HARDWICK – Among the many timely gifts that contributed to the successful completion of the new Jeudevine addition was a grant of $725,000 from the Vermont Department of Libraries (DOL). That money was a portion of almost sixteen million dollars that the U.S. Treasury distributed to the DOL from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The DOL’s intent was to support projects across the state that were already in progress, or close to shovel-ready. Although the Jeudevine Board of Trustees learned of the money soon after the 2021 passage of ARPA, it was not until 2024 that the money at last became available. By then, our collective fingernails had been gnawed to the quick.
Recently the DOL paid us a visit to see the new addition for themselves and to chat with Librarian Diane Grenkow about the project. You can link to that interview through the library website or pick up a paper copy at the circulation desk.
Another article that might hold some interest for library patrons appeared in the News and Citizen last week and then was carried by the Vermont e-newspaper VTDigger. It tells the story of the Cadys Falls Nursery, begun and managed for over forty years by Don and Lela Avery.
That beautifully tended property has fallen prey to the twenty-first century definition of Vermont floods, where 100-year floods swamp river-side acreage within living memory of the most recent deluge. The Averys have elected to accept a buyout from the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife and to cede the land back to flood-plain. The barn is being dismantled; the house has been torn down. The Avery’s connection to the Jeudevine is that the Averys designed the garden space that graces the back of the patio along the North Main Street side of the library. [Ed. note: and the in-laws of Librarian Diane Grenkow.] They also donated many of the plants for that space and advised on and selected the two trees on that side of the building. Their decades of devotion to cultivating beauty will live on in gardens across New England.
I have always enjoyed reading history, particularly that of the twentieth century. A recent book that I borrowed from the Jeudevine proved a perfect fit: “The Splendid and the Vile” by Erik Larson. The narrative details the first year of Winston Churchill’s term as Prime Minister of Great Britain, from May 1940 through the summer of 1941. As Churchill assumed office, Hitler’s forces had completed their rout of Belgium and the Netherlands, and Germany was anticipating the capitulation of France at any moment. The United States was more than eighteen months from joining the war, so England found themselves very much alone. Over the next year the populace endured hundreds of bomb attacks that devastated their cities and challenged their will to endure.
Larson has performed a deep dive into the archives of both England and Germany. He details the high-level meetings that were taking place in both London and Berlin. At the same time that Churchill was publicly expressing his belief that Britain would ultimately prevail over Germany, he was doing his utmost to encourage President Roosevelt to bring the United States into the war. Meanwhile, as confident as Germany was that it would triumph, its leaders held a grudging respect for Churchill’s tenacity and leadership. Germany’s confidence that Britain was on the verge of surrender probably played into its plan to invade Russia, thus creating a second front of military involvement that eventually contributed to its downfall. Larson explores how both sides wrestled with the critical decisions that shaped their respective strategies, while also bringing us into their homes and sharing glimpses into personal relationships among each country’s leaders and their families. Larson is adept at storytelling, such that his explorations into history are engaging reads. I have also read his “Devil in the White City,” in which he intertwines preparations for the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair with the chilling tale of a serial killer at work in the city. You can find that at the Jeudevine as well. Happy reading!
