[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text css=""] A Tribute to Isabella by Ann Havemeyer Among the treasures in the Library’s Rare Book Room is a magnificent two volume presentation edition of Elihu Vedder’s autobiography The Digressions of V: Written for His Own Fun and That of...
[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text css=""] Silent Sentinel by Ann Havemeyer A silent sentinel sits in the Great Hall of the Norfolk Library. From its lofty pedestal on the mezzanine, the portrait bust of Abraham Lincoln has kept watch for more than a century on...
[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text css=""] The Ups and Downs of Life by Ann Havemeyer In October 2025, a family came into the Library, marveling at the beauty of the building as most people do. When they introduced themselves as descendants of John Bailey, I...
[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text css=""] Meet Me at the Libe by Ann Havemeyer 2024 marked the 50th anniversary of the Library Associates, an outstanding group of volunteers whose dedication and service to the Library has brought it to back life as a cultural center....
[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] Taylor at the Twentieth by Ann Havemeyer The architect Alfredo Taylor has become somewhat of a legend in Norfolk. If you are not familiar with his name, you must certainly be familiar with his work, whether dining at the Norfolk...
[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text css=""] Norfolk Library Tenth Anniversary by Ann Havemeyer “May the library be more and more a true home for rest, refreshment, and quickening,” wrote Sarah Porter to Norfolk Library founder Isabella Eldridge in 1899. The sister of Noah Porter, President...
[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] “Never to dim this light, young friends …” by Ann Havemeyer Were it not for the five small windows in the attic of the Library overlooking the Green, you might never know that there is a room on the third...
[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] Peary Got Near Pole. Couldn’t Reach Norfolk. Snowbound. by Ann Havemeyer These were the headlines in the Hartford Courant on February 18, 1907, following Robert E. Peary’s aborted attempt to arrive in Norfolk in time for his scheduled talk at...
[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] Survival in the Arctic by Ann Havemeyer Although we do not anticipate needing a guide for surviving arctic conditions here in the Icebox of Connecticut, there is a Norfolk connection to the man who penned The Airman's Arctic Survival Guide:...
[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] (Who) Eats Shoots and Leaves? by Leslie Battis In a foray through the Library’s non-fiction collection, I made some interesting finds. The 400s (language) includes books about English grammar and style, which I appreciate as an editor. A particular favorite...
