Book Recommendation

Detroit: An American Autopsy
By Charlie LeDuff (2013)

Detroit: An American Autopsy exposes bureaucratic corruption and systemic arson in Detroit. LeDuff writes about his experiences with the local fire department and his investigations into the daily lives of politicians, police officials, and others who are working to save the troubled city.   Charlie LeDuff was a staff writer at the New York Times and a reporter at the Detroit News, and is now a television journalist for Detroit’s Fox 2 News. He contributed to a Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times series and has received a Meyer Berger Award for distinguished writing about New York City. He is the author of US Guys and Work and Other Sins. LeDuff lives with his wife and daughter on the edge of the Detroit city limits.

Freeport in the News

Freeport Librarians Featured in March Issue of Library Journal

Congratulations Margaux, Rose, and Tanisha!

http://lj.libraryjournal.com/

Patron Spotlight

Patron Spotlight: Deb and Jennah Newton

By Regina G. Feeney and Cynthia J. Krieg

 

There are three things that Deb loves: being a mom, riding a motorcycle, and the Freeport Memorial Library.  Deb’s fondness for libraries began as a child in Amityville.  Her mother took her to the library frequently and, for many years, she was an active participant in the various summer reading clubs.  Work eventually brought Deb to Freeport.  While working at the Social Security Office on Sunrise Highway, Deb would often come to the library on her lunch break.  Eventually, she bought a co-op close to work and the library. 

Deb believes in following her dreams.  As a teenager, she always wanted to learn to ride a motorcycle.  Once she was living on her own, she took lessons, got her motorcycle license, and bought a bike.  Deb also likes being a trailblazer.  She became the first woman to join the Queen's motorcycle club, the Urban Knights.  Her tenacity paid off.  While in the club, she met and married fellow Urban Knight, Mark Newton. 

On August 21, 2009, Mark and Deb had a baby girl named Jennah.  Since then, Deb has been home schooling her daughter with materials from the library.  Like her own mother, Deb wants Jennah to be a life-long library user.  She makes a special effort to take Jennah to the library every chance she gets.  "Between six and nine months old" Deb said, "Jenna was enrolled in Baby and Me."  From there came Crafty Toddler, Circle Time, Mother Goose, Parent-Child Workshop, and more.  The door to the Newton's apartment is decorated with many of Jenna's library crafts.  Deb also takes advantage of the library's Museum Pass program that allows Freeport residents to check-out passes to local museums for free.  The Newton's have been to the Children's Museum of Manhattan, the Long Island Children’s Museum, and the Cradle of Aviation.

After Hurricane Sandy hit, Deb noticed that many of her neighbors in her co-op were struggling to keep their children entertained.  Schools were closed, gas was next to impossible to get, and families were suffering from cabin fever.  Deb received permission from the building’s management agent to open the party room and created the "Park Sutton Kiddie Club."  Deb modeled many of the club's activities from library programs she and Jennah had attended.  For about a week, children could play, read, draw, and do crafts.  The club even held a baking program.  Jennah especially loved making the "princess cookies." 

Wherever Deb and Jennah go, they like to check out the local library.  But according to Deb, "Nothing compares to our library.  The staff is so accommodating and I appreciate that the library offers the same programs at different times during the week.  Freeport Memorial Library is awesome!"

Book Recommendation

100-year-old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, by Jonas Jonasson (2013)

 

After a long and eventful life, Allan Karlsson ends up in a nursing home, believing it to be his last stop. The only problem is that he's still in good health, and in one day, he turns 100. A big celebration is in the works, but Allan really isn't interested (and he'd like a bit more control over his vodka consumption). So he decides to escape. He climbs out the window in his slippers and embarks on a hilarious and entirely unexpected journey, involving, among other surprises, a suitcase stuffed with cash, some unpleasant criminals, a friendly hot-dog stand operator, and an elephant.

Book Recommendation

Gunfight, by Adam Winkler (2011)

Winkler, a professor of law at UCLA, presents this comprehensive history of America's relationship with firearms and the historical and contemporary controversies surrounding the Second Amendment to the US Constitution. Written in an accessible and engaging style appropriate for general readers, the volume examines the landmark District of Columbia vs. Heller Supreme Court decision and from that basis begins a deeper exploration of the history of gun control including discussion of nuanced topics such as the influence of race and racism on gun policy, the shifting of the positions of advocacy groups and the effect of popular perception on the status of firearms.

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