Recap of Recaps: October 14–October 18

Submitted by Joanie Goforth

Take a moment to check out these recaps from system-wide programming that took place from October 14–October 18:

Proud crafters show off their creations at Adult MakerDay: 3D Papercraft Pumpkins

Visitors enjoy a scarecrow craft during a Bookmobile visit to Warbington Farms

Monsters of Georgia at Cumming Library

9 adults

“Blake Smith, co-host of the podcast MonsterTalk, gave a fabulous presentation on local monsters in Georgia. Blake is a great presenter - so much so that

a couple who are longtime fans of MonsterTalk drove five hours from Charleston, SC just to hear him speak! He presents his findings in an incredibly respectful way so as to not dissuade believers. During his presentation, he discussed Bigfoot, the Walsingham ghost, the Tatum family ghost, the flying saucer monkey, Altamaha-ha (Altie), and an American werewolf. Our local werewolf was Emily Isabella Burt (1841-1911). According to Blake, Emily went to Europe to study and, upon her return, sheep began going missing! Locals of Talbot County, GA believed there was a wolf in the area. A local injured the wolf and, lo and behold, Emily had the same injury. She was forced to return to Europe and, when she got back, she was cured of her lycanthropy and went on to live a wonderful life. Ironically, all of these legends came from one book by Nancy Roberts. Blake informed us about monsters that we do for a fact have here in Georgia, such as a giant 111 pound catfish that was caught in Lake Eufaula, and an 800 pound wild hog (which was reported as being over 1000 pounds). The audience asked great questions about poltergeists, skinwalkers, demons, Bloody Mary, and weird magnets (people who attract weird stuff), as well as Blake's favorite monster story: Mt. Saint Helens' Ape Canyon Theory of the 1930s. ” –hosted by Brianna Schantz

Handcrafted at Hampton at Hampton Park Library

7 adults

"We had a fun group of crafters today who showed lots of creativity and diversity in their projects. We used polymer clay and rolled it into a flat oval, took a fresh leaf and pressed it into the clay, then fluted the edges to make a ring dish. Once the clay was baked in the toaster oven, the crafters could paint the dish with metallic paint for a beautiful decoration. As usual, each crafter had unique ways of customizing their ring dish and making it special. For example, one of the patrons dripped the different color of paint on the dish and carefully blended them with a paintbrush to make a multi-colored finish." –hosted by Amy Whitten

MakerDay Introduction to 3D Paper Crafting at Post Road Library

6 adults

“After an introduction to 3D papercrafting and a display of sample items I've made, crafters were able to jump right in and work on their pumpkins. Initially the room was pretty quiet as they got the hang of the process, but eventually they started chatting as they worked. One semi-regular attendee finished much earlier than everyone else and saw that another patron was ready to give up about halfway through building her pumpkin. The early finisher said, "Do you want to finish mine and keep it?" The struggling patron gratefully accepted and the one who finished early was delighted to get to work on a second pumpkin! One of the ladies mentioned how much she appreciates our library programs, which launched into a long discussion amongst all of the crafters about how great FCPL programs are. One Senior Center member said that she has to pay $60 a year for membership, and that she also has to pay for many of their art and craft programs. She said that paying $20-$30 on top of a membership is very annoying and that she has to pick and choose which programs really mean the most to her because of that expense. Another crafter said that she just cannot afford to pay that much for a one-day class, so she is so thankful for our free programs.” –hosted by Melissa Reed

Build and Code with LEGO at Sharon Forks Library

3 children, 1 adult

“We had a great time with this class. Rishi, our intern, used the LEGO WeDo kits and laptops (we already owned these but had not yet used them) to facilitate a class where kids build with LEGO and then use drag and drop software to program it. The first project was a simple fan, and the second was a race car that would stop when it sensed something in front of it. It was fun to see the kids, none of whom had used this product before, really get the concepts. Only one person had used similar software. They all loved LEGOs and were excited about following the directions to build. I liked that it was a teen teaching the class. I think the kids liked that too since one expressed interest in the type of computer classes that Rishi had taken in high school.” –hosted by Amy Billings

Outreach Visit to Warbington Farms

70 children, 22 adults

“On Monday the bookmobile took to the road and visited Warbington Farms for their Fall Homeschool Day. We enjoyed visiting with so many families from across the state. The weather was a little chilly, a perfect fall day. Several families enjoyed making the paper plate scarecrow and checking out the bookmobile's fall collection of books. We even saw some familiar faces from the Hampton Park branch. It was so much fun to watch the kids slide down the big slide and jump on the giant ground trampoline. Farm animals roamed the grounds. At one point Jeanine and I thought we might have a chicken visit the bookmobile.” –contributed by Lorraine Lane