September 5 @ 7 pm: First Friday Event - Chautauqua on Navajo Code Talkers

“The Navajo Code Talker’s Indispensable Role in the Pacific Theater and How Coded Language Continues to Pervade Our Lives” a Chautauqua by Nancy R. Bartlit

Capitan Public Library hosts Chautauqua Speaker, Nancy Bartlit, for the 1st Friday Adult Lecture on September 5th  at 7:00 p.m. Refreshments will follow.

Nancy R. Bartlit is an author, oral historian, amateur photographer, and a Chautauqua lecturer listed with the N.M. Humanities Council and the Historical Society of New Mexico.

Upon graduating from Smith College, Northampton, MA, as a history major, Bartlit taught in Sendai, Japan, for two years, visiting all four main islands of Japan.  She revisited Japan four times, one which was under the University of New Mexico Study of Japanese Business and Technology. Following completion of that program, she studied under Everett M. Rogers, a distinguished professor who headed the UNM Journalism and Communication Department and under whom she received her Master’s Degree.

Rogers and Bartlit interviewed numerous New Mexico veterans to write "Silent Voices of World War II: When Sons of the Land of Enchantment Met Sons of the Land of the Rising Sun" (Sunstone Press, Santa Fe: 2005) They interviewed U.S. Army Survivors of the Bataan Death March, Navajo Code Talker Marine privates, Manhattan Project civilians and military personnel, and a survivor of the Santa Fe Internment Camp for males of Japanese descent.

Bartlit traveled in the US and abroad to research archives, military museums and monuments, libraries, and spoke to authors and persons who knew these WWII heroes. Bartlit attended the Window Rock, AZ, ceremony where hundreds of the Navajo Code Talkers were honored with the silver Congressional medal for their unique contributions to end WWII.

In April 2012, Bartlit co-chaired a two-day Symposium on NM Japanese internment at the Historical Museum of NM/Palace of the Governors. At the symposium, the public learned about the life in the Santa Fe Detention Internment Camp and the Lordsburg Camp, and how the men of Japanese ancestry were treated. One of the ironies of internment was Japanese American sons were fighting in Europe and the Pacific on behalf of America -- their native land -- while their fathers were incarcerated based on their professions and "alien" status, not for actions against America.


This year, Bartlit was a guest speaker at the 71st Anniversary commemoration of the Bataan Death March surrender at an April 9 ceremony in Santa Fe sponsored by the NM National Guard (http://www.dvs.state.nm.us/apr9_BataanMemorial.html) and at a special program held in Alamorgordo with survivors of the March and Navajo Code Talkers the weekend of the 25th Annual White Sands Memorial March.

Nancy Reynolds Bartlit - Author, Historian, Lecturer, amateur Photographer

Bartlit is a member of the NM Museum Foundation, the Historical Society of New Mexico, the Los Alamos Historical Society, the International Women’s Forum of NM, as well as organizations for authors and publishers. She has a web site, www.NancyBartlit.com.

Bartlit will also be speaking at the Corona Library on Thursday, September 4th.

Business Showcase - Tuesday, August 19

Summer Reading: Fizz, Boom, READ ends with a BANG!

The library's summer reading program is over but what fun the kids had reading and learning through the summer.  Cindy Foglesong brought a gallon a freshly milked goat milk and proceeded to show the children how to make cheese.   She also talked to children and parents about the different kinds of goats and explained the life cycle of goats.

The program served 40 children this summer meeting on Mondays in June through July 21.  Rink Somersby from the Asombro Institute in Las Cruces brought her trunk of fossils and educated the children on how to recognize fossils and entertained them with hunks of dinosaur poop. Other presenters told stories, sang songs and made sugar candy with the kids.

The final program ended with hot digs, chips, drinks and cookers.  Thanks to  Debbie Myers for coordinating a super program for the summer, and to several dedicated parents.

Top readers from left to right (Zach Rich - 2nd place; Duncan Daugherty & Daniel Daugherty - tied for 1st place; and Alice Allen - 3rd place, all received Walmart gift cards and a gift bag.  All 40 participants received a gift bag.

August 1 - First Friday Event @ 7 p.m.

Capitan Public Library will host author and pilot, Albert Charles Ackerman, Jr., on Friday, August 1, at 7:00 p.m. for an entertaining evening discussing Ackerman's life experiences and his recently published book, My Journey West: A pilot's lifetime in aviation.

Ackerman was born in 1933 and experienced a difficult early life after being abandoned by his father at age fourteen, which left him and his mother struggling to support themselves.  In 1950, his life took a new direction when he took an illegal solo flight in a Piper J-3 Cub.  He knew from the moment he first touched the controls that becoming a pilot would be his only goal.

After some disappointing setbacks and a miraculous survival from a horrific crash, he established a career in aviation.  For 63 years he flew famous celebrities and world leaders in over a hundred different types of airplanes and helicopters.

After retiring, he spent a rewarding five years as an Angel Flight Pilot.  These pilots fly disadvantaged patients to health care facilities free of charge.  Ackerman is still an active pilot at the age of 81, making him a new member of the UFO (United Flying Octogenerians).  The UFO is an international, non-profit organization with over 1500 members worldwide.

   My Journey West: A pilot's lifetime in aviation

Piper J3 Cub

AMAZON SYNOPSIS: High-flying hijinks. Death-defying close calls. Rubbing elbows with rock and roll bands, politicians, and glitzy celebrities. Albert Ackerman has whittled down the most funny, sad, and downright scary tales into My Journey West. Ackerman went from his first flying lessons in high school and his eighty-seven-dollar-a-month air force job to becoming a flight instructor, a commercial airplane captain, and a charter pilot to the rich and famous. He got to know Bill Lear, creator of the Learjet, and Chuck Yeager, the pilot who broke the sound barrier. He flew Conway Twitty, Steppenwolf, and even Frank Sinatra, whose plane came complete with a piano bar and well-stocked liquor cabinet. He even got a close look at President Lyndon Johnson. His flying days were also punctuated by brushes with death, including a crash over the Caribbean. My Journey West is sure to please both aviation buffs and readers who prefer to keep their feet firmly on the ground.

4th of July @ the library was a success!

Thank you to the public and the library volunteers for supporting the library at our 4th of July bake, book and hot dog sale.  Wonderful weather made for an enjoyable day to see the parade and eat lots of good food.

CORRECTIONS - Snakes and shopping

The Snake Conservation group had to CANCEL their July 7th program at the library.  Unmark your calendar. Bummer - we were looking forward to spending the day with the snakes.    >{:}=//\\//\\//\\=~

Apologies.  June 28th is NOT the 1st Anniversary Sale of the Not too Shabby Shop.  It is the 1st Anniversary Sale of the Humane Society Resale Shop in Ruidoso on Hwy 70.  BUT, come by the Not Too Shabby Shop on July 4th to see their great deals.  Don't forget to go by the library for great eats and used book sale while you're in the area.

Friday, July 4 - Annual Bake, Book and Hot Dog Sale.

Bake sale starts at 8:00 a.m. Hot dogs, smoked sausage and nachos available at 10:00 a.m and served until 1:00 p.m..  Enjoy our cool, shady back yard.  Take advantage of the $5 a bag book sale.
Be sure to go next door and check out the Not too Shabby Shop.  Heard they will have some GREAT deals on the 4th!

IT's NOT the Not Too Shabby’s First Anniversary Sale

This anniversary sale is at the Humane Society Resale Shop  in Ruidoso  on Hwy. 70.  Saturday, June 28 - 10 am to 4 pm  Sorry for the mix up!

CANCELED!!! SNAKES coming to the library Monday, July 7th

Fascinated or scared to death by snakes?  >{:}=//\\//\\//\\=~ 

CANCELED!!!. MARK YOUR CALENDAR!  This is your chance to view and visit with our Serpentes reptile friends on Monday, July 7th.  FIRST, the Summer Reading kids & parents will see the snakes from 10:30 am to noon.  THEN, the public may come to view the snakes from 1 to 3 p.m.

This program is bought to the library by Snake Conservation, a small group of snake enthusiasts. Their goal is to educate people on the good things about snakes. Snakes help keep down the rodent population which in turn, keeps down the incidence of the plague and the hantavirus which have killed people in New Mexico. Did you know that rattlesnake venom is being used in heart and cancer drugs for humans? Snakes help to save human lives so the least we can do is help snakes exist in this world. Snake Conservation has snakes that reside in New Mexico; milksnakes, Great Plains rat snakes, garter snakes and many rescued bull snakes on exhibit to help people understand how worthwhile it is to save snakes and to show that snakes are wonderful and beautiful creatures. Additionally, Snake Conservation will talk about rattlesnake safety as well as general information and misinformation about snakes in New Mexico and how kids can help protect snakes.

Bullsnakes

Milksnake

Fizz, Boom, READ Summer reading program starts off with a Bang!

Two weeks into the summer reading program and we have great attendance!  On opening day 23 kids attended and 21 kids this week. It's not too late to enroll your child to enjoy this summer's science-themed reading program - Fizz, Boom, READ!  See details of the reading program in an earlier post.

Debbie Myers explaining the SR program 

Rink Somersby from the Asombro Institute in Las Cruces showing a timeline from the beginning of time.

June 6 First Friday Program

FIRST FRIDAY on June 6 @ 6:00 p.m. at Ft. Stanton
This program is a follow up of the program earlier this year with Larry Pope, Fort Stanton Site Manager. Meet at Ft. Stanton Museum.  If you need a ride, please be at the library by 5:30 p.m.

Attendees will not only be able to visit the museum, but will be viewing a documentary on the S. S. Columbus (Germany's Merchant Ship).

At the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, Columbus was on a cruise when she was ordered to return to Germany at once. The Royal Navy was on the lookout for enemy ships. Putting her passengers ashore at Havana, Cuba, her captain and crew spent two months evading the British by taking refuge in several South American ports.

On 19 December the British destroyer HMS Hyperion sighted Columbus about 400 miles off the coast of Virginia. The still neutral American heavy cruiser Tuscaloosa was also in the area, and silently observed the two ships. Rather than surrender the ship, her crew scuttled her, and she burned and sank. Her passengers and crew, 567 men and nine women, were taken aboard Tuscaloosa as rescued seamen, not as prisoners of war as they would have been had the British picked them up. Tuscaloosa took all personnel to New York City. After the end of war many returned to Germany.

Many of these German seamen were housed at Ft. Stanton until the end of the war.

Please join us for an entertaining evening.  Light refreshments will be provided.

Summer Reading Program - Fizz, Boom, READ!

This year's Summer Reading Program begins Monday, June 2, and meets each Monday at 10 a.m. to noon through July 21.  Please come in and register prior to the start of the program.

Children ages 5 to 15 are invited to attend the fun programs and events exploring all kinds of science topics planned for this summer’s theme : “Fizz, Boom, Read!”  

 The programs are free and open to children of all abilities.  Children under 5 years old need to be accompanied by their parents or an adult assigned by legal guardian.

Capitan Public Library cares about children and has planned programs to keep them reading and learning all summer. Children who keep their brains active during the summer enter school in the fall ready to learn and ready to succeed.  

 

Parents, you are your child’s first teacher.  Look at picture books with your children who have not learned to read, and point out people, animals, and objects in the pictures.  Read to your children and ask them to read to you.  Your librarian will be happy to help you find books that are just right.  We hope that you and your family enjoy looking at books and reading together and that you discover the treasures that Capitan Library has to offer.

Come to the library and fill out a permission slip by May 28, 2014.

Plant & Garden Sale during Smokey Bear Days, May 2014

Plants, baked goods and books - nothing could be finer - except the beautiful weather that weekend for Smokey Bear's 70th birthday! 

Dedicated volunteers learn CPR and defibrillator, May 2014

The library was closed to the public on Monday, May 19, but your volunteer librarians were busy learning to keep the public safe.  Leigh Norris, Kevin Kennedy and Brad Lawrence with Lincoln County EMS brought their dummies for us to practice saving lives.  Hope we NEVER have to use this particular skill, but if so, we're all ready.