Monthly Programs
ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND HIS FAMILY:
A Program by Tom Emery
February 1 | 1:00 PM
This program discusses the family life of Abraham Lincoln, including his wife Mary and his four sons. The personal lives of the Lincoln’s are among the most misunderstood topics in all of Lincoln studies, and Mary Lincoln is one of the most controversial figures in American history. Though three of the four sons did not live to adulthood, their presence is an indisputable part of both the Springfield and White House years. This program will analyze the everyday life of Abraham Lincoln, rather than his political greatness, and discuss his role as both father and husband.
MARDI GRAS AT THE LIBRARY
March 1
12:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Come celebrate Mardi Gras with us here at the C. E. Brehm Memorial Public Library on March 1 from 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM. Samples of red beans and rice will be served starting at Noon. Tom Baker’s Mardi Gras Band will play Dixieland Jazz starting at 1:00 PM. Free masks will be available to the first 50 people who attend, with free beads until we run out. DANCING ENCOURAGED.
THE STORY OF REBECCA BOONE:
A Program by Angie Chute
March 3
6:30 PM
Hear the heartfelt history of Rebecca Bryan Boone, wife of Daniel Boone, as Angie Chute reenacts the life of this remarkable women. She will leave you wondering why there are songs, movies, and TV shows highlighting Daniel, when Rebecca lived an equally amazing life.
THE EXTINCTION OF THE MARRIAGE COVENANT:
A Book Talk with Shelia Cisco
March 4
6:30 PM
Join Shelia Cisco as she discusses her book, a detailed look at married people navigating a committed marriage relationship. The author discusses a marriage Covenant and contract while focusing on how childhood trauma and distractions could potentially hinder a productive marriage relationship. Shelia Cisco is a Professional Counselor and Divorce Mediator. A copy of one of her books will be given away as a door prize.
BEGINNER’S KNITTING CLASS
March 12 & 19
5:30 PM
A Beginner’s Knitting Class for adults will be hosted held on March 12 and March 19 starting at 5:30 PM. Attendees must attend both classes and will need to bring medium blue, pink or gray yarn; size 9 metal knitting needles; and a pair of scissors. Seating is limited to six attendees. Please call 242-6322 to register.
GREG AND DEBBIE BACKES:
A Concert
March 18
6:30 PM
Greg & Debbie Backes will perform a concert featuring many different styles of music. Songs will include those by Bob Dylan, John Denver, John Print, Christ Stapleton and many others. Come and enjoy a fun evening of music we know and love!
FAMILY HEIRLOOM RECIPES FROM THE ILLINOIS STATE FAIR:
A Presentation by Catherine Lambrecht
April 7
6:30 PM
Since 2009, Catherine Lambrecht has judged Family Heirloom Recipes contests on behalf of Greater Midwest Foodways in Illinois. Contestants would enter their best scratch family heirloom recipe suitable for a family or community dinner. The recipe should have originated 50 years ago or earlier. Contestants would bring to the fair a prepared dish along with a history of who passed the recipe down to them. This presentation offers an opportunity to follow the judging experience by providing the histories and recipes presented as submitted at the Illinois State Fair (2009 – 2019) with pictures of the food as presented at the fair. The foods were sometimes submitted simply in their transport container, or more elaborately on the family’s china with relevant props of family pictures, kitchen paraphernalia, and their loved one’s handwritten recipe. If Catherine inspires you to document a family favorite recipe to share with loved ones, then she has accomplished her mission.
HORROR BOOK CLUB
Second Thursday of Each Month
6:00 PM
The Horror Book Club will meet at 6:00 PM on the second Thursday of each month. Copies of the books to be discussed will be available at the Circulation Desk on the First Floor.
January 9
The Exorcist
by William Peter Blatty
Chris MacNeil, busy movie star and single mother, slowly realizes that her 12-year-old daughter, Regen, is behaving strangely, then out of the norm, then like the demon who is possessing her.
February 13
The Only Good Indians
by Stephen Graham Jones
“Peter Straub’s Ghost Story meets Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies in this American Indian horror story of revenge on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. Four American Indian men from the Blackfeet Nation, who were childhood friends, find themselves in a desperate struggle for their lives, against an entity that wants to exact revenge upon them for what they did during an elk hunt ten years earlier by killing them, their families, and friends.”
March 13
Chasing the Boogeyman
by Richard Chizmar
In the summer of 1988, the mutilated bodies of several missing girls begin to turn up in a small Maryland town. The grisly evidence leads police to the terrifying assumption that a serial killer is on the loose in the quiet suburb. But soon a rumor begins to spread that the evil stalking local teens is not entirely human. Law enforcement, as well as members of the FBI are certain that the killer is a living, breathing madman–and he’s playing games with them. For a once peaceful community trapped in the depths of paranoia and suspicion, it feels like a nightmare that will never end.
April 10
The Last House on Needless Street
by Catriona Ward
In a boarded-up house on a dead-end street at the edge of the wild Washington woods lives a family of three. A teenage girl who isn’t allowed outside, not after last time. A man who drinks alone in front of his TV, trying to ignore the gaps in his memory. And a house cat who loves napping and reading the Bible. An unspeakable secret binds them together, but when a new neighbor moves in next door, what is buried out among the birch trees may come back to haunt them all.
ADULT BOOK CLUB
Third Thursday of Each Month
10:00 AM
The Adult Book Club will meet at 10:00 AM on the third Thursday of each month. Copies of the books to be discussed will be available at the Circulation Desk on the First Floor.
January 23
The Measure
by Nikki Erlick
It seems like any other day. But today when you open your front door, waiting for you is a small wooden box. This box holds your fate inside: the answer to the exact number of years you will live. From suburban doorsteps to desert tents, every person on every continent receives the same box. In an instant, the world is thrust into a collective frenzy. As society comes together and pulls apart, everyone faces the same shocking choice: Do they wish to know how long they’ll live? And, if so, what will they do with that knowledge?
February 20
The Good Left Undone
by Adriana Trigiani
In the halcyon past, Domenica Cabrelli thrives in the coastal town of Viareggio until her beloved home becomes unsafe when Italy teeters on the brink of World War II. Her journey takes her from the rocky shores of Marseille to the mystical beauty of Scotland to the dangers of wartime Liverpool—where Italian Scots are imprisoned without cause—as Domenica experiences love, loss, and grief while she longs for home. A hundred years later, her daughter, Matelda, and her granddaughter, Anina, face the same big questions about life and their family’s legacy, while Matelda contemplates what is worth fighting for. But Matelda is running out of time, and the two timelines intersect and weave together in unexpected and heartbreaking ways that lead the family to shocking revelations and, ultimately, redemption.
March 20
Black Cake
by Charmaine Wilkerson
“In this moving debut novel, two estranged siblings must set aside their differences to deal with their mother’s death and her hidden past–a journey of discovery that takes them from the Caribbean to London to California and ends with her famous black cake. In present-day California, Eleanor Bennett’s death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a traditional Caribbean black cake, made from a family recipe with a long history, and a voice recording. In her message, Eleanor shares a tumultuous story about a headstrong young swimmer who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder. The heartbreaking journey Eleanor unfolds, the secrets she still holds back, and the mystery of a long-lost child, challenge everything the siblings thought they knew about their family, and themselves. Can Byron and Benny reclaim their once-close relationship, piece together Eleanor’s true history, and fulfill her final request to ‘share the black cake when the time is right?’ Will their mother’s revelations bring them back together or leave them feeling more lost than ever? Charmaine Wilkerson’s debut novel is a story of how the inheritance of betrayals, secrets, memories, and even names, can shape relationships and history. Deeply evocative and beautifully written, Black Cake is an extraordinary journey through the life of a family changed forever by the choices of its matriarch”–
April 17
These Is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Pines
by Nancy E. Turner
Sarah Agnes Prine begins her diary in 1881 when her father decides to move the whole family-and their horse ranch-from Arizona Territory to Texas, where life will be easier. Sarah, at seventeen, is a tomboy: though she longs to be educated, gracious and beautiful like other women. But when the family sets out on the wagon trail and disasters strike in rapid succession, Sarah turns out to be the only thing that keeps them from certain death. Sarah stays brave, strong and determined through everything that befalls her. But she longs to be loved, like any other woman, and she is to meet her destiny in Captain Jack Elliot.
General Programs
RIP & STITCHERS: KNITTING AND CROCHET WORKSHOP
January 7 | February 4 | March 4 | April 1
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Patrons who have taken a beginner class of crochet and/or knitting or who already know who to crochet/knit are welcome. This group is not for beginners. Attendees must have a library card in good standing with the Illinois Heartland Library System and must sign up to attend. Meetings are on the first Tuesday of each month from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM. Call to register.
LIBRARY GAME DAY
January 25 | February 22 | March 29 | April 26
11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Come join us for our monthly Library Game Day! Play a round of your choice from our collection of board games, card games, and role-playing games. Children are welcomed if accompanied by and adult.