Come
and Celebrate the
75th Anniversary of the Smyrna Public Library
at
Brawner Hall
3180 Atlanta Road Smyrna, GA 30080
Saturday September 17th
1:00-4:00
Music,
Storytellers, Historic Exhibits, Games, Food, and Door Prizes
On
September 17th the Smyrna Public Library will celebrate
the 75th anniversary of the founding of the library. The
celebration will be held at Brawner Hall on Atlanta Road
in Smyrna from 1:00 – 4:00 PM.
The
festivities will include music by local keyboardist and
vocalist, Benny Boynton. Benny Boynton is a seasoned pianist
and vocalist having performed with Toby Keith, Travis Tritt,
Lonestar, Charlie Daniels, The Marshall Tucker Band, Percy
Sledge, Chubby Checker, The Drifters, Banks & Shane
and many more. He has performed professionally in Atlanta
and across the country for over 35 years.
Current library director, Michael Siegler will give a brief
talk on the history and highlights of the library.
At
3:00 pm, Feriel Feldman and B.J.Abraham of the Southern
Order of Storytellers will tell Carmen Agra Deedy's "The
Library Dragon" followed by some additional stories.
B.J.
Abraham has been a storyteller and member of the National
Storytelling Association and a charter member of Southern
Order of Storytellers (SOS) since 1983. She tells to children
and adults, specializing in various dialects and character
voices. Feriel Feldman is past president of Southern Order
of Storytellers. She is a director, actor, storyteller,
and has had teenage storytelling troupes for the last twenty
years.
In
addition, there will be children’s games from the 1930s,
video-taped interviews with library patrons reliving memories
of visiting the library as children and historic exhibits.
Refreshments
and door prizes will also be provided.
The
first Smyrna Public Library was opened in September of 1936
by the Smyrna Women's Club - with which it shared space.
The initial collection consisted of 50 books on one shelf.
Boy Scouts and other children went door-to-door with wagons
and wheelbarrows collecting donated books to stock the shelves
after it opened.
A
new 4000 square foot library building was constructed during
the first term of Mayor George Kreeger (1960-1961) for a
cost of $54,000. Additions were made in 1969 and 1973.
The
current 28,000 square foot library facility, located on
the Village Circle, was dedicated in 1991 and houses a collection
of over 100,000 books and audio-visual materials.
