines about the years you ran, or watched, or got stuck in traffic! Library Director Linda Collins shared the following memory:

In 1999 race day was complete with torrential rains. Waiting at the the start,  I remember seeing runners with plastic bags taped over their shoes in an attempt to stay dry. As we came out of the woods along the beach we were running through ankle deep puddles. I wondered how the plastic bags were holding up. I turned to the runner next to me and he had the biggest smile on his face. We agreed, we were doing all the things our mothers taught us not to. We were running in the middle of the road, soaked to the skin, jumping in puddles, and talking to strangers. It doesn’t get any better.

She also found a page in her scrapbook about that year! You can see how wet it was even at the finish.

You can upload an image or type in a story without an image attached at our Contribution Link. Be sure you include your name and email address, and give us permission to publish your contribution at our web site. If you don’t have computer access, please feel free to stop by the Reference Desk and we can take down your story or snap a digital image of your old-fashioned paper photograph!

We look forward to hearing from you!

Harvard Legal Services Information Session

Free Legal Assistance for Veterans and Low-Moderate Income Individuals

On Wednesday July 27 from 2-5pm in the Hermann Meeting Room, we are excited to host staff from the Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School. They will provide advice and referral information to community members about civil legal issues including but not limited to:

  • housing law and tenants’ rights
  • disability rights
  • Social Security and public benefits such as SNAP
  • veterans benefits and military record corrections
  • divorce, custody and child support questions
  • LGBTQ+ related concerns
  • tax issues
  • consumer loan and small claims court problems
  • criminal record sealing or expungement

The event will include a Zoom presentation, in-person consultations and referrals, and an ice-cream social.

Register online or call the library at 508-457-2555 X7 and join us!

Postcards from Falmouth: Falmouth Public Library

If you’ve ever wanted a firsthand account of how FPL acquired our historic postcard collection, look no further than this oral history with Library Director Linda Collins. She charts the library’s route from the Falmouth Library Society of 1792 to the FPL of today, a place where you can dive into whalers’ logbooks, play Giant Jenga, borrow a sewing machine, and, of course, browse thousands of postcards online.

“The library appropriation is only 1.5% of the town budget,” she says. “It is a real deal for the residents of Falmouth […] there’s truly something for everyone.”

Visit the Falmouth Public Library digital exhibit here.

Postcards from Falmouth is a local history project of Falmouth Public Library, funded by a LSTA grant and administered by the MBLC.

Library Lawn Games on Mondays

COME GET YOUR GAME ON!

From July 11th through August 29th, stop by the Falmouth Public Library lawn on Mondays from 1pm to 3pm (weather permitting) to play some of our new, fun, outdoor games!

We’ll have Cornhole, Giant Checkers, Giant 4-In-A-Row, Giant Jenga, Giant Left Center Right, Giant Yard Dice, Kan Jam and Spikeball!  

Library Lawn Games are fun for all ages and everyone is welcome to come and play!  For more information about the Library Lawn Games and how to play, click here.

Webb Space Telescope Community Events

The Falmouth Public Library will be hosting two Webb Telescope Community Events for NASA’s release of the James Webb Space Telescope’s (JSWT) first full-color images!  
 
Stop by on Tuesday, July 12th between 10:30am-1:30pm  for an open house with NASA Solar System Ambassador Marie Zahn in the YA room.  Everyone is welcome to join us for some fun activities as we view the first JWST images together!  Marie will also help answer your space questions and will talk about the Webb Telescope. 
 
Then join us on Saturday, July 16th from 3:30pm-4:30pm in the Hermann meeting room as we stream an online expert panel of Webb scientists!  They will answer audience questions and examine and explain the first images from JWST.
 
“The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb will solve mysteries in our solar system, look beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probe the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.” – NASA

Upper Cape Camera Club Exhibit: Cape Cod at Night

The Upper Cape Camera Club has been holding their annual juried exhibit at the Library every July since 2013. We’re happy to welcome them back this year! This year the theme of the Exhibit is Cape Cod at night. We offer some teasers in this post of the works on display. Summer or winter, the Cape sparkles in the evening.

Come in and wander the Art Walk around the exterior of the Adult wing of the library see all the photographs on display and choose your own favorite! The jury winners, as well as favorites picked by Library staff, will be announced once judging has concluded. The exhibit will be up all July.

“Summer Night” — Phil Richardson
“Heading Out” — Phil Richardson

2022 Summer Movies

FPL Wednesday Night Movies (July 6th & July 20th)

The Falmouth Public Library will be showing two summer movie classics in the Hermann room on Wednesday Nights in July, Independence Day from 1996 and Jaws from 1975!   These movie viewings are free to the public and are sponsored by the Friends of the Falmouth Public Library.  Registrations are required and each movie is limited to 60 participants. 

Wednesday, July 6th at 5:30pm in the Hermann room
Independence Day (Rated PG-13; Runtime 2.5 hours)   
“In the epic adventure film “Independence Day,” as these extraordinary events unfold, it becomes increasingly clear that a force of incredible magnitude has arrived; its mission: total annihilation over the Fourth of July weekend. The last hope to stop the destruction is an unlikely group of people united by fate and unimaginable circumstances.”

Wednesday, July 20th at 6pm in the Hermann room
Jaws (Rated PG; Runtime 2 hours) 


“When a young woman is killed by a shark near the New England tourist town of Amity Island, police chief Martin Brody wants to close the beaches, but mayor Larry Vaughn overrules him, fearing that the loss of tourist revenue will cripple the town. Ichthyologist Matt Hooper and grizzled ship captain Quint offer to help Brody capture the killer beast, and the trio engage in an epic battle of man vs. nature.”


FV Movies Under The Stars (July 27th – August 31st)

The Falmouth Village Association will be showing double feature movies on the library lawn every Wednesday at dusk (6pm-10pm) starting July 27th and ending August 31st!  BYO blankets and chairs and join us on the library lawn to enjoy some outdoor family fun with Movies Under the Stars.  These movies are weather dependent and are free to the public.  No registration is required.

Wednesday, July 27th from 6pm-10pm on library lawn
6pm Movie: Star Wars: A New Hope (Rated PG; Runtime 2 hours)
“Young Luke Skywalker leaves his desert home planet to rescue Princess Leia and become a Jedi knight.”      
~ 8pm Movie: Apollo 13 (Rated PG; Runtime 2.3 hours):
“The true story of the Apollo 13 space mission where astronauts are stranded in their crippled spacecraft while the ground crew race against time to bring them home.”


Wednesday, August 3rd
from 6pm-10pm on library lawn
6pm Movie: My Dog Skip (Rated PG; Runtime 1.5 hours)
“Set in Mississippi in the late 1940s and based on Willie Morris’ boyhood memoirs, eight-year-old Willie loses his only friend in the world to the draft until his mother gives him a puppy for his birthday.”

~ 8pm Movie: Dog (Rated PG-13; Runtime 1.6 hours)
“Briggs and his companion Lulu, a Belgian Malinois, haul ass down the Pacific Coast in time to catch their best friend’s and handler’s funeral.” 


Wednesday, August 10th from 6pm-10pm on library lawn
6pm Movie: Sing 2 (Rated PG; Runtime 1.8 hours)
“The ever-optimistic koala, Buster Moon and his all-star cast of performers prepare to launch their most dazzling stage extravaganza yet, all in the glittering entertainment capital of the world.”

~ 8pm Movie: The Greatest Showman (Rated PG; Runtime 1.7 hours)
“An original musical screenplay brings to life the story of P.T. Barnum and his creation of “the greatest show on Earth”.”


Wednesday, August 17th from 6pm-10pm on library lawn
6pm Movie: Coco (Rated PG; Runtime 1.7 hours)
“Despite his family’s baffling generations-old ban on music, Miguel dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz.  Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead following a mysterious chain of events.”

~ 8pm Movie: McFarland, USA (Rated PG; Runtime 2.1 hours)
“Inspired by the 1987 true story, the movie follows novice runners from McFarland, an economically challenged town in California’s farm-rich Central Valley, as they give their all to build a cross-country team under the direction of Coach Jim White, a newcomer to their predominantly Latino high school.”


Wednesday, August 24 from 6pm-10pm on library lawn

6pm Movie: Ratatouille (Rated G; Runtime 1.8 hours)
“A rat named Remy dreams of becoming a great chef despite his family’s wishes and the obvious problem of being a rat in a decidedly rodent-phobic profession.”

~ 8pm Movie: Julie and Julia (Rated PG-13; Runtime 2 hours)
“Julie Powell is a frustrated insurance worker who wants to be a writer. Trying to find a challenge in her life, she decides to cook her way through Julia Child’s ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking’ in one year, and to blog about it.”


Wednesday, August 31st from 6pm-10pm on library lawn
6pm Movie: Ron’s Gone Wrong (Rated PG; Runtime 1.7 hours)
“The story of Barney, a socially awkward middle-schooler, and Ron, his new walking, talking, digitally connected device, which is supposed to be his ‘Best Friend out of the Box.’ Ron’s hilarious malfunctions, set against the backdrop of the social media, age launch them into an action-packed journey in which boy and robot come to terms with the wonderful messiness of true friendship.”

~ 8pm Movie Chistopher Robin (Rated PG; Runtime 1.7 hours)
“The young boy, who loved taking adventures in the Hundred Acre Wood with a gang of spirited and loveable stuffed animals, has grown up and lost his way. Now it is up to his childhood friends to venture into that world and help Christopher Robin remember the loving and playful boy who is still inside.”

 

Postcards from Falmouth: St. Barnabas Church

By any measure, St. Barnabas Church is distinct. Reverend Will Mebane, Jr. recounts the history of its founding: how the Beebe family pushed to establish the parish, and chose Gothic Revivalist architect Henry Vaughan to build a church unlike any other in Falmouth. 

“We like to be known as the parish of the community,” he says, “so we are constantly opening our doors and welcoming nonprofit organizations and other entities to use our beautiful campus.” In the summer months especially, that campus is a hub of activity – for example, did you know that the 70th annual Strawberry Festival was celebrated this June? 

Explore the oral history and digital exhibit, and learn for yourself how St. Barnabas became part of the fabric of Falmouth’s community!

See our Saint Barnabas Church digital exhibit here.

Explore the postcard collection online here.

Postcards from Falmouth is a local history project of Falmouth Public Library, funded by a LSTA grant and administered by the MBLC.

Friends of the Library Book Sale

The Friends of the Falmouth Public Library will hold their Annual Summer Book Sale from July 1-July 6, 2022 on the lawn of the Main Library at 300 Main Street. It’s open every day from 10 AM-4 PM, except July 6; July 6 hours are 10 AM – Noon.

This beloved annual tradition is back at its usual time this year, and we’re so excited to see the book-lovers browsing for new reads! Books are very modestly priced, and every purchase goes to support the Falmouth Public Library.  The Friends support these library projects that benefit the whole community:

  • Joy of Learning academic classes covering a wide range of subjects
  • Museum Passes for Boston and local area museums
  • Generous funding for Children’s Programs at all three locations throughout the year
  • Contribute to new furniture for the Chill Zone, the Tween area, in the Children’s Room
  • A new Circulation Desk for the East Falmouth Library
  • Provide additional funds for eBooks
  • Support for area book clubs
  • Upgrades to library technology

The Friends are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Are you interested in becoming a member of the Friends of the Library, or making a direct financial donation? Information is available at their web page.

Please note that the Friends are no longer taking donations for this year’s book sale. Donations will resume on Monday, August 15, 2022. Please call during Library hours at 508-457-2555 ext. 2918 to schedule an appointment.

 

Postcards from Falmouth: West Falmouth Library

The West Falmouth Library is a resource built by and for its community. From its humble beginning as a club for sharing books and cultural education, it grew into a well-loved non-profit whose programs and fundraisers draw audiences year after year. Check out our oral history interview with Charlie McCaffrey, former president of the Library Board, to learn about the way those outreach efforts are guided by the library’s philosophy.

 

“When the library was built in 1895, the main building had two rooms of approximate equal size,” he says. “One had the books, and the other was a community room […]. It was built as much as a community center and gathering place as a place for borrowing books.”

Visit the West Falmouth Library with Charlie McCaffrey here.

Explore the postcard collection online here.

Postcards from Falmouth is a local history project of Falmouth Public Library, funded by a LSTA grant and administered by the MBLC.