Tuesday, April 7: Lafcadio Hearn

On Tuesday, April 7 at noon at the Ohio County Public Library, Mary-Bess Halford will discuss the life and works of Lafcadio Hearn. Also known as Koizumi Yakumo, Lafcadio Hearn was an author of Greek and Irish parentage who, after working as a reporter in the United States, moved to Japan and became a Japanese citizen. He was best known for his books about Japanese life, especially ghost stories & legends. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are served. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

March 31 at Noon: Arthur St. Clair

Local Historian Dick Phillips will discuss his research on Arthur St. Clair, Major General and Governor of the Northwest Territory—an unappreciated patriot of the revolutionary period.

March 24: Malcolm X

Dennis D. Wainstock, who teaches American history at Fairmont State University, will discuss his new book, Malcolm X: African American Revolutionary at the Ohio County Public Library's Lunch With Books program on Tuesday, March 24 at noon. The book focuses on the final years of Malcolm X, including his adoption of and eventual disillusionment with the religion of the Nation of Islam and questions surrounding his assassination. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bagged lunch and free beverages are provided. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

Hughes Series Author to Appear at Library

Author Cathy Day will discuss Comeback Season: How I Learned to Play the Game of Love at the Ohio County Public Libary's Lunch With Books program on Thursday, March 19 at noon. The book is part memoir about life as a single woman and part sports story about the Indianapolis Colts Super Bowl season. The Indiana born Day is the author of The Circus in Winter. She teaches fiction writing at Pitt. Day’s appearance is an extension of West Liberty ’s Hughes Lecture Series. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Bring a bag lunch, free beverages are provided. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

March 17th at Noon--Celebrate St. Patrick's Day!

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with Pittsburgh balladeer Mike Gallagher.

Mike has been performing for more than 30 years.

Aside from being a mainstay at many Pittsburgh pubs, he has also performed at the 3 Rivers Arts Festival, the Pittsburgh Irish Festival, the Wheeling Celtic Celebration, & on the Echoes of Erin radio show.

Master of the Irish ballad, Mike has established himself as an entertainer who brings humor and spirit to every performance.

Local Author to Discuss Book About Polish Resistance During WWII

Rev. Marian S Mazgaj will discuss his new book, In the Polish Secret War: Memoir of a World War II Freedom Fighter at the Ohio County Public Library's Lunch With Books program on Tuesday, March 3 at noon. Born in the Polish village of Gaj in 1923, Marian Mazgaj was just a teenager when Germany invaded his country and launched Poland into the combat of World War II. Although Mazgaj was too young to join the Polish army at the time, within a few years he became a member of the Sandomierz Flying Commando Unit, a unit which merged with the Jedrus Polish underground group.This memoir provides a vivid record of Mazgaj's career in the military. The Sandomierz Flying Commando Unit and the Jedrus underground were actively engaged in fighting the Nazi forces in Poland during World War II, and the author provides a firsthand account of the groups' roles in attacking and disarming German military units; destroying the enemy's grain warehouses and administrators; and receiving air drops of weapons, ammunition, and explosives from the Allies. He also describes the incorporation of his partisan group into the Home Army, whereby he and his comrades became the Fourth Company in the Second Regiment of the Second Division, gaining strength and destroying many more German units.

Rev. Mazgaj is now semi-retired and serving as a pastoral associate at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Wheeling.

Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring their own lunch and free beverages are provided. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

More Lincoln at the Library

Saturday, Feb 21st (Noon): Lincoln Scholar to Discuss Emancipation at Library

The Lunch With Books Lincoln Series at the Ohio County Public Library continues with Burrus Carnahan, lecturer at the George Washington University Law School, who will discuss his book, Act of Justice: Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and the Law of War on this Saturday, February 21 at noon. The book deals with how President Lincoln used the laws of war to define his constitutional powers as commander in chief. Mr. Carnahan is a foreign affairs officer in the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation at the U.S. Department of State and a specialist in arms control and the law of war. Due to its focus on Emancipation, the program is also a continuation of the library's celebrtation of Black History Month. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring lunch and free beverages are provided. Please call 304-232-0244 for more information.

Tuesday, Feb 24th (noon): Ghost of Lincoln at Library

Pamela Apkarian Russell, proprietor of the Castle Halloween Museum in Glen Dale, will return to Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, February 24 at noon. She will discuss her book Washington's Haunted Past: Capital Ghosts of America. The discussion will include Lincoln’s ghost and the counter conspiracies, etc. Also, look for a great display featuring vintage pre-1920 Lincoln's birthday postcards—a very colorful display with great graphics. The program is the final one in the library's series celebrating Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring lunch and free beverages are provided. Please call 304-232-0244 for more information.