Monson Free Library and Reading Room Association

This Juneteenth we invite you to visit the MA250 Reading the Revolution list of books to learn more about the African American Freedom Struggle. There are books for all ages on the list and they link to Worldcat to help you find them at your local library. https://www.massbook.org/ma250

Definitely with sharing- definitely worth reading.

For : On June 19, 1865, two months after the Confederacy surrendered and more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, Union troops finally arrived in Texas, the westernmost Confederate state, and spread the word there that freedom was the law of the land.

About 70 years later, workers from the Federal Writers' Project arm of the Works Progress Administration started traveling around the U.S. collecting the stories of elderly Americans who still had firsthand accounts of being enslaved. Many of the people who were interviewed were also photographed. The Library has preserved these stories and images.

This photo is of Betty Simmons, who said she was more than 100 years old when she was interviewed in 1937 in Beaumont, Texas. She said she was married during slave times, and widowed, but was very happy that freedom came when it did because her enslavers were preparing to put her 3-year-old child to work in the fields.

Explore the narratives: https://www.loc.gov/collections/slave-narratives-from-the-federal-writers-project-1936-to-1938/about-this-collection/?loclr=fbloc

Image: Betty Simmons, Age about 100. Taken between 1936 and 1938. WPA Slave Narrative Project: Container, A932, vol. 16, part 4. Federal Writer's Project, United States Work Projects Administration (USWPA). Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.

An old African American woman in a button down dress stands in front of a chair with her hands clasped, looking at the camera. The chair is outside, positioned in front of a house. A younger woman stands on the porch behind her.

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to announce the end of slavery. To explore this important date in our history please visit https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/historical-legacy-juneteenth

The Small Business program tomorrow night has been postponed.
We are working with Quaboag Valley Community Development Corporation to set a new date. Please share!

A local gardener just dropped off some beautiful Daylilies! Various colors. Should be planted by the weekend!

Everyone's favorite program is back!! Meet the baby bunnies from Lily Meadow Farm on Friday, June 26th from 10:30-11:30!!

Yikes! Time is flying and we need to get this event out there!! Where did June go??
Next week, join storyteller and musician, Mary Jo Maichack, for The Lake of the Croaking Frogs!! We will sing and dance and celebrate nature!! All thanks to the Town of Monson's Conservation Commision and the Municiapal Vulnerability Preparedness program.
Please register here: https://monsonlibrary.assabetinteractive.com/calendar/the-lake-of-the-croaking-frogs-stories-songs-celebrating-the-beauty-and-importance-of-nature/

It's that time of year again! Join us for an ice-cream social and register for summer reading!! Summer Reading is for EVERYONE and we offer challenges and some programs for kids, teens and adults!! Join in the fun!