Elementary School Art Display at the Library

Librarian Alanna Carswell stands in front of a section of the Shellbrook Elementary School ”Ted Harrison” exhibition featuring works by the Grade 2 and Grades 4 and 5.

The Shellbrook Public Library is offering Travel Night: Hawaii and its second evening genealogy session. It also invites you to come see the art on display and shop through the books available in the Annual Summer Book Sale.

The Library is looking forward to an exciting opportunity to expand its knowledge about Hawaii on Wednesday, June 10th at 7:00 pm. Journey with Cheryl Tieszen as she provides an “armchair” tour of the isolated volcanic archipelago in the Central Pacific.

On Wednesday, June 17th at 7:00 pm, Nancy Carswell will guide buddying genealogists through the second session of Genealogy 101. In the first session in May, instruction focused on forms and how to enter data into a genealogy program. This second session will be about going beyond you in two popular genealogy databases, FamilySearch.org (free at home) and Ancestry Library Editions (in-library only). Bring your own hotspots and wireless devices! Library computers are limited.

The Library is home to the Shellbrook Elementary School art exhibition “Ted Harrison” until the third week in June. On display is a collection of small individual pieces by the Grade 2 and larger collaborative canvases by the Grades 4 and 5 that explore the art style of the late Ted Harrison who is considered one of Canada’s most prominent artists. “In a Harrison painting a lake may be orange, a moose blue, and a sky a rainbow of reds. Uncluttered and vibrantly coloured, Harrison's style is distinctive. Tiny creatures—dogs, ravens, and people in colourful parkas—are set against an overwhelming expanse of land, mountains, sea, and sky.” In addition to his work as a painter, Harrison has written several children’s books and illustrated both “The Cremation of Sam McGee” and “The Shooting of Dan McGrew” by Robert Service.

With the start of June the Annual Summer Book Sale has also begun and it will wrap up on July 1st. There are some great summer reads to discover amongst the variety of gently used adult fiction and non-fiction, young adult, juvenile and children’s books. Also available are various computer paraphernalia, a TV, a VCR player, and wire book spinners. The price is totally reasonable—a good will donation to the Library. The Library is also accepting donations for the sale.

Shellbrook Library Visits Hawaii

The Shellbrook Public Library invites you for an exciting Travel Night to the tropical islands of Hawaii.

The Library is looking forward to an exciting opportunity to expand its knowl- edge about Hawaii on Wednesday, June 10 at 7 p.m. Journey with Cheryl Tieszen as she provides an “armchair” tour of the isolated volcanic archipelago in the Central Pacific.

Author Nettie Balzer Returns to Shellbrook Public Library

Nettie Balzer, author of Helena: a Peek into the Past and Raising Eight on 80.

The Shellbrook Public Library welcomes back Nettie Balzer, who was a former resident of Shellbrook, on Tuesday, May 26th at 7:00 pm.

Balzer visited the Library in 2013 to promote her first book about her mother’s life entitled Helena: A Peek into the Past which chronicled Helena’s first forty-one years. Balzer now returns to the Library with a sequel on her mother’s life, entitled Raising Eight on 80.

Helena Banman, the oldest of eleven children, was born on August 22, 1898 in the Mennonite Village of Kleefeld, located on the West Reserve in southern Manitoba. Her parents, Julius and Helena, were poverty stricken immigrants from Russia so the children were farmed out to work for others in order to help out financially.

Helena married Jacob Friesen on May 27, 1919. Helena and Jacob are forced to employ every ounce of resourcefulness to raise seven children on 160 stony acres of Canadian prairie. Then their eighth child is born, half of their land is chosen for an Aerodrome to train pilots for World War II, and the Dirty Thirties continue into the ’40s. Helena applies her creativity and Jacob his ingenuity, and the children roll up their sleeves and pitch in, sometimes with humorous outcomes.

Raising Eight on 80 is a series of short stories based on actual events and memories of the Friesen family. Copies of Helena: A Peek into the Past will be available for $20.00 and “Raising Eight on 80” for $25.00. Refreshments will be provided.