Featured on the August poster for the New Lebanon READ poster campaign are the New Lebanon Post Office’s Mellissa Eigenbrodt and Stephen Laier with their favorite books, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer and Taking Woodstock by Elliot Tiber and Tom Monte, respectively. Postal patrons have enjoyed Melissa and Steve’s helpfulness, good cheer and yes, Bob Dylan’s music, for many years.
Inspired by the American Library Association READ program, NL READ promotes reading and the use of library services through a poster campaign of local citizens.
Eigenbrodt, employed by the US Postal Service for 21 years, said of Into the Wild that it “captures my own adventurousness, love of the outdoors and eagerness to face challenges (after all, I do work with Steve).” Wife, mother of four girls, firefighter and teacher, she also noted “the story of Christopher Macandless engaged me for its sheer and simple beauty. His love was honest and genuine and his goal unwavering. He found peace and needed nothing from the world to find it. He blamed no one for his situation, whatever it was, saw the best in everything and never doubted himself.”
About Taking Woodstock Laier said, “The book presents one man’s story of breaking free of society’s implied conceptions, even when he didn’t realize that he was trapped by them. It reminded me of some of my own struggles.” Too young to attend the original Woodstock festival and as an ardent music lover, Laier was thrilled that a number of scenes of the movie Taking Woodstock were shot in New Lebanon last summer. He said, “I spent so much time with Michael Hausman (Assistant Director, Producer) on location, I had to see what the real script was like.” Laier is a 17 year veteran of the USPS.
The film, the screenplay for which was written by Ghent resident and Academy Award nominee James Schamus, will premier locally at a benefit screening for the Chatham Film Club on July 30 at the Crandall Theater.