A meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Pember Library and Museum will be held on the third Thursday of each month at the Pember. The meeting will be conducted following social distancing guidelines. To attend the meeting virtually, please contact the library by 9 AM on the meeting day at pember.library@gmail.com for the log-in information.

As of Jan. 19th the Museum will back open with our hours being Tues-Fri. 1-5pm and Sat. 10-1. As before, face coverings will be required. You may pop-in for a visit as we are not that busy OR if you would like, an appointment can be made for your visit. Our phone number is 518-642-1515. We look forward to seeing you!

The Pember board meeting originally scheduled for Thursday, December 17, has been cancelled.

You may enter our building through the front door. You can pick up your pre-orders or ask us to put something on hold. No browsing or internet access yet.

Our newest “Imagine your Story”: activity is this Inspiration Jar. Call the library to reserve one for your family.
The directions say:
Turn the jar a few turns and see what items catch your eye. Or dump it all out on a paper plate and pull a few items from the jar and create a story about them. Use color, shapes, textures, lines, letters, & forms. Tell someone or write your story on paper.
NOT intended for small children. There are many small pieces.

Julie offered to do the writing.
She started. “Well, it’s not really a story, more a memory. That wooden spool reminds me of my Grandma Marie. One Christmas, I think I must have been eight years old, she made me a blue coat. I can just picture it. I don’t remember wearing it but I remember opening the package on Christmas morning.”

Jennie said, “I want to go next! See that shell? My story is about going to the ocean. I can smell the sea air, hear the crashing waves. I walk across the beach on a hot August afternoon. There are other people there, someone sunning themselves, another under an umbrella reading a paperback, somebody else is playing a game on their phone. This is my first ever trip to Maine, to the ocean! I can’t wait to feel the water. Oh, oh, OH. I can’t believe it’s so cold.”

“Alice, what catches your eye?”
“See that dog Christmas ornament? I have so many memories of dogs that lived with us through the years. OK, here’s my story.
“Once upon a time there was a dog named Cassie. It was her first Christmas with the Thurber family. Seven year old Dawn Alice had told Cassie that Santa was coming tonight so Cassie was trying very hard to stay awake. She tried to remember all the holiday things that had happened so far in December. There was the tree lighting in the village park, the festival of wreaths at the library, the tractor parade, and all the school concerts. Cassie had even been included on the family hay ride out at the Fir Sure Christmas Tree Farm. She looked out the window and saw the ‘reindeer food’ Dawn Alice and her brother Timothy had left in the driveway. Cassie fought sleep but eventually it overtook her. She slept a while and awoke part way when she heard some noises (on the roof?) but fell right back to sleep. Cassie could smell bacon cooking, and hear Dawn Alice and Timothy giggling over near the tree. Colorful boxes with shiny ribbon in all shapes and sizes surrounded the tree. And Look! The puppy shaped stocking on the mantle was overflowing with doggie treats and toys.”

Eliza said, “I guess it’s my turn. I keep looking at those scrabble tiles. They remind me of my aunt. She gave me a scrabble game when I was young. She would play against me. I don’t remember if I won or lost just that it’s a really good memory of her. I love to play Words with Friends now. I sure wish she was still around so we could play again!”

The Dahls are working on their summer reading. Our theme this year is “Imagine your Story.”

The first activity kit is story cubes. The directions are in the kit. You just cut out your story cube, fold along the lines and tape or glue each one into a cube. There are people, places, objects, and animal cubes. The combination of pictures will prompt ideas for magical and exciting stories. Younger children can tell the stories aloud and older ones can practice writing out the story. Contact the Pember to reserve a kit for your family.

The adventures of the Dahl family continue:

Jennie, Ruth & Ella drank a toast to the First Friday art work last night. They were joined by Marie, Alice, & Hannah. Alice had a cola since she is only 17. They loved getting all dressed up for the occasion and remind you that the (virtual) display will be available all month at https://thepember.org/index.php/first-friday/.

Grace, Marie & Eliza wanted to get out for a bit. Yesterday, I took them with me to Price Chopper to help get supplies for a picnic. I told them they needed to wear masks and to behave!

I’ll put a description with each picture. I think they had a good time!

The continuing adventures of the Dahl family

There’s a lot of work to do before we can plant this garden. We’re waiting for the plow and harrows to arrive. There will probably be beans, tomatoes and cucumbers here. We might even add a few squash. At the front of the building, Ella is trying to decide if the geranium and the spike will be enough (Thanks to Van Ripers Gardens for providing these.). Then she and Grace are working on a plan to get the weeds taken out of here. Looks like we probably won’t have to worry about snow for a little while!