Friends of Smyrna Library - Smyrna, Georgia

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2018 Lecture Series Events

2018 Lecture Series Events
Upcoming Lecture Series Events

First Sunday Lecture Series

The History of Georgia Wine
Sunday, January 7, 2018
3:00-4:00 p.m.
Smyrna Library, Meeting Room

Speaker: Martha McElveen Ezzard, Co-owner of Tiger Mountain Vineyards

Martha Ezzard is the author of The Second Bud: Deserting the City for a Farm Winery. Ms Ezzard will discuss the history of Georgia wine and her our own pioneering fine wine venture in North Georgia at Tiger Mountain Vineyards.

Ms Ezzard will have copies of her book to sell after the presentation.

The First Sunday Lecture series is sponsored by the Friends of Smyrna Library and Smyrna Public Library.

FREE ADMISSION

First Sunday Lecture Series

Susie King Taylor: An African-American Woman’s Civil War Experience

Sunday, February 4, 2018
3:00-4:00 p.m.
Smyrna Library, Meeting Room

Speaker: Mary Wallace Moore, Smyrna Public Library Director

In 1902, native Georgian, Susie King Taylor published a memoir of her experiences as a newly freed slave working for African-American Federal Troops during the Civil War. Mrs. Taylor provides a window into camp life from a unique perspective. Re-visiting Mrs. Taylor's memoir is an excellent way to celebrate this year's theme for African-American History Month -- "African Americans in Times of War."

Speaker Biography: Mary Moore has been the director of Smyrna Library for five years. Mrs. Moore ran across a mention of Susie King Taylor while reading online. Surprised that she had never heard of Mrs. Taylor before, Mrs. Moore began researching Mrs. Taylor's life and work.

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

FREE ADMISSION

Special 6-Part Lecture Series #1

Smyrna, Georgia: An Episodic History
Monday, February 5, 2018

Instructor: Dr. William P. Marchione, Ph.D.

Each lecture will address two broad themes, with a half hour devoted to each. The series will begin on Monday February 5, 2018 and conclude six weeks later on March 12, 2018. The class will meet in the first floor meeting room of the Smyrna Public Library from 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Pre-registration is required. Space is limited. RSVP: sreference@smyrnaga.gov.

This Week's Lecture Topics:

Native Society: Assimilation & Expulsion, 1825-1837
Transportation Challenges and Economic Opportunities, 1837-1851.

2. The Antebellum Economy, 1851-60; The Impact and Legacy of the Civil War, 1861-1880. (Monday, February 12, 2018)

3. Agricultural Diversification, 1880-1905; The Suburbanizing Impulse, 1905-1930. (Monday, February 19, 2018)

4. The Nadir of Race Relations, 1918-38; The Impact of the Depression Era and the New Deal, 1930 to 1942. (Monday, February 26, 2018)

5. The Economic Stimulus of the World War II and Cold War Economies, 1943-70; An Era of Fevered Development, 1970-1985. (Monday, March 5, 2018)

6. The Transformative Years, Smyrna since 1985; Looking Backward and Forward (Monday, March 12, 2018)

Reading material:
Marchione, A Brief History of Smyrna, Georgia (History Press, 2013). The library owns eight circulating copies of this history. Copies are also be available for purchase at the Library’s circulation desk and from on-line booksellers like Amazon. Also, a kindle version of the book can be ordered online.
Material posted on the instructor’s blog, “Local Historian North & South,” which can be accessed via wpmarchione.com.
Recommendations will be made from time to time of books and other material housed in the Smyrna Public Library’s Local History Collection.

Special 6-Part Lecture Series #2

Smyrna, Georgia: An Episodic History
Monday, February 12, 2018

Instructor: Dr. William P. Marchione, Ph.D.

Topical Outline:

1. Native Society: Assimilation & Expulsion, 1825-1837; Transportation Challenges and Economic Opportunities, 1837-1851. (Monday, February 5, 2018)

2. The Antebellum Economy, 1851-60; The Impact and Legacy of the Civil War, 1861-1880. (Monday, February 12, 2018)

3. Agricultural Diversification, 1880-1905; The Suburbanizing Impulse, 1905-1930. (Monday, February 19, 2018)

4. The Nadir of Race Relations, 1918-38; The Impact of the Depression Era and the New Deal, 1930 to 1942. (Monday, February 26, 2018)

5. The Economic Stimulus of the World War II and Cold War Economies, 1943-70; An Era of Fevered Development, 1970-1985. (Monday, March 5, 2018)

6. The Transformative Years, Smyrna since 1985; Looking Backward and Forward (Monday, March 12, 2018)

Special 6-Part Lecture Series #3

Smyrna, Georgia: An Episodic History
Monday, February 19, 2018

Instructor: Dr. William P. Marchione, Ph.D.

Topical Outline:

1. Native Society: Assimilation & Expulsion, 1825-1837; Transportation Challenges and Economic Opportunities, 1837-1851. (Monday, February 5, 2018)

2. The Antebellum Economy, 1851-60; The Impact and Legacy of the Civil War, 1861-1880. (Monday, February 12, 2018)

3. Agricultural Diversification, 1880-1905; The Suburbanizing Impulse, 1905-1930. (Monday, February 19, 2018)

4. The Nadir of Race Relations, 1918-38; The Impact of the Depression Era and the New Deal, 1930 to 1942. (Monday, February 26, 2018)

5. The Economic Stimulus of the World War II and Cold War Economies, 1943-70; An Era of Fevered Development, 1970-1985. (Monday, March 5, 2018)

6. The Transformative Years, Smyrna since 1985; Looking Backward and Forward (Monday, March 12, 2018)

Special 6-Part Lecture Series #4

Smyrna, Georgia: An Episodic History
Monday, February 26, 2018

Instructor: Dr. William P. Marchione, Ph.D.

Topical Outline:

1. Native Society: Assimilation & Expulsion, 1825-1837; Transportation Challenges and Economic Opportunities, 1837-1851. (Monday, February 5, 2018)

2. The Antebellum Economy, 1851-60; The Impact and Legacy of the Civil War, 1861-1880. (Monday, February 12, 2018)

3. Agricultural Diversification, 1880-1905; The Suburbanizing Impulse, 1905-1930. (Monday, February 19, 2018)

4. The Nadir of Race Relations, 1918-38; The Impact of the Depression Era and the New Deal, 1930 to 1942. (Monday, February 26, 2018)

5. The Economic Stimulus of the World War II and Cold War Economies, 1943-70; An Era of Fevered Development, 1970-1985. (Monday, March 5, 2018)

6. The Transformative Years, Smyrna since 1985; Looking Backward and Forward (Monday, March 12, 2018)

First Sunday Lecture Series

Mittie & Thee: An 1853 Roosevelt Romance
Sunday, March 4, 2018
3:00-4:00 p.m.
Smyrna Library, Meeting Room

Speaker: Gwendolyn I. Koehler, Educational Coordinator for Bulloch Hall, Roswell, Georgia

Ms Koehler will be speak on her first book, “Mittie & Thee: An 1853 Roosevelt Romance,” which elaborates the love affair between Martha "Mattie” Bulloch and Theodore Roosevelt. Their courtship, conducted mostly through letters, provides us with an intimate peek into their personal love story.

Speaker Bio: Born in New York’s beautiful Finger Lakes Region, Gwen now resides near Roswell, Georgia. She is the Educational Coordinator at Bulloch Hall. She is now working on a post-1865 Bulloch and Roosevelt family project. At Bulloch Hall, she continues Bulloch family research, tour and exhibit development, docent training and recruitment.

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

FREE ADMISSION

Special 6-Part Lecture Series #5

Smyrna, Georgia: An Episodic History
Monday, March 5, 2018

Instructor: Dr. William P. Marchione, Ph.D.

Topical Outline:

1. Native Society: Assimilation & Expulsion, 1825-1837; Transportation Challenges and Economic Opportunities, 1837-1851. (Monday, February 5, 2018)

2. The Antebellum Economy, 1851-60; The Impact and Legacy of the Civil War, 1861-1880. (Monday, February 12, 2018)

3. Agricultural Diversification, 1880-1905; The Suburbanizing Impulse, 1905-1930. (Monday, February 19, 2018)

4. The Nadir of Race Relations, 1918-38; The Impact of the Depression Era and the New Deal, 1930 to 1942. (Monday, February 26, 2018)

5. The Economic Stimulus of the World War II and Cold War Economies, 1943-70; An Era of Fevered Development, 1970-1985. (Monday, March 5, 2018)

6. The Transformative Years, Smyrna since 1985; Looking Backward and Forward (Monday, March 12, 2018)

Special 6-Part Lecture Series #6

Smyrna, Georgia: An Episodic History
Monday, March 12, 2018

Instructor: Dr. William P. Marchione, Ph.D.

Topical Outline:

1. Native Society: Assimilation & Expulsion, 1825-1837; Transportation Challenges and Economic Opportunities, 1837-1851. (Monday, February 5, 2018)

2. The Antebellum Economy, 1851-60; The Impact and Legacy of the Civil War, 1861-1880. (Monday, February 12, 2018)

3. Agricultural Diversification, 1880-1905; The Suburbanizing Impulse, 1905-1930. (Monday, February 19, 2018)

4. The Nadir of Race Relations, 1918-38; The Impact of the Depression Era and the New Deal, 1930 to 1942. (Monday, February 26, 2018)

5. The Economic Stimulus of the World War II and Cold War Economies, 1943-70; An Era of Fevered Development, 1970-1985. (Monday, March 5, 2018)

6. The Transformative Years, Smyrna since 1985; Looking Backward and Forward (Monday, March 12, 2018)

First Sunday Lecture Series

Blue Ridge Scenic Railway
Sunday, April 15, 2018
3:00-4:00 p.m.
Smyrna Library, Meeting Room

Speaker: Melissa Beck, author of Blue Ridge Scenic Railway

Ms Beck will be speak about her book Blue Ridge Scenic Railway, which is a photographic history of the copper miners, shop owners, homesteaders, and railroad workers who made these mountains their homes, often for many proud generations. Her research led her into the homes and lives of those families who shared their family photographs and family stories with her, which she brings alive in book and in her shared narrative.

Speaker Bio: Melissa Beck is a published fiction author whose many interests have led her at various times to show dogs, learn improv comedy, join a wool-hooking group, and run a busy needlework repair business. Born in Oak Ridge in the East Tennessee Valley, she regularly visited her grandparents in the Smokies. Melissa says the hills are in her blood, and she hopes to retire soon to her cabin in Fannin County, Georgia.

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

FREE ADMISSION

First Sunday Lecture Series

Popular Birds of Smyrna:
How to Attract Them and How to Spot Them
Sunday, May 6, 2018
3:00-4:00 p.m.
Smyrna Library, Meeting Room

Speaker: Kathryn Jackson-Van Detta, owner of Wild Birds Unlimited of Vinings

Kathryn Jackson-Van Detta, Audubon Certified Master Birder, will open up the amazing world of our backyard birds. She will talk about the more than 20 species of birds commonly found in our Smyrna backyards, year-round. From the plucky and idiosyncratic Brown-Headed Nuthatch to the glorious Eastern Bluebird, Kathryn will discuss how to identify our local birds by sight and song, as well as how to create habitats at your home to attract and foster our local birds.

Speaker Bio: Kathryn Jackson-Van Detta owns Wild Birds Unlimited of Vinings Nature Shop, along with her husband, Jeff. Kathryn grew up in the Perry, Georgia, area, and Kathryn's interest in wildlife generally and birds in particular was encouraged by her maternal grandmother. Kathryn made her first career as a law office manager. She then graduated with honors from Georgia State's Robinson College of Business, and seriously considered setting up an insurance agency -- until she found the opportunity to open a Wild Birds Unlimited Store in the Vinings-Smyrna area, which was a lot more fun! Kathryn and Jeff live and feed the birds at their home in the West Cooper Lake area of Smyrna. Kathryn is a Master Birder, certified by the Audubon Society, as well as a Certified Bird Feeding Specialist, as certified by Jim Carpenter, the founder of Wild Birds Unlimited.

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

FREE ADMISSION

First Sunday Lecture Series

Atlanta's Historic Westview Cemetery
Sunday, June 3, 2018
3:00-4:00 p.m.
Smyrna Library, Meeting Room

Speaker: Jeff Clemmons, Historian and Author of Atlanta's Historic Westview Cemetery and Rich’s: A Southern Institution

Mr. Clemmons will speak on his second book, “Atlanta's Historic Westview Cemetery” which presents the history of the largest non-profit cemetery in the Southeast where more than more than 108,000 interments have taken place since 1884.

Speaker Bio: Jeff Clemmons curates and guides walking tours of Atlanta's Midtown and SoNo districts and Westview Cemetery for the Atlanta Preservation Center. He also serves on the board of the Atlanta Preservation Center's auxiliary group, CIRCA, which offers its members private tours of some of metropolitan Atlanta's most interesting historic structures. Atlanta's Historic Westview Cemetery is Clemmons's second book. All of his research for it is housed at the Atlanta History Center.

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

FREE ADMISSION

First Sunday Lecture Series

What’s With All the Peaches?
How the Georgia Peach Became a Southern Symbol
Sunday, July 8, 2018
3:00-4:00 p.m.
Smyrna Library, Meeting Room

Speaker: Dr. William Thomas Okie, author of The Georgia Peach: Culture, Agriculture, and Environment in the American South

Imprinted on license plates, plastered on billboards, stamped on the tail side of the state quarter, and inscribed on the state map, the peach is easily Georgia’s most visible symbol. Yet Prunus persica itself is surprisingly rare in Georgia, and it has never been central to the southern agricultural economy. Why, then, have southerners - and Georgians in particular - clung to the fruit? In this presentation, Kennesaw State professor William Thomas Okie will explain how the peach became such an important cultural icon for the South even as it became increasingly difficult to grow over the course of the twentieth century, and what that tells us about culture and agriculture in the American South.

Speaker Bio: William Thomas Okie grew up in the Georgia peach belt, studied history at Covenant College and the University of Georgia, and serves as associate editor of the journal Agricultural History. As Associate Professor at Kennesaw State University, he teaches American history, food history, and history education. He lives with his family in unincorporated Cobb County, Georgia. The Georgia Peach: Culture, Agriculture, and Environment in the American South (Cambridge University Press, 2016) is his first book.

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

FREE ADMISSION.

First Sunday Lecture Series

The Four Bs: Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, and Berloiz
Sunday, August 5, 2018
3:00-4:00 p.m.
Smyrna Public Library, Meeting Room

Presenter: Jeffrey Wagner, Northwestern University

"The Four Bs", will offer a look at the world of classical music by focusing on four of its most well known composers: Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, and Berlioz. Our presentation will offer musical examples from the masterworks of each of these creators, as well as a look at their remarkable, and very different, personalities and lives.

Our lecturer, Jeffrey Wagner, holds a BA in Music from Northwestern University, a Masters in piano performance from Indiana University, and has pursued doctoral studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music and Case Western Reserve University. For the past 25 years Mr. Wagner has contributed regularly to Clavier Magazine, where he is a Consulting Editor. During this time he traveled widely in the USA and Canada interviewing over 40 well-known pianists and renowned teachers of music. Mr. Wagner has twice won the Ed Press award for excellence in educational journalism as well as serving as pre-concert lecturer for various Chicago area audiences.

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

FREE ADMISSION.

First Sunday Lecture Series

Flute and Harp Recital, with Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Principals Christina Smith and Elisabeth Remy Johnson
Sunday, September 9, 2018
3:00 p.m.
Smyrna Public Library, Meeting Room

Free of charge and open to the public

Description: Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Principals Christina Smith, flute, and Elisabeth Remy Johnson, harp, will present an afternoon recital of flute and harp music. The program includes a wide variety of works, from American composers to the tango music of Astor Piazzolla. The program also includes descriptions of their instruments and the musical selections, and time for questions and answers. Suitable for all ages.

Christina Smith is one of the most sought-after flutists in the country as an orchestral player, soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. This is her 27th season as principal flutist of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and her flute solos can be heard on 40 ASO recordings. She has also appeared with the orchestra numerous times as concerto soloist. A graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy, she studied at the Curtis Institute of Music as a pupil of the legendary Julius Baker. Ms. Smith has also studied with Jeffrey Khaner, Tim Day, and Keith Underwood. Ms. Smith has recently appeared as guest principal flutist with orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony, LA Philharmonic, and the orchestras in Vancouver, Baltimore, St. Paul and Pittsburgh. Equally passionate about teaching, Ms. Smith serves on the faculty at Kennesaw State University and Emory University.

Elisabeth Remy Johnson is principal harpist of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, where she is frequently a soloist. Ms. Remy Johnson gives solo and chamber music recitals throughout the U.S.A. and teaches at Emory University, Georgia State University, and Kennesaw State University. In addition to numerous recordings with the ASO, she has recorded several solo and chamber CDs, most recently, “A Christmas Collection” for solo harp. Ms. Remy Johnson is a graduate of Harvard University, Phi Beta Kappa, where she majored in Music and French. Her studies were with Alice Chalifoux and Ann Hobson Pilot. In addition to her performances with the ASO, recent highlights include performances at the Grand Teton Music Festival, the Meeting House Chamber Music series in New England, and the International Harp Festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Ms. Remy Johnson was co-founder and artistic director (2000-2010) of the Urban Youth Harp Ensemble, serving students from the Atlanta Public Schools. She has received Atlanta's Channel Eleven Community Service Award, the TBS Pathfinder’s Award, and the Atlanta Business Chronicle's "Up & Comers Award.”

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

FREE ADMISSION.

First Sunday Lecture Series

Author Appearance: Thomas Mullen
Smyrna Reads 2018

Sunday, October 14, 2018
3:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Historic Reed House, 3080 Atlanta Road, Smyrna, Georgia
Refreshments will be served. A booksigning will follow the presentation.

Seating is limited. RSVP: sreference@smyrnaga.gov.

Presenter: Thomas Mullen, author of Darktown, Lightning Men, The Last Town on Earth

Award-winning author and Decatur resident Thomas Mullen will discuss his novel Darktown and the real-life history that inspired it. Set in 1948, when the city of Atlanta hired its first eight African-American police officers, Darktown paints a portrait of a city on the cusp of great change. Following the stories of two black and two white officers, the book explores resonant issues of race, police, and the criminal justice system while showing how the coming Civil Rights Movement would impact life in Atlanta, the South, and the United States--in ways we're still experiencing today.

Thomas Mullen’s newest novel, Lightning Men, was named one of the Top Ten Crime Novels of 2017 by The New York Times. He’s the author of four other novels, including Darktown, an NPR Best Book of 2016, which was shortlisted for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Southern Book Prize, the Indies Choice Book Award, and was nominated for two Crime Writers Association Dagger Awards; The Last Town on Earth, which was named Best Debut Novel of 2006 by USA Today and was awarded the James Fenimore Cooper Prize for excellence in historical fiction; and The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers, which was awarded the Townsend Prize for best novel by a Georgia author. Two of his books have been named Books All Georgians Should Read, and the "Darktown" series is being developed for television by Amazon Studios, Sony Pictures, and executive producer Jamie Foxx. He lives with his family in Decatur.

Smyrna Reads is sponsored by The Friends of Smyrna Library.

FREE ADMISSION.

Fall 2018 Jonquil Festival Book Sale

Saturday October 27, 2018
10 AM - 6 PM
Sunday October 28, 2018
12 PM - 5 PM

Hardbacks for $1, $3 and $5. Children's Books, Paperbacks and More...

Our tent is located in front of the
Smyrna Community Center.

60+ Volunteer Shifts are Available
Click Here for Shift Times and Duties

Interested volunteers please send e-mail to sign up.

First Sunday Lecture Series

James Edward Oglethorpe: Georgia’s Founding Father
Sunday, November 4, 2018
3:00-4:00 p.m.
Smyrna Public Library, Meeting Room

Presenter: Dr. William P. Marchione

An examination of the life and career of one of the most interesting of America’s founding fathers, the British aristocrat who presided over the early stages of Georgia’s colonial history, who led the venture as much by force of personality as constituted authority. Soldier, scholar, diplomat, philanthropist, city planner, and visionary, Oglethorpe’s life and career, with its myriad twists and turns, is both fascinating and instructive, foreshadowing in many ways the complex history of the state he helped found.

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

FREE ADMISSION

Special Event
Takes The Place of December First Sunday Lecture

Holiday Celebration with the Friends of the Smyrna Library

Saturday, December 8, 2018
6:30 pm to 8:00 pm
Smyrna Public Library

The Friends of the Smyrna Library cordially invite you to get into the holiday spirit. Join us for a Holiday Celebration with the Ffriends of the Smyrna Library! Come out and enjoy an evening of light deserts & refreshments, great gifts, stocking stuffers and caroling with the Pebblebrook High School Singers. Festive attire, please!