Join us on Fridays, once a month, at 11am, for a tour of the Main Library! Whether you’re a long-time resident of Falmouth who wants learn more about the history of the library, or a newcomer who is interested in learning the full scope of the library’s services, this tour is for you! We’ll talk about art and architecture; the past, present, and future; books and digital books and audiobooks and events and much more.
Please register as we need to keep the group small so we don’t disturb others. (Shh!) Meet under the dome on the upper level of the building.
Tours will occur on Fridays at 11am on (click link to register):
If you read the Enterprise Library Happenings column, you may have noticed mention of a question we received about a scrimshaw thimble. It turned out that the question was so fun and the thimble so adorable that it was worth turning into a blog post!
We received an email from a staff member at the Montreal West Public Library who was working on cataloging a collection of thimbles donated to their location. (Check out Thimble Thursdays on their Facebook Page!) They knew that the maker of this thimble was George Turner of Falmouth MA, but had no other information about the artist, and wondered if we could help them. First we checked the Reference books we have on scrimshaw artists (helpfully titled Scrimshaw Artists and More Scrimshaw Artists) but they did not list a George Turner.
I then turned to the digitized historic Falmouth Enterprise to see if I could learn anything about a George Turner, and quickly found a detailed obituary of a prominent citizen, George Henry Turner, who lived from 1858 to 1939. And as a young man he’d spent time at sea on a whaler! He seemed like a very likely candidate for the creator of this thimble, and as a bonus I got to learn more about Falmouth History reading about his life. He was accidentally born in Cotuit, raised on a farm in Hatchville, went to sea young, came back to take over the family farm after his father died, ran multiple businesses including a fish market and a grocery store, and in his retirement years was known for driving around town in a venerable Model T. An all-encompassing Falmouth life!
If you know more about George Henry Turner you’d like to share with us, and especially if you know anything about this thimble, which was added to the collection by purchase in 1989, please be in touch! We can also put you in touch with the librarians at Montreal West who are caring for this little seagull now.
(Click on these newspaper clippings to enlarge them.)
In the Katharine Lee Bates entryway of the Main Library sits an elegant sculpture hidden in plain sight. Executed by world-renowned American-born Hiram Powers (1805-1873), the piece delights the viewer who happens to look up and notice.
On Tuesday September 26th, at 4pm in the Hermann Meeting Room. Falmouth Museums on the Green’s Executive Director Rachel Lovett shares her research on Powers, his notable works, and how this historic piece came into the collection of the Falmouth Public Library.
This program is free to the public courtesy of a member of the Falmouth Historical Society Board of Trustees. All are welcome. Please register as space is limited.
Join Falmouth resident Mamundi Subhas on Wednesday July 26 at 2:00pm in the Hermann Room for a lecture titled Ulysses S. Grant: The Man and His Resting Place.
Subhas has been a volunteer since 2017 at the Ulysses S. Grant National Monument (aka “Grant’s Tomb,” in New York City) and has developed a strong interest in the Union Army General and Eighteenth President. Join us to hear him share stories of this historic American’s life, and share life lessons he has learned from learning about Grant.
All are welcome; please register.
Great Decisions, America’s largest civic discussion program on world affairs, is coming back to the Falmouth Public Library. On Wednesday nights starting on May 31st and ending on September 6th, we will meet bi-weekly to discuss one of eight critical foreign policy challenges facing Americans in a non-partisan, open environment. Prior to each session, participants will read the relevant chapter in the Great Decisions Briefing Book and watch the corresponding Master Class on DVD, which are available for checkout to participants at the reference desk. Participants are encouraged to attend all eight sessions but you may choose to attend only certain topics. Registration is required for each session and will be limited to 20 participants. This program is sponsored by the Library Support Fund.
We are excited to welcome 2 docents from the New Bedford Whaling Museum, Captain Michael HM Taylor and Nancy Gentile, on Wednesday, May 24th at 2 pm, for a talk at the Falmouth Public Library! Register by clicking here.
They will present “A Day in the Life of a Whaler” – with in depth descriptions of life onboard a typical New Bedford whaler, captain and crew, the whale hunt, whale processing and intrepid wives who accompanied their husbands. Added features will include a real baleen and spermaceti candle demonstration!
Mr. Taylor spent the first half of his career in the British Merchant Navy, starting as Apprentice in 1958 and rising to Ships Master. He has sailed in all classes of vessels and to ports all over the world. In 1978, he came to the United States to manage vessels trading with project cargoes to N. Africa and the Middle East. Later he was a Vice President at Maritime International New Bedford, with responsibility for sales and developing refrigerated ocean cargoes. After retiring, he farmed in S. America before returning to Massachusetts where he now volunteers as a docent at the New Bedford Whaling Museum.
Nancy Gentile spent 39 years as a research librarian in various capacities in private and public libraries. After stints at the Newton Public Library and Millipore Corporation, her longest tenure was as Head of Adult Services at the Robbins Library in Arlington, Ma. She also managed the Robbins Print Collection. Nancy has been a docent at the New Bedford Whaling Museum since 2017. She enjoys giving tours to student groups and to visiting adults weekly. Nancy resides in Mattapoisett with her husband Mark.
This event is free and sponsor by the Library Trustees. Please register by clicking here, or contact the reference department at 508-457-2555 x 7 or info@falmouthpubliclibrary.org.
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Please join the Falmouth Public Library and Neighborhood Falmouth on Thursday March 30 at 1:30 PM in the Hermann Meeting Room for an author talk with Ben Carnevale, author of the book Nosbka. Locals and tourists alike pass Nobska Lighthouse in Woods Hole every day. We take comfort in Nobska’s beauty and powerful fourth-order beam. The book takes a close look inside Nobska with photos and text to reveal the history from one of America’s most beloved lighthouses. A native of Newton, MA, Ben Carnevale was educated in electrical and electronic engineering. He worked for various major companies on the Redstone (first space mission) and Jupiter missiles, Sparrow and Hawk missiles, Missile Master Air Defense System Nike missiles, and worked in R&D on the first printed circuit boards and first computer. He holds six company level patents, two personal US patents pending, and has published two books. A U.S. Air Force Korean war veteran, Ben was a proud member of the famed Eddie Rickenbacker 94th Hat in the ring Fighter Interceptor Squadron. Ben has lived on Cape Cod since 1999. Neighborhood Falmouth is a non-profit organization that provides support services to seniors in the Falmouth community. The organization aims to help seniors live independently and maintain their quality of life by providing services such as transportation, grocery shopping, yard work, minor home repairs, and friendly visits. Neighborhood Falmouth operates on a volunteer-based model, where volunteers from the community are matched with seniors who need assistance. This allows seniors to receive personalized support while also fostering a sense of community and connection among volunteers and seniors. This event is free and open to the public. Please register. |
Tewksbury Library has invited other libraries to participate in this March weekly Zoom series at noon featuring National Park Service Units in Massachusetts, so we are posting links to the registration! Please note that you must register on their site to get the Zoom links-click below for the links to registration and full descriptions-attend any or all! Recordings will be provided to registrants after the lectures.
March 1st at 12 pm: Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site Presents ‘Olmsted’s Life & Legacy, click here for the link
March 8th at 12 pm: Longfellow House-Washington’s HQ National Historic Site Presents “Past & Present Here Unite”, click here for the link.
March 15th at 12 pm: Boston African American National Historic Site Presents ‘Explore The Black Heritage Trail’, click here for the link.
March 22nd at 12 pm: New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park Presents ‘Stories From The Whaling Port’, click here for the link.
March 29th at 12 pm: John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site Presents ‘From Beals St. To The White House, click here for the link.
We are excited to announce that we now have a new host for the digital Falmouth Enterprise, and instead of stopping at 1962, the entire range from 1896-2017 is now searchable online. We are grateful to the Enterprise for their permission to put these recent years online, and to the Board of Library Trustees for their support of this project. Library staff have tested it thoroughly by serarching for themselves (and finding some amusing childhood memories, among other things) – give it a try yourself! Contact us at the Reference Desk if you need any help getting started.
Of course, the first thing I did was to search for information about that party at the dump question from last July. Back then, we took to Facebook to ask for help finding articles in the Enterprise about a party held at the town dump:
Apparently some time in the later 1960s or early 1970s, there was a large benefit party that was black tie but was held at the Town Dump. Paul E. White was not invited, but decided to dress up in 1920s attire, drive a 1920s vehicle with “Dump or Bust” painted on the side, and crash the event. He was allowed to attend. His daughter Rena is sure there were articles in the Enterprise about both the benefit party, and the crashing of it by her father.