NOTE: View photos from the 2023 Warwick Oral History program series on the Oral History page.
Spring cleaning crew takes a break, while beautifying the Library grounds, 5-8-26. Thanks to volunteers Andrea and Dale Woods, Char Beach and Clare Green (photographer)!Kathy Becker, Wendell’s Town Crier, spun an intriguing story of early New England and the witch trials of her 17th c. ancestor Mary Bliss Parsons (not to be confused with Mary L. Parsons!), 5-5-26
Thomas Quirk plays fife music: “Yankee Doodle” originally was a derogatory term used by the British for their colonial cousins, who proudly embraced it.
Thomas Quirk plays fife music: “Drummers Call” was used to rally the troops.
A packed house of kids and adults enjoyed a hands-on, informative Revolutionary War presentation by Thomas Quirk on 4-26-26–marking anniversaries of both the battles of Lexington & Concord (April, 1775) and the signing of the Declaration of Independence (July, 1776).Samantha (Sam) Piragis, public health nurse for the North Quabbin Health Collaborative, sprays insect-repellent permethrin on outdoor footwear brought by local residents who came to her Tick Talk, 4-9-26.David Detmold of Turners Falls visited the Library on 3-17-26 to share stories from his book, Keeping the People Alive – Reflections from a Bicycle Tour through Native Homelands on the Columbia Plateau. The book recounts his 2024 bicycle trip from Seattle to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. The appreciative audience enjoyed a lively discussion.A selection of books about Pi and Pie helped celebrate Pi Day on March 14th–3.14
Irish Music3
Irish Music2
Irish Music1
Char and Dave Beach “rocked” the house to a packed crowd, with a fine selection of Irish tunes in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, 3-12-26.Journalist Allen Young of Royalston read from his latest book, From the Octagon: People, Places, News, Views, 11-17-25 The Dry Felting workshop on 11-15-25, led by the Launchspace team at OIC, was a big hit!
Hungrytown2
Hungrytown1
Vermont-based folk duo Hungrytown (Rebecca Hall & Ken Anderson) performed their original music, 11-8-25.(The Library has several of their CDs.)
Barrett video3
Barrett video2
Barrett video1
Late 1950s Supro “33 Special” student model guitar, made by Valco and sold through Sears and Woolworth’s. 1919 Gibson Style O Artist. Mandolin orchestras were popular at the time, and this guitar was designed to echo mandolin styling.Barrett assembled this guitar from various parts to his own exact specs, largely resembling an early ’60s Fender Telecaster– “wonderfully expressive.” Barrett Anderson returned to town and rocked the house for Blues Part II, 10-9-25Susan Paquet of Warwick reads from her new, self-published book, The Inflammation Game, on 9-30-25Magical transformations occurred during the Acrylic Painting workshop with Zoe from the OIC Mobile Makerspace on 9-22-25A packed house turned out to hear David Brule’s presentation on King Philip’s War and the Battle of Turner’s/Grand Falls on May 19, 1676.BG Thurston entertained listeners with poems and stories about her house from her recently released volume, The Many Lives of Cathouse Farm: Tales of a Rural Brothel, 9-9-25Leather worker Melissa Mallet (top R.) led participants in a leather tooling project using scrap leather pieces, on 8-16-25.At a mobile Electronic Soldering workshop with OIC, participants worked on completing a circuit board, 7-19-25 – lights on!Samantha Piragis, the Public Health Nurse for the North Quabbin Health Collaborative, gave a tick talk on 7-8-25.Stay tuned for more programming from Samantha!Emily Brewster, Sr. Editor at Merriam-Webster in Springfield, revealed some of the Dictionary’s many secrets to word-lovers on 6-24-25.The weather decided to cooperate on Saturday, May 10th, helping to make the annual Plant Swap a success–with donations to support the Library. A Big Thanks to organizers Andrea and Kady Woods for making it happen!Nicholas D’Alessandro from Hearthstone Artisan Bakery in Shutesbury gave a sourdough baking primer on May 6th, 2025–with samples!Screen printing workshop given by OIC Mobile Makerspace, 4-26-25 (one in a monthly series)Peter Reilly and Evie Pless of the American Friends of Lafayette gave a great program to a receptive audience on 4-17-25, commemorating the 200th anniversary of General Lafayette’s tour of all 24 states in 1824-25.The Library’s first-ever Legos Club met Tuesday afternoon, April 15th, and was a big hit! The Club will meet bi-monthly.Candle Making workshop with OIC mobile makerspace, 2-22-25BEFORE: completed pots ready for kiln firing at OIC: stay tuned! AFTER!Coil Pot workshop with OIC mobile makerspace (#1 of 12), 1-21-25Mark Fellows recently delivered this 3-D puzzle of the Eiffel Tower, constructed–in a day!–by daughter Maggie during the holidays.state engineers early system maplocals+engineersHistorical images from Elisabeth Rosenberg’s Jan. 9th “Before the Flood” Quabbin programKalliope Kalombratsos and Eaddy Sutton enjoy a cozy corner during a Saturday morning coffee and social hour in December.Clare Green’s “Behind the Scenes” program on Dec. 12th attracted a healthy crowd – look for Part 2 in March!Jason Ur, Harvard U. – Cambridge’s Old Burying GroundBob Drinkwater, AGS – Warwick CemeteryBret Kramer – Hope Cemetery in WorcesterFrom the Fall meeting of the Western New England Chapter of the Association for Gravestone Studies, 11-9-24Justin Ivans of Warwick led a multi-generational group of more than a dozen people on a mushroom walk near the foot of Mount Grace, after providing an educational introduction at the Library, 9-7-24Cathy Stanton shared from her book Food Margins, including her experience working with the Quabbin Harvest coop in Orange, 9-5-24Chainsaw carver John Lake creates “Charlie” the Owl during Old Home Days 2024, from the stump of a downed tree planted many years ago by Charlie Brown.Elaine Reardon, Warwick’s poet laureate, read from her newest collection, 7-2-24Backyard Herbalism program with Sue Paquet, 5-14-24John O’Keefe spoke about Phenology–how climate influences biological processes–to an enthusiastic crows on 4-11-24Barrett Anderson of Petersham regaled Blues fans with songs and stories of his musical heroes, 4-11-24Nearly 50 eclipse fans gathered under a warm and sunny sky to watch the near-total solar eclipse on 4-8-24Signs of Spring at Library 3-16-24Shiatsu workshop March 9thShiatsu practitioner and workshop leader Shelley Hines demonstrates acupressure techniqueDoc Pruyne shares his new book, Kawabunga Kitten!, 2-20-24Big Kids hanging out in the Children’s SectionValentine card-making workshop, 2-3-2412-7-23: Warwickian George Bennett reads from his new book, Into the Distance: The Lost World of Long-haul Trucking 12-7-23: George Bennett of Warwick at WFPL
OIC Makerspace Popup (leatherworking), 8-21-23Jeff LeFrenier – Hiking the Appalachian Trail, 3-7-23Russ Richardson – 10,000 Days in the Woods, 2-21-2Hayley & Hannah chillin’ on the new bean bag chairsParticipants in Kerry Stone’s birch trees painting class gather with their paintings, 1-5-20
