Fairfield Public Library showcases local talent at ‘How-To Tuesdays’

FAIRFIELD - Can you imagine learning eight new skills in a single evening?

The Fairfield Public Library can. For the past four months beginning in June 2019, the library has hosted a free monthly educational series for adults called 'How-To Tuesdays.” Eight booths featuring an expert in a particular field are set up throughout the building. Attendees spend 10-15 minutes at each booth, learning about a subject or learning a new skill before moving on to the next booth.

For example, the Tuesday, Oct. 29 installment of 'How-To Tuesday” included Francis Thicke of Radiance Dairy showing folks how to milk a cow, Jefferson County Health Center dietitian Nick Arensdorf talking about how to kick a sugar habit, Jennifer Hamilton leading an English country dance, and much more.

Participants receive a passport listing all eight learning stations for the event, and are welcome to visit the stations in any order. Participants can visit a station, look-listen-learn, get their passport stamped, and move to another station. The completed passport can be delivered to the front desk to be entered into a drawing for a prize.

Fairfield Public Library director Rebecca Johnson said she got the idea for 'How-To Tuesday” from the Louisville Free Public Library in Kentucky.

'The first thing they did was show how to milk a cow, and all along I've been trying to get that here,” Johnson said. 'This month, I succeeded.”

Johnson said most people have heard of the concept of speed dating, 'so think of this as speed learning,” she said.

The monthly series showcases local talent and helps people learn how to use the library, since Johnson hands out bookmarks at the events with information on books, films and other resources relevant to the topics discussed. There are certain themes that Johnson tries to hit during each installment. For instance, there is usually a booth dedicated to nutrition or the culinary arts. There's often one dedicated to animal care.

'In June, Jim Masterson showed how to relieve a horse's tension,” Johnson said. 'In July, Diane Porter taught us how to attract birds. In August, Dr. [William] Pollak did a class on how to travel with pets. Will Steingreaber did one on how to train a dog with treats and a leash, and then on Tuesday we learned how to milk a cow.”

Is there any animal Johnson hopes to see at the library in the near future?

'I would love to find someone who has taught a parrot to talk,” she said.

Johnson said attendance at the events has ranged from 170-232, based on the gate counts the library has done. The library will skip its monthly program in November because it was going to be so close to Thanksgiving. Instead, it will hold its next 'How-To Tuesday” on Dec. 3.

No repeats

When the program began, Johnson's goal was to do a year's worth of programs without repeating classes. She will reassess the series in June 2020 to see if there's enough enthusiasm to keep it going.

'There is such a palpable sense of community at these events,” she said. 'The presenters have five talking points ready, and there's a Q-and-A portion afterward. It's fun to watch those interactions.”

Anyone willing to demonstrate a skill or who would like to refer a friend can contact Johnson at 641-472-6551 Ext. 4.

Some members of the public make a special effort to visit the library on Tuesday just to attend the classes. Diana Guzman brought her 5-year-old son Zian Campney to the library because they were interested in the class led by Wanda Sandfire on 'How to prepare your garden for winter.” Guzman grows a variety of fruits and vegetables such as watermelon, kale, radishes, carrots and tomatoes.

Guzman said she and Zian come to 'How-To Tuesdays” about once a month. They're especially fond of activities that kids and parents can do together, such as the time they made rope, fixed a bicycle and baked a loaf of bread.

Resident Rodney Charles also stopped to chat with Sandfire at her booth because he was interested in information on composting leaves. He said he comes to the library often, and didn't even realize he had stumbled upon a series of short classes.

Gardening

Some of the wisdom that Sandfire was imparting on her guests Tuesday night included how to properly care for a flower garden versus a vegetable garden over winter. She recommends covering flower gardens with mulch because it cuts down on water loss in the soil, suppresses weed growth, and protects plants from extreme temperatures. She likened it to putting a 'blanket” on the plants. Vegetable gardens are a bit different in that they should be cleared over the winter to get rid of lingering pathogens.

Sandfire recommends either mulching leaves with a lawn mower, or raking them into a bag, letting them sit, and by next year they will have turned into nutrient-rich soil that can be applied to the garden.

'It'll be the best compost you can find,” Sandfire said.

Nutrition

At Arensdorf's booth, he prepared healthy snacks to share with attendees such as apple slices, carrots and celery with peanut butter. He spoke about how the American Heart Association has declared 'our sugar-laden diet is literally killing us.” He said the average American eats between 22-30 teaspoons of added sugar each day, but AHA guidelines say men should consume no more than nine teaspoons, and women no more than six. He said the body doesn't really need any added sugar at all, since it gets it naturally from fruits, vegetables and carbohydrates.

Arensdorf said sugar comes in many forms such as honey, molasses, high-fructose corn syrup, and most ingredients that end in - ose. He mentioned that they all have the same effect on the body, with one exception, which is that fructose (like the high-fructose corn syrup found in sodas and sweetened cereals) stimulates appetite, causing people to eat more. That's why people should be mindful to consume that sweetener in moderation.

Medicare

Nikki Weaver of Heartland Insurance led a program on 'How to navigate the Medicare maze.” She answered the most common questions such as how to qualify for Medicare, what it covers, how to get supplemental coverage, and how to get assistance to pay for it.

Weaver mentioned that one thing for young people to keep in mind, even if they're far from turning 65 to become eligible for Medicare, is that they must pay into Medicare by working 40 quarters (10 years) to qualify for it. She said not everyone knows that, and they're shocked to learn when they turn 65 that they can't receive Medicare.

If one spouse decides to be a homemaker, they can still receive Medicare as long as their husband or wife paid into the system for 40 quarters, and they were married at least 10 years. This applies to Social Security payments as well.

Young people can also receive Medicare if they have a disability. Weaver said that once a person has been on disability for two years, they start receiving Medicare.

Those who wish to keep working after 65 years of age may do so, and can maintain their employer's private health insurance coverage. Most people on Medicare must pay $135 a month unless they are low-income, in which case they pay less, or unless they are very rich, in which case they pay more. Weaver said she only knows a handful of people who have to pay more.

Reference USA

T.J Pridell and Donna Flaschner of Infogroup had a booth on how to find people, jobs and business contacts using their database Reference USA. The library pays $1,640 a year for the service, which is free to patrons. Pridell said the Infogroup gives a big discount to libraries, since it normally charges businesses $5,000 for a year's subscription.

The database of names is compiled from thousands of sources including utility connections, county records, property deeds, census data and more. Pridell said the company's team of 300 researchers make 25 million phone calls a year to compile all the information.