@Blue Hill Library

     Unless otherwise noted these events are free and open to everyone. Many of these free events are made possible by generous funding from the  Friends of the Blue Hill Library. If you like what you see, thank a Friend. Or better yet, become one! There are many ways you can help support the Library.

      Huge thanks to everyone who participated in the Library's Plant sale-- it was a big success, earning over $6,800. We are very grateful to the plant and auction donors, the patrons who attended the sale, and our wonderful volunteers for making this a fun and profitable event!

     Donn Fendler, who as a 12-year-old in 1939 got lost on Mount Katahdin  for nine days, will give a presentation about his survival story, as well as the graphic novel that details his adventure, at the Library on Wednesday, May 29 at 6:30 PM.  He will be joined by his co-author Lynn Plourde and illustrator Ben Bishop.

From L to R, Ben Bishop, Donn Fendler and Lynn Plourde.

     Donn Fendler's story was originally told in the classic book Lost on a Mountain in Maine. Fendler and Plourde co-authored the award-winning graphic novel Lost Trail: Nine Days Alone in the Wilderness and Ben Bishop did the illustrations. Both books will be available for sale and autographing.

     Donn Fendler lives seasonally in Newport, Maine, and makes frequent visits to Maine schools to share his story. Lynn Plourde is the author of twenty-seven children's books, including Dino Pets Go to School and the upcoming You're Wearing THAT to School?  She is a Skowhegan native who currently lives in Winthrop with her husband. Ben Bishop is a graphic novelist, toy designer, and illustrator from Portland. His graphic novels include Nathan the Caveman and the upcoming Something Like Falling.

     This free event is made possible by a grant from the Rose and Samuel Rudman Trust, and the Friends of the Library. It is open to all ages. For more information, please call Pat at 374-5515.

      The Library and Blue Hill Heritage Trust will host Lyme disease specialist Dr. Bea Szantyr, and her colleague RN Happy Dickey, both of the nonprofit organization MaineLyme, on Thursday evening, May 30, at 6:30 at the Library. Their "Tick Talk" will be an informative look at ticks, the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi which causes Lyme disease, the incidence of Lyme disease in Maine, the difficulties of medical diagnosis, and steps people can take to protect themselves and their families.

From the MaineLyme website, a hungry adult deer tick next to an engorged one that has had a "blood meal."

     According to the Maine State Infectious Disease Epidemiology Report for 2012, the state case rate for Lyme disease in Maine reached a record high in 2012 at 82.4 cases per 100,000 persons. There were 7 counties with rates of Lyme higher than the state rate, including Knox County.

From the Maine Medical Center website, various stages of deer ticks (top row) and dog ticks (bottom row)-- the latter are thought not to transmit Lyme Disease. Both ticks on the far right are engorged.

     Dr. Beatrice Szantyr, board certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, has been actively engaged in study and research into Lyme disease and related tick-borne disorders, as well as educating and raising awareness about these diseases, since 1994. Dr. Szantyr has lectured to professional and community groups throughout New England. She is a member of the Maine CDC Vector-borne Disease Workgroup, the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society, on the Board of Directors of the Lyme Digital Library, and serves on the Penquis District Public Health Coordinating Council, among other professional and community groups.
 
     Founding Director Happy Dickey has been a nurse since 1973. She has been studying and teaching about Lyme disease since 1999. She has been attending national conferences since 2000. She currently facilitates several support groups and participates in community and medical education programs. She is a member of ILADS since 2000, formerly on the Board of Directors as Membership Chairperson.

     This event is free and open to the public.  For more information contact the Library at 374-5515.

      Brooklin painter Alison Dibble and sculptor Harry Tyler will hold a joint show called "Ocean Perspectives" in the Library's Britton Gallery during the month of June. In this exhibit the artists ask,"Do we sometimes take the ocean for granted? This show reminds us that some of our favorite foods come from the sea, views of blue water lift our spirits, we delight in boating on the sea, and life at the intertidal is full of wonder."

 

     They go on to say that the exhibit "brings together an appreciation for birds of the air, some of which are capable of living most of their lives upon the waves, along with a tribute to fishermen, a glimpse of under-appreciated marine life from plankton to sharks, and awe at the immense power of the sea."

Vintage 43 After the Squall, oil on canvas,  by Alison C. Dibble.

      Dibble's background in art started in her childhood with her mother Barbara Coan, who is a painter, formerly of Stonington and Lamoine. She continues to draw and paint with her mother, whose paintings have won international awards. Her art training included a summer program at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts School and an art minor at Hartwick College.  In addition to her mother, she has been greatly inspired by local artists Linda Funk, Dorothy Hayes, and Louise Bourne.  Her illustrations appear in scientific journals and a recent book, Macrolichens of New England by James and Patricia Hinds.  Her work has been in numerous solo and group exhibits across Maine, and her paintings are in private, library, and academic collections across the country and in Canada. Alison's web site is http://www.adibblepaintings.com. 

Sandpipers, sculpture in hardwood by Harry Tyler.

     Mr. Tyler is an internationally known sculptor of birds in wood, one of only a handful in the United States who sculpts birds from a single piece of wood using chisels and mallets.  A retired career conservation biologist for the State of Maine, he taught himself to sculpt and does it for a few hours every day. Tyler's sculptures are on exhibit at Wendell Gilley Museum, Southwest Harbor; The Gallery at Somes Sound  in Somesville; Frost Gulley Gallery, Freeport, Thos. Moser in Freeport, Ducktrap Bay Trading in Camden, and at June LaCombe's sculpture exhibition in Pownal.

 

      The public is invited to join the artists on Friday, June 28 from 2:00 to 4:00 PM for an end-of-show reception. For more information contact the Library at 374-5515.

• The Library's "Art Adventures" series continues THIS THURSDAY! May 23 at 7:00 PM with "Photographing the Maine Coast" a workshop by noted photographer Fran�oise Gervais. She will show and discuss her fine art black and white landscape work and address the challenges of composition, light, pattern and contrast, and the many rewards of photographing the Maine coast.   Fran�oise invites participants to bring one of their own landscape photographs for critique and discussion.  

Don't hesitate to call us for more information at 207-374-5515.