Saturday, May 31st Events

If you are at Wal-Mart today from 9-12, stop by our booth. We will have information on applying for passports, new notary services at the library, the summer reading program, and library card sign-up. We will also have our new library tote bags ($10 each with proceeds going toward the building fund). Curious George will be there too!

Later in the day (from 1-4), stop by the library for cake and refreshments to celebrate the library's centennial. There will be a display of historical photos and many local history books. Library staff and Board of Trustees members will be there to greet you.

From 2-4 we will have a panel of Maine romance authors who will talk about the romance genre today, discuss their writing and the romance publishing industry, and take questions from the audience.

We look forward to seeing you!

Memorial Day Parade

Even though it was a bit cloudy and windy, the Memorial Day Parade on Monday, May 26th went off without a hitch. Miss Presque Isle, Germanine Scott, Curious George (aka Jake Shaw), Sue McPherson, Mimi the Mime and a host of library patrons all worked together to decorate the float and then ride in the parade.

Special thanks to all who worked to make it such a success and to those who helped on parade day. Extra special thanks to Jeff Roberts for pulling the float.

The library was delighted to have a float in the parade this year and to have Miss Presque Isle on our float.

If you wish to volunteer to help with the float next year, please contact Sue McPherson at the library.

Poetry Reading

Melissa Crowe (l) and Betsy Sholl (r)


The poetry reading on Friday night, May 23rd, by Maine's Poet Laureate, Betsy Sholl, and local poet, Melissa Crowe, was an amazing event. Books of poems by Betsy Sholl: Rooms Overhead, Don't Explain, Late Psalm.

Melissa Crowe opened the evening by reading from her new chapbook, Cirque du Creve-Coeur.

If you were unable to attend, you can still read the poetry of both poets. We have their books and they are just waiting to be read. I can promise you that you will enjoy it as much as those who attended the live reading.

About Melissa Crowe:

Melissa lives in Presque Isle, Maine with her husband, Mark, and their daughter, Annabelle. She currently teaches literature and creative writing and directs the Honors Program at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. Beginning in the summer of 2008, she plans to write and make visual art full time. Her poems have appeared in Calyx: A Journal of Art and Literature by Women, Lifeboat, Crab Orchard Review, The Atlanta Review, and The Seneca Review. She recently published a chapbook, Cirque du Creve-Coeur.

About Betsy Sholl:

Elizabeth "Betsy" Sholl is Maine's third Poet Laureate and she began her five-year term in 2006. Betsy lives in Portland, Maine and holds an MFA in poetry writing from Vermont College, an MA in English literature from the University of Rochester, where she was the Woodrow Wilson Fellow, and a BA in English Literature from Bucknell University, where she graduated magna cum laude. Betsy teaches at Stonecoast Writers Conference, the Frost Place, Vermont College and has been a visiting poet and poet in residence at numerous institutions. Betsy is the author of eight books of poetry, her latest being Late Psalm, published in 2004. She is a two-time recipient of the Maine Arts Commission Individual Artist Fellowship Award, the 1999 and 2002 Crowley/Weingarten Award for Excellence in Teaching, Vermont College, the 1997 Felix Pollak Prize from the University of Wisconsin, and the 1994 National Endowment for the Arts Artists Fellowship.

New Senior Group at the Library!

Join our new Senior Group at the library!

The new group met for the first time on Wednesday, May 21 from 12-2. This meeting was an informational session to launch the new group. Everyone enjoyed a very nice lunch and spent time looking at a display of historical photos and local history books. There was a lively discussion about topics of interest to everyone and we will be working to create some interesting programs for the meetings.

Future meetings will be the third Wednesday of every month from 12 -2. Lunch will be provided. Look for a listing (coming soon) of speakers and topics for each meeting.

All seniors are welcome to attend and we look forward to creating interesting and stimulating programs.

If you have any questions about the Senior Group, please contact any of us by phone (764-2571) or email:

Gail Roy

Sue McPherson

Sonja Plummer

Maine Poet Laureate

Join Us For A Wonderful Evening of Poetry

Come to the library on Friday, May 23rd, at 6 pm for a reading by local poet, Melissa Crowe, and then a reading by Maine's Poet Laureate, Betsy Sholl. We are delighted to have both visiting the library and sharing their poetry with everyone in our community. It will be a wonderful way to spend a Friday night. We look forward to seeing you there.

100 Years to Celebrate!

MARK AND EMILY TURNER
MEMORIAL LIBRARY INVITES YOU
TO CELEBRATE OUR 100TH YEAR!
PLEASE JOIN US FOR AN OPEN HOUSE ON
MAY 31, 2008 FROM 1-4 PM
TOUR THE LIBRARY, VIEW OUR HISTORIC PICTURE DISPLAYS,
MEET SOME MAINE AUTHORS,
AND ENJOY SOME REFRESHMENTS

Join us on May 31st from 1-4 for a celebration. This year the library turns 100 and we will be celebrating on the 31st with cake, a panel of Maine Romance authors, a historical photo display, and much more. The Library Board of Trustees will be there to greet everyone and we will have a beautiful cake made by the library cataloger, Bonnie Smith.

Be Your Own Weatherman

Come to the library on Wednesday, June 11th at 7 pm to hear our local meteorologist, Ted Shapiro, tell you how to use weather clues to know what to expect when you walk outside each day.

"You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows" How to use weather clues
Join us at the Mark & Emily Turner Memorial Library
June 11th from 7-8:30 pm for a presentation
by Ted Shapiro
Chief Meteorologist, WAGMTV

According to his family, the first phone call Ted ever made was to 936-1212...the local weather report! Ted is fascinated by the ever-changing palette of the sky. In addition, he loves to share the readily available clues that Mother Nature provides about how the weather will play out over the next day or two. If you see Ted around town, don't be shy. He loves to meet peopleand chat about weather and climate.

Cemetery Records

The library receives many requests for copies of obituaries from the local newspaper and requests to review our cemetery records to locate date of death or to find where a person is buried. Many volunteers and library staff have worked on creating and maintaing an obituary index and a listing of cemetery records for the area.

We are thrilled to receive a recent donation of work by Pat Palm. Pat has been researching and transcribing stones from the Fairmount Cemetery (located about a half mile south of Presque Isle on Route 1). Pat has walked the cemetery reading and recording information off of the stones and has then done research at the library to fill in gaps with dates and other information using the microfilm of the Star Herald newspapers.

Pat's work is obviously a labor of love and her meticulous research and attention to detail have produced two wonderful volumes which document the inscriptions on the stones in this cemetery. She has donated copies of Volume 1 (sections 1 & 2), and Volume II (sections 3, 4, 5, & 6) to the library and we have placed these copies in our genealogy section. Pat's cemetery research is ongoing and we are very happy to have received copies of her work for our library.

New Books

Stephenie Meyer's new book, The Host, has arrived!

Other titles in Teen Section:

The Luxe by Anna Godbersen

I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder

Calling all Star Trek Fans

There are two new books in the Teen section that you must see:

• The Physics of Star Trek by Lawrence M. Krauss (foreward by Stephen Hawking)
• The Ethics of Star Trek by Judith Barad, Ph.D., with Ed Robertson

In the Physics of Star Trek, Lawrence Krauss, Ambrose Swasey Professor of Physics, Professor of Astronomy, and Director of the Center for Education and Research in Cosmology and Astrophysics at Case Western Reserve University, takes us on a journey of Star Trek physics and scientific physics to show us what was right and wrong about physics in the series. A must read for all Star Trek fans.

The Ethics of Star Trek by Judith Barad, Ph.D. tackles some of the moral dilemmas faced by the Star Trek team. Using episodes from the four series this book explores many important ethical issues we all learned from watching Star Trek, such as,

• "If the Prime Directive is so inviolable, who does Kirk always seem to break it?"
• "What would it mean if, deep down, everyone really were a Ferengi?"
• "Are rational beings the only life-forms entitled to our respect?"
• "Why is good stronger than evil?"
• "Would Nietzsche have made a good starship captain?"

Contact Lisa Shaw, Teen Librarian, with any questions/comments, or book recommendations.

If you wish to join the Teen Advisory Group, email or call Lisa at 764-2571.

New Local History Books

We just received some excellent additions to our local history collection. Many of you will already be aware of the books published by William Trasker of Monkey Publishing.

The Pioneer Homes of Presque Isle, Caribou, Washburn, and Houlton are books you really must stop in to look through. Many of these homes are still standing and can be easily identified. It would be great fun to check out the book and then drive around the town locating the various homes.

To see images from these books and to read a description of the contents, visit Monkey Publishing and click on the book images for details.

Upcoming Events at the Library

Joy of Photography in the Library Gallery

April 1 - May 31st

Stop in and see the photography of Paul Hamlin and Voscar

Meditation Seminar

What do you know about meditation? Would you like to learn more? Please join Raphael Gribetz, Friday, May 9, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. at the Mark & Emily Turner Memorial Library in the Library Multipurpose Room. For information, please call the library at 764-2571. Light refreshments and coffee served.

Maine's Poet Laureate

Elizabeth "Betsy" Sholl

Reads at the library on May 23rd at 6pm

Book Club

Meets May 15th at 6 pm

Discussing Selected Short Stories by Flannery O'Connor

Book Club Discussion Group

Meets June 19th at 6 pm

Discussing Bound for Canaan by Feguson Bordewich

Support Your Library

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of this library, the Library Board of Trustees have produced a wonderful book bag. The bags are available for sale for $10.00 each and the proceeds will support the library building fund. Stop by the circulation desk to see the tote bag and to purchase one.

Beulah Akeley the Second Librarian at the Turner Library

The second librarian at the Turner Library was Beulah Barton Akeley. By all accounts, she was a most remarkable woman. She served as librarian here from 1928-1945. She was born in Tobique, New Brunswick and was the daugher of Joseph E. and Mary Elizabeth Goodiel Barton. She was the subject of a Reader's Digest article, The Most Unforgettable Character I've Met, written by Cornelia Stratton Parker in 1945. She was also the subject of a Boston Sunday Post article written in 1945 which appeared with the headline, Typical Maine Mother Raised 18 Children.


At the age of 19 she married a potato farmer named George Akeley. He had four children and was a 36 year old widower. They had a total of 18 children (she gave birth to 13, adopted one, and raised George's 4 children). She had been a teacher and then accepted the position as Town Librarian for Presque Isle. She was known as an avid reader. She was very interested in getting the library books off the shelves and into the hands of readers. Her library was described as light and gay and cheerful and people were encouraged to use the library and feel welcomed there and at ease. She decorated the library with flowers and comfortable chairs in which to sit and read. Her library was one to be used and she wanted to allow everyone greater access to the contents of the library. When many librarians were locking books away and guarding their collections, Beulah was opening the doors and windows of the library and encouraging everyone to come in and use the items in the library.

We have many articles, photos and stories about Beulah Akley and her contributions continue to this day. The library is bright and cheerful and everyone is encouraged to come in and feel at home. It is their library and they should all feel at ease here.

Beulah died in 1956 but her many contributions to the library, the community, and to her church will be remembered. A photo of Beulah owned by the Presque Isle Historical Society can be found on Maine Memory Network and you can also send a free e-postcard from Vintage Maine Images/A Maine Historical Society site.

Dena Winslow Guest Speaker at the Library

Two books by Dena Winslow available at the library:

• They Lynched Jim Cullen: New England's Only Lynching
• Mapleton Maine: 1880-1980
  

If you were fortunate enough to join us on April 30th at the library for a talk by Dena Winslow about the lynching of Jim Cullen you will certainly want to stop in a read more from Dena's book, They Lynched Jim Cullen, New England's Only Lynching. Dena's presentation was given on the 135th anniversary of the lynching (April 30, 1873). Everyone present learned a great deal about the story of the lynching and the actual facts. In memory of Jim Cullen, Dena asked the audience to bow their heads and to have a moment of silence to remember Jim Cullen.

Dena Winslow was born in Caribou, Maine and was raised on a dairy and potato farm in Mapleton. She is a graduate of Presque Isle High School. She graduated from the University of Maine with a bachelor of science degree and went on the complete a Master of Education degree at the University of Sourthern Maine. In 2000, she completed her Ph.D. in History at the University of Maine.

Dena has written several local history books, many articles, and is currently conducting research of future history projects. If you have any local history stories, information, and photos that you would like to share, Dena can be contacted via email.

If you wish to read any of Dena's works, stop by the library at the reference desk and we'll be happy to assist you in locating books and articles that you may enjoy reading.

Books as Art

We just received this beautiful book, Miniature Books: 4,000 Years of Tiny Treasures, purchased in memory of Marilyn Dean. This book is filled with beautiful color photos of amazing miniature books. Especially note the miniature books with fore-edge paintings on pages 190-191.