Granite Kingdom a novel by former Hardwick Gazette owner and editor, Eric Pope, will be released by Rootstock Publishing on November 29. A book launch is scheduled on Saturday, December 3rd at 3 pm at the Memorial Building sponsored by Jeudevine Library, the Galaxy Bookshop and the Hardwick Historical Society.

With an engaging cast of characters, the novel is a complex, yet balanced look at the granite industry and newspaper business in rural Vermont in the early 1900’s.

The historical novel is set in 1910 in a northern Vermont village (easily recognized as Hardwick) and the nation’s largest supplier of building granite. The main character, newspaper reporter Dan Strickland, investigates fatal industry accidents at one of the big granite producers and winds up caught in between the grudges of the two largest business owners and struggling in his own life to climb the social hierarchy.

Scott McLaughlin, executive Director of the VT Granite Museum in Barre called the book “a compelling story about a small Vermont town grappling with the changes that swept many American communities in the early 20th century….a welcome addition to Vermont’s granite story.”

About the book, Pope said, “When my wife and I owned and edited the Hardwick Gazette from 1977 to 1986, I often consulted back issues of the newspaper to write stories about the town’s granite boom in the early 1900’s. I wanted to write a book that brought that era to life and made the town’s rich heritage more accessible to modern readers.”

Pope has spent most of his life writing for small and midsize publications. After retiring from a public relations job at Lawrence Technological University outside of Detroit, he is trying his hand at writing historical fiction. Granite Kingdom is his first novel. He lives in Grosse Pointe, Michigan with his wife Karen.

For information about the book go to www.rootstockpublishing.com. For more information about the book launch call the Jeudevine Library at 472-5948. The Galaxy Bookshop will have copies of the book for attendees to purchase! This would be a great gift for the holidays!

Join us for coffee and muffins and discussion of the book, Like Lesser Gods by Mari Tomasi. First published in 1949 “this book draws a colorful and detailed portrait of the lives of the stone masons of Barre, Vermont. They live and breathe granite, literally, as the novel also deals with the lung diseases that result from working with it. This book deals with many things in the Italian-American experience, such as the struggle of the early immigrants whether to stay in America or return to Italy, their strong family units and communities, the differences between first- and second-generation Italians adjusting to American life, and labor issues involving occupational health hazards. [Reviewed by Sunflower].
 
Copies of the book will soon be available to pick up at the library!
 
Reading this will be a prelude to a visit by author Eric Pope on Saturday, December 3rd at 3:00 PM. Pope formerly owned the Hardwick Gazette and has written a novel based on Hardwick in its hey-day as the building granite capital of the world. He’ll be launching his novel, Granite Kingdom.

The Jeudevine Library is once again teaming up with the Hardwick Area Food Pantry (HAFP) to collect new hats, gloves, mittens, and scarves! Items can be homemade or store-bought. Donations can be dropped off at the library any time during open hours until December 16th to make it in time for their annual gift boxes.

Donations can also be dropped off at:

• HAFP: Mondays from 12–2PM and Th/Sa from 9–11AM, located at 39 West Church St.
• Front Seat Coffee: M/Tu/W/F from 7AM–3PM and Sa/Su from 8AM–2PM, located at 101 South Main St.

For more information about the HAFP, contact: 

director@hardwickareafoodpantry.org or call 802-472-5940.

Storytime returns at 10:30 AM on Thursday, September 22nd and will continue every week!

Stories, Music & Movement, Craft & Fun!

Perfect for Toddlers and Preschoolers.
Infants and Older Siblings Always Welcome.