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From the Executive Director's Desk
“Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childish days; that can recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth; that can transport the sailor and the traveler, thousands of miles away, back to his own fire-side and his quiet home!” Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers 1836
To our many friends and neighbors,
The Trustees, Staff, and Charles Dickens, all of whom have a vital presence at the Athenaeum, join me in sending greetings in this joyous season and our best wishes for a Happy New Year!
Irwin Gelber
Don't Miss
Until January 15th - Paintings by Edward Kadunc
An exhibit of Kingdom Landscapes and Interiors. On display in the Upstairs Gallery until January 15th.
First Wednesdays Lecture Series
First Wednesdays is a Vermont Humanities program, hosted by the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum. All programs start at 7:00 PM. For complete program details see the Events page on our website.
January 7th: No Laughing Matter/Visual Humor and Ideas of Race, Nationality, and Ethnicity – with Dartmouth Art History Professor Angela Rosenthal.
February 4th: Mr. and Mrs. Prince – with Dartmouth Professor Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina.
March 4th: The History of Herbal Medicine in America / Just what did the early American pioneers rely on for health and healing? – with Herbalist Rosemary Gladstar.
April 1st: The Great Camps of the Adirondacks – with Vermont State Curator David Schutz.
May 6th: 1763 and How America Became American – with Dartmouth history and Native American Studies Professor Colin Calloway.
All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. The Athenaeum is fully handicapped accessible. For more information call 748-8291.
Ongoing Events
Story Time in the Children's Library every Monday at 11AM. All ages are welcome.
Scrabble Club meets the 1st Saturday of each month from 12-4PM.
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In Memoriam–Mary Anne King
The Athenaeum lost a long-time friend in October when Board trustee Mary Anne King passed away. Mary Anne served two nine-year terms on the board, one a number of years ago, and a second term beginning in 2002. She worked in a variety of capacities, most recently as Secretary. As a rule, she sat quietly at meetings, taking in all that transpired, and always produced a meticulous record of the Athenaeum’s meetings.
With characteristic goodwill and grace, she also wrote most of the thank you letters sent out to supporters of the Athenaeum’s Annual Fund. Her own contributions to Board discussions and proceedings were thoughtfully balanced, judicious, and often offered near the end of a discussion, as if to set the record straight. She will be missed in this, as in so many aspects of the St. Johnsbury community.
Holiday Shopping Ideas
The St. Johnsbury Railroad Station, now our refurbished Visitors Center, is the latest addition to the Friends of the Athenaeum’s series of keepsake ornaments that capture the flavor of St. Johnsbury’s historic buildings. This ornament joins six other ornaments, on sale at Secondhand Prose and at the Athenaeum. Other gift ideas we suggest:
 Athenaeum Library Card to your out-of-town friends and family with notecard of your choice.
Note cards
Reproductions of Raspberry Girl, Hiding in the Old Oak, The Domes of Yosemite, and Girl Reading.
The Handbook of the Art Collection
Signed adult and children’s books by Vermont authors
A wide array of significant books at Secondhand Prose, 1222 Main Street. See our website for store hours.
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Help Support the Athenaeum
You don’t need us to tell you what a wonderful place the Athenaeum is and has been for almost 140 years. Most of our services are free to the public - amenities that mean more than ever during difficult economic times. Our town is able to provide only twenty cents for each dollar it costs us to operate. We must, therefore, appeal to the generosity of our community and other friends to help us reach our income needs.
Please join us in keeping the Athenaeum a vital institution. We deeply appreciate your support.
The Board of Trustees will match your contribution dollar for dollar, up to $15,500 for the full amount of your first time contribution or any increase above your last year’s contribution. Double the impact of your donation!
Download our Annual Fund Pledge Card.
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The Friends of the Athenaeum Need You!
“The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Consider joining a fine group of folks that enjoy the Athenaeum and want to help it thrive. Our Friends of the Athenaeum organization is looking for new members. Friends help out at events and programs; organize fund-raising projects; volunteer at Secondhand Prose used book store; and are generally here to help the library and art gallery when needed. The Friends are a vital part of the Athenaeum and have made many contributions of all sorts over the years. We hope that many of you will become active members. Contact the Athenaeum at via email or call 748-8291 for a membership form.
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For Book Lovers
Our website’s new For Book Lovers page offers links to sites featuring book reviews, reading group guides, author interviews, and new release notices. Other links will connect you to sites where you can recommend books to other readers and become part of reading communities online. The new page also features staff picks and reviews.
Karen O'Donnell-Leach, Moderator
From the Art Gallery
Worthington Whittredge, painter of Fishing and On the Plains Colorado, was part of the Hudson River group of artists that flourished in the mid-nineteenth century in America. Whittredge, born near Springfield, Ohio in 1820; worked on the family farm until he was 17 years old. He wanted to be an artist, and in 1849, he sailed to Europe where he hoped to study painting with Andreas Achenbach in Dusseldorf, Germany.
After a year in Dusseldorf he met Emanuel Leutze. Leutze chose Whittredge as his model for George Washington in his magnificent painting Washington Crossing the Delaware. Whittredge was tall, American and fit the uniform that Leutze had ordered from America. Not only is George Washington “portrayed” by Whittredge in this iconic painting but scholars have pointed out that the flag behind Washington wouldn’t be adopted until six months after the event depicted; and Washington could not have stood up for the journey without losing his footing. The original painting hangs in the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Elaine Garrison, Gallery Manager
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Fun and Food in the Children’s Library
Since early 2007, our Story Time program has been enhanced with the addition of Food Time. Once a month, Melissa Bridges, the Education and Outreach Director of the St. Johnsbury Co-op, joins me during Story Time. Melissa is a passionate food and environmental educator who believes that educating young children is critical in the development of healthy attitudes towards food.
Each visit introduces children to new concepts and experiences. Learning about farming, gardening and cooking are all part of the mix. Stories that feature food are followed by art, movement and cooking activities. Story Time participants have made dip, stuffed edible flowers, enjoyed tortillas with homemade salsa, and tasted a wide variety of seasonal foods.
The program has been successful, in large part, due to Melissa’s passion for what she does. Bringing new foods to young children and watching them experiment has been exciting. It is apparent that the more we help children to explore a wide variety of foods the greater the chance that they may have healthier eating habits in the future.
Gloria Molinaroli, Childrens Librarian
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Book Review
Hakka Soul–Memories, Migrations & Meals By Chin Woon Ping
Reviewed by Reeve Lindbergh
Our provisions are salted, our animals stubborn…We are gypsies and pirates, miners and revolutionaries...Memory sustains us. Our allegiances carry us back to the past and forwards to the future…
In a delightful account of her family background, her childhood in Malaysia, and her coming to Vermont, Chin Woon Ping offers stories, legends, history and recipes: from fried bananas to stuffed tofu to sour pig’s feet to chicken in wine. The author remembers and relates the part that each meal played in her family’s life. Sugar water with tofu was the food her grandmother demanded just before she died; a beloved aunt bought fried bananas to share at the cinema. It was the author’s father, a doctor, who cooked sour pig’s feet–“the king of Hakka dishes.”
All along the path of narration, every detail is beautifully recalled, from the charcoal fire her mother built every morning to boil water for breakfast in the village long ago to the song of the wood thrush in summer in Vermont today. This book is a captivating international journey, a culinary adventure, and an unusual glimpse of childhood and family experience. It’s a joy to read.
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SecondHand Prose
Now open at 1222 Main Street, selling used books year-round; operated by the Friends of the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum. Hours are Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday 10 AM-2 PM, Wednesday 2:30 -6:30 PM, and Saturday 10 AM - 4PM.
Athenaeum Hours
Mon. through Friday 10AM - 5:30PM
Sat.: 9:30AM - 5:00PM
Free wireless Internet available.
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at the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum is published quarterly via email. Send your comments & feedback via email to newsletter@stjathenaeum.org. |