Beacon Bits -- Knit for Charity

A group of knitters who convened at the WWKIP Day on June 16, 2016 at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church created a sculpture that was intended to be on view during the Windows on Main Street event sponsored by BeaconArts; the Windows on Main Street did not happen this year, but the sculpture was still placed in the Beacon Reads storefront window.

"St. Andie" under construction

The sculpture, composed of knitted swatches on a women's wire form, has been dubbed, "St. Andie". She wears a cummerbund with the embroidered slogan, "Knit Us As One", which is the theme of a knitting group that will begin meeting twice a month at St. Andrew's staring Wednesday, September 21st, from 7-9pm.

"St. Andie" stands in the storefront window at Beacon Reads

The knitting group will meet on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays each month and the knitters will select projects to make for charitable groups that solicit donations. St. Andie won't be present at the meeting because she hopes to make the rounds in Beacon storefronts in different locations throughout the coming year. Visit her at Beacon Reads through the end of October and find where she will travel next; she hopes to put on her traveling shoes every two months or so, and hopes to settle down into next year's Windows on Main event.

In the meantime, visit the knitting group. Meet your neighbors. Learn about charities seeking handmade knitted (and crocheted) items. Embark on new projects. No previous experience needed; all levels of knitting are welcome (and those who only crochet as well.) Relax, chat, and let your loose ends unravel as you find support and community with fiber enthusiasts!

Join us September 21st, 7-9pm; 1st and 3rd Wednesdays thereafter

Food for thought:  Knitting knows no gender, nor age. Knitting knows no socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race or tribe. Knitting is an equal opportunity hobby that can quickly become a healthy addiction, one that integrates the brain, builds new neuronal pathways, allows one to engage in breath work and mindful meditation, and stimulates creativity and personal satisfaction as one takes a stitch at a time to produce a multitude of useful objects to wear, use, or gift others. With knitting, the past, present and future is rolled into each ball and skein of yarn. It's all in your hands.

Beacon Bits -- Shhh! We're in the Library - No, It's Ok to Talk About It!

Food for Thought: Of all the organizations that a community can support, the library will always have my vote. Not just when it comes to voting on the library budget once a year. But when you realize that the budget is never sufficient to cover all the costs to keep a library current with the trends that make it a community center with mixed media; libraries are not just about printed matter, but they offer computer access and opportunities to learn from others and network with others and engage in small group projects. Libraries meet the needs of everyone in a community, across the lifespan, no matter the gender, ethnicity, race or political persuasion. Libraries are that place that makes you feel welcome when you arrive in a new town; all you need to do is show up and register for the lifetime of your residency. It's always been my first stop when I've moved from one town to another. It always makes me remember how much I enjoyed my library branch in Brooklyn, only to realize after the building had been razed that it was an Andrew Carnegie treasure; the South Brooklyn Branch of the New York Public Library system was replaced during the upgrading of public buildings when the Great Society campaign offered grants to modernize facilities. It was a shame that there had never been a campaign to save the historic building at the time. When I moved to Beacon, I saw the parallel with the Howland Public Library having been originally located in the historic building now housing the Howland Cultural Center, which still stands, fortunately for us. But I also realize the library is more than a building; it is the connection to all that humanity has known and hearkens all that we will become. We need to support out library; the Howland Public Library is the center of Beacon, both in its physical location, and in the programs and materials it provides to its residents.

Please join the Friends of the Howland Public Library on September 10th to help raise funds for all the 'extras' that the library receives on behalf of its efforts. The Beacon community has been generous with donated items that you will want to purchase and/or usually support, so you will be adding to the community twice. And remember to visit Beacon Reads whenever you can to continue your fiscal support for library funds. It's time to 'pay it forward' and support future generations of library patrons!

Beacon Bits -- Bountiful Books

"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."    

                                            - Charles Caleb Colton

It is a welcome sight to have yet another empty storefront on Main Street be occupied with a newly formed business for Beaconites and the ever-growing number of 'out-of-towners'. The multiple bakeries (All You Knead, Ellas Belllas, Beacon Bread Company, Get Frosted) and restaurants in town (see the recent post on A Little Beacon Blog for our great places to eat) both informal and formal, family-priced and upscale, slow and slower, local and global, are all proof that variations on a theme and more than one venue of its kind can be fiscally viable. And so it is very good to see that another book store, Binnacle Books, has opened its doors joining the ranks of the Howland Public Library and its neighboring book store, Beacon Reads, which opened its doors in 2000. Once can never have enough opportunity for enhancing literacy for Beaconites of all ages, but especially for the children, books need to be in our midst.

Binnacle Books

Beacon Reads

In addition to being known for its diverse selection of second hand books in excellent condition, Beacon Reads is probably the pioneer social entrepreneurial venture established in Beacon. Founded by the Friends of the Library, a 501(3)c affiliate of the library, it is a grass-roots, volunteer-run organization with the purpose of raising additional funds for the library budget. 

Marcia Frahman, President of the Friends of the Library & Co-Manager of Beacon Reads

In just the past two years, the Friends of the Library, filling its coffers mostly with book sales at Beacon Reads, has  purchased vouchers to the American Museum of Natural History, the Mid-Hudson Children's Museum, and Boscobel, which are available for library card holders at the circulation desk. In addition, monies for free music downloads and streaming, $1200 transportation money for the annual Teen Battle of the Books, $12,000 matching funds for the recent construction grant for the library, and $2,400 of technological equipment for the children's room, have been provided. That's a lot of book sales!

Beacon Reads is staffed by 11 volunteers and the store is open 7 days/week. Beacon Reads has been located next to the library for 15 years; it is well known in the community for Beacon's oldies and newcomers alike, to mingle, meet, converse, and hang out with neighbors, while browsing the shelves and searching for the perfect book to take home or give as a gift. Stop by sometime, you'll never know who you might meet!!

Zelda, a Puppies Behind Bars service-dog-in-training, visits Beacon Reads

Food for thought: It is a blessing to be able to read the written word. Concerns about literacy rates in the US is ongoing, with almost 25% of adults reading below a 5th grade level, 20% of HS graduates unable to read, and 70% of inmates in American prisons not being able to read above the 4th grade level (April 2013, US Department of Education.) It will take more than a bounty of books to turn these trends around. But having access to books - be they borrowed or bought -- is an important environmental support in every community. Just knowing that there are 2 bookstores and 1 public library within 2 blocks of each other in Beacon is a cultural statement that Beacon does indeed read!!

"To Do List"

Donate your unwanted books to Beacon Reads -- all the dollars earned are given right back into your hands with unique funding initiatives for the library.

Update your library card.

Browse the shelves of our local independent bookseller.

Become a member of the Friends of the Howland Public Library.

Bring a child along to buy, lend or donate a book to Beacon Reads.

Volunteer to read to children at a local school.

Pick up a book instead of the remote or the laptop.

Support groups like Reach Out and Read with its aim of giving children a book during pediatric visits from birth to age 5, which reinforces the concept that literacy takes root in infancy and toddler hood, a campaign that the American Pediatric Association supports.