Monday, September 26th at 9 AM
Coffee and a Book:

The Dictionary of Lost Words
By Pip Williams

Jeudevine Library is trying something new! Monday morning coffee, muffins, and a book! We hope to get some people who don’t like to come out at night over to the library to join our book discussion on Monday, Sept.26 at 9 AM. Our September book is The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams.

This is a book with imagined characters set into the real story of the creation of the first Oxford English Dictionary. That immense undertaking is at first observed by the young heroine, Esme, under her father’s work table as he sorts words and definitions. This brings a love of words and language to Esme. As she grows up though, she starts to notice that some words are not included. Especially women’s words. A Reese Witherspoon book club book, Reese invites you to read it saying, “A beautiful exploration of history and the power of language. For anybody who loves words and celebrates them, this subversive story weaves together love, loss and literature in a perfectly lyrical way.”

Copies of the novel are available now at the library to check out.

For more information call the library at 472-5948.

Or email: jeudevinelibrary@hardwickvt.gov

Starting Monday, August 15th until Friday, October 7th:

Quilt Raffle

*More photos below!

Drawing at the final Hardwick Farmers' Market of the season:
Friday, October 7th at 5:30 PM!

Tickets are $5 each, or 6 for $25.00.

Tickets can be purchased in person at the library, The Clip Joint & Co (where the quilt is currently on display), or by mailing a check (addressed to Jeudevine Library Expansion Fund) to the library with your phone number to:

Jeudevine Memorial Library

93 North Main St.

P.O. Box 536

Hardwick, VT 05843

A wonderful woman, Becky Phillips, saw the plans for the addition to the Jeudevine Library and wanted to do something to help. She isn’t a millionaire, but she has the skill to make beautiful quilts, so she decided to donate a quilt to the library to raffled with all the proceeds going to the Jeudevine Library Expansion Fund. The quilt has a history:

The Quilt Story by Becky Phillips,

Caring for my mother in her final years, I wanted work I could do at her bedside. I enjoy making quilts, so I turned to piecing quilt blocks by hand, using bits from my scrap bag, a needle, and thread. I used a computer program to design blocks that would challenge me, then I made templates of craft plastic. I traced around these lightly on the backs of different fabrics held firmly in place on a sandpaper board. Then I cut around the pieces with scissors, allowing a quarter-inch seam outside the drawn line. Quietly, steadily, I sewed these together. I made many blocks as I sat beside my mother, my stitches becoming smaller and more regular as I developed skill. She shared my pleasure, and I pinned each block on a felt board when complete, so we could admire them together.

Winnie Biddleman came to us through Hospice, a volunteer who gave us countless hours of her time, who brought us light and joy, who loved us as much as we loved her. Winnie says I taught her how to make quilts, but if I did, she was a brilliant student, for she has since made an astonishing number of gorgeous quilts. When I was ready to return to Vermont from Florida, I left my unused quilt blocks with Winnie, knowing she would put them to good use. Several years later, when I married Roger, Winnie made this beautiful quilt for us. She had arranged 30 of my blocks, adding the black borders to even out the sizes and create a dramatic overall design. The five bearpaw blocks I had made as color studies cascade diagonally through a field of stars and sunflowers.

We love this quilt. We also love books and libraries and the good that libraries do in our communities. Roger, and I have decided to donate this quilt, which has already given us so much pleasure, to the Jeudevine Memorial Library in Hardwick, Vermont, for the purpose of raising funds for a much-needed building expansion. We give it with gratitude and big smiles, hoping it will raise lots of money for this worthy project.

Wednesday, October 12th at 7 pm

Aging Well & Cold Weather Preparedness

It’s never too late to make healthy choices. Aging well is a path that starts from birth. Lifestyle choices throughout the course of your life can help you adjust to changes over time. Come to Jeudevine Library on Wednesday, Oct. 12 at 7 pm at Jeudevine Memorial Library. You will learn the basics about how lifestyle choices promote healthy aging and how brain health is connected to lifestyle choices. Learn how to keep your brain and body healthy.

There will also be a discussion of Cold Weather Preparedness. Learn ways to stay protected during cold weather events, like extreme cold, power outages, and ice/snow storms. Learn how to assemble an emergency kit on a budget.

The program is presented by the Vermont Medical Reserve Corps which will also have a volunteer from the VT Alzheimer’s Association joining either virtually or in person. You can find out more about the VT Medical Reserve Corps at https://rms.vermont.gov/

Wednesday, October 19th at 7 pm

Marilyn “Lyn” Blackwell:

A “Small Crumb of Justice” Denied: The Struggle for Woman Suffrage in Vermont

At the Memorial Building

Two years ago, was the 100^th Anniversary of the passage of 19^th Amendment which gave women the right to vote. Jeudevine Library is marking this anniversary with a talk by Marilyn Blackwell, Ph.D., a Vermont historian and writer.

Lyn’s program is titled Why Not in Vermont?: The Long Campaign for Woman Suffrage. In 1908, members of the Vermont Equal Suffrage Association noted, “Women Vote for President in Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and Idaho, Why Not in Vermont?” In a state with a long history of respect for individual rights, why were Vermont lawmakers resistant to women’s voting rights? Through the stories of three Vermont suffragists, Lyn Blackwell will outline the shifting debate over women’s full citizenship from the 1850s until 1920. The state of Vermont has never ratified the 19^th Amendment.

Blackwell co-authored a biography of Clarina Howard Nichols of Brattleboro. Nichols was a journalist, lobbyist and public speaker involved in all three of the major reform movements of the mid-19th century: temperance, abolition, and the women's movement. Blackwell has published many articles on nineteenth-century women and the social history of Vermont. Her most recent article, “Vermont and the Equal Rights Amendments: A Case against Exceptionalism,” appeared in Vermont History in Summer/Fall 2019. She is currently researching the woman suffrage campaign in Vermont.

Monday, October 27th at 9 am

Monday Morning Book Discussion:

Freedom by Sebastian Junger

This month’s book is a short but intriguing book by Sebastian Junger called Freedom. Join us for coffee, muffins and a book. This book is a profound rumination on the concept of freedom.Throughout history, humans have been driven by the quest for two cherished ideals: community and freedom. The two don't coexist easily. We value individuality and self-reliance, yet are utterly dependent on community for our most basic needs. In this intricately crafted and thought-provoking book, Sebastian Junger examines the tension that lies at the heart of what it means to be human as he and some friends take a long hike along the 400-mile journey walking along the railroad tracks from Washington to Pennsylvania accompanied by two Afghan War vets, a conflict photographer, and a dog.

Copies of the book are available to check out at the library front desk.

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