November 18, 2011
by Kathryn Ward
Might as well say it straight: Mark Twain was a contentious ol’ coot. He lured people in with his book about the charming rascal, Tom Sawyer, and then delivered a below-the-belt hit with his follow-up about the kinder, but abused, Huck Finn.
Read MoreFriday, November 4, 2011
by Marjorie Perlin
The river of Mark Twain’s domain, that is. Immerse yourself in a book; get swept away by a story; plunge into the words, sights and sounds that make up Mark Twain’s writings, his life and his times. “Sounds” is where The Chappaqua Orchestra comes in. In collaboration with the Chappaqua Library as part of its month-long celebration of the man and his work, The Chappaqua Orchestra is proud to present Music and the River: a Musical Tribute to Mark Twain on Saturday, November 5 at the Chappaqua Library Auditorium starting at 8:00 p.m.
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Wednesday, October 12: The fall 2011 Rocky Hills Lecture at the Chappaqua Library will feature garden writer Dominique Browning
October 7, 2011
After losing her job and the magazine she edited for more than a decade, Dominique Browning was forced to slow down and find a new structure for her life. She will read from her new book, show photographs, and talk about how she said goodbye to a garden she lovingly tended for decades and how she created a new one—one seed at a time.
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Election Day is Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
from Sheila Bernson
• Monday, October 17 at 7:30 p.m. at New Castle’s Town Hall: Community Forum on increasing town board by two members, and adopting a ward system of representation
• Thursday, October 27 at 7:30 p.m. at the Chappaqua Library: Candidates’ Night
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July 1, 2011
by Samantha Wesner
In a case on your left as you enter the lobby of the Chappaqua Library sits the image of a 19th-century man with a dignified expression, a black hat, a distinctive beard and an intense gaze that inexplicably seems to instruct you to “Go west, young man” (or woman). He is none other than Chappaqua’s own Horace Greeley.
Read MoreMonday, June 27, 2011
by Hanna Richman
This summer, trade in your plane tickets for a soon-to-be-classic paperback. Instead of jetting off to tropical and far away places, this summer, I will be setting up a lawn chair in a sunny spot in my backyard and visiting new places through books. Care to join me?
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July 1, 2011
Karen Baker, Library Media Specialist at Seven Bridges Middle School, Sharon Wiggins, Library Media Specialist at Robert E. Bell Middle School, and Z, Head of Teen Services at the Chappaqua Library collaborated to come up with this list of 134 books that middle schoolers will love.
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Smithberg with her husband, Ken Margolis, and son, Alex Margolis, on election night.
Friday, May 20, 2011
by Christine Yeres
The four-way race for the Chappaqua Library board position was too close to call on election night, but by 6:00 p.m. Wednesday the 21 votes submitted by affidavit had been verified, and District Clerk Theresa Markley announced Ellen Smithberg as the winning candidate for the five-year position. The library’s $2,766,724 budget passed by about 300 more “Yes” votes than last year’s.
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May 13, 2011
from Sheila Bernson
Editor’s Note: The video of last Thursday’s Candidates’ Night is now playing on cable access TV and in “video on demand” on NCCMC’s site. What follows are the written responses to the League’s questions to school and library board candidates.
Because of the extension of time given for candidates to come forward, the League of Women Voters of New Castle’s Voters Guide that was mailed to all Chappaqua Central School District households did not include all the contestants in the School Board and Library Board elections. The following information was provided by the candidates to the League in response to the questionnaire that the League distributed to all of the candidates.
Read MoreMay 6, 2011
by Susie Pender
When the April 18 filing deadline came and went for applications to run for the one Chappaqua Library Board of Trustee seat up for election every year, only one candidate had filed a petition to run, which she soon withdrew.
Read MoreTuesday, April 26, 2011
by Christine Yeres
The sole candidate who submitted a petition to run for the vacant seat on the Board of Trustees of the Chappaqua Library withdrew her petition last week for personal reasons. According to New York State Education Law, when the sole candidate withdraws after the time to submit petitions to run for election has passed, the school district must extend the time for filing petitions for 15 days from the receipt of the written withdrawal.
Read More Updated Monday, May 2, 2011
With 198 comments since publication April 19
by Christine Yeres
Editor’s note: This story has received 126 comments since we first ran it on Friday, April 22. We typically leave stories on the front page for a week and then they can all be found in our archives using our search box. We have decided to leave this article on the front page for another week because it has become a catalyst for some wide-ranging conversations about the challenges facing the school district in the coming years and suggestions for the three candidates running for the Board of Education. We encourage more residents to jump into this conversation, as we can all profit from additional perspectives.
Read MoreDeadline for petitions is 5:00 p.m. Monday, April 18
April 15, 2011
by Pam Thornton
The Library is looking for a community member to fill an upcoming vacancy on the Library Board. The term is five years, with each member rotating through all the positions, from secretary in the first year to president in the fifth. The board meets on the second Tuesday of each month, with the exception of August.
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April 1, 2011
by Ben Silver
This Saturday, April 2, from 7:30 – 11:00 p.m. the Chappaqua Public Library will play host to QUA, an eclectic teen concert featuring Greeley’s top bands and musical performers. The entire event, including admission, food and drinks, is free and open only to high school students from Greeley as well as neighboring high schools.
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12:30 p.m., in the Chappaqua Library Theater
February 25, 2011
by Zahra Baird
In a happy suburban neighborhood surrounded by white picket fences sits a black house with a dead lawn. Unbeknownst to the neighbors, hidden deep beneath this home is a vast secret hideout.
Read MoreMay 13, 2011
by Maud Bailey
Next Thursday, May 19, the First Congregational Church of Chappaqua along with the Chappaqua Library and the League of Women Voters of New Castle will present a panel discussion entitled “Affordable Housing and Enhancing Diversity in New Castle: The Impact of Westchester County’s Housing Settlement.” The event will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the theatre of the Chappaqua Library. The focus of the evening will be on the 2009 Westchester County Housing Settlement and what New Castle is doing to meet its obligations under the settlement agreement to provide “fair and affordable” housing in New Castle.
Read MoreTwo-part Family History Workshop at the Chappaqua Library
Phil Hayes and Jonathan Beattie, his other great-great-grandfather
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
by Christine Yeres
Chappaqua native Phil Hayes became hooked on genealogy at an early age, after learning his great-great-grandfather, Henry William Lewis, had witnessed the shooting of Abe Lincoln at a performance of Our American Cousin at Ford’s Theater on April 14, 1865. Hayes’ family had passed on a copy of a 1897 newspaper article, “Saw Lincoln Murdered,” in which Lewis told a reporter what he’d seen that night. Hayes returns to the Chappaqua Library to help get you motivated to discover your own family’s story on December 1 and 8—both Thursdays—at 7:00 p.m.
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Steven Courtney
October 28, 2011
by Elinor Allcott Griffith
As part of the month-long celebration of Mark Twain this fall, the Chappaqua Interfaith Council* and the Chappaqua Library are pleased to co-sponsor “Mark Twain and the Minister.” The event will be held at the Chappaqua Library on Sunday, October 30 at 4 p.m. and is free. It will feature a lively talk by Steve Courtney, author of the award-winning book, Joseph Hopkins Twichell: The Life and Times of Mark Twain’s Closest Friend, and on the staff at the Mark Twain House, in Hartford, Ct.
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Monday, October 21, 2011
by Christine Yeres
You’re invited to a TEEN ZONE ice cream party on Wednesday, October 26, during a GOT GAME? session at the Chappaqua Library. Drop in to the Library’s Theater between 3:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. for some ice cream and to get the scoop on Zahra Baird’s new job at the Yonkers’ Public Library.
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The Library’s Volunteens oversaw a Tom Sawyer fence “painting” on Friday at the Historical Society. See more in Photo Gallery.
Hear Library friends and staff—on NCMC video—read their favorite Twain quotations in “Read more…”
Monday, October 17, 2011
Readings, dinners, music, a Mark Twain impersonation contest, films, documentaries—you’ll find everything but a riverboat chugging through the library from October 15 through November 18 as the Chappaqua Library community celebrates, commemorates and revels in Twain’s works, his characters, his world. See our line up of events below.
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Pizza, screening and discussion for middle and high school students this Saturday
Monday, September 19, 2011
by Meghana Koduru
Aparna Nathan, a member of New Castle Teen Alliance and Girl Scout Troop 2745, has crafted a program that pairs page with screen. Teens in middle and high school are invited to attend the Reels and Reads program on Saturday, September 24th at 6:00 p.m. in the Chappaqua Library Theater for a screening of “Return to Witch Mountain,” the story of two young siblings who happen to have paranormal powers. If the pair doesn’t get back to their ship in time, an alien invasion will begin. Participants are encouraged to read the novel by Alexander Key, on which the movie is based.
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There’s gold in them-thar leaves!
September 16, 2011
by Maxine Margo Rubin
All through the spring and summer, your trees are working to draw minerals and nutrients up from the earth, and storing them in their leaves. When the leaves come down this fall, you can save the time, energy and expense of blowing, bagging and carting this valuable resource off your property by creating your own mulch and fertilizer. It’s easier than you think! On Thursday, September 22 at 7:30 p.m. come to the Chappaqua Library to find out how to do it.
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“Art and Artlessness,” exhibit in the Chappaqua Library Gallery; “Mind Like Water”
September 2, 2011
by Christine Yeres
Chinese ink brush painter Mansheng Wang’s exhibit, “Mind Like Water,” will run through October 8 in the Library’s Gallery. And speaking of October . . . the library staff is gearing up for a town-wide delve into Twain’s Domain—as in Samuel Clemens-Mark Twain—starting October 14. In “Read more…” see what the Library is planning for us all for September and October.
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August 26, 2011
by Laurel Kastner
My sister, friends and I headed out to the Chappaqua Community Garden. We are part of a group of kids from the New Castle Recreation and Parks’ Teen Alliance, and the Chappaqua Library Volunteens who, along with Zahra Baird (“Z”), the Head of Teen Services at the Library, have tended our first garden.
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July 29, 2011
by Alex Friedland
Come to the Chappaqua Library tonight, Friday, July 29, at 7:00 p.m. or Saturday, July 30, at 2:00 p.m. to see the Little Village Playhouse (LVP) performance of two shows, “Sleep Away!” and “How to Eat Like a Child.” These are great and fun shows. You won’t be disappointed.
Teen librarian Zahra Baird with Michael Albert and “To be or not to be…”
July 29, 2011
by Axel Kastner
The ability of art to influence us and even provoke feelings of passion seems magical. Last night, nationally acclaimed cereal box artist Michael Albert visited the Chappaqua Library. His mission? To show us how to look at a piece of art, understand it, appreciate it, and also to create it. The event was co-sponsored by New Castle Recreation and Parks and Teen Alliance. Last week, I spoke with Michael Albert about his life and work.
Read MoreMonday, July 11, 2011
by Eleanor Friedman
The Chappaqua Library has recently acquired access for patrons to Muzzy Online. If you don’t know Muzzy, prepare for some fun interactive adventures with your children in foreign languages including French, Italian, German, and Spanish.
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Monday, July 11, 2011
by Alex Friedland
This Thursday, July 14, come to the Chappaqua library to experience the excitement of theater, the thrill of performing and the satisfaction of learning to work as an ensemble with peers. Little Village Playhouse, a local theater group based in Pleasantville, will be at the library to lead theater games and activities for kids in grades 5 to 12.
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Monday, June 27, 2011
by Christine Yeres
On Monday, June 13, the third grade Grafflin Girl Scouts of Troop 2757 donated $500, the proceeds from their cookie sale, to the Chappaqua Library. Grateful library Director Pam Thornton had a great idea on the spot! She suggested that the funds be dedicated to cover the library’s museum pass program for Chappaqua Library patrons who want to visit the Museum of Natural History in New York City.
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Monday, June 20, 2011
by Christine Yeres
Library Theater has been set aside for teens, for group and individual study, on the following dates and times. Food is allowed in the Theater ONLY! Plus, this year, thanks to Z (teen librarian Zahra Baird) and a trusty custodian, the main library will remain open late to students and tutors until 10:00 p.m. on tonight, Monday, June 20. See inside for schedule.
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Monday, June 13, 2011
by C.J. Ehrlich
The Friends of the Chappaqua Library are delighted to announce the winners of the 31st Annual Young Writers Contest for middle school and high school students.
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