Parsons Public Library

March 10- 15, 2014

• Monday, March 10, at 6:30 pm.  Story Time.  Join Miss Willie as she reads Five Little Monkeys Reading in Bed by Eileen Christelow.  Children ages 2-6 are welcome.
• Tuesday, March 11 at 10:00am. Story Time.   Join Miss Willie as she reads Five Little Monkeys Reading in Bed by Eileen Christelow.  Children ages 2-6 are welcome.
• Tuesday, March 11 at 5:30 pm.  Parsons Library Board of Directors meeting.
• Wednesday, March 12 at 10:00 am. Story Time.   Join Miss Willie as she reads Five Little Monkeys Reading in Bed by Eileen Christelow.  Children ages 2-6 are welcome.
• Thursday, March 13, at 6:30 pm.  Tech Tips:  Microsoft Word Presented by Paul Milks. Word is a popular word processing software that can be used to write letters, compile resumes, write research papers for school, and much more.

Anne Hawkins of Washburn University will lead a discussion of Dance Hall of the Dead by Tony Hillerman at 6:30 on March 31 at Parsons Public Library.

This is the second book in the four-part “Native American Mysteries” series. Although not a Navajo himself, Hillerman has taught millions of Americans most of what they know about Navajo lands and culture. In Dance Hall of the Dead, two young boys suddenly disappear, and one of them, a Zuni, leaves a pool of blood behind. Lt. Joe Leaphorn of the Navajo Tribal Police tracks the brutal killer, but his search is complicated by an archeological dig and unfamiliar Zuni customs.

Anne Hawkins teaches U.S. history at Washburn University and U.S. and world history to homeschooled youth across northeast Kansas.  She received her M.A. in History from the University of Kansas.  This past summer, Ms. Hawkins visited Parsons Public Library and presented a first-person portrayal of Mary Jane Ritchie, a 19^th century Kansas abolitionist.

Copies of the book Dance Hall of the Dead are available for checkout from the library now.

The series will continue with discussions on The Ghost Walker by Margaret Coel (April 14) and The Shaman Sings by James D. Doss (May 12).

The Talk About Literature in Kansas (TALK) book discussion series is provided by the Kansas Humanities Council (KHC), a nonprofit cultural organization with over 40 years of experience promoting the understanding of the history and ideas that shape our lives and build community. For more information about KHC, visit www.kansashumanities.org.

Members of the community are invited to attend the free program, which will take place at the library, 311 South 17^th St. To check out books and for more information about the reading series, contact the library at 620-421-5920.

February 24-March 1, 2014

• Monday, Feb 24, at 6:30 pm.  Story Time.  Join Miss Willie as she reads Tooth Trouble, by Jane Clarke.  Children ages 2-6 are welcome.
• Monday, Feb 24, at 6:30 pm.  Adult Book discussion of the novel, Dance for the Dead, by   Thomas Perry, presented by Sister Rosemary  Kolich.
• Tuesday, Feb 25 at 10:00am. Story Time.  Join Miss Willie as she reads Tooth Trouble, by Jane Clarke.  Children ages 2-6 are welcome.
• Wednesday, Feb 26at 10:00 am. Story Time.  Join Miss Willie as she reads Tooth Trouble, by Jane Clarke.  Children ages 2-6 are welcome.
• Thursday, Feb 27 at 6:30 pm. Tech Tips. Join us for the presentation,   “Manipulating Photos with Adobe Elements,” presented by Paul Milks. This program will demonstrate basic photo editing and enhancing techniques to make your photos look even more fantastic.

The Library is closing today at 12:30pm. Please stay home and be safe. We plan on opening tomorrow Wednesday, February 05th at 9:00am.

Parsons Public Library will host “African American Women Domestics:  The Story of Two Kansans,” a presentation and discussion by Angela O. Bates on Monday, February 10, at 6:30 in the library multi-purpose room.

Growing up in rural Nicodemus, Kansas, sisters Ernestine and Charlesetta Williams learned basic cleaning and cooking skills from their mother and grandmother who had been enslaved in Kentucky.  When the sisters moved to California in the 1950s, their domestic and cooking skills provided many employment opportunities, even in Hollywood.  Eventually Ernestine opened her own restaurant in Pasadena before returning to Nicodemus in the 1970s to operate a barbecue restaurant.  Bates, daughter and niece of the two sisters, will discuss her family legacy of domestic work and share mementos that Ernestine and Charlesetta collected.

Angela Bates is the executive director of the Nicodemus Historical Society.  She presents educational programs across the nation covering Nicodemus, Exodusters and black towns in the West, Buffalo Soldiers, and black women in the West.

“When I watched the movie The Help, I reflected on my own experiences as a child of a domestic cook,” said Bates.  “My mother and aunt shared wonderful stories about their experiences with such greats as Walt Disney, John Wayne, Bob Hope, and others.  This rich history makes me proud of their accomplishments and appreciate the skills that I now possess as a professional cook.”

Bates operates Ernestine’s Café near Nicodemus, where Ernestine’s Bar-B-Q Sauce is still being bottled and sold.  Bottles of the barbecue sauce will be available for purchase at the presentation.

“African American Women Domestics” is part of the Kansas Humanities Council The Way We Worked Speakers Bureau, featuring presentations and discussions examining the theme of work and working in Kansas and how these stories help define us.

The Kansas Humanities Council conducts and supports community-based programs, serves as a financial resource through an active grant-making program, and encourages Kansans to engage in the civic and cultural life of their communities.  For more information about KHC programs, visit www.kansashumanities.org.

Members of the community are invited to attend the free program, which will take place at the library, 311 South 17^th St.  For more information, contact the library at 620-421-5920.