The Fundamental Importance of Verity by Colleen Hoover

             At the Calhoun County Library, we listened when the community requested a place for book discussions. Years ago, we started the monthly Brown Bag Book Club, so named because the group met at lunchtime and everyone was invited to bring their own “brown bag lunch.” We are pleased to announce that this fun group resumed meeting in October. Our most recent lunchtime gathering was held on Thursday, January 20, where we talked about the book Verity by Colleen Hoover.

            This mystery romance thriller certainly made a big impact in our small club. The entire hour was filled with discussion of almost every aspect of this book from characters to plot and plot twists. It really was a good talk, and it made a lot of us see the events of the book in a different light. “It is like nothing I have ever read before,” one of the attendees stated when asked about the comparison of Verity to other romance thrillers she has read in the past. In fact, Cosmopolitan magazine reviewed this book and wrote, “a mystery romance book that'll have you on the edge of your seat (and keep you up at night).”

An open-ended ending left each of us the opportunity to interpret which direction it could have gone. We don’t want to ruin it by sharing our idea of the ending with you, but we will tell you if you haven’t read Verity by Colleen Hoover yet, you are missing out!

Our next book club meeting will be held on Thursday, February 17, 2022 at 1:00 PM. The book will be This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger. This magnificent novel is about four orphans on a life-changing odyssey during the early years of the Great Depression. Come check out your copy today at the Calhoun County Library so you can join the discussion!

Teens Give Back

Part One:

            It is very important to lend a helping hand to people who are less fortunate. It instills good morals, it can place a positive perspective about our own lives, and it can make us grateful for what we do have.

The very first Teen Night of the year, Tuesday, January 11, 2022, our teenagers between the ages of 12 to 17 began a very important project - sleeping mats for the homeless.

What materials are needed for this project? Nothing too crazy. Only plastic grocery bags like the ones from Piggly Wiggly or Dollar General! That’s it. The crazy part isn’t that these mats can be made completely from grocery bags; it is the shocking number of bags needed to make one mat.

We had the teenagers take guesses on how many bags we would need to complete one mat and they did not disappoint.

“100?”

“200?”

“250?”

“No way it needs 300!”

When we told them that a single mat takes anywhere from 800 to 1,000 bags, they were wide-eyed and their jaws dropped. They made jokes about how it’s going to take them years to finish this project, but not a single teenager stopped cutting.

Why are we were using grocery bags instead of yarn? Plastic bags are easy to obtain, easy to clean, and best of all, they’re free. They conduct heat, are waterproof, and provide minimal padding so people can stay warm and dry on a cold, hard surface. In addition, by using the bags, we are recycling. That helps the planet and the homeless.

It was a very calm atmosphere as the teenagers did the prep work that included cutting the bags into sections. There was no measuring needed and only a few simple cuts on each bag. That’s it. Even the teens mentioned how easy it was and that they are happy they could help a person in need. The teens are ready to do whatever it takes to make these sleeping mats and we cannot wait to see the finished product in the future.

The next Teen Night that we will be continuing this project is on Tuesday, February 8, 2022 from 5 PM to 7 PM. If you missed the first meeting, don’t worry! We will catch you right up to speed so you can join us in this humbling experience of service to our community.

Frosty Fun

             In our little town of St. Matthews, our winters get cold, but we don’t get snow often - maybe once every five years or so. Therefore, we brought the snow to us at the Calhoun County Library!

During our bimonthly STEM event on Wednesday, January 5, 2022,  kids in grades 3-6 participated in some frosty fun! The very first thing we did was have our young scientists predict whether it would snow in Calhoun County this winter season. Using a graph, we concluded that half said it would, and the other half thought we were crazy for even asking.

Using a jar, they each created their own snowman with googly eyes, pipe cleaners, jingle bells, buttons, and some “fake” snow. Our materials to make Frosty would not have been able to stick to the jars without some sort of glue- hot glue for the details, like eyes and nose, and regular glue for the shredded snow. Our precious snowmen didn’t even melt from the hot glue since we had a lesson involving problem-solving skills and the very important safety procedures that are needed while using a hot glue gun. No child was left unattended with it and no one got burned! In fact, the kids were too busy blotting the jar with the regular glue and plastic pieces.

“Monsters! Snowy abominations!” they yelled.

The room filled with laughter about how funny their customized snowmen creations turned out. They were making up stories about how they were freezing cold or that a blizzard was coming.

Then the “real” snow came out.

A small amount of white snow powder was sprinkled into cupped hands with a protective plate underneath. When a few drops of water were added, the powder expanded and expanded and expanded some more! What started as the size of a quarter grew enough to fill a quart Ziploc bag! It seemed like magic, but our scientists were too smart to believe that. After all, how can you trick geniuses? They learned how polymers grow when water is added!

A snowstorm came through the Calhoun County Library. You didn’t hear about it on the news, but everyone made it out safely and had ‘snow’ much fun!

Don’t forget to bring your kids to our next STEM program. At 4 PM on Wednesday, January 19, 2022. Glenna Mason from Clemson Extension’s 4-H Program will be teaching about simple stitches. At the same time, we will be having our monthly STEM, Jr. program. It’s for k5 – 2^nd  graders, and they will be making New Year’s Celebration Slime!

Our Local Hero

             In the human body, there is an average of ten pints of blood. Without blood, there is no life. Some people get into accidents, need life-saving surgery, or are born with diseases that require them to receive blood. They need help. They need your help.

On Wednesday, January 5, 2022, the Calhoun County Library teamed up with TRMC to hold a blood drive. That’s where you can donate blood to blood banks or hospital blood assurance programs so it is available when people really need it. Don’t worry; it's completely safe and conducted by kind and gentle professionals.

We had a special guest visit the Bloodmobile during our blood drive. Calhoun County Administrator, John McLauchlin, came to donate. We were lucky to be able to sit down and talk with him about this worthy cause.

Many people say they can’t attend events like this because they don’t have time. Can you tell us why this is so important that you took time out of your busy schedule to be here? 

“It’s important to me primarily because my momma instilled it into me,” Mr. McLauchlin responded. Since his mother was in the medical profession, she made sure that her son was aware of the major importance of donating blood. He has also witnessed the need secondhand as some of his family members were on the receiving end. “When you see that side of things, it really makes a difference in donating.” Mr. McLauchlin also mentioned that since the Bloodmobile is in our county, it makes it more convenient and easy to get to.

There are millions of people around the world who are afraid of needles and the sight of blood. To them, donating can be a scary experience. What would you say to a person with these phobias to ease his mind?

“Don’t be scared. It’s worth it,” Mr. McLauchlin said without a moment’s hesitation.

 

There you have it. Our very own county administrator believes in this so much that he made it a point to visit and donate. Next time there is a local blood drive, we hope to see you support the cause and help save a life!