Friends of the Library Give Readers' Theater Performance of Donated Journal; ReNew Brentwood Receives Grant
You just never know what’s going to show up in the boxes of books donated to the library for resale at the Friends of the Library book sales. Certainly, no one expected to find the original, intact diary of an Englishman’s harrowing 1828 transatlantic journey.
How it came to arrive in the donated books pile one day, no one knows. But the Friends of the Library volunteers who box and price the donated items immediately recognized it as something special.
Then, they did one better. They brought the words of John Salmon to life in a readers’ theater, “A Voyage From England,” and the public is invited to hear it at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 23, in the Library Center auditorium. The event is sponsored by the Ozarks Genealogical Society.
Salmon’s personal journal covers his trip from Portsmouth, England, to New York City from April 19 to May 16, 1828 aboard the ship Chelsea, an American barque sailing ship. The traveler was a clerk for 36 years at Smith, Payne and Smiths bank, and his journal reveals him to be a religious man and a keen observer. He expresses his feelings along the journey as he recounts the struggles of children in steerage. Some of his passages are so touching and real, the Friends readers say, they are moved to tears. “Voyage From England” will move you, too.
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The C.W. Titus Foundation just gave the Brentwood Branch renovation campaign a major boost, putting ReNew Brentwood closer to the $2.5 million goal.
The Tulsa-based foundation pledged $300,000 toward the campaign, bringing the ReNew Brentwood campaign to within $200,000 of our goal. The Brentwood Branch will close April 16, renovations will begin in May and the work is expected to take six to nine months. The temporary branch will open in the Brentwood Center on May 3.
Fundraising continues, and $50 tickets are available through the Brentwood Branch and Library Foundation for the Hard Hats & Highballs party for adults on April 23.
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