Library Plans "Native American Heritage" Events

BISBEE, AZ – To celebrate Native American Heritage Month in November, the Copper Queen Library will present a book discussion, a lecture, and a documentary film series to highlight Native American culture and history.

On November 7 at 6:30pm, Arizona Humanities Council Scholar Jay van Orden will present “Warriors and Beyond: A Closer Look at the Clothing, Equipment, and Lifestyle of the Chiricahua Apache.” He will use both C. S. Fly’s photographic images and information gathered from original accounts to explore the topic, illustrate comparisons, and create discussion.

Now living in Tucson, van Orden worked for the Arizona Historical Society (AHS) for thirty-two years. As Director of Field Services, he made and maintained connections with most of the state’s local history museums. He remains busy in retirement with research and writing related to Geronimo, the Apaches, and the Civil War in Arizona.

The following week, on November 14 at 6:30pm, Arizona Humanities Council scholar Cheryl Mead will facilitate a book discussion of Tony Hillerman’s Dance Hall of the Dead, a Joe Leaphorn mystery about a Zuni Indian boy, the victim of a bizarre ritual slaying, and his best friend, a Navajo boy trained in the secret rites, who is missing.

Mead holds a Masters degree in Culural Anthroplogy and teaches courses on Native American culture at Cochise College. She says that she loves all of Hillerman’s books, especially since they help break stereotypes of Native Americans. She notes that the Zuni are among the few Native American tribes that maintained more of their original culture – which makes Hillerman’s work an even better look at Native peoples and cultures of the Southwest.

For those interested in participating in the discussion, several copies of Dance Hall of the Dead are now available for sign-out at the Library Circulation Desk.

To provide an even broader overview of Native American cultures and struggles, on three Mondays in November at 5:30pm (the library will be closed on November 12 to commemorate Veterans’ Day), the Monday Night “Did You Know?…” Documentary Film series will feature 500 Nations, a multi-part documentary that looks back at life in North America before the arrival of the Europeans and follows the epic struggles of Indian Nations as the continent is reshaped by contact.

November’s Native American Heritage programming is free and open to the public. Sponsored by the Friends of the Copper Queen Library, these events are made possible in part by a grant from the Arizona Humanities Council.

For further information, contact the library at 432-4232.

"Young Adult" Author Presents Free Writer's Workshop

BISBEE, AZ -- Fresh from being a "Featured Speaker" and a "Featured Interview" at recent Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators events, Young Adult author Beckie Weinheimer will be at Bisbee's Copper Queen Library on Friday, November 9, from 3-5 pm to present a free writer's workshop chock-full of advice for aspiring authors of all ages on writing and publishing for a Young Adult audience.

Weinheimer, whose novel Converting Kate received rave reviews from Publishers' Weekly and Kirkus Reviews, first visited Bisbee last Memorial Day weekend with her husband and, like many before her, promptly fell in love with its beauty -- so much so that she says her next novel will be set in "Crusade, Arizona (a fictional Bisbee) -- because it allows me to change things around!"

She plans to spend some time over the long Veterans' Day weekend doing more of what she calls "on the ground research" to learn about such subjects as making mesquite bread and to absorb some of the other local flavor.

About writing, Weinheimer -- who holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Vermont College -- says, "In high school I took a creative writing class and it was then I first learned that I enjoyed writing. I liked making things up. My daughters and siblings will tell you I have always embellished stories and as a writer I get paid for it. It’s fun!”

She adds, “I think I write for kids and teens because I feel so much kid still left in me... My first two novels deal with being the new kid, and since we have moved our children so many times -- they have lived in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Iowa, California, Virginia and now New York -- I have had to see how hard it is for them to start over. This is my way of acknowledging that to them and letting them know how much I admire their courage."

When she's not writing, she says, "I love to spend time with my husband shopping at farmers markets, walking in the beautiful wooded park one block from our high rise in Queens, watching movies, and traveling to our favorite two ocean spots, South Beach, Florida in the winter, and the Mount Desert Island area of Maine in the summer. While there, we walk the beaches, kayak, swim in the ocean and watch for dolphins.

“When my girls come home we play card games, guessing games, and often re-watch our favorite family movies, which include the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice, the Back to the Futures, Ever After, White Christmas, It’s a Wonderful Life and all the Charlie Brown holiday specials.

“My girls and I aren’t really into cooking that much, but we love to make sugar cookies for every holiday—green shamrocks, orange pumpkins, red white and blue flags, and valentine hearts. At Christmas time we get really fancy and have a big gingerbread house making party. Beyond that I read, and listen to books on my MP3 player and enjoy shopping. And, oh yes, I like to clean. I know... That’s weird!"

For further information on what promises to be a very interesting workshop, contact the library at 432-4232.

Library to Host Positive Parenting Classes

BISBEE, AZ – Beginning October 30, The Copper Queen Library, 6 Main Street, will host “Positive Approaches to Parenting,” a six-week series of parenting classes to be offered on Tuesdays from 5:30-7:30pm by long-time professional parenting educator and Copper Queen Library Advisory Board member Faye Hoese, LPC, NCC.

The classes are offered under the auspices of The Parent Connection, a member of the Arizona’s Children group, through a grant from Phelps-Dodge.

In order to receive funding, the series requires a minimum of six participants, although attendance at each session, while encouraged, is not mandatory.

Classes are scheduled to meet on October 30, November 6, 13, 20, and 27, and December 4.

Dinner (pizza, etc.) and childcare will be provided for all attendees, and pre-registration is suggested (although not required) to help plan for dinner. To pre-register, call Yvonne Decker at Arizona’s Children, 800 947-7611.