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The residents of southeastern Franklin County will be trying
out that experiment this winter through a program called “A Tale
for 7 Towns.” The town libraries are sponsoring this
“community-wide book club” so that residents can share the
experience of reading and discussing a book and the diverse issues
it brings up.
The book, The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who
Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan, is
winner of the 2006 National Book Award and a New York Times
bestseller. Author Timothy Egan, a former New York Times reporter,
is a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on race in
America.
Why read this book now? There are many reasons: to learn about
a fascinating and often-forgotten chapter of American history; to
shiver through a classic disaster tale; to appreciate the perils
humans face when we forget to practice sustainable forms of
agriculture; and to explore the intricate connection between
climate and human behavior.
About the book
In the 1930s, an environmental catastrophe hit the plains
states when gigantic dust storms lifted millions of acres of
topsoil and whipped it around in thick blizzards which blew as far
as New York. The result of reckless, market-driven farming that
abused the land, the Great American Dust Bowl destroyed lives and
communities.
Today, with scientists warning that we are facing another
environmental disaster—global warming—the book raises many
questions. How did the Dust Bowl come about? What warning signs
were missed? How were people affected? What changes were necessary
to end the Dust Bowl?
From reviews of The Worst Hard Time
“Timothy Egan's searing history of the economic and
ecological collapse of the southern Great Plains during the 1930s
is an epic cautionary tale. Intertwining the stories of roughly a
dozen individuals and families with a grim overview of the
region-wide disaster, Egan's fluent narrative chronicles the
terrifying consequences of a reckless hubris that in a few decades
stripped the earth of prairie grass that for centuries had
protected it from erosion.—Washington Post Book World
“An extraordinary tale. . . . With characters who seem to
have sprung from a novel by Sinclair Lewis or Steinbeck, and
Egan's powerful writing, this account will long remain in readers'
minds.”—Publishers Weekly
Activities
Copies of the book may be obtained through the participating
libraries. An audio version (available on CD) can also be
borrowed. The book is available in paperback, for individuals who
prefer to purchase copies from bookstores.
Registration/Books Available: January 14-February 2, 2008
Program Length: February 4-March 31, 2008
All events are free and open to the public. Attend one or
attend all events and be entered to win an autographed hardcover
copy of The Worst Hard Time.
Community Book Discussions
Deerfield (Tilton) Library: Thursday, March 13, 6:30 pm
Leverett Library: Tuesday, March 11, 7:00 pm; with a
performance by the Leverett
Chorus
Leverett Library: Discussion of Out of the Dust for 5th-8th
graders; Tuesday, March 18,
5:30 pm
Montague Public Libraries:
Carnegie Library, Turners Falls: Tuesday, March 4, 6:30 pm
Millers Falls Library: Tuesday, March 18, 6:30
Montague Center Library: Wednesday, March 19, 6:30 pm
New Salem Public Library: Sunday, February 24, 3:00 pm
Shutesbury (M.N. Spear Memorial) Library: Sunday, March 9, 6:30
pm; held at the Shutesbury Athletic Club
Sunderland Public Library: Tuesday, March 11, 6:00 pm; for
Adults
Sunderland Public Library: Wednesday, March 5, 6:30 pm; for
Young Adults
Wendell Free Library: Wednesday, February 27, 7:00 pm
Films
“Surviving the Dust Bowl”
This 1-hour documentary features interviews with witnesses and
remarkable archival film footage and photographs as it tells the
heart-wrenching story of people who endured a series of almost
Biblical scourges, from drought and famine to a plague of
jackrabbits.
Leverett Library: Sunday, February 3, 3:00 pm
Sunderland Public Library: Wednesday, February 6, 6:00 pm
Wendell Free Library: Wednesday, February 13, 7:00 pm
New Salem Public Library: Friday, February 15, 7:00 pm
“The Plow that Broke the Plains”
This 30-minute historic documentary (made in 1934) depicts the
social and economic history of the Great Plains from the
settlement of the prairies by cattlemen and farmers through the
World War I boom to drought and depression.
Deerfield Library: Thursday, February 7, 6:30 pm
Leverett Library: Sunday, February 10, 3:00 pm
Sunderland Public Library: Tuesday, February 12, 6:00 pm
Wendell Free Library: Wednesday, February 20, 7:00 pm
New Salem Public Library: Thursday, March 14, 7:00 pm
“The Grapes of Wrath”
The 128-minute film, based on the novel by John Steinbeck,
tells of the migration of the Joad family to California from their
dust-bowl farm in Oklahoma during the Great Depression.
Sunderland Public Library: Wednesday, February 20, 6:00 pm
Leverett Library: Sunday, March 2, 3:00 pm
Related Programming
Scrapbooking
Sunderland Public Library: Wednesday, February, 13, 6:00 pm
Wednesday, March 12, 6:00 pm
“Remembering the Thirties: An Oral History Project”
Deerfield Library: Thursday, February 21, 2:00 pm
Wild about the Weather (for children of all ages)
Sunderland Public Library, Saturday, February 23, 11:00 am
Special Preschool Storytime
Sunderland Public Library, Friday, March 21, 11:00 am
Photographing the Great Depression, a talk and slide show, by
Judith Davidov, author of
Women’s Camera Work
Leverett Library, Wednesday, February 27, 7:00 pm
Weathering Hard Times
Sunderland Public Library, Tuesday, March 18, 6:30 pm
Speakers
Ray Bradley, “Perspectives on the Dust Bowl: U.S. Droughts
Past, Present, and Future.”
Leverett Library, Monday, March 24, 7:00
Ray Bradley is a climatologist and University Distinguished
Professor in the Department of Geosciences at the University of
Massachusetts, where he is also research director of the Climate
System Research Center. Among his books, he is coauthor with N.E.
Law of Climate Change and Society. He is a member of
RealClimate blog, and has worked on reconstructing the temperature
record of the past 1000 years.
Margaret Christie, “Supporting Local Agriculture in the
Pioneer Valley”
Deerfield Library, CISA, with a special appearance by the
Frontier Regional High School Senior Chorus, Monday, March 17;
6:30 pm
Margaret Christie is a homesteader who has been active with
CISA (Community Involved in Sustaining Agricultury) and NOFA
(Northeast Organic Farming Association).
Brian Donahue, “New England Ecological Land Use Past &
Future.”
Wendell Free Library, Thursday, March 6, 7:00 pm
Brian Donahue is Associate Professor of American Environmental
Studies in the Brandeis Environmental Studies Program. He is the
author of award-winning papers and books, including Reclaiming
the Commons: Community Farms and Forests in a New England Town.
He co-founded and directed a non-profit farm in Weston,
Massachusetts, and recently purchased a large farm in Gill, where
he plans to return to farming.
David Foster, Untitled
Shutesbury Town Hall Sunday, March 30, 7:00 pm
David Foster is an ecologist and author of numerous books
including Forests in Time: The Environmental Consequences of
1,000 Years of Change in New England. He is a member of Harvard
University’s Biology Department and is Director of the Harvard
Forest, Harvard University’s 3,000-acre ecological laboratory
and classroom in central Massachusetts. He is the Principal
Investigator for the Harvard Forest Long Term Ecological Research
program, investigating the dynamics of New England landscape as a
consequence of climate change, human activity, and natural
disturbance.
Cliff Hatch, “Agriculture from a Local Perspective.”
Carnegie Library, Turners Falls (part of the Montague Public
Libraries), Tuesday, March 11, 6:30 pm
Cliff Hatch is the proprietor of Upinngil Farm, which grows
strawberries, raspberries and grapes; has a pasture-based dairy of
a dozen Ayrshires; grows and processes small grains; grows
potatoes and vine crops; and beekeeping and honey processing. He
has worked extensively in commercial organic strawberry production
for the USDA’s Northeast SARE, and with US/AID in the Republics
of Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Frank Keimig, “So…What’s Up with Global Warming and
Climate Change?
Sunderland Public Library, Wednesday, March 26, 6:30 pm
Frank Keimig has lived in Sunderland since 1991. He is Manager
of the Climate System Research Center in the Department of
Geosciences at the University of
Massachusetts, Amherst. Frank holds a B.S. and M.S. in
Mathematics and an M.S. in Meteorology. In previous incarnations,
Mr. Keimig has been a high school Math Teacher and a
Programmer/Manager in an application systems area at The
Prudential Insurance Company. Mr. Keimig coaches the girls’
junior varsity basketball team at Frontier Regional School. Thus,
Frank is able to indulge his passions of weather and basketball.
Library Information
Deerfield Tilton Library
75 N. Main St., South Deerfield
665-4683
Leverett Library
75 Montague Rd.
548-9220
www.leverettlibrary.org
Montague Public Libraries, www.montague.net
Carnegie Library, 201 Avenue A, Turners Falls, 863-3214
Millers Falls Library, 23 Bridge Street, Millers Falls,
659-3801
Montague Center Library, 17 Center St., 367-2852
New Salem Public Library
23 South Main St., 978-544-6334
Shutesbury--M.N. Spear Memorial Library
10 Cooleyville Rd., 259-1213
www.mnspear.org
Sunderland Public Library
20 School St.
665-2642
www.SunderlandPublicLibrary.org
Wendell Free Library
6 Wendell Depot Rd.
978-544-3559
www.wendellfreelibrary.org
Financial Support
A Tale for Seven Towns is supported in part by the Institute of
Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library
Services and Technology Act as administered by the Massachusetts
Board of Library Commissioners; by grants from the Deerfield,
Leverett, Sunderland, and Wendell Cultural Councils, local
agencies which are supported by their Massachusetts Cultural
Council, a state agency; the Friends of the Sunderland Public
Library; the Friends of the Tilton Library; the Friends of the
Leverett Library; the Friends of the M.N. Spear Memorial Library;
the Friends of the Wendell Free Library; the Florence
Savings Bank; the Bank of Western Massachusetts; and by State Aid
to Public Libraries.
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Last Updated February 5, 2008
Website Maintained by Noboru and MLT
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