Patron Spotlight

Patron Spotlight: Dorothy Sellers

By Regina G. Feeney and Cynthia J. Krieg

 

 

Dorothy Sellers loves libraries. For most of her 99 years, she has had a fondness for reading. Growing up in coal country, in the mountains outside Pittsburgh, PA, the library was the center of her childhood. Everyone in her town went to the library. It was an important part of the community. Dorothy still remembers Miss Seaton, the librarian who ruled the roost.

The Great Depression hit while Dorothy was in high school, and it devastated her town. Her father lost his business and eventually died. Dorothy left the Keystone State to attend Ohio Wesleyan University. After graduation, she moved in with a relative in Floral Park and began looking for work in Manhattan. But most jobs required some experience, and Dorothy had none. Undaunted, Dorothy padded her resume and eventually got a job at Seagram’s on Park Avenue as an executive secretary. During her tenure, she was able to attend the Kentucky Derby and go to meetings in Palm Beach. She loved her job at Seagram’s and worked there for nearly 40 years.

Dorothy moved to Freeport in the 1940s and immediately joined the Freeport Memorial Library. She remembers Freeport as a great community for shopping. Every Saturday, shoppers found their way to Main Street and shopped in Carol Green’s, Samet’s, and Woolworth.

When not reading, working, or shopping, Dorothy worked on crafts. Many of her creations were sold in the gift shop of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel just down the block from Seagram’s. Her favorite craft was making miniature Christmas trees and ornaments. She even made personalized trees for Presidents Hoover and Eisenhower.

Dorothy sees herself as the dowager queen of her family. She has nieces and nephews and grandnieces and grandnephews living all over the world. To keep in contact with her family, she uses email on her iPad. When not at the Library, she spends time with friends and attends aerobic classes. She celebrated her 99th birthday by visiting the High Line Park on Manhattan’s West Side.

Digitization

2011 and 2012 Leaders

Now Available Online!

Issues of the Freeport Leader for 2011 and 2012 have be scanned and are available at: www.longislandislandmemories.org

Book Recommendation

Book, Line, and Sinker (Book 3: A Library Lover's Mystery)
by Jenn McKinlay

 

Lindsey is enjoying her second year in Briar Creek as the library director, meeting with the crafternoon club, and happily dating tour boat captain Mike Sullivan. But when a salvage company arrives in town to dig up treasure buried on Pirate Island over three hundred years ago, the locals are torn between protecting the island and welcoming the publicity.

When Trudi Hargrave, the local tourism director who hired the company, is found murdered at the excavation site, the president of the Friends of the Library is accused. To help him, Lindsey must do some digging of her own before the real killer buries the truth for good…

Book Recommendation

Defending Jacob
by William Landay

How well do you know your children?  Andy Barber has been an assistant district attorney in his suburban Massachusetts county for more than twenty years. He is respected in his community, tenacious in the courtroom, and happy at home with his wife, Laurie, and son, Jacob. But when a shocking crime shatters their New England town, Andy is blindsided by what happens next. His fourteen-year-old son is charged with the murder of a fellow student.

VITA Tax Help

Volunteer Income Tax Assitance (VITA)

Volunteers form the Town of Hempstead Department of Senior Enrichment will help prepare 2012 income tax returns on a first-come, first-served basis.

Volunteers will prepare income tax returns at the Library free of charge. 

Bring copies of;

1. Last year's federal and state returns
2. All 1099 and W-2 forms
3. Property tax bills
4. Social Security cards for all names on tax return
5. Current government issued photo ID

This is a free service; however, it is not available for those with involved finances or those who own a business.

Volunteers cannot prepare time-consuming returns.

MONDAYS, FEBRUARY 11 through APRIL 15  (except February 18), 10 a.m to 1 p.m.
TUESDAYS. FEBRUARY 19 through APRIL 9 (except February 12), 5:30 to 8 p.m.
SATURDAYS, FEBRUARY 16 through APRIL 13, 1 to 4 p.m.

All dates and times are subject to change. VITA is a volunteer program.

Art Lectures

Upcoming Art Lectures

The Barnes Collection

Tuesday, January 22 at 2 PM
Dr. Albert C. Barnes established his controversial Barnes Foundation in 1922, which boasted one of the finest collections of 19^th and 20^th century French painting in the world. Deeper insight will be given to the collection’s controversies as well as the vast array of artistic works in the collection.

Ageless Visions: The Art of Tamara De Lempicka

Friday, January 25 at 1 PM
The paintings of Tamara De Lempicka, acclaimed female painter of the Art Deco Era, comes to life in this fascinating lecture, spotlighting the sensuality and geometric approach in her artwork.

All Art Lectures require registration. Patrons can pre-register at the Reference Desk or by calling (516) 379-3274.

 

Adult Program

Meeting Location Changed!

Rebuilding our Community After Hurricane Sandy
Presented by Librarian George Loechner
FRIDAY, JANUARY 4, 2013, 7 p.m.
PROGRAM MOVED TO FREEPORT HIGH SCHOOL TO ACCOMMODATE A LARGER AUDIENCE

Freeport Memorial Library will host a forum on January 4, 2013 at 7 p.m. to answer questions that our residents have on home restoration. We have invited FEMA, National Grid, NEFCU, Long Island Builder Association, and Century 21/American Homes. These organizations will have representatives available to answer questions concerning financial aid, choosing a contractor, and utility restoration.