:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/WTT5KANH43BC5IG7AZHNHI33EQ.jpg)
The Putnam County Library District has announced its May programs
All Putnam County libraries
• Monday, May 31 — Closed for Memorial Day.
• Virtual Library Escape Rooms — A new event begins every month. The event will be on Google Forms; the link will be on the website under “All Library Programs.”
Hennepin
• Month of May — Library Bingo. Participants can pick up a bingo card and fill out the entire card to receive a prize.
• Thursday, May 6 — Baseball in the American Culture, Literature, Song, Movies, the Stage, Radio and TV will be presented at 6:30 p.m. live on Facebook. Baseball has been embedded in the American culture since the end of the Civil War. There have been poems, songs, comedy routines, movies, TV shows, books with baseball themes. Baseball cards also were a big part of the culture. “Casey At The Bat” was required reading for elementary school students at one point. Abbott and Costello’s Who’s On First routine debuted on radio and led them to the Hall of Fame. The name Cooperstown means something special. And even Broadway got into the act with a play. Nobody ever wanted to be “Wally Pipped.” Even today, business analytics may have evolved from Money Ball. Baseball was once the king of American sports, which may have ended but baseball in the culture has never gone away.
Evan Weiner started his career as a sports commentator on WRKL Radio, Rockland County, at the age of 15. He is among a very small number of people who cover the politics and business of sports and how that relationship affects not only sports fans but non-sports fans as well. He has a daily podcast called “The Politics of Sports
Business” as well as a daily video podcast. He has been a regular on Talk Sports London and writes for The Guardian, a U.K. newspaper. He has appeared as a TV pundit on MSNBC, NewsMax and ABC. He is the author of eight books and is a frequent college speaker. He won the 2010 Ronald Reagan Media Award from the United States Sports Academy.
• Wednesday, May 12 — Herb Gardening for Beginners will be presented at 7 p.m. live on Facebook. Father Dominic, from St. Bede Academy, will discuss how to start a herb garden this spring.
• Thursday, May 13 — Movie Matinee to Go all day. Participants can pick up a movie and a bag of goodies, and the fill out the report and turn it in for a prize at the library.
• Thursday, May 20 — Bad art craft will be a driftwood picture frame. This grab-and-go craft art program will be available all day for all audiences. This event is held on select Thursdays. Rotten eggs are not included.
• Story time — Story time has been suspended until further notice. Patrons are encouraged to watch story hour online via the library’s Facebook Page. If a story hour online craft kit is wanted, call the Hennepin library at 815-925-7020 to be placed on a list for kit pickup.
• Homework Helper — Students are welcome to work on homework at the library during library hours.
Granville
• Saturday, May 8 — The May craft will be chalk art troll and pom pom caterpillars. They will be available all morning.
• Every Tuesday — An online story time at 10 a.m. on Facebook. Watch a video as Paula shares a story and suggests a craft.
• Story hour — Every Tuesday at 11 a.m. Children ages 2 to 5 can stop in for a story and craft. They will meet in Hopkins Park in Granville. The restrooms are not available at this time. Bring a blanket or chair. They will be following social distancing protocols. If it rains, they will gather in the shelter.
Magnolia
• Saturday, May 1 — Make or take May Day baskets at 10 a.m.
• Thursday, May 6 — Ann Bradford Stokes: African American Civil War Nurse will be presented at 5 p.m. via Zoom. A link will be available on the library’s website and Facebook page. This program is provided by the Illinois Humanities Road Scholars.
Ann Bradford Strokes (1833-1903) worked aboard the Navy’s first hospital ship, Red Rover, of Mound City, Illinois. She worked with sick and wounded soldiers aboard the United States Naval Hospital Ship (U.S.N.) throughout the Western Theater of the Civil War on both the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and their tributaries. In a fascinating re-enactment, Marlene Rivero will breathe life back into Ann Stokes and her story, captivating audiences and informing new learners for approximately 45 minutes, with a 15-minute Q&A session afterwards. Marlene brings and shares a touchable display table that she periodically draws from throughout her performance in costume.
• Saturday, May 8 — Mother’s Day make or take craft kit will be available at 10 a.m.
• Tuesday, May 11 — Science Bug. The University of Illinois Extension Office and 4-H will have make/take home bags from 4 to 5 p.m.
• Saturday, May 15 — Movie matinee bag pickup at 10 a.m.
• Tuesday, May 18 — Make and take suncatchers at 5 p.m.
• Saturday, May 22 — Scavenger hunt at 10 a.m. Participants can look and find items in town.
• Saturday, May 29 — Make and take chalk at 10 a.m.
• Homework Helper — Students are welcome to work on homework at the library during library hours.
McNabb
• Wednesday, May 12 — Science Bug. The University of Illinois Extension Office and 4-H will have make/take home bags from 4 to 5 p.m.
• Wednesday, May 19 — Riddle me this question for a prize from 4 to 5 p.m.
• Saturday, May 22 — Bad art craft will be a driftwood picture frame. This grab-and-go craft art program will be available all day for all audiences. This event is held on select Saturday. Rotten eggs are not included.
• Wednesday, May 26 — Movie matinee bag pickup at 5 p.m.
• Homework Helper — Students are welcome to work on homework at the library during library hours.
Standard
• Tuesday, May 4 — Standard craft 2 go kits will be available from 1 to 5 p.m. Participants will make tic-tac-toe in a bag.