My Love of Sweet Valley High Books … a Few Thoughts

Yesterday my daughter-in -law sent me a photo of my granddaughter Sophia reading her first Sweet Valley High book. It meant a lot to me as I remember how much I loved Sweet Valley High books……

When I was young and trying to endure a bad childhood books were my best friends. In those days our High School did not have a library, and we looked forward to the quarterly visits from the travelling Bookmobile.

We used to climb up the stairs to the interior of the truck in anticipation of what we might find. What character of what book would I live through when times became unbearable? Maybe Nancy Drew would take me along on one of her missions while I would sit for hours on end by myself while my father tended to my mother in the hospital.

As I got older and went out on my own I would always have a book and a library card in my tote bag. One could just walk into any library and smell the books that would take you anywhere you wanted to go. I used to love to see the smiles of children as they handed their books to the librarian, knowing that their parents would read stories and expose them to the world of fascinating words and ideas.

Years ago my brother-in-law called to tell me that my sister Robin was sick, so the next day I drove down to see her. The minute I walked in the door and looked at her I saw my late mother’s eyes looking at me. I knew she was terminally ill although everyone around her had such hope. Within three weeks her bowels ruptured and she was diagnosed with the family disease called Lymphoma.

And so began the 3 hour return journey every second day to see her at the Kingston Cancer Hospital. Most times she was unconscious and did not know I was there. One day I sat in the waiting room and saw a copy of the teen book series “Sweet Valley High” and started reading it. Suddenly the book’s characters Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield became people I could rely on to get me through the day.

If you asked me today what the stories were about I could not tell you. But every second day I was at the library checking out “Sweet Valley High” books as I was living their normal lives in my mind.

Why was I not reading something a little deeper you ask? The truth be told is I could not handle anything more than that and the librarian never questioned me. My life was full of canyons of chaos so I had to live in a fictional world to have some sort of emotional comfort.

Each time one of the nurses in the ICU unit would see me they would ask me what was going on in Sweet Valley High. While I sat beside my dying sister I read to her about the twin’s daily antics that did not include a cell phone or texting.

 My sister died that August after they pulled the plug, deeming that she had no quality of life left. A few months later they found a lump – this time on me. What should I do?  The only thing that got me though everything was continuing to read books.

I think I read every Sweet Valley High Book in the Carleton Place library and not once did they question why. All they ever did was stamp my books and keep me going with their words and love.

Cancer and Family 1903- Almonte Gazette

My Pink Frying Pan that Cooks Nothing but Hope For Breast Cancer

Who Really Wrote the Books? Mrs. Harriet Lewis — Stuart McIntosh

Mrs. Harriet Lewis authored “Outside Her Eden” during the nineteenth century. This advertisement was in the back of the book.

Stuart McIntosh sent this photo to me and of course there was a story..:)It seems Harriet was doing a lot of writing for her husband Leon LOLOL

CLIPPED FROM
New York Daily Herald
New York, New York16 Jun 1869, Wed  •  Page 10

Working name of US author Julius Warren Lewis (1833-1920), who called himself “the Dumas of America”, and who recorded himself on census returns as Leon Lewis; much of his early work was done in collaboration with his wife, the romance author Harriet Lewis (1841-1878).

In 1856 Leon Lewis had married 15 year old Harriet Newell O’Brien, born at Penn Yann, N. Y. in 1841. Harriet began writing serials for the New York Weekly in 1865. Between 1868 and 1878 the two authors wrote separately and in collaboration for the New York Ledger. The couple was so popular that they were paid enormous sums by the story papers and lived in “grand style” at Penn Yann. Harriet Lewis died 20 May, 1878 at Rochester, N.Y. She was 37 years old.

Harriet’s Husband Leon Lewis

Julius Warren Lewis, better known as “Leon” Lewis, was born in Southington, Connecticut, April 8, 1833, the second son but fourth child of James Dana Lewis and his wife Patty Bishop. His brothers and sisters were James B. (1825-1869), Sarah Ann (Mrs. Charles W. Risley, 1827-1921), Mary Ann (Mrs. George Bronson, 1830-1898), and John Woodruff (“Juan,” 1835-1919).

“Leon’s” schooling was limited to a few winter months while doing chores for his board and clothes on the farm of his uncle Gideon Dunham, the husband of James Dana Lewis’ sister Mary. He was, however, of a literary turn of mind, and began writing at the age of 18. He was also romantic, for about this time he read an article in a Sabbath School Journal, written and signed by “Harriet Newell” which impressed him and led to a correspondence with the writer, Harriet Newell O’Brien (1841-1878), of Penn Yan, New York.

Afterwards they met, were married in 1856 when she was 15 and he was 23, and thereafter lived in Penn Yan.Then began a literary collaboration which lasted during Harriet’s entire life. While each wrote independent stories, many were written in collaboration, and even some of those signed with Leon’s name were written by Harriet. In a letter to Robert Bonner, she wrote: No person, man or woman, has any hand in writing Mr. Lewis’ stories save myself. And no one assists me for I love to write better than to do anything else in the world. From Leon Lewis Click

In January 1879, Leon Lewis went ‘missing,’ from his home in Penn Yann, N.Y., leaving in scandalous circumstances. He sailed off to Europe in the company of his niece, “Miss Julia Wheelock, fifteen years of age.” At Brazil, Leon stepped off the steamer and married his young ward.

Leon Lewis was divorced from his second wife in 1913 and died at Winstead, Connecticut 28 Oct 1920.

Books Which Has Been Lost—-Emma Scott Nasmith

Found in a Garage– Ron Bos — Annie Sophia Shields McLaughlin

Who Was Miss Jessie Alexander ? Poetry Slams of the 1800s

Stuart McIntosh

Maple Syrup Making Photos by Stuart McIntosh

In Praise of School Bus Drivers – Stuart McIntosh

In Memory of Silver Cross Mothers — thanks to Stuart McIntosh

Handwritten Clippings from Stuart McIntosh — When Cutting Corn was $3.00 and Tobacco was 20 Cents

Teamsters Horses and Accidents- Stuart McIntosh

Cheesemakers of Lanark County — Eastern Dairy School- Stuart McIntosh

Then and Now Bowland Road-Community Memories of the McIntosh’s–Stuart McIntosh

Community Memories of the Lorimer’s–Stuart McIntosh

Documenting Ed Pelletier -Photos- Stuart McIntosh

What’s in a Photo — Stuart McIntosh

Ed and Shirley’s Simpson –Historic Books — the List

Thanks to Ed and Shirley Simpson I am slowly going though boxes of books from the late Ed Simpson to document and after will be donated to a proper spot. These books are NOT to be SOLD… nor would I ever do that to anything historic.. so they will be treated with great love.

SIMPSON, Edward

Peacefully surrounded by family on Saturday, July 24, 2021, Ed Simpson passed away at 91 years of age. Beloved husband of Catherine Shirley. Father of Debby, Tom (predeceased), and Donna (Don). Grandfather of Mekki and Ben (Kailin). No service will be held as per his wishes.

Thanks to Ed and Shirley Simpson

Renfrew Fair 1953-1953-Ed and Shirley (Catherine) Simpson

Did You Know? Union School #9 and Goulburn #16

When One Boat Filled the Rideau Lock–Rideau King

Women’s Institute Burritts Rapids 1902-1988

Looking for Photos of ‘The Castle’ in Ashton

A Romantic Story of the Founding Of Burritt’s Rapids

The Lanark Library and Florence Bowes

 

Photo from the Elaine Playfair Collection thanks to Middleville Historian Laurie Yuill

In 1968 Mrs. Florence Bowes began working for the Lanark Public Library as an assistant to Mrs. Wallace Machon. Mrs. Bowes was born in Middleville and moved to Lanark following her marriage to Art Bowes. They originally lived on George Street in Lanark Village and then later moved to the Perth Road.

Florence got her training from Mrs. Machon and she eventually got her experience through the general growth of the library. The library was once situated in one room in the Town Hall,  and had a great selection of books, but there was no room for anyone to sit. There was an old wood stove in the centre of the room and a table and a few chairs, which meant 10 people became a crowd in the room.

 

Lanark Town hall After the fire–June 16/59; day after the fire-photos below were taken by Ileen Sheard and submitted by Candas Price.

Then came the tragic fire and everything was lost except a few books which had been taken out the night before. The teachers at the then Princess Street School offered their staff room and they began to set up a temporary library. The community also helped donating their books as well as other local libraries who offered them what they could.

During the Centennial in 1962 the new Town Hall and the Lanark Library opened 3-4 nights a week. But, television was brand new during that time and library traffic slowed down until the novelty wore off. Soon an addition was added and the Public Schools began using the Library once a week until they got their own library.

 

1964

 

When Mrs. Machon resigned Florence was chosen to be the Head Librarian and her daughter Lynda came in to help her with the typing and the paper work. But then the filing system changed and they needed help and Gloria Affleck came to the rescue. It took over two years to change that filing system which was mostly  done on their own time.

Florence said the workload increased and folks just did not realize what it took to process one book so she and Gloria took work home. In 1978 Florence Bowes retired from the Library and today the the Lanark Highlands Public Library is a team of dedicated staff and volunteers committed to enriching the community by providing access to the world’s ideas, information and changing technology that sits on George Street in the heart of Lanark Village.

 

 

 

November 1898

1962

Come and visit the Lanark County Genealogical Society Facebook page– what’s there? Cool old photos–and lots of things interesting to read. Also check out The Tales of Carleton Place and The Tales of Almonte

1. Information where you can buy all Linda Seccaspina’s books-You can also read Linda in The Townships Sun  Screamin’ Mamas (USA)  and The Sherbrooke Record

   

   Did You Know About the Rules of the Dalhousie Library? 1828 –The Library Pioneers

   Did You Know? The Oldest Library in Lanark County

   Regina Public Library Needs Our Help– James McFarlane Fergusson

   What If Books Were Banned in the Carleton Place Library? It’s Banned Book Week!

He’s “Peck’s Bad Boy”!

 

Carleton Place Social Notes

The Ottawa Journal,  08 Nov 1909, Mon,  Page 10

 

 

Photo-George W. Peck

 

What in Sam Hill is wrong with that boy? He’s Peck’s Bad Boy, and he will go to the dogs!”

My Grandmother Mary Louise Deller Knight threw this phrase around once in awhile and I had no idea in Sam Hill what she was talking about until today. I spotted the social note in the Ottawa Journal and after 65 years it clicked what Mary Louise was saying. Peck’s Bad Boy was nothing but a bad kid.

“Henry “Hennery” Peck, popularly known as Peck’s Bad Boy, is a fictional character created by George Wilbur Peck (1840–1916). First appearing in the 1883 novel Peck’s Bad Boy and His Pa, the Bad Boy has appeared in numerous print, stage, and film adaptations. The character is portrayed as a mischievous prankster, and the phrase “Peck’s bad boy” has entered the language to refer to anyone whose mischievous or bad behaviour leads to annoyance or embarrassment. Described as “a vicious little swaggerer” and “no more than a callous brute” Hennery’s antics were more mean-spirited than earlier boyhood characters like Huckleberry Finn and modern criticism views the violence and racism in the original stories as objectionable or politically incorrect”. (Wikipedia)

Peck’s Bad Boy was played by George M. Cohan in an 1891 stage adaptation of the stories and then was played in a 1921 silent film by Jackie Coogan (who the same year co-starred with Charlie Chaplin in The Kid and later was Uncle Fester on the TV sitcom The Addams Family) and in a 1934 ‘talkie’ by a later child star, Jackie Cooper. Peck’s Bad Boy was also the name of a popular jazz band of the 1920s. (see video below)

 

Photo-George W. Peck

 

Much of the humor of Peck’s Bad Boy was probably questioned as per the Carleton Place social ad above. For example, in one of the stories, Henry’s Pa (who, by the way, is often pictured as a drunkard in the newspaper stories) attends a rabidly puritanical church service and finds his handkerchief soaked in rum and stuffed with playing cards. In the movie, the family attends a church service, and Henry has loaded his father’s lumbago pad with ants which become active right in the middle of the service. Of course, when he pulls out his handkerchief to wipe his brow, playing cards (which Henry had placed there) fly all over the pew. Of course we shouldn’t rule out *two lads from St. Andrew’s Church in Carleton Place,  or the *boys climbing Boulton’s Mill as not being “Peck’s Bad Boys” too! So maybe Carleton Place shouldn’t have been so indifferent  in the viewing of that film in 1909- as boys will be boys.

Other very typical situations include Henry letting a man-eating lion out of his cage at the circus, having his friend pose as a woman to blackmail money from his father for the circus, and hiding the inventor’s plans in Jack Martin’s pocket. The stories had a multitude of situations from which to draw such as substituting pieces of rubber tubing for his father’s noodles, lining his father’s hat with Limburger cheese, and convincing his Pa that he’s crazy when he sees green and blue poodles ­ the poodles were actually being used for an advertising gimmick. It’s a wonder Jackie wasn’t starred in a series of these Peck’s Bad Boy movies– and a shame, too!

 

Photo–Flickr

 

Come and visit the Lanark County Genealogical Society Facebook page– what’s there? Cool old photos–and lots of things interesting to read.

Information where you can buy all Linda Seccaspina’s books-You can also read Linda in Hometown News and now in The Townships Sun

 

related reading

*A Sneeze of a Tune from St. Andrew’s Church in Carleton Place

*Jumpin’ Around in Carleton Place — Local Urban Acrobats

*Tales from Dinky Dooley Island

In Memory– The Last of The Five Little Peppers

Larry Goldstein and The Roxy Theatre of Carleton Place

 

Immoral Literature–My How Things Have Changed

 

A long time ago it didn’t take much to be accused of selling or reading immoral literature. Heck, you could mail a letter to someone of the opposite sex and scribe something considered so innocent today and still be arrested. Those meek and mild words of “innocence” could wind you up in the slammer for a few years.

I bought some immoral Victorian Literature last week at an Almonte auction. People giggled as I waved my card and bought three “taboo” books for a mere 5 dollars. One of those books is worth over $150 dollars on the internet– so who is  laughing now LOL.

One of the immoral book’s subjects was based on corporal punishment in school. According to the book, the Scot’s dourness on punishing the student was supreme. There were differences made between birch and leather and that the cane should be brought down on the student hard and strong. This book with subjects such as: corporal punishment for home and school and how to cane your servants was one surely that was hidden away in drawers and wardrobes.

The other book Nell in Bridewell printed in 1900 was nothing more than what I call Victorian trash.  It is the story, in the form of fiction based on fact, of a young girl who experienced the horrors and indignities of a 19th (1848) Century House of Correction in Germany. Okay, if the other two books were hidden in a drawer; this had to be buried in a deep hole somewhere. I think if someone was ever caught buying the book in the 19th century they would have been locked away  in the Perth gaol with the key thrown away in the basin.

There was a time in Ontario when film versions of Shakespeare’s greatest plays were too violent or too racy for the public good. In 1910 the film versions of Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet were considered inappropriate, and in those days the police force had the power to shut down what they deemed inappropriate.  No sweat Shakespeare– it’s all good today. However,today is another thing– no matter what goes across our screens or printed in books–even a 14 year-old knows what’s going on.

 

Perth Courier, Nov. 9, 1888

Belleville has a sensation.  Mr. Thomas Aldwell, ledger keeper in the Dominion Bank threatens to sue Rev. J. W. Burke, formerly principal of the Perth High School, and now rector of St. Thomas Church and Rev. S. Daw, rector of Christ Church for libel if an apology is not forthcoming.  The alleged libel is a statement that he has been circulating immoral literature

 

 

Clipped from The Ottawa Journal,  06 Jun 1910, Mon,  Page 1

 

Clipped from The Ottawa Journal,  24 Sep 1907, Tue,  Page 1

 

Clipped from The Ottawa Journal,  24 Sep 1955, Sat,  Page 1

Perth Courier, May 21, 1869

Nolan-McMunn—Married, at St. Paul’s Church, Almonte, on the 31^st May, by the Rev. J. W. Burke, Mr. John Nolan of the Township of Pakenham to Miss Eliza McMunn of the Township of Ramsay.

Come and visit the Lanark County Genealogical Society Facebook page– what’s there? Cool old photos–and lots of things interesting to read.

Information where you can buy all Linda Seccaspina’s books-You can also read Linda in Hometown News and now in The Townships Sun

Related reading

Singer Sewing Machines and Scandals

Shenanigans in Wemyss?

She’s a Lady— Whoaaa Whoaaa Whoaaa

Group Hanky Panky in Perth? NOOOOO!

Kindle Me This-Support Your Local Libraries

 

When I was young and trying to endure a bad childhood books were my best friends. In those days our High School did not have a library, and we looked forward to the quarterly visits from the travelling Bookmobile.

 

We used to climb up the stairs to the interior of the truck in anticipation of what we might find. What character of what book would I live through when times became unbearable? Maybe Nancy Drew would take me along on one of her missions while I would sit for hours on end by myself while my father tended to my mother in the hospital.

 

 

As I got older and went out on my own I would always have a book and a library card in my tote bag. One could just walk into any library and smell the books that would take you anywhere you wanted to go. I used to love to see the smiles of children as they handed their books to the librarian, knowing that their parents would read stories and expose them to the world of fascinating words and ideas.

 

Fourteen years ago my brother-in-law called to tell me that my sister Robin was sick, so the next day I drove down to see her. The minute I walked in the door and looked at her I saw my late mother’s eyes looking at me. I knew she was terminally ill although everyone around her had such hope. Within three weeks her bowels ruptured and she was diagnosed with the family disease called Lymphoma.

 

 

And so began the 3 hour return journey every second day to see her at the Kingston Cancer Hospital. Most times she was unconscious and did not know I was there. One day I sat in the waiting room and saw a copy of the teen book series “Sweet Valley High” and started reading it. Suddenly the book’s characters Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield became people I could rely on to get me through the day.

 

 

If you asked me today what the stories were about I could not tell you. But every second day I was at the library checking out “Sweet Valley High” books as I was living their normal lives in my mind.

 

 

Why was I not reading something a little deeper you ask? The truth be told is I could not handle anything more than that and the librarian never questioned me. My life was full of canyons of chaos so I had to live in a fictional world to have some sort of emotional comfort.

 

Every time one of the nurses in the ICU unit would see me they would ask me what was going on in Sweet Valley High. While I sat beside my dying sister I read to her about the twin’s daily antics that did not include a cell phone or texting.

 

 

 My sister died that August after they pulled the plug, deeming that she had no quality of life left. A few months later they found a lump – this time on me. What should I do?  The only thing that got me though everything was continuing to read books.

 

I think I read every Sweet Valley High Book in the Carleton Place library and not once did they question why. All they ever did was stamp my books and keep me going with their words and love.

 

I walked into the library last week and got my first library card since my sister died. People remembered me and we talked of books and life. I wondered why real books are now being subbed by tablet readers like Kindle and they stop going to the library.

Kindle to me is like a Swanson’s TV dinner. It mimics a real meal but it isn’t quite all that it should be. It fills you up but never comes through with the extra treats. Sure you can download words to read but do you get the social contact or the satisfaction of seeing a real human being and touching a well read book? Everything is just too easy these days and people no longer want to make an effort to do things.

 

 

 

 

I look at my new library card in my purse and smile. I am making the effort as these books and librarians got me through tough times in life. I could never see a reading tablet give me memories like a library full of books has given me. I thank the words of Francine Pascal and the Carleton Place Library for seeing me through. You can’t get things like that on a Kindle no matter what new issue they try and sell. They will never ever create an edition with a literary heart because only libraries have that.

 

Come and visit the Lanark County Genealogical Society Facebook page– what’s there? Cool old photos–and lots of things interesting to read.

Information where you can buy all Linda Seccaspina’s books-You can also read Linda in Hometown News

Where You Can Buy My Books

I have had several people email me this morning asking where you can buy my books. I guess I’m not very pushy because I seldom put my links on the bottom of my stories, but it is in my bio on the bottom of each story.

So here are the details– I have 6 books out and a new one will be out soon. It will be a compilation of all the stories I have written about Carleton Place and Lanark County the past year.

 

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Linda has published six books, “Menopausal Woman From the Corn,” “Cowansville High Misremembered,” “Naked Yoga, Twinkies and Celebrities,” “Cancer Calls Collect,” “The Tilted Kilt-Vintage Whispers of Carleton Place,” and “Flashbacks of Little Miss Flash Cadilac.”

All are available on all Amazon sites, Barnes and Noble and Ebay all over the world.

ALL Linda’s books are for sale LOCALLY at:

Wisteria · 62 Bridge Street · Carleton Place, Ontario and the The Artist’s Loft & General Store in Smiths Falls

Tilting the Kilt- Vintage Whispers of Carleton Place ONLY is available at:

Wisteria and The Artist’s Loft & General Store– but also at these locations:

Beckwith Heritage Museum · 267 Edmund Street · Carleton Place,

Appleton Museum- North Lanark Regional Museum

Mississippi Valley Textile Mill Museum and Mill Street Books in Almonte

Heritage House Museum in Smiths Falls

What If Books Were Banned in the Carleton Place Library? It’s Banned Book Week!

I wrote this blog a few years and things seem to go from bad to worse– so this blog needs to be posted again. When I see people doing “book housecleaning”  it really bothers me. It does not matter if it is spiritual or a classic; people have freedom of choice, and these people should not be allowed to decide what we read. This week is Banned Books Week in the United States and we have Freedom to Read Week in February in Canada. Here is a list of 20 books that are banned, and might surprise you in the United States and I have also included the challenged list in Canada

When my son Sky was in elementary school, all he wanted to do was be a mascot for Scholastic Books. He longed to wear a Clifford the Dog, or Franklin the Turtle costume for the annual book fair at Caldwell School. He loved to read, and I never censored anything, nor did the school boards. In fact, I never heard of many Canadian schools or libraries banning books.

I did some research, and found out that over the last twenty years in Canada just a little over one hundred books were challenged. In fact most of the “accused” were dismissed, and the books remained in the libraries. According to the American Library Association there were at least 460 challenges reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom in 2009.

I myself was on a Canadian subversive literature list guilty of selling alternative music and fashion magazines in the late 80s when I had my store. In the early 90s rules softened, and you can find most everything now on Canadian book shelves. A controversial book tends to be quietly cut from reading lists–if they end up going that far with their decision.

One of my pet peeves is a children’s book that seems to be constantly on the banned book list.

“Tango Makes Three” by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell. It is based on a true story, and centers on gay penguins in New York’s Central Park Zoo. It has had the most ban requests of all books.

It seems really sad that some parents believe reading a story about two male penguins hatching an egg, and adopting a baby, is just plain wrong. This book is a story of love between two adults, and an adoptive baby penguin. The two penguins give that baby nothing but the utmost care, even though it is not their own biological creation.  I wish people would remember that love is love, no matter what gender you associate it with.

Of course the reasons given by organizations and “Joe and Joanne Suburbia” to get it removed from public shelves include: “anti-family”, “homosexuality”, and “I do not like the colours they used in the illustrations”. Of course the last one is a joke, but so are the reasons for banning this book.

Yes, it was a true story, and in the end a fellow female penguin becomes the homewrecker, and the whole family heads for animal divorce court. Of course the divorce court did not happen in reality, but the home wrecking did.

Columnist Susan Reimer once said, “Prisons aren’t full of adults who read ‘Goosebumps’ in their childhod. They’re full of people who can’t read.”

Of course Sarah Palin, who seems to have her hand in every pot, has tried book banning. In Minnesota, Michele Bachmann is very fond of banning certain books from what I have read. I think that if either of these two has really read a book, that scares me more than anything. People like these ladies and others, live in a fantasy world. In their narrow world, everything seems to revolve around them.

Tom Sawyer is often avoided, and has at times been banned from schools, because of Twain’s use of the “N” word (which appears several times) and his derogatory portrayal of Native Americans in the form of the dangerous villain Injun Joe.

In the files of the ridiculous, someone even challenged a “Where’s Waldo?” book because one of the pages showed a naked person hidden among the cast of thousands.

How on earth did they find that one tiny nudist ?

I cannot even find Waldo!  I failed “Where’s Waldo?”

I remember the books I read as a child. Would “Nancy Drew” and “The Hardy Boys” be banned for encouraging young people to solve non-supervised police activities? Would Jo of “Little Women” be accused of possibly being gay because of the way she looked?  Did tomboy Trixie Belden grow up to have a wife? And what about that Cherry Ames? I knew student nurses, and they were no saints.

How about Tom Swift Jr.? Would his character now be considered a threat to national safety? Should Dick and Jane have been investigated by Christian family groups after all that rigid one sentence upbringing? What was really going on in that book, and were there hidden meanings?

Banned Book Week starts this week in the United States and I believe we should also celebrate our media and literary freedoms here. Why? Because it is a reminder to everyone not to take their freedom for granted.Thank goodness books are now available online so we can fight the bigots who try to ban them. Someone once said that burning books might be the one crime that deserves capitol punishment. Bring the marshmallows and make sure you bring those Harry Potter books with you. Not to burn, but to read and enjoy!

Some photos from the Carleton Place Public Library Facebook page

Images and words Linda Seccaspina 2011

 List of Banned and/or Challenged Classic Books

List of Banned and/or Challenged Children’s Books

               

Tilting the Kilt – Vintage Whispers of Carleton Place Available locally

I had a few phone calls today from people looking for my book in Carleton Place for Mother’s Day.

* Please note that it cannot be ordered by a private store.*

BUT, it is available and can be ordered on all forms of Amazon .. Amazon Canada as well as Amazon US ETC.

AND, IT CAN BE PURCHASED IN CARLETON PLACE.
My loyal local followers can find all of my books for sale, both at Wisteria at 62 Bridge Street, and The Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum at 267 Edmund Street. In the event you find that too exhausting, you can email me and I will deliver one to you.

Gossip is the civilized version of grooming each other for fleas. You can stop gossip with a simple, “That’s none of your business.” but why would you? Somewhere in our deep past we remember when cavemen gossiped over the a recent kill, memorializing the one that didn’t hold up their end of the kill. Stories begun by gossip are a significant channel of informal communication with something like 70% accuracy. The stories gathered here began life within 10 miles of Carleton Place. Linda guesses that makes them 50% accurate. Gossip-born stories, sharing standard currency of human connection, will make you smile, then you can pass them along, adding your own layers to make them even more spectacular.