At the Library

Memorial Day honors all our servicemen who have fought for our country and given us the freedom and the prosperity that we are blessed with today. We are truly indebted to these men and women. They deserve our heartfelt thanks and our complete support for the rest of their lives. The veterans who did not return gave the ultimate gift - their life - so that we could live our lives in freedom. So did the veterans who did return, some visibly wounded, others disabled in many different ways. We need to express our gratitude by always being aware of veterans' needs and helping them in whatever way we can. We may hate the war, but we must always love, honor and support all the men and women who go to war.

Since the end of World War I, in Canada Memorial Day also has been called 'Poppy Day.” I attended high school in the small Canadian town of Arnprior, 40 miles west of the capital, Ottawa, of the province of Ontario. In our town volunteers sold beautiful, vibrant, red silk poppies for a small contribution to the Veterans. I saved and treasured my poppies for many years.

This poem, 'In Flanders Fields” was written by Lieutenant-Colonel and Canadian physician, John McCrea. He composed the poem after conducting the funeral of a very close friend and fellow soldier. Dissatisfied with his work, he crumpled and discarded it. His men retrieved the poem and encouraged him to submit it for publication. It was eventually published on May 8, 1915. It has remained one of the best-loved and most-quoted poems of all the wars. The first line of the handwritten poem ends with 'in Flanders fields the poppies grow.” The first line of the printed version ends with 'in Flanders fields the poppies blow.” The dilemma was never officially settled. The poem was a popular motivational tool in Great Britain, Canada and the United States. At least 55 composers in the United States set the poem to music by 1920, including John Philip Sousa.

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

New Materials at the Library

Gifts & Memorials

The following books were given in memory of Larry Barnes by the Barnes family; Mercedita, Marykaye, & Stephanie:

The View From Alameda Island (large print) by Robyn Carr

The Road Home (large print) by Richard Paul Evans

Queen Bee (large print) by Dorothea Benton Frank

The Yankee Widow (large print) by Linda Lael Miller

Unsolved (large print) by James Patterson

Missing Mothers by Martha Birkett Bordwell donated by Esther Bordwell to honor her daughter-in-law, author of the book

Fall & Rise: The Story of 9/11 by Mitchell Zuckoff donated by Linda Sturdevant

Adult Fiction

Mistress of the Ritz by Melanie Benjamin

The Wife by Alafair Burke

Resistance Women by Jennifer Chiaverini

Raven Black by Ann Cleeves

Room on the Porch Swing by Amy Clipston

The Girl He Used To Know by Tracey Garvis Graves

Miracle Creek by Angie Kim

Danielle: Chronicles of a Superheroine by Ray Kurzwell

Hot Shot by Fern Michaels

The Library of Lost & Found by Phaedra Patrick

Unsolved by James Patterson

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson

Skin Game by Stuart Woods

Adult Non-fiction

The British Are Coming by Rick Atkinson

Furious Hours by Casey Cep

The Pioneers by David McCullough

Mama's Last Hug by Frans de Waal