The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

The Big Sandy Public Library Summer Reading Program welcomed Scott Hemmer from the Fish Wildlife and Parks department as guest speaker to speak with the children about area wildlife. Mr. Hemmer is a Wildlife Biologist who does educational talks along the Hi-Line and to other communities in the area. The event was an overwhelming success, with 55 Big Sandy students and 11 adults showing up to listen to the talk. One young man who attended explained that his favorite part of the event was when Mr. Hemmer passed around different hides of animals, particularly the lynx fur. Librarian, Darlene Cline, explained that Scott brings a large tote full of animal furs to presentations to pass around. Other skins included: a black bear, coyotes, wolf, mountain lion, a baby white link, a mink, and a wolverine. The kids reacted with particular interest to the wolverine. Darlene explained: "I have a picture of one hanging here in the library, so there were a lot of kids who said 'Hey I know that's the wolverine.' So that was pretty cool." The presentation lasted for around 45 minutes.

Mr. Hemmer's talk is the first such event held as part of the Summer Reading Program since the 2020 lockdowns prevented the program from taking place last year. The library has several more guest speaker events scheduled this summer. In keeping with the theme for the summer reading program, which is "Tails and Tales," the other speakers will be doing topics related to wildlife. On the 13th, Bob Nelson will be speaking on fishing and water sports. There are several little surprises planned for the day. In addition, Brad Moore will be speaking on wildlife the 20th. The program ends the 28th.

The theme, Tails and Tales," was provided by the Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) and is being done by summer reading programs throughout the nation. In addition to the children's program, our library is also doing an adult summer reading program with drawings and prizes, which is done throughout the state. Currently, the program has over 70 children registered to participate, though the number of children who show up at any given time is typically smaller.

The Library is decorated in theme for Tails and Tales, with jungle trees, vines, and all sorts of animal art and displays. Most of the work decorating was done by Darlene, with the help of Jodi Holland and several teenage girls, who helped with painting.

In addition to the guest speakers, the library is hosting all sorts of other crafts and activities every day. This is partly due to the program, but also because the library is a bit of a hot spot for children during the summer. Darlene explains that there are always children in the building throughout the summer months, and the crafts and activities give them more options for how to spend their time there. The popular lego activities, dance lessons, corn hole, crafts, and all manner of other options are available on different days of the month of June. This includes the always popular Stuffed Animal Sleepover, which will be taking place on the 29th this year and will be supervised by Alfie the Alligator, who is working for the library during his off months away from the preschool.

The Library is also offering a sack lunch for kids on Wednesday, in conjunction with story time. Kids can pick up a meal in the morning and take it with them after the conclusion of the story time activities. The library is currently distributing 16 sack lunches a week, featuring PB&J, turkey, or ham sandwiches. The lunches are provided through a grant from Backpack Buddies.