The Eastwick Press Newspaper

Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper

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Lecture On Henry Wadsworth Longfellow And Contemporaries At The New Lebanon Library

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Henry Wadsworth Longfellow scholar Bruce Southard will deliver the lecture “Longfellow Friends and Rivals” on Thursday, May 15, at 7 pm at the New Lebanon Library. This program is free and open to the public.

Perhaps no period in human history produced more famous authors and literature than the period spanning Longfellow’s life. Using his life and poems as the timeline, this presentation introduces Longfellow’s contemporaries, authors such as Hawthorne, Emerson, Whitman. Dickens, Thackeray, Tennyson, Irving, Bryant, Lowell, Thoreau, Holmes and Wilde, his interaction with them and samples of his and their writing. All materials are recited in the rich oral tradition ensconced in 19th through mid-20th century education (but the audience need not worry; there will be no homework assignments!). Behind the scenes stories help illustrate each poem, and there may be a surprising work or two known to all who attend.

Bruce B. Southard was born and raised in Hancock, MA, then spent 23 years living and working in and around New York City. Southard holds a BFA in Communications Design from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY, and an MBA from The Isenberg School of Business, UMASS Amherst. He currently works for Eldorado Resorts Corporation. Southard is a professionally trained Podium Presenter for Las Vegas, Nevada, and the Berkshires of Massachusetts.

The New Lebanon Library is located at 550 State Route 20, ¼ mile north of the yellow blinking light at the intersection of Routes 20/22.

Grafton Historical Society May Meeting

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The Grafton Historical Society will meet at 7 pm in the Grafton Town Hall on May 21. This month’s program is Native American Culture, presented by Lisa Little Wolf.

Lisa Little Wolf will talk about the traditions of different geographic regions, which have changed little over the years and are passed along through families. Lisa Little Wolf is originally from the Northern Cheyenne Nation in Lame Deer, Montana. An educator for many years, she travels the country speaking to peoples of many nations.

The program is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

Southard To Read From His Book At The SML

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Stephentown Memorial Library welcomes the public to join us on Monday, May 12, at 6:30 pm in the Stephentown Memorial Library Community Room at 472 State Route 43 in Stephentown for a reading of A Final Harvest by Bruce Southard. The book is a series of stories about local, national and international events/history, much of it centered on Hancock, Stephentown and New Lebanon. The stories describe the events that shape our lives and ends with the issue so many of us will experience: How do we help those we love as their end of life approaches?

Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing. Refreshments will be served.

Bruce Southard was born and raised in Hancock, MA, then spent 23 years living and working in and around New York City. He holds a BFA in Communications Design from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and an MBA from The Isenberg School of Business, UMASS Amherst.

Grafton Fire Department And Auxiliary’s 70th Installation Banquet

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The Grafton Fire Department and Auxiliary’s 70th Installation Banquet will be held on Saturday, May 17, from 6 pm to 12 am at the Hilton Garden of Troy, 235 Hoosick Street, Troy.

The public is invited to celebrate our 70th year and the installing of new officers. Cocktail hour starts at 6 pm with dinner to follow at 7. The choices are prime rib, lemon chicken and shrimp and crab stuffed filet of sole. It is an open bar for beer for the night, cash bar for mixed drinks. We have a block of rooms reserved for $99 for the night. Cool cats DJ service will entertain.

Please invite some friends and make it a great time. We have a Chinese auction and a 50/50 raffle. You don’t need to be part of the fire department to come. The price is $35 for a single ticket and $60 per couple. RSVP to 279-3670 with your dinner choice by May 12.

Adult Game Night At PVMCC

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The PVMCC will be open for Adult Game Night on May 23 from 5 to 8 pm.  Volleyball will be set up on the main floor with card and/or board games in the kitchen and Veterans memorial room. A pitch tournament is planned. If desired, bring a dish to share for a covered dish supper or just show up with or without snacks anytime after 5 pm.

There is no charge to attend.

Stamp out Hunger!

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On Saturday, May 10, the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Food Drive will once again spread out across America to help provide assistance to Americans who are struggling with hunger. Now in its 22nd year, the Food Drive effort is the nation’s largest single day drive.

Last year, carriers collected 74.4 million pounds of food, bringing the total of donations to just under 1.3 billion pounds of food collected over the history of the drive.

Food banks and shelters usually benefit from an upswing in charitable donations during the winter holiday season. By springtime, however, their stocks tend to dwindle to critically low levels. “Helping local support organizations deal with this post-holiday lull in donations is the main reason we hold our national drive on the second Saturday in May,” said NALC President Fredric Rolando, adding that since many school meal programs are suspended during summer months, millions of children are left scrambling to find alternate sources of nutrition.

For additional information about the annual Letter Carriers Food Drive effort in your community, ask your letter carrier, follow the drive at www.twitter.com/StampOutHunger or visit www.nalc.org/food.

This is another opportunity to support the local HACA Food Pantry.