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Library event ties in with Oceana’s ag history.
#OceanaCountyHistoricalandGenealogicalSociety
MONTAGUE — The Friends of the Montague Library and The Friends of the White Lake Community Library are joining together to sponsor the first “One Book, One Community” event, which ties in with Oceana County’s agricultural history.
The library friends have selected the 2017 Michigan Notable Book Award winning novel, “Wolf’s Mouth” by John Smolens.
“The ‘One Book, One Community’ program takes the concept of a local book club and expands it to cover a whole city or, in our case, a whole community,” said Carol Wolfe, president of the Friends of the Montague Library group.
The first documented event was “If All of Seattle [Washington] Read the Same Book” in 1998.
“We’re excited to be working on such an interesting local project.” said Wayne Thuma, president of the Friends of the White Lake Community Library.
The novel, “Wolf’s Mouth,” is about a World War II Italian soldier in a prisoner of war (POW) camp in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. He escapes and finds a new life in Detroit with his accomplice-turned-wife. Everything is going well until a ghost from his past life comes back to haunt him and his new life.
What’s the connection to our area? Our area ‘hosted’ POW camps during World War II as well. Although the POW camps in the Upper Peninsula mainly focused on logging tasks, the POWs in our area worked as fruit harvesters at local farms and orchards. Many residents remember those days and have fascinating stories and anecdotes about that time in the White Lake and Oceana County areas.
The following events are planned as part of the “One Book, One Community” program:
– Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. in the lower level of the Montague Library: Oceana County Historical and Genealogical Society’s presentation and local residents’ “Tell-e-bration.” Local residents reminisce about their experiences during the POW camp era.
– Nov. 1: Book discussion at Book Nook and Java Shop in Montague.
– Nov. 5: Community potluck dinner and author presentation at Ferry Memorial Church in Montague.
– Nov. 6: Author presentations at area high schools.
Other activities in the planning stages include “A Celebration of 40s Music and Dance” and a creative writing/poetry contest.
Join the library friends as they learn about a fascinating chapter of our community’s history.
You can e-mail FriendsofTheMontagueLibrary@gmail.com or refer to their Facebook Page (Friends of The Montague Library) for additional information about these events; to volunteer to assist with the “One Book, One Community” program; or if you are interested in sharing your memories during the Tell-e-bration. They will also e-mail you a copy of the logo, to use on Facebook to show that you’re reading the book along with the local community.
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