Once upon a time I met a librarian at a workshop I was giving at the Brewster Ladies Library for the Southeastern Massachusetts Library System. Little did I know that the workshop would end up with my being introduced to Laura Ford, who eventually became the Head of the Children’s Department at FPL.  But let me just take a step back, because before she became the Head of the Children’s Department, I hired her as a part-time reference librarian! Thus I had the pleasure of working with her in that capacity for a few years, and one of the things I most loved about working with Laura, was she was the best reader’s advisory librarian I ever had. In fact, she recommended all kinds of books that I added to my staff picks over the years. 

Once Laura made the move to the Children’s Department she created all kinds of enchantment for children, and adults too! I remember one day she showed me how to make a fairy out of a clothespin. When our building was shut down, but we were still working in the building, Laura was a great sport when I asked her to pose with a pink elephant named Elly! As the Head of Adult Services and Reference, I was always delighted to find some fun project going on in the children’s room, and sometimes beyond the children’s room. Here are two turkeys I saw one day hanging around the library.

One of the most spectacular events that Laura and I worked on together was the night we had twelve kids in the library after hours. They had all entered a contest created around the book Escape From Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein, and the prize was getting to spend time in the library after it closed. What great fun it was! Here are all the kids with Chris Grabenstein himself! Laura even convinced her own husband to take part in the scavenger hunt festivities! And here is one of my favorite photos of Laura, taken on a very fun day when Mo Willems came to FPL!

This is only a small sampling of the fun I’ve had with Laura, and I know that our loss is a gain for the Plymouth Public Library, but we will miss her so much! I am guessing she will not miss her commute across the bridge every day, but she will miss having all that time to listen to books on CD. Wishing Miss Laura (as she was known in the children’s room) all the best as she begins her new adventure.

We are delighted to be back in the FCTV studio recording more oral histories for the Library’s Postcards from Falmouth grant.  Just as we began filming the interviews last winter, the pandemic fell upon us and forced us to suspend the effort.  What a heartening project to resume!  It serves as an example of how our community can be brought together by the love of our beautiful town and its history.  We are grateful for our historians, and we are thankful to our interviewers–Barbara Kannellopoulos and Troy Clarkson–and the amazing staff at FCTV–Bob Fenstermaker, Allen Russell, and Andrew Richards…and let us not forget our most awesome grant assistant, Anna Lee!

Last winter we recorded Rabbi Elias Lieberman on the East End Meeting House of the Falmouth Jewish Congregation, Reverend Will Mebane of Saint Barnabas, and Reverend Jonathan Drury of the First Congregational Church.  We also interviewed Bill Swift on the Dwight Estate once located on Mill Road, Dick Kendall on playing youth baseball in Falmouth Heights, Kevin Doyle on the Old Stone Dock, and Donald Fish shared many memories of Falmouth back in the day, too.

The next round of histories include Camille Beale and Nancy Eldridge remembering Main Street, Rob Blomberg (pictured) on the history of the Woods Hole Library, Joel Peterson on the Dome Restaurant, Mark Pearson on the College Light Opera Company, and Mark Schmidt on the Falmouth Historical Society.  Catherine Bumpus will also discuss the history of Nobska Light, and Jane McLaughlin will join Catherine in a discussion on the Mary Garden in Woods Hole.

The oral histories, which are based upon our collection of historic postcards, will be available for viewing once the post-production work is completed. 

Stay tuned and let us know if you, or someone you know, is a Falmouth historian!

This project is made possible through a LSTA grant administered by the MBLC.

Writing Stories From Postcards

We are excited to bring back musician Matt York for another live, outdoor acoustical performance on the lawn on Tuesday evening, August 3rd, from 6-7:30 pm (rain date Tuesday, August 10th). Bring your chair or blanket!

Longtime New England singer/songwriter Matt York will perform some of the greatest songs of the past fifty years. The music will range from the early days of Motown and the British Invasion to modern hits. Matt will tell the stories of the songs and artists and perform songs by iconic songwriters like John Lennon, Bob Dylan and many more.

Matt grew up in Foxboro, Massachusetts and began playing Boston’s clubs as a teenager. Since then, he’s played on stages throughout the United States and Canada. He has three albums and a recent single. Check out his site at mattyorkmusic.com!

The Boston Globe named his album “Bruisable Heart” on of their top albums of 2019, and he has been nominated twice as Best Male Artist by the New England Music Awards.  The Boston Herald said of his album, “Boston, Texas”, that the singer-songwriter uses basic building blocks-Buddy Holly’s chords, Hank Williams’ swagger, Steve Earle’s boozy wisdom, Paul Westerberg’s straight-up drunk wisdom-to construct an album of beauty, optimism and heartbreak”. Matt’s music explores a cross-section of everything from straight-up rock and roll to hints of country. 

This is a free event. We thank the Trustees of the Falmouth Public Library for sponsoring this concert!