Clapp Memorial Library

Massachusetts Must Read Authors - Noe Alvarez ('Spirit Run')
2021-10-27 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Virtual, MA
On Wednesday, October 27 at 7pm, The Clapp Memorial Library is joining the Tewksbury Public Library in hosting author Noe Alvarez for a presentation on his latest book, Spirit Run: A 6000-Mile Marathon Through North America’s Stolen Land, hosted through Zoom. Spirit Run was a named a MUST READ BOOK in the Massachusetts Center of the Book’s Mass Book Awards.
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About The Book: Noe Álvarez, the son of working-class Mexican immigrants, fled a life of labor in fruit-packing plants to run a four-month-long Indigenous marathon from Canada to Guatemala that pushed him to his limits. He’ll discuss his harrowing journey — overcoming hunger, thirst, and fear, as well as the dangers he encountered, including stone-throwing motorists and a mountain lion. Alvarez will also share his reimagining of North America and his place in it, exploring Indigenous and working-class humanity in a capitalist society where oil extraction, deforestation, and substance abuse wreck communities.
About The Author: Noe Alvarez holds degrees in philosophy and creative writing from Whitman College and Emerson College, respectively. Alvarez studied conflict analysis, peacemaking, and conflict resolution at American University and in Northern Ireland, received a fellowship at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School, and researched U.S. drug policy, military aid, and human rights issues in Colombia’s Putumayo jungles. He lives in Boston, where, until recently, he worked as a security officer at one of the nation’s oldest libraries, the Boston Athenæum. Learn more about Alvarez HERE.

Panel Discussion With All 2021 Agatha Award Nominees For Best First Novel
2021-11-03 19:00 - 20:00 | Virtual, MA
On Wednesday, November 3 at 7pm, the Clapp Memorial Library is joining the Tewksbury Public Library in hosting an all-star panel discussion featuring all five nominees for this year’s Agatha Award for Best First Mystery Novel — Esme Addison (A Spell For Trouble); Tina deBellegarde (Winter Witness); Mary Keliikoa (Derailed); Erica Ruth Neubauer (Murder At The Mena House); and Laura Jensen Walker (Murder Most Sweet) via Zoom. Author Catriona McPherson will serve as moderator.
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About The Authors:
Ever since Esme Addison discovered Nancy Drew, she’s wanted to solve mysteries. As a mystery author, she’s finally found a way to make that dream come true. Esme lives on the North Carolina coast with her family. When she’s not writing or dreaming up new mysteries for her sleuths to stumble upon, you can find her dancing her calories away in Zumba, patronizing her local bookstores or visiting the beach, the mountains and all historical sites in between. Learn more about Esme HERE.
Tina deBellegarde’s debut novel, Winter Witness, was nominated for an Agatha Award, a Silver Falchion Award and a Chanticleer Mystery & Mayhem Award. Tina also writes short stories and flash fiction. Her story “Tokyo Stranger” appears alongside celebrated authors in the Mystery Writers of America anthology When a Stranger Comes to Town edited by Michael Koryta. Tina’s short fiction also appears in the last two editions of The Best New England Crime Stories. She is the secretary of her local chapter of Sisters in Crime. She is also a member of Mystery Writers of America, and Writers in Kyoto. Tina lives in Catskill, New York with her husband Denis where they harvest shiitake mushrooms and tend to their beehives. She travels to Kyoto, Japan regularly to visit her son Alessandro. Learn more about Tina HERE.
Mary Keliikoa is the author of the Shamus finalist and Lefty, Agatha and Anthony award nominated PI Kelly Pruett mystery series and the upcoming Misty Pines mystery series featuring Portland homicide detective turned small town sheriff slated for release in September 2022. Her short stories have appeared in Woman’s World and in the anthology Peace, Love and Crime: Crime Fiction Inspired by Music of the ‘60s. She is the Vice President of her local Sisters in Crime, and an active member of Mystery Writers of America, as well as Private Eye Writers of America. In addition, she volunteers her time as a Pitch Wars mentor. A Pacific Northwest native, she spent a part of her life working around lawyers. Combining her love of legal and books, she creates a twisting mystery where justice prevails. When not in Washington, you can find Mary on the beach in Hawaii where she and her husband recharge. But even under the palm trees and blazing sun, she’s plotting her next murder—novel that is. Learn more about Mary HERE.
Erica Ruth Neubauer, author of Murder at the Mena House, spent eleven years in the military, nearly two as a Maryland police officer and one as a high school English teacher before finding her way as a writer. She has been a reviewer of mysteries and crime fiction for publications such as Publishers Weekly and Mystery Scene Magazine for several years, and she’s a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. Erica Ruth lives in Milwaukee, WI. Learn more about Erica HERE.
Agatha-nominated Laura Jensen Walker has loved mysteries since she read Trixie Belden in the fourth grade. A former reporter and the author of several books, including the Agatha-nominated Murder Most Sweet (her first Bookish Baker mystery) and Hope, Faith, & a Corpse, Laura is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. Deadly Delights, her second Bookish Baker mystery, is her third cozy and 20th book. Learn more about Laura HERE.
About The Moderator: National-bestselling and multi-award-winning author Catriona McPherson was born in Scotland and lived there until immigrating to the US in 2010. She writes historical detective stories set in the old country in the 1930s, featuring gently-born lady sleuth, Dandy Gilver. After eight years in the new country, she kicked off the comic Last Ditch Motel series, which takes a wry but affectionate look at California life from the POV of a displaced Scot (where do we get our ideas, eh?). She also writes a strand of contemporary psychological thrillers. The latest of these is A Gingerbread House, which Kirkus called “a disturbing tale of madness and fortitude”. Catriona is a member of MWA, CWA, Society of Authors, and a proud lifetime member and former national president of Sisters in Crime. Learn more about Catriona HERE.

Massachusetts Must Read Authors - Michelle Bowdler ('Is Rape A Crime?')
2021-11-16 19:00 - 20:00 | Virtual, MA
On Tuesday, November 16 at 7pm, the Clapp Memorial Library is joining the Tewksbury Public Library in hosting Michelle Bowdler for a presentation on her critically acclaimed book, Is Rape A Crime?: A Memoir, An Investigation, and A Manifesto via Zoom. The book was named a MUST READ BOOK in the Massachusetts Center of the Book’s Mass Book Awards. It was also longlisted for the National Book Award.
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About The Book: Award-winning writer and public health executive Michelle Bowdler’s memoir indicts how sexual violence has been addressed for decades in our society, asking whether rape is a crime given that it is the least reported major felony, least successfully prosecuted, and fewer than 3% of rapists ever spend a day in jail. Cases are closed before they are investigated and DNA evidence sits for years untested and disregarded Rape in this country is not treated as a crime of brutal violence but as a parlor game of he said / she said. It might be laughable if it didn’t work so much of the time. Given all this, it seems fair to ask whether rape is actually a crime.
In 1984, the Boston Sexual Assault Unit was formed as a result of a series of break-ins and rapes that terrorized the city, of which Michelle’s own horrific rape was the last. Twenty years later, after a career of working with victims like herself, Michelle decides to find out what happened to her case and why she never heard from the police again after one brief interview. An expert blend of memoir and cultural investigation, Michelle’s story is a rallying cry to reclaim our power and right our world.
About The Author: Michelle Bowdler is the Executive Director of Health & Wellness at Tufts University and, after graduating from the Harvard School of Public Health, has worked on social justice issues related to rape for over a decade. Is Rape a Crime? is her first book. She is a recipient of a 2017 Barbara Deming Memorial Award and has been a Fellow at Ragdale and the MacDowell Colony. Bowdler’s writing has been published in the New York Times and her essays “Eventually You Tell Your Kids” and “Babelogue” were nominated for Pushcart Prizes. Learn more about Bowdler HERE.

Massachusetts Must Read Authors - Barry Van Dusen ('Finding Sanctuary')
2021-11-22 19:00 - 20:00 | Virtual, MA
On Monday, November 22 at 7pm, the Clapp Memorial Library is joining the Tewksbury Public Library in hosting Barry Van Dusen for a presentation on his latest book, Finding Sanctuary: An Artist Explores the Nature of Mass Audubon via Zoom. The book was named a MUST READ BOOK in the Massachusetts Center of the Book’s Mass Book Awards.
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About The Book: Over the course of four-and-a-half years, nature artist Barry Van Dusen visited all 61 of Mass Audubon’s public wildlife sanctuaries, nature centers, and museums, producing drawings and paintings at each location. Follow his travels and share in his adventures—from the islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket to the mountain peaks of the Berkshires. Learn about hatching turtles on Cape Cod, rare orchids in the Connecticut River Valley, and a bear encounter in a western Massachusetts forest. Birders, naturalists, conservationists, gardeners, artists, art appreciators, and all outdoor folks will enjoy this presentation.
About The Author: Barry W. Van Dusen is an internationally recognized wildlife artist living in central Massachusetts. His articles and paintings have been featured in Bird Watcher’s Digest, Birding, and Yankee magazines and he has illustrated a variety of natural history books and pocket guides in association with the Massachusetts Audubon Society. In 1994 Barry was elected a full member of London’s Society of Wildlife Artists. His work has been exhibited regularly in the prestigious Birds in Art Exhibition (Wausau, Wisconsin) as well as in many galleries in the United States and Europe. At the invitation of the Artists for Nature Foundation, Barry has travelled to Spain, Ireland, England, Israel , India and Peru, working alongside other wildlife artists to raise money for conservation of threatened habitats. Learn more about Van Dusen HERE.

Lynne Reeves In Conversation With Lisa Genova
2021-11-29 19:00 - 20:00 | Virtual, MA
On Monday, November 29 at 7pm, the Clapp Memorial Library is joining the Tewksbury Public Library in hosting author Lynne Reeves for a discussion of her latest book, Dangers Of An Ordinary Night, in conversation with bestselling author Lisa Genova via Zoom.
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About The Author: Lynne Reeves (Griffin) is an internationally recognized family counselor, public speaker, teacher and writer of fiction and non-fiction. Her work has appeared in Parents, Psychology Today, Solstice Literary Magazine, Chautauqua Journal, Craft Literary, Fiction Writers Review, Brain, Child and more. Lynne regularly appears as a media guest expert to discuss contemporary family life and preventive mental health, with her most recent appearances on WBUR’s Morning Edition and WCVB’s Chronicle. Writing as Lynne Griffin, she is the author of the family-focused novels, Life Without Summer, Sea Escape, and Girl Sent Away. She writes novels of domestic suspense as Lynne Reeves. She’s a member of International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime National & Sisters in Crime New England. Learn more about Reeves HERE.
About the Book: The Dangers of an Ordinary Night is an exploration of the explosive family secrets that are often hidden in plain sight. On a chilly fall evening at the prestigious Performing Arts High School of Boston, best friends Tali Carrington and June Danforth go missing after auditioning for a play. They’re last seen in grainy, out-of-focus surveillance footage that shows them walking away from the school. Two days later in a town south of Boston, Tali is found disoriented and traumatized by the ocean’s edge, while June is pronounced dead at the scene. Tali’s mother, Nell, is so bent on protecting her daughter from further emotional harm that she ignores rumors of her husband’s involvement and enlists the help of Cynthia Rawlins, a reunification therapist with personal insight into the riptide that hides below the surface of every unsuspecting family. Meanwhile, Detective Fitz Jameson uncovers a criminal undertow involving the high school’s overachieving students, and finally sees an opportunity for personal redemption from a secret that’s haunted him for years. As Nell, Cynthia, and Fitz confront their own contributions to the scandals that beleaguer them, their lives turn out to be more deeply intertwined than they’d ever imagined. In the end, they must decide what lengths they’re willing to go to protect the people they love while also saving themselves.
About The Interviewer: Lisa Genova is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels Still Alice, Left Neglected, Love Anthony, Inside the O’Briens, and Every Note Played. Still Alice was adapted into an Oscar-winning film starring Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, and Kristen Stewart. Lisa graduated valedictorian from Bates College with a degree in biopsychology and holds a PhD in neuroscience from Harvard University. She travels worldwide speaking about the neurological diseases she writes about and has appeared on The Dr. Oz Show, Today, PBS NewsHour, CNN, and NPR. Her TED talk, “What You Can Do To Prevent Alzheimer’s,” has been viewed more than five million times.

Author Talk: “What the Children Told Us” with Tim Spofford
2022-09-07 19:00 - 20:00 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Wednesday, September 7 @ 7pm
Author Tim Spofford joins us to talk about his new book, What the Children Told Us: The Untold Story of the Famous “Doll Test” and the Black Psychologists Who Changed the World. Spofford tells the story of the towering intellectual and emotional partnership between two Black scholars who highlighted the psychological effects of racial segregation. The Clarks’ story is one of courage, love, and an unfailing belief that Black children deserved better than what society was prepared to give them, and their unrelenting activism played a critical role in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case. The Clarks’ decades of impassioned advocacy, their inspiring marriage, and their enduring work shines a light on the power of passion in an unjust world.

Author Talk: “On Her Feet” with Lu Wanda Cheney
2022-09-10 10:30 - 11:30 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Saturday, September 10 @10:30am (Activity Room)
Local author Lu Wanda Cheney joins us to talk about her new book, On Her Feet, which she wrote with her daughter, Ashley Cheney. When she was 14, Ashley jumped off a roof, thinking it would be fun, and suffered a permanent spinal cord injury. Her doctors tell her she will never walk again; her mother tells her to get out of bed and on her feet. On Her Feet is the true story of her mother’s contagious positive attitude and Ashley’s courageous battle to walk against nearly impossible odds.

Author Talk: “Images of America: Belchertown State School” with Kate Anderson
2022-09-21 19:00 - 20:00 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Wednesday, September 21 @ 7pm
This program is an overview of the history of the Belchertown State School and its place in special education and the treatment of individuals with disabilities. Based on the Images of America: Belchertown State School book, Kate Anderson will present a collection of historical images and artifacts illustrating the evolution of the state school.
Kate Anderson is the author of a number of volumes on the history of state schools and institutions including Images of America: Belchertown State School. She has been a special educator for over twenty years and is the Director of Education at RFK Academy in Springfield. Kate is also the president of the Belchertown State School Friends Association, an organization dedicated to preserving the history of the state school and institutions for the disabled.

Garden Design 101 with Mary Jo Maffei (Virtual)
2022-09-28 18:30 - 19:30 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Garden Design 101 with Mary Jo Maffei
Wednesday, September 28th at 6:30pm
Virtual program
Combining concepts from architecture, interior design, and garden design, Maffei will provide gardening basics about texture and shape, rhythm and repeat planting, timing and massing, color, maintenance, and more!
Email clapp@cwmars.org for the Zoom link!

Nine You Should Know: Nine People from Belchertown’s History with Cliff McCarthy
2022-11-03 19:00 - 20:00 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Thursday, November 3, 7 PM
Do you know which Belchertown native has had a full-length Hollywood movie devoted to his life and has been portrayed by actors John Carradine and James Coburn in other films? Do you know who the first American Protestant missionary to China was? or Belchertown’s connection to the first Governor of Kansas? What Belchertown woman drew the plans for remodeling the Stone House into a museum? To learn the answers and more interesting things about former Belchertown residents, come to hear “Nine You Should Know,” presented by Cliff McCarthy, Stone House archivist and local historian.
This talk will present nine historical figures connected to Belchertown that will astonish and surprise. Some you will admire, some you will despise, but all have interesting stories to tell. You will travel to China and the gold fields of California; you will visit utopian communities in Utah and New York states. You will learn about our town’s connection to “bleeding Kansas” and the U.S. Colored Troops in the Civil War. You will land back home to learn of extraordinary people who lived right here in Belchertown.

Welcome to the Graveyard! with Brenda Sullivan of the Gravestone Girls
2022-11-09 19:00 - 20:30 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Wednesday, November 9, 7 PM
“Welcome to the Graveyard!” is a 90 minute illustrated ‘virtual tour’ chronicling cemetery art, history and symbolism. From colonial New England burial grounds of the 1600s & 1700s, through the nation-wide rural cemetery movement of the 19th century and into 21st century locations, the program examines why we have cemeteries and gravestones, why they look like they do and how styles and art have evolved over almost 400 years. The presentation is robust with photographs of original gravestones and burial grounds found in Belchertown along-side images from cemeteries visited by Gravestone Girls over many years.

Book Talk: Lost Towns of the Swift River Valley
2023-01-21 14:30 - 15:30 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Book talk with Elena Palladino on Lost Towns of the Swift River Valley on Saturday January 21 at 2:30

Mysteries of Belchertown's History Research Project
2023-03-13 16:30 - 18:30, 2023-04-10 16:30 - 18:30, 2023-05-08 16:30 - 18:30, 2023-06-05 16:30 - 18:30 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
PROGRAM FULL – Registration Required
March 13 – Clapp Memorial Library
April 10 – Stone House
May 8 – Stone House
June 5 – Clapp Memorial Library
There is so much to learn about our town’s past and so few people doing it! We’re offering a fun, four-session class exploring what resources are available for local history research and how to access them. The goal is to stimulate interest in discovering pieces of Belchertown’s history by indulging the curiosity of each participant. Cliff McCarthy, archivist at the Stone House Museum and author/editor of several books on Belchertown’s history, will lead the group.
Participants should come with possible research questions that interest them – anything from “How did my street get its name?” to “Who were the Indigenous people in our area?” to “What was Belchertown’s role in the run-up to the American Revolution?” or “Did Belchertown residents support Shays’ Rebellion?” While we may use some genealogy resources and databases, this is not intended to be a family history research class.
Space is limited and registration is required. Co-sponsored by the Clapp Memorial Library and the Stone House Museum, sessions 1 and 4 will take place at the library and sessions 2 and 3 will be at the Stone House Museum.

Safe Storage and Disposal of Medication
2023-03-15 16:30 - 17:30 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Wednesday, March 15 @4:30pm
Learn how to safely store and dispose of medications with Kirsten Krieger RN, BSN, Quabbin Health District Public Health Nurse and special guest Kristen Hoag, Program Director/Project Coordinator for Belchertown Public Schools DFC/BUOY. Free medication lockboxes will be available for attendees. Co-sponsored by the Clapp Memorial Library and the Quabbin Health District.

Feeling Beautiful As We Grow in Wisdom
2023-03-23 19:00 - 20:00 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Thursday, March 23 @ 7pm
Registration Required – click here to sign up
As we evolve in our role as mothers, let’s work with the tools that help us to feel beautiful – skin care, foot care, nutritional and hormonal support, mindset care. Participants will leave with the supplies to make a personal beauty blend. This program is offered by Nora Zinan, RN, Holistic Nurse and Certified Aromatherapist. Nora is dedicated to introducing people to the benefits of essential oils and natural support for wellness. Space is limited and registration is required.

Bigfoot in Massachusetts with Ronny LeBlanc
2023-04-04 19:00 - 20:00 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Tuesday, April 4, 7pm
The Clapp Memorial Library will host Ronny LeBlanc and his program, Bigfoot in Massachusetts, on Tuesday, April 4 th at 7 PM. Growing up in Leominster, Massachusetts, Ronny LeBlanc learned of a section of the city near his childhood home that was called Monsterland. Ronny will discuss his personal experiences in Massachusetts and what led him to be a part of the Expedition Bigfoot television show on Discovery+. He will talk about the strangeness and sightings in and around Monsterland as well as
highlighting some interesting cases involving UFOs across the country. Ronny is the author of two books: Monsterland: Encounters with UFOs, Bigfoot and Orange Orbs and the follow up book, Monsterland: Shamans, Sasquatch, Synchronicity and High Strangeness.

Introduction to Homesteading
2023-05-02 18:00 - 19:00 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
REGISTRATION REQUIRED – Click here to sign up for one, two, or all three sessions
All are welcome to our series of Homesteading Workshops, by local teen Zackery W. Zawalski. You can come to one, two, or all three, and learn about ways to grow and raise your own food and make use of the land you live on.
Tuesday, May 2: Introduction to Homesteading
Tuesday, May 16: Livestock Basics
Tuesday, May 30: Gardening Basics
Zackery Zawalski has raised livestock since 2010, including ducks, chickens, goats, doves, dogs and a pig. He has helped his parents with their local 4-H club and has been a member of 4-H since 2013. Zackery takes pleasure in helping with his family garden since he could walk and still enjoys it to this day.
All workshops start at 6:00 PM in the Clapp Memorial Library’s Activity Room and include a presentation and activity.

Livestock Basics
2023-05-16 18:00 - 19:00 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States

Gardening Basics
2023-05-30 18:00 - 19:00 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States

Out of the Shadows: Hollywood’s History with the LGBTQ+ Community with Frank Mandosa
2023-06-14 19:00 - 20:00 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
The Clapp Memorial Library invites all film buffs for Out of the Shadows: Hollywood’s History with the LGBTQ+ Community by film historian Frank Mandosa. On Wednesday, June 14 at 7PM, Mandosa will take a look at LGBTQ+ representation in mainstream film, both onscreen and off. Over the past century, Hollywood has had a troubled history with both onscreen depictions of the LGBTQ+ community and their real-life interactions. This program explores not only the ongoing evolution of this dynamic before, during, and after the cameras roll, but also the portrayals of the LGBTQ+ community in films of all genres, both past and present.

Backyard Orchards
2023-06-22 19:00 - 20:00 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
On Thursday, June 22 at 7 PM, Kate Donovan, owner of Blackstone Valley Veggie Gardens, will present Backyard Orchards at the Clapp Memorial Library. If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to grow fruit trees on your own property, this program is for you. Donovan helps clients grow food through lectures, garden planning, soil testing, tilling, and building raised beds. She’s the founder of a 69,000-member Facebook gardening group called “Vegetable, Fruit, Herbs and Flower Gardening.” Kate maintains seven extra-long raised beds, considers her home her horticulture laboratory, and tries new varieties and techniques every year.

Red Sox Nation
2023-07-13 19:00 - 20:00 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Take a fun and enlightening journey through Boston Red Sox history with the author of The Ultimate Boston Red Sox Time Machine Book. This presentation features exciting and nostalgic videos of the greatest and most fascinating players, teams, events and moments in franchise history. The program also includes trivia questions for patrons to ponder and covers Sox history from the Royal Rooters, who launched Red Sox Nation, to Babe Ruth to Ted Williams to The Impossible Dream Season of 1967 to Lynn, Rice and ’75 to the heartbreak of 1986 all the way to the four World Series championships and beyond. It will conclude with a question-and-answer period. Author Martin Gitlin will have autographed and personalized copies of his book available online following the program.

Raising Our Voices with Davis Bates
2023-07-18 14:00 - 15:00 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Raising Our Voices Together: A Song and Story Performance and Workshop by Davis Bates!
Teens are invited to the library on Tuesday, July 18th at 2:00PM for a lively event by award-winning singer and storyteller, Davis Bates! The program will include sea shanties, songs from the sixties, union songs, civil rights songs, & stories about Davis’s journey as a storyteller and involvement in various social movements over the last 60 years. There will also be exercises designed to get folks to share their own stories. Register at the library or by emailing clapplibrarytab@gmail.com.
This performance is funded, in part, by a grant from the Belchertown Cultural Council, a local agency supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
To sign up for Summer Reading, visit clapplibrary.beanstack.com or use the Beanstack app.

Forensic Genealogy
2023-08-01 19:00 - 20:00 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Delve into the world of Forensic Genealogy, also known as investigative genetic genealogy, and advances in solving cold cases of missing and murdered persons!
Dr. Redgrave will present a general overview of forensic genetic genealogy, examples of cases that he has worked on with his team, and the particular difficulties inherent in cases involving LGBTQ+ victims. Dr. Redgrave will also be available to answer any technical or ethical questions presented by attendees.
Anthony Redgrave (he/him) of Redgrave Research Forensic Services is a founding board member of the Trans Doe Task Force, an organization that seeks to resolve cases of missing, murdered, and unidentified members of the queer community, especially Transgender individuals. His dissertation focused on determining barriers to communication between members of key stakeholder groups affected by the use of forensic genetic genealogy in order to develop standards of practice that support its use to resolve cold cases of fatal violence towards marginalized victims. He is also the founder and instructor of FG4LE (Forensic Genealogy for Law Enforcement), an online education program designed to teach forensic genetic genealogy to law enforcement professionals, and Redgrave Research Forensic Services, a forensic genetic genealogy research team for hire by law enforcement clients and private clients with difficult genetic genealogy questions that others haven’t been able to answer. He has assisted in the resolution of dozens of cold cases since 2018 and presents frequently at universities and academic conferences on the topics of forensic genetic genealogy and the reduction of postmortem violence towards Transgender individuals.
For more information on Dr. Redgrave, his work, and cases he has worked on, visit https://www.facebook.com/redgraveresearch

Saving Nature with Doug Tallamy: A Film Viewing & Discussion
2023-09-05 19:00 - 20:00 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Join us at the Clapp Memorial Library on Tuesday, September 5th at 7pm for a showing of “Saving Nature with Doug Tallamy” followed by a discussion led by Heidi Dollard. In his presentation, Dr. Tallamy breaks down the concept of “You don’t have to save biodiversity for a living but you CAN save it where you live” with specific strategies to improve your own immediate local ecology. After the presentation, Heidi Dollard will invite attendees to dive into the topics introduced in Dr. Tallamy’s presentation, and how to apply these ideas to our homes and town!
Heidi Dollard will return to the library on September 19 to present “Transform Your Yard to Support Pollinators: A 12 Step Program” and this film provides excellent background information for that talk

Transform Your Yard to Support Pollinators: A 12 Step Program
2023-09-19 19:00 - 20:00 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Many people now realize the importance of pollinators and other essential wildlife. They want to make their yard pollinator-friendly, but don’t know where to start. This talk will step you through the process of evaluation, planning, and implementation, with many options for large and small changes.
Heidi Dollard is Co-chair of the Massachusetts Pollinator Network’s Steering Committee. She works to educate gardeners and homeowners on how they can support pollinators and other beneficial wildlife while creating a beautiful and low maintenance landscape. She has a MS in Biology and is a Master Gardener. She has been an enthusiastic native plant gardener for many years.

Let’s Talk Emergency Preparedness
2023-09-27 18:00 - 19:00 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
September is Emergency Preparedness Month! Join Kirsten Krieger, Public Health Nurse for the Quabbin Health District, for a presentation and learn about preparing for an emergency.
