In: 101 Series, Authors, Community, Events, Maine History, Online Program

Take a break from the tumultuous present & stroll down memory lane with TFL’s own Tom Lyford during this online program on Thursday, September 10 at 1:30 pm.

Tom will share stories and remembrances of a Maine that many of us are fast forgetting. Travel back through the decades with him to the days of real full-service gas stations, smoking in hospitals and movie theaters, and six-family party lines.

As Tom says, “Don’t be surprised if some of your own memories come tip-toeing out of the past…you’ll be encouraged to share them with us as well. It will be fun.”

This program is free and open to the public. To participate, join the Zoom meeting at: https://networkmaine.zoom.us/j/84134920432 Or listen via phone by dialing 1-646-876-9923 (Meeting ID: 841 3492 0432).

In: Artists, Arts & Crafts, Authors, Children, Community, News, Poetry, Teens

Thompson Free Library is working to start our very own Community “Zine.”

What is a zine, you ask? A zine (pronounced “zeen” just like the end of the word magazine) is a homemade publication. Making a zine is all about self-expression and creativity, sharing thoughts, feelings, and creative passions through non-fiction writings, fan fiction, short stories, poetry, song writing, photography, comic or graphic novel strips, doodles, paintings, drawings, and more.

Zines can have an array of messages or topics, and ours will be shared in both neatly-bound and web- based presentations. Every zine we publish will begin with a creative prompt. Our first go-round idea is this:

Are you an avid film-buff with a head full of endless lists of the film titles you can’t stop talking about? Are you the 5K racer or marathoner forever in training or competitions? Is it cats and kittens for you, or dogs and puppies that have forever captured your heart? Do you find yourself foraging through antique stores looking for unexpected treasures? Got grandchildren? What’s your favorite genre: sci-fi, horror, mysteries, or perhaps it is romantic comedies? You a Trekkie? Is it your dream to be a groupie or even a roadie for Lady Gaga or Fallout Boy? A chess player looking for your next checkmate/game-over thrill? A solitary hiker of the wooded wilderness? A Nascar nut, budding chef, gadget-guru, or the next Eric Clapton on guitar?

We’re taking passions here, and ‘Passions’ is the prompt for our first issue. We invite your creative submissions for publication.

Submissions for this first Zine will be due by 5 pm on August 28th, 2020.

And by the way, if you can think up a catchy name for our community zine (or a future topic that might be fun) please let us know!

Request and Rules:

The Thompson Free Library is looking for community members from the Maine Highlands Region to submit a piece/pieces of work (maximum of 3 pages) to be published in an inclusive, all-ages publication. Submitting hand-written writing is fine as long as it is legible, plus we’re requiring 1-inch margins so the physical zine can be bound.

If you are submitting art or photographs, we are asking for pictures or scans of the art, we do not want originals; we want you to keep those.

Again, please remember that this is an all-ages, inclusive publication, so we ask that language and content be kept appropriate for everyone. Hateful content of any kind will not be published, and we furthermore reserve the editorial right to select or dismiss submissions at our discretion.

Please send submissions by email to thompsonfreelibrary@gmail.com or by snail mail to 186 E. Main Street, Dover-Foxcroft, ME 04426.  If you have any questions, please email us or call us at 207-564-3350.

We can’t wait to do this project with our community members!

In: Authors, Events, Maine History, News, Online Program

The State of Maine and the Ku Klux Klan. It’s an improbable antithesis, but not only did the KKK take root in Maine in the 1920s, the group’s first daylight parade in America was held Sept. 3, 1923, in nearby Milo. The parade made newspaper headlines across the country, heralding the possibility of “klaverns” across the Northern states.

This astonishing time in Maine’s history, left out of textbooks for nearly 100 years, will be explored by author Mark Alan Leslie as part of Thompson Free Library’s Bicentennial Speaker Series at 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 18.

“Milo, Dexter, Newport and Bangor-Brewer were hotbeds of KKK activity in the 1920s,” Leslie said. “I’m certain that when the Klan held its first state conclave in a forest outside Waterville in 1923, some from this area were among the 15,000 who attended.”

Indeed, the Klan reached such heights that it helped elect Governor Ralph Owen Brewster, the mayors of Rockland, Saco, Bath and Westbrook, the Speaker of the Maine House and a number of other political and law-enforcement leaders.

An estimated 19 percent of the state’s population supported the Southern-based secret society, Leslie said, adding, “While few African-Americans lived in Maine at that time, the KKK’s targets were French-Canadians, Catholics and Irish and Polish immigrants as well as Jews.

In his talk “Maine Burning: The Ku Klux Klan Invasion” Leslie will tell the tale of the extraordinary rise and fall of this organization which, now and again, still makes headlines in Maine today.

This event is free and open to the public. To participate, join the Zoom meeting on Thursday, June 18 at 6 pm: https://networkmaine.zoom.us/j/84237161160 (Meeting ID: 842 3716 1160) You can also dial in by phone at: 1-646-876-9923.

The Crossing by Mark Alan Leslie

The Monmouth resident’s fictional novel, The Crossing, is a sweeping — and ultimately uplifting — look at the KKK’s impact on a small western Maine town in 1923.

The AFA Journal called Leslie “a seasoned wordsmith…in the class of John Grisham” and the Midwest Book Review termed his insights into world politics and culture “staggering and frighteningly realistic.”

Leslie earned Featured Book status from Publishers Weekly for his 2015 book, True North: Tice’s Story, a novel about the Underground Railroad in Maine.

In: Authors, Events, News, Philosophy

Interested in philosophy, Hindu spirituality, or how to plan for a successful life and smooth transition to end of life? Join us on Tuesday, December 10 at 5:30 pm as Dr. Krishna Bhatta speaks on the topic of “Achieving Higher Purpose” and his new book Journey from Life to Life. Dr. Bhatta is an author, surgeon and an inventor, currently practicing as chief of urology at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, Maine.

About the Book:

Journey from Life to Life demystifies the underlying principles of life and death, one of the world’s most thought about existential questions. Dr. Krishna Bhatta meets Western readers where they are, providing an accessible, easy entry into even the most sophisticated aspects of eastern teachings.

In this book, Dr. Bhatta offers:

  • Insights into the nature of the human soul and its journey
  • Practical advice on what to do with our spiritual understanding
  • An understanding of the importance of planning for a successful life, smooth transition to end of life and the journey beyond
  • Answers to the question, “Can I plan for the next life too?”

Journey from Life to Life is an open hand extended in invitation. Join the expedition and let Dr. Krishna Bhatta be your guide. Seek the unseen world and find joys in this life and beyond.

About the Author:

Dr. Bhatta began his life in a small Indian village, attended Patna Medical College in India, continued his education in the UK, and completed his research & medical training at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Dr. Bhatta is equal parts practical and spiritual; he speaks and writes on meditation and spiritual topics, and frequently travels across the globe to meditate at holy sites and speak with luminaries from various spiritual traditions. He lives in Maine with his wife, Nayantara, who is an OB/GYN and their two children, also physicians.

 

In: Authors, Events

Thursday, Nov. 7 at 5:30 pm holistic wellness teacher Alicia Randolph-Lucchesi talks about her book, Transformation 101—Your Guide to Empowerment in Just 3 Weeks.

She’ll discuss the keys to better health and self-improvement focusing on sleep, exercise, meditation, time management, nutrition, and nourishing all of our senses. As Alicia puts it, “There is a middle road between medicine and nature and I’m here to help you find it.”