The Fort Daniel - Fort Peach Tree - Peachtree Road Connection
Sunday January 5, 2014
3PM
Smyrna Public Library

Speaker: Wayne Waldrip, Local Historian and Archaeologist

Local historian and archaeologist Wayne Waldrip spoke on the topic "Supplying General John Floyd and Andrew Jackson: The Fort Daniel/ Fort Peachtree/ Peachtree Road Connection" yesterday at the Smyrna Public Library. During the War of 1812, the state of Georgia built a series of forts to control the Creek Indians, who were then allied with the British against the United States. These outposts, located just south of the Chattahoochee River, included Fort Peachtree at Standing Peachtree and Fort Daniel. A road now called Old Peachtree Road, was built connecting these frontier military installations. The speaker has been deeply involved in archaeological and historical research on this critically important War of 1812 defensive system and the attendees thoroughly enjoyed his presentation and depth of knowledge on this topic.

The "First Sunday" lecture series is held in the Smyrna Public Library Meeting Room and is sponsored by the Friends of Smyrna Library.

Free Admission
   

First Sunday Lecture Series

Civil Rights in America
Sunday February 2, 2014
3PM
Smyrna Community Center
** New Venue for This Specific Event **

Speaker: Christine King Farris, sister of Dr. Martin Luther King

Christine King Farris, the only surviving sibling of Dr. Martin Luther King, will be our guest speaker on Sunday, February 2, 2014. Her talk will mark the inaugural event of the Smyrna Public Library's 2014 observation of Black History Month.

Mrs. Farris is the author of the book "My Brother Martin," has been a member of the faculty of Spelman College since 1958, and has been an active participant in the Civil Rights movement throughout her career. She lives with her husband in Atlanta.

A presentation not to be missed! All are invited. Refreshments will be served.

The "First Sunday" lecture series is sponsored by the Friends of Smyrna Library.

Free Admission

First Sunday Lecture Series

Kennesaw State University: The First Fifty Years
Sunday March 2, 2014
3PM
Smyrna Public Library

Speaker: Thomas Allan Scott

Thomas Allan Scott, Professor Emeritus at Kennesaw State University, author of “the much-praised “Cobb County, Georgia and the Origins of the Suburban South,” (2003), will tell us about his recently published “Kennesaw State University: The First Fifty Years, 1963-2013,” marking the 50th anniversary of the premier educational institution in North Georgia. Dr. Scott, who retired from KSU in 2011 after 43 years was witness and participant in much of KSU’s fascinating history. As journalist-historian Joe Kirby wrote in a recent review of Professor Scott’’s book, “the future college was plunked down in a north Cobb corn field as part of a political compromise years before anyone knew the busiest interstate in the country would one day run past its front door.” Today KSU ranks as the third largest college in the Georgia university system, with some 25,000 students.

The "First Sunday" lecture series is held in the Smyrna Public Library Meeting Room and is sponsored by the Friends of Smyrna Library.

Free Admission

Author Appearance

Guest Speaker Fran Stewart

Tuesday April 1, 2014
7 PM
Smyrna Public Library

Fran Stewart fell in love with words at an early age. An award-winning mystery writer and member of the National League of American Pen Women, Sisters in Crime, and the Atlanta Writers Club, Fran conveys her indomitable spirit, warmth, and humor in her writing. The people and events of her life lend form and substance to her novels, short stories, essays, and poems, and serve as a voice for communicating life’s many lessons.

A true Renaissance woman, Stewart writes, edits, knits, sings, practices Reiki, shares her house with rescued cats of all ages, sizes, and personalities, is well-respected as a public speaker, loves a good laugh, and embraces life with passion.

SOURCE: Copyright © FranStewart.com. All rights reserved.  

Indigo As An Iris
by Fran Stewart

In Fran Stewart s most emotionally charged novel so far, small-town librarian Biscuit McKee confronts Glaze, her bipolar sister on the verge of deep depression. Glaze has an ex-boyfriend sitting in jail and plotting ways to get even with Glaze through kidnap and extortion. Biscuit s good friend Margaret becomes a pawn in this attempt for revenge. Complications result in mistaken identities, dire misunderstandings, and a kidnapping gone horribly awry. Marmalade, Biscuit s orange and white tabby cat is once again misunderstood by her humans. They think she s only purring.

SOURCE: Copyright © Amazon.com. All rights reserved.  
   

First Sunday Lecture Series

Smyrna Public Library's Expansive Genealogical Collection
Sunday April 6, 2014
3PM
Smyrna Public Library

Speaker: Kenneth H. Thomas, Jr.

Noted genealogist Kenneth H. Thomas, Jr., will orient library patrons to the wealth of genealogical resources that reside in the Clare Isanhour Room at in the Smyrna Public Library, one of the finest collections of its type in Georgia. Mr. Thomas, a native of Columbus, Georgia, is a graduate of Emory University. He has had an interest in genealogy since the early 1960s when he was in high school. From 1973 until his retirement in 2006 he was Historian in the Historic Preservation Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources in Atlanta, working with the National Register of Historic Places. Through his work on the genealogy of Governor and President Jimmy Carter, his genealogy expertise came to the attention of the Atlanta Journal Constitution staff and he was invited to write his well-known genealogical column for that publication. Mr. Thomas is a frequent lecturer on genealogy and history. He lives in Decatur, Ga.

The "First Sunday" lecture series is held in the Smyrna Public Library Meeting Room and is sponsored by the Friends of Smyrna Library.

Free Admission
  

First Sunday Lecture Series

City of Smyrna Civil War Artifacts Collection
Sunday May 4, 2014
3PM
Smyrna Public Library

Speaker: Scott Butler

Scott Butler, Vice President and Senior Archaeologist at Brockington Cultural Resources will be our guest speaker. The Brockinton firm recently curated a collection of thousands of Civil War artifacts acquired by the City of Smyrna through the good offices of Mayor Max Bacon. Three displays of material from this valuable collection (known as the Cox/ Armstrong Collection), all fabricated by Brockington, are already available for viewing at the second floor levels of the Smyrna Library, Smyrna City Hall, and Brawner Hall on Atlanta Road. Mr. Butler will tell us about his work on the collection and Brockington’s recommendations for the storage, management, and display of this impressive collection of Civil War artifacts.

The "First Sunday" lecture series is held in the Smyrna Public Library Meeting Room and is sponsored by the Friends of Smyrna Library.

Free Admission
  

First Sunday Lecture Series

D-Day
Sunday June 1, 2014
3PM
Smyrna Public Library

Speaker: Joe Kirby

Joe Kirby, author, journalist, and historian, will present a slide/ lecture at the Smyrna Public Library at 3 pm on the topic of D-Day, organized around photos he took on a recent trip to Normandy, a talk that has been very well received in several previous presentations. With the 70th anniversary of D-Day just around the corner, this seemed an especially appropriate topic for the library's popular first Sunday lecture series, sponsored by the Friends of the Smyrna Library. Joe Kirby is the editorial page editor of the Marietta Daily journal, the author of four books, and an accomplished speaker. A presentation not to be missed!

The "First Sunday" lecture series is held in the Smyrna Public Library Meeting Room and is sponsored by the Friends of Smyrna Library.

Free Admission
  

First Sunday Lecture Series

Smyrna Georgia: Civil War Battlefield
Sunday July 6, 2014
3PM
Smyrna Public Library

Speaker: Dr. William Marchione, author of A Brief History of Smyrna, Georgia

Dr. Marchione, Ph.D., the author of the recently published A Brief History of Smyrna, Georgia will present a slide / lecture on "Smyrna, Georgia: Civil War Battlefield" that will demonstrate that the battles and troop movements in and around Smyrna (at Smyrna Camp Ground, Ruff's Mill, and at the River Line fortifications) were far more important and decisive than is generally recognized. His talk will deal with such facets of the Atlanta campaign as General Francis Asbury Shoup's two defensive barriers constructed in South Cobb---the Smyrna Line and the River Line (the latter dubbed by historians "The Maginot Line of the Confederacy"; the near death experience of General William Tecumseh Sherman, not once, but twice here in Smyrna and the likely consequences had Sherman been killed on our home turf; the critical importance of the W&A railroad in the Atlanta Campaign as a line of supply for the federal army; and finally, how the conquest of Atlanta and the collapse of the Confederacy were virtual certainties once Sherman's federal juggernaut breached that last great physical barrier on the road to Atlanta, the Chattahoochee River.

The "First Sunday" lecture series is held in the Smyrna Public Library Meeting Room and is sponsored by the Friends of Smyrna Library.

Free Admission
  

First Sunday Lecture Series

Rich's Department Store
Sunday August 3, 2014
3PM
Smyrna Public Library

Speaker: Jeff Clemmons, author of Rich's: A Southern Institution

Join author and historian Jeff Clemmons as he recalls the history of Rich's, Georgia's and the South’s iconic department store.

In 1867, less than three years after the Civil War left the city in ruins, Hungarian Jewish immigrant Morris Rich opened a small dry goods store on what is now Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta. Over time, his brothers Emanuel and Daniel joined the business; within a century, it became a retailing dynasty.

Bring your own Rich's memorabilia to share!

The "First Sunday" lecture series is held in the Smyrna Public Library Meeting Room and is sponsored by the Friends of Smyrna Library.

Free Admission

First Sunday Lecture Series

Great American Composer: Louis Moreau Gottschalk
Sunday September 7, 2014
3PM
Smyrna Community Center (venue change for this lecture)

Speaker: Jeffrey Wagner, pianist and classical music lecturer

Join us in celebration of Classical Music Month as we explore the extraordinary life and work of American composer, Louis Moreau Gottschalk. The lecture will feature a sampling and analysis of of Gottschalk’s compositions for orchestra and piano. It will be followed at 4:30 pm with a brief piano performance by Mr. Wagner at the Tara Simon Studios at 1306 Concord Rd.

Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829 - 1869) represents, in his work and life as a performer and composer, a remarkable American creative artist. A Southerner by birth (New Orleans was the city of his birth), Gottschalk showed himself to be an unusually great musical talent at an early age. His father was a Jewish Englishman and his mother of Creole origin. His prodigious feats as a youngster were recognized by prominent New Orleans citizens, and with their support he traveled with his father to Europe for several years of study and performance. There, his talents were applauded by no less an artist than Frederic Chopin, a notoriously critical listener and appraiser of musical gifts.

Upon returning to the U.S. Gottschalk toured as a performing pianist extensively. His tours took him to the Caribbean nations, as well as Central and South America. After a scandalous liason with a young lady seminary student in California, he fled the US and spent the last four years of his life in South America. He died after contracting malaria while concertizing in Brazil,

Gottschalks's music, which will be excerpted and played, consists of much American folk material. In one popular work, he cleverly imitates the sounds of country banjo music on the piano, and in another the infectiously rhythmic sounds of Puerto Rican-African chant. As did many European composers of his generation, Gattschalk sought to bring fresh and authentic folk material into his music (as Chopin did, for example, with the music of his native Poland, or Dvorak with that of his native Bohemia).Gottschalk's life and work stands as a distinctively American voice dating from and era when America was spreading its wings artistically and culturally, thereby distinguishing itself from its strong Euro-American roots.

Speaker Bio:
Jeffrey Wagner holds a BA in Music from Northwestern University, an MM in Piano Performance from Indiana University, and has pursued doctoral studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music and Case Western Reserve University. His teachers in piano have included Walter Robert, Hans Graf, Vitya Vronsky, Paul Schenly, and Louise Szkodzinski. For the past 25 years he has contributed regularly to Clavier Magazine, for whom he is currently a Consulting Editor. During this time he has traveled around the USA and Canada to interview over 40 well-known pianists and teachers. He has twice won the "EdPress" award for excellence in educational journalism. Having pursued a career in software analysis and design, he continues his avocation of interviewing, writing, and performing primarily in the Chicago area, where he lives. He has served as pre-concert lecturer for the Northwest Choral Society in suburban Chicago, and also presented lectures for the Chicago Area Music Teachers Association.

The "First Sunday" lecture series is held in the Smyrna Public Library Meeting Room and is sponsored by the Friends of Smyrna Library.

Free Admission

Activities Throughout September, 2014

What if everyone in Smyrna read the same book? Until Tuesday

"Smyrna Reads," a "One Book" project, poses this question. We hope the answer is spontaneous outbreaks of discussion, community-building, and fun! Throughout the month of September, 2014, Smyrna Library will promoteUntil Tuesday: A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him by Luis Carlos Montalván.

"Smyrna Reads" includes events for adults, families and children. Montalván's newest title is a children's book, Tuesday Tucks Me In. For families who want to extend the discussion to their young children, Tuesday Tucks Me In, is a perfect way to introduce the concept of therapy dogs.

SMYRNA READS 2014 Brochure

EVENTS:

BOOK DISCUSSIONS Thursday, September 4, 12:00 noon
Tuesday, September 9, 10:30 a.m.
Thursday, September 11, 6:00 p.m.

FAMILY PROGRAMS Luis and Tuesday"Meet a Helper Dog"
Tuesday, September 16, 4:00 p.m.

"Meet Tuesday on Tuesday"
AUTHOR APPEARANCE
Tuesday, September 23, 6:30 p.m.

SERVICE PROJECT
MAKER MONDAY: "Homemade Cards for Soldiers" Monday, September 15, 12:00 noon - 8:00 p.m.

SOLDIER CARE PACKAGES: "Packaged with Care" Friday, September 19, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

CLOSING EVENT
"Bark in the Park" Saturday, September 27, 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

First Sunday Lecture Series

Smyrna in the 50s & 60s
Sunday October 5, 2014
3PM
Smyrna Public Library

Speaker: Mayor Max Bacon, Smyrna, Georgia

Our First Sunday Lecture will feature Smyrna Mayor Max Bacon sharing his recollections of growing up in Smyrna in the 1950s and 1960s. First elected Mayor in 1985, Max Bacon has presided over Smyrna's city government during three decades of remarkable growth and development.

Mayor Bacon will reflect on how the city has changed over the years. A much anticipated historical talk by the longest serving mayor in the southeastern United States. This is apresentation not to be missed!

The "First Sunday" lecture series is held in the Smyrna Public Library Meeting Room and is sponsored by the Friends of Smyrna Library.

Free Admission

Signature 2014 Friends of Smyrna Library Fundraiser

"Dinner with Destiny: Meet Mr. Lincoln"

Smyrna Community Center
Saturday November 1, 2014
6:30 PM

Tickets Are $40 Each and include Dinner, Dessert, Presentation & Door Prizes

What if you had the chance to have dinner with America's 16th President? What would you ask him?

Now's your chance! Join the Friends of Smyrna Library on Saturday, November 1, at 6:30 p.m. for the first annual "Dinner with Destiny" fundraiser where we will "Meet Mr. Lincoln."

Professional Abraham Lincoln presenter, Dennis Boggs presents an enlightening and informative look at the life of Lincoln, as it might have been told by Honest Abe himself. The audience will travel from Lincoln's birth in the wilderness of Kentucky to his early years in Indiana and Illinois... from storekeeper to self-taught lawyer and politician... through his years as President during the Civil War and to his death at the hands of an assassin in Ford's Theater.

Dennis Boggs is a fulltime Lincoln presenter from Nashville, Tennessee. His credits include two documentaries for the History Channel, "Being Lincoln" and "Looking for Lincoln."

Mr. Boggs finds that the most rewarding part of his program is through the question and answer session which immediately follows his presentation. During this time, President Lincoln is able to address questions about his life, presidency and legacy.

"Dinner with Destiny" is a fundraiser sponsored by the Friends of Smyrna Library (FOSL) to benefit the children's print collection at Smyrna Public Library. FOSL's goal for this fundraiser is to generate $3200 in funds to support the educational pursuits of Smyrna's youth.

Individual tickets for the dinner and presentation are $40 each. Event sponsorships are also available.

The sesquicentennial observation of the Civil War has brought new interest to this time of American History. Join us for a special evening with the "Great Emancipator" and support the young minds of Smyrna!

TICKET INFORMATION

$40 each - includes dinner, dessert, presentation, and door prizes

Tickets to "Dinner with Destiny: Meet Mr. Lincoln" are available for purchase at the Smyrna Public Library, 100 Village Green Circle, in downtown Smyrna. Cash or check only please. Make checks payable to the "Friends of Smyrna Library."

You may also mail checks to the following address. Please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope for the return tickets.

Friends of Smyrna Library
100 Village Green Circle
Smyrna GA 30080

 Interested In Becoming An Event Sponsor?

First Sunday Lecture Series

Historic Taylor-Brawner House Tour
Sunday November 2, 2014
3PM
Taylor-Brawner House at 3188 Atlanta Road

Speaker: Mike Terry, Historian of the Taylor-Brawner Foundation

In the first of what we hope will a series of occasional field trips to significant historical properties in and around Smyrna, our next Friends of the Smyrna Library “First Sunday” event, to be held on Sunday, November 2 at 3 pm, will be a tour of the Taylor-Brawner House at 3188 Atlanta Road, Smyrna, in Taylor-Brawner Park.

Mike Terry, Historian of the Taylor-Brawner Foundation, and author of the book, “A Simpler Time: The Story of the Taylor-Brawner House and Brawner Hospital,” will narrate this highly informative tour of one of Smyrna’s most historic properties.

The First Sunday Lecture Series is sponsored by the Friends of the Smyrna Library.

Free Admission
  

First Sunday Lecture Series

Military Aviation in World Wars I & II
Sunday December 7, 2014
3PM
Smyrna Public Library

Speaker: Historian/Author Narayan Sengupta

On July 19, 1918, British Sopwith Camels from the new aircraft carrier Furious made an early morning surprise attack on the German naval Zeppelins at Tondern, Germany. Their mission was a tremendous success, practically ending Zeppelin operations and setting the precedent for World War II’s aircraft carrier attacks at Taranto and Pearl Harbor.

Historian/Author Narayan Sengupta traces the evolution of aircraft carriers and naval aviation up to 1941 with a primary focus on the Tondern raid. Sengupta, an American of Franco-Indian heritage, has spent seven years researching American military aviation in World War I. He has traveled across France and the United States to visit airfields, air museums and archives after learning that America’s first combat squadrons were based a few hundred yards from his mother’s home in Saints, France. In 2008, he organized the 90th Anniversary Commemoration of the United States Air Force’s first combat operations. He has written four books: "American Eagles - The Illustrated History of American Aviation in World War I”, “POW Stories”, “Disaster at Dieppe” and “Lafayette Escadrille: America's Most Famous Squadron, " all available on www.USAWW1.com.

The "First Sunday Lecture" series is sponsored by the Friends of Smyrna Library. Learn more at www.friendsofsmyrnalibrary.org.

Speaker Bio: Narayan Sengupta

Narayan has had ten veterans on the French side of his family, seven of whom were in combat. One died in action, one was wounded, one was captured, one was an occupier and one was in the Resistance. Two received the Croix de Guerre. On August 27, 1944, his mother’s family was liberated by brave Americans of the US 3rd Armored Division. On the Indian side of his family, both great uncles were noted historians, and one was head of the All India Historical Society. Consequently, he is very passionate about America’s military accomplishments and its veterans.

Narayan speaks several languages, loves to travel and has visited about 20 countries. He was Star Student at North Fulton High School (which was America’s first International Baccalaureate School), majored in History at Emory and earned an MBA from Georgia State. He worked at places like IBM, Coca-Cola, Hewlett Packard, MCI and Alltel before starting NFI (www.nfiweb.com), a website, search engine optimization and database development firm in Atlanta, Georgia.

He is in the Smyrna Rotary Club and served as President in 2008-2009. He started Smyrna’s annual Veterans Day event in 2008. He is on the Smyrna Veterans Committee and in SuperSmyrna. In 2010, the Smyrna Rotary Club named him “Smyrna Citizen of the Year.” He is the very proud father of two young daughters.

Free Admission