Learn about "Physical Wellness" on June 9

               

       On Monday, June 9 at 7pm, the Dover Public Library will present the third in a series of free “Wellness 101” workshops by Joe McCue, owner of American Wellness Solutions, LLC, and a Certified Wellness Practitioner. Do you wish you could learn more about your body, mind, and behavior? Wondering how you can make changes to increase your own wellness?  This month’s topic is “Physical Wellness”.  Learn what contributes to robust physical wellness, including strength, endurance, balance, power, speed, and agility. BMI (body mass index) numbers will also be explained and demystified along with the pros and cons of these numbers.

     Joe McCue has been a practicing massage therapist since 2001 and currently holds several certifications in a variety of different modalities. Joe is also a Wellness Coach, a Certified Personal Trainer, and a Certified Worksite Wellness Program Manager. He currently teaches in the Massage Therapy Department at Great Bay Community College in Portsmouth.  For more about Joe McCue you may visit AmericanWellnessSolutions. com/about-us.html or call the Dover Library at 603-516-6050 for more information.

Songs & Stories of WWII --- June 17

        The Friends of the Dover Public Library will host songwriting duo Curt Bessette and Jenn Kurtz for a nostalgic and moving musical program, “A Few Seconds with Our Fathers: Songs and Stories of WWII” in the library’s Lecture Hall on Tuesday evening, June 17 at 7pm.

       The program will honor WWII veterans and their generation through stories and Curt’s original songs. The songs are about Pearl Harbor, the war in Europe, veterans returning home with emotional and physical wounds, life on the Home Front…and the historical facts surrounding these songs and stories.

       Several of the songs are about Curt’s father, a WWII veteran, and a son’s awareness that his father, like so many veterans who came home, never said a word about his war experiences. Curt and Jenn’s performance will also include popular war-era songs which represented that generation’s hope for the future.

       Curt Bessette has performed throughout the United States. He was a Songwriting Finalist in folk festivals in Texas and New York. He has recorded four CDs of original songs, instructs music in Portsmouth and teaches songwriting in Adult Ed programs in Maine and New Hampshire.

          Jenn Kurtz is a respected harmony singer who performs in numerous venues throughout New England. She has an extensive social services background, working with members of the WWII generation.

         This program is free and open to all. For more information, call the Dover Library at 603-516-6050.

Author Brendan DuBois at the Library June 16!

             Come to the Dover Public Library on Monday, June 16 at 7pm for a talk and book signing with author Brendan Dubois.  Brendan has just published his 8th Lewis Cole mystery, “Fatal Harbor” (Pegasus Books, 2014), set in Tyler Beach, NH (a fictionalized Hampton).  These mysteries feature a retired Department of Defense analyst who’s trying to live a quiet life as a reporter on the NH seacoast, but who ends up solving murders.

         

Brendan grew up in Dover, NH with his parents Arthur and Mary and his five brothers. He attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School and graduated from UNH. Before he was a best-selling author, Brendan worked, among other jobs, as a reporter for Foster’s Daily Democrat and the Hampton Union. He is the author of 16 novels including a science fiction trilogy and several alternative histories. He has also written over 120 short stories. He has twice won a Shamus Award from the Private Eye Writers of America and has been nominated on three occasions for an Edgar Allan Poe Award. His stories have been included in many prestigious anthologies such as “Best American Mystery Stories of the Century” and “Best American Noir Stories of the Century”. Brendan was also a one-time champion on the quiz show “Jeopardy”. He now lives in Exeter, but we still call him a Dover boy! For more information on this free program, call the Dover Public Library at 603-516-6050.

National Geographic's "Adventurer of the Year" (2012) here June 2, 7pm

        

         On Monday, June 2 at 7pm, the Dover Public Library will host an inspiring program of adventure, hardship, pain, and triumph. Author and speaker Jennifer Pharr Davis, author, three-time Appalachian Trail thru-hiker, and 2012 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year, will discuss her 2011 record-breaking trek, completing the entire Appalachian Trail in 46 days! You’re sure to be motivated by the stories of this world class athlete and wilderness adventurer.

         In 2011, with the support of her husband and a dedicated group of volunteers dubbed the "Pit Crew," Jen hiked, stumbled, and sometimes crawled the 2,181 mile Appalachian Trail at an average of 47 miles per day, becoming the fastest person to hike the trail and the first woman to ever set the mark. She's been featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post, NPR's Talk of the Nation, Guideposts Magazine, and the CBS Morning Show.

         But Jen's story is not about records or numbers; it's about endurance, faith, and most of all, love. She will speak about the many challenges and lessons that presented themselves along the trail, showing slides from over 12,000 miles of long-distance hiking completed on six different continents. After her presentation, she will be signing copies of her new book, “Called Again: A Story of Love and Triumph”, which Kirkus Reviews called "an inspired exploration of the meaning of commitment."

       Jennifer has authored five books, including three North Carolina guidebooks and two Appalachian Trail memoirs. She has also written features for numerous hiking magazines. Her record-breaking Appalachian Trail hike won Ultrarunning Magazine’s “Female Performance of the Year”. And in 2012, National Geographic named her one of ten “Adventurers of the Year”.

      Jennifer is founder and owner of Blue Ridge Hiking Company, where she and her staff of dedicated guides strive “to make the wilderness accessible and enjoyable through written and spoken word, instruction and guiding,” for novice and experienced hikers alike. Jennifer lives in Asheville, North Carolina, with her husband Brew and their one-year-old daughter Charley.

      This program is made possible with funds from the Friends of the Dover Public Library. For more information, call the Dover Library 603-516-6050.

"Granite Gallows" Program May 20

      

On Tuesday, May 20 at 7pm, local historian and educator Christopher Benedetto will present "Granite Gallows: The Origins of New Hampshire's Debate over the Death Penalty" at the Dover Public Library.

       2014 marks the 275th anniversary of the first executions in New Hampshire's history in 1739. Benedetto will exhume the Granite State's first death penalty cases, especially the tragic saga of Elisha Thomas, a Revolutionary War veteran who was hanged in Dover for a 1788 murder. Thomas is buried at Pine Hill Cemetery.

      The early history of the death penalty in New Hampshire also exposes many of the major legal and social issues which challenged our predecessors, and how many of them remain unresolved. New Hampshire is one of the last states in New England where capital punishment is still legal and currently has its first person on death row since 1939. Understanding the state’s historical struggle with this controversial issue is more relevant than ever.

       Chris Benedetto lives in Rollinsford, and attended Wheaton College and Brown University. Mr. Benedetto has published numerous articles on New Hampshire history for the New England Historic Genealogical Society and co-authored the book, “Union Soldier of the American Civil War: A Visual Reference” in 2012. He has been a member of various living history units, including the 5th NH Volunteers, for over twenty years. Mr. Benedetto has taught history at Granite State College since 2009, and in 2013, was the recipient of a "Good Steward" Award from the Campus Compact of New Hampshire for his continuing contributions to community education and historical preservation. 

        This program is free, sponsored by the Friends of the Dover Public Library, and refreshments will follow. For more information, please call the Library at 603-516-6050.