Friends of PCL gang accepting used books for the used book sale | Jane Boursaw Photo
Left to right, Robbin Stott, Gladys Maguire and Michele Westcott; Friends of PCL gang accepting books for the used book sale | Jane Boursaw Photo
Feel free to share this post...

Ahhh, friends! They are the gift of our lives. They are there to make us laugh over our mistakes without making us feel bad. They share our joys and are a shoulder to cry on when we need it.

PCL is fortunate to have many friends among patrons, neighbors and visitors. The Friends of Peninsula Community Library are also dear to our hearts. An independent organization with its own governing Board and 501(c)3 status, the Friends of PCL work hard to support the library, its programs and collections.

Old Mission Gazette is Reader Supported.
Click Here to Keep the Gazette Going.

Not a member? Visit our website and from the Friends’ page, you can print a membership form to mail in or drop off. Interested in volunteering? Indicate that on the form as well! There is nothing like being a Friend of your local library!

Used Book Sale This Weekend

Speaking of Friends, they are holding a book sale in PCL’s Carriage House, Friday and Saturday, 10-5. They have a nice selection of many genres, as well as movies, music and puzzles.

The Friends of PCL sponsor our Record Eagle subscription, fund the majority of our programming, provide funds for special items and our collection and more. They even sponsored a room in the new library! When you support Friends, you are supporting Peninsula Community Library!

Adopt a Section of PCL’s Garden

CALLING ALL GARDENERS! PCL is in need of people to adopt a section of garden to keep weeded all summer. This is a great way for families to volunteer. You can do it on your own schedule with our tools or yours. Email me to sign up!

Read more about the Mack and Lorraine Beers Children’s Garden at Peninsula Community Library here.

Girl with a book overlooks memorial bricks at the Mack and Lorraine Beers Children's Garden at Peninsula Community Library on the Old Mission Peninsula | Jane Boursaw Photo
Girl with a book overlooks memorial bricks at the Mack and Lorraine Beers Children’s Garden at Peninsula Community Library on the Old Mission Peninsula | Jane Boursaw Photo

Reading Clubs, Takeout Bags & Scavenger Hunts

Tails & Tales Summer Reading Club fun is happening soon! Adults pick up a DIY BINGO card to earn prizes. Kids and teens pick up a tracker form anytime after June 15 and a bag of recyclables to create an imaginative tailed creature. Turn them in by August 15 to receive a gift card to Horizon Books! On July 10, teens get a fun-filled takeout bag and participate in a scavenger hunt.

Kids’ programs happen in our Children’s Garden Fridays in July starting July 9 and include activities and take out bags.

  • Week 1: Tales & Tails of Land & Sea
  • Week 2: Tales & Tails of Our Best (Pet) Friends
  • Week 3: Tales & Tails Under the Rocks and in the Woods
  • Week 4: Tales & Tails of Summer Fun and Music with Miriam Pico

Kids and teens may also enter a ticket at the library for each book they have read to enter a raffle for one of five huge stuffed animals!

Story Walk. Thanks to a grant through the Library Services & Technology Act & The Library of Michigan, we are offering outdoor sensory story walks each summer month beginning the middle of June. Families walk through our Children’s Garden to enjoy story boards, new xylophones and a Fairy Village.

Grief Support. Erin Gray, MA, LPC, Bereavement Coordinator at Munson Healthcare Hospice, hosts an informal outdoor group support at PCL, June 8, 2 p.m. For more information, please call 1-800-252-2065 or email [email protected].

Programs from the Porch. Bring a lawn chair on the third Monday of the summer months at 7 pm for programs for mixed ages!

  • June 21: Tales of Michigan
  • July 19: Old Mission author Debbie Watson, talks about The Polar Bear and the Dragon, a series for middle grade readers, and what inspired her to become an author.
  • August 16: Ghost Stories!

Talk with Tim. For PCL’s June History Talk With Tim Carroll, Tim welcomes George McManus as co-host. George, a fourth generation cherry farmer, was a State Senator for northern Michigan from 1991 to 2002. He is also the author of “The Boy from Archie: Selected and Assorted Memories,” which relates stories from his ancestors during the 1860’s, as well as his own coming-of-age tales during the Great Depression. Join us on June 15, 2 p.m. at PCL. Bring your own chair. RSVP recommended 223-7700.

(Here’s Senator McManus at the recent Blessing of the Blossoms at St. Joseph Catholic Church … jb)

Senator George McManus at the Blessing of the Blossoms on the Old Mission Peninsula; St. Joseph Catholic Church | Jane Boursaw Photo
Senator George McManus at the Blessing of the Blossoms on the Old Mission Peninsula; St. Joseph Catholic Church | Jane Boursaw Photo

Kid’s Best Friend! PCL’s Reading Dog Lani is back on Tuesdays beginning June 22 from 10:15-noon by appointment. A mask is required for this event.

Save Those Seeds! Drop off extra plant seeds to share! Fill out our seed form! Our original card catalog will house commercially packaged and saved seeds, clearly marked. Patrons will be free to choose, ideally bringing us seeds from their plants once they develop.

The Regulars. Pageturners Book Club meets on the 3rd Thursday at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom. Chapter Chicks Mother Daughter Book Club meets in person at PCL June 19 & August 18 at 10 am. Book club picks are available on a first come basis. PCL’s Men’s Group gathers the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. Gentle Yoga meets OUTSIDE Wednesdays at 9:30. Story Stew, on hiatus for the summer, resumes in the fall.

Upcoming Books for Pageturners Book Club:

  • July: West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge
  • August: A Splendid Ruin by Megan Chance
  • September: The Sweeney Sisters by Lian Dolan
  • October: The Girl in the Painting by Tea Cooper

Pick Up and Take Out. Kids pick up bags with crafts and activities the 1st week of June and August. Adult craft bags available the 2nd week of those months with DIY instructions. All while supplies last!

Are Friends important? YES! Research shows that close friendships are explicitly correlated with good physical and emotional health later in life – even more than relationships with family. As Winnie the Pooh quipped, “A friend is someone who helps you up when you’re down, and if they can’t, they lay down beside you and listen.”

I leave you with an excerpt from a poem that has stuck with me since high school – “The House by the Side of the Road” by Sam Walter Foss (1858-1911).

There are hermit
souls that live withdrawn
In the peace of their self-content;
There are souls, like stars, that dwell apart,
In a fellowless firmament;
There are pioneer souls that blaze their paths
Where highways never ran;-
But let me live by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

See you at the Friends’ Book Sale!

A NOTE FROM JANE: I started Old Mission Gazette in 2015 because I felt a calling to provide the Old Mission Peninsula community with local news. After decades of writing for newspapers and magazines like the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Family Circle and Ladies' Home Journal, I really just wanted to write about my own community where I grew up on a cherry farm and raised my own family. So I started my own newspaper. Because the Gazette is mainly reader-supported, I hope you'll consider tossing a few bucks my way if I mention your event, your business, your organization or your news item, or if you simply love reading about what's happening on the OMP. Check out the donation page here. Thank you so much for your support. -jb

Bay View Insurance of Traverse City Michigan

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here
  
Please enter an e-mail address

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.