Bicentennial Talk: Ruth Snow Bowen, Chaplin Quilt Maker
Listed to the Recording of Catherine Smith’s talk!
Chaplin resident and artist Catherine Whall Smith will share the history of former Chaplin resident and artist Ruth Snow Bowen, who lived on Chaplin Street and sold many of her wonderful quilts throughout Connecticut. Each month the library is displaying small fiber art pieces of homes on Chaplin Street paired with a quilt from Catherine’s collection.
Preschool Storytime
Wednesdays thru June 8th
10:30-11:30 am
Preschoolers can come hear a story and make a craft. Although this program is aimed at preschoolers, all ages are welcome! No registration required.
Tea Time Book Chat
Friday, June 10th
3:00 – 4:00 pm
What are you reading? Let’s chat (with social distance and masks) about what you’re reading this winter. This event will be held inside with masks. A virtual option is also available. If you would like to join, please send an email to librarydirector@chaplinct.org.
Cookbook Club
July TBD
If you like to cook and share recipes, consider joining the library’s cookbook club. Each month we choose a theme or chef, and prepare recipes to share. In May, we celebrate meeting in person and our 5th year of cooking together, with recipes from the Smitten Kitchen. Please email librarydirector@chaplinct.org to register.
Friends Group Meeting
Third Wednesday of the month- 2:30 pm
A Friends group is forming! If you are interested in helping the library, please attend a meeting. The next meeting will be on Wednesday, May 18th at 2:30 pm.
Chaplin Ukulele Band
Wednesdays at 4pm
If you play the ukulele or are interested in learning, consider joining the ukulele group. No experience required. No ukulele? Join in anyway. Please call or email for more information.
PROGRAM RECORDINGS
National Poetry Month: An Evening with Connecticut’s New Poet Laureates
Recording includes Adelaide Northrop
Listen to Connecticut’s newest poet laureates, including Chaplin Poet Laureate Adelaide Northrop.
Bicentennial Talk: History of the William Ross Library
Recording of Leslie Ricklin and Ingrid Wood’s talk
Chaplin resident Leslie Ricklin and Columbia Town Historian Ingrid Wood discussed the history of the William Ross Library.
Bicentennial Talk: Benjamin Chaplin’s Will
Recording of Gavin Horning-Kane and Brendan Kane’s talk
The 2nd Chaplin Bicentennial talk was a discussion of Benjamin Chaplin’s will. Chaplin residents Gavin Horning-Kane and UConn History Professor Brendan Kane explored the contents of our town benefactor’s will. Since it was written in 1790, the handwriting can be difficult to read. View the will for yourself, try your hand at transcribing a portion of it, and discover a bit about our town’s history.
Virtual Bicentennial Talk – Trouble in the Land of Steady Habits:
The Constitution of 1818
Recording of Walter Woodward’s Talk is available!
In celebration of Chaplin’s bicentennial, Connecticut State Historian Walter Woodward discussed what was happening in our state when Chaplin was taking steps to become a town. Connecticut in 1818 was in many ways eerily similar to Connecticut today: A troubled state, seeking a new direction. This lecture highlights the perfect storm of crises — environmental, economic, demographic, religious, and political — which converged in the middle of the eighteen-teens (1810s) to force the state to rethink the ways it had been conducting its affairs for the previous two centuries.