Upcoming Adult Programs
Steeped in Secrecy: The Boston Tea Party, 250 Years Later
Saturday, December 16th | 2:00 PM (Virtual)
Steeped in Secrecy: The Boston Tea Party, 250 Years Later" -- on the actual 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party
The story of tea has always been infused with intrigue, particularly when it became a flash point for tensions between England and Colonial America. Learn about the brewing political problems tea presented in its history with Anglophile and former UK resident Claire Evans. Next, author, genealogist, librarian, and former UK resident Debra Dudek examines the history of the Boston Tea Party’s most famous partiers (and phonies), as well as how to trace bona fide participants through lineage societies and historical groups.
Register HERE to receive the Zoom webinar link from Tewksbury Public Library.
Presented in partnership with Tewksbury Public Library. Sponsored by the Friends of the Tewksbury Public Library. SPL funding from the Friends of the Sharon Public Library.
Women in Intelligence: The Hidden History of Two World Wars
Saturday, January 13th | 2:00- 3:00 PM (Virtual)
If 
you are fascinated by the untold stories of women's contributions to war efforts, please join author and historian, Helen Fry, as she discusses her latest book "Women in Intelligence: The Hidden History of Two World Wars". It is a ground-breaking history of women in British intelligence, revealing their pivotal role across the first half of the twentieth century.
From the 1910s onward, women took on an extraordinary range of roles in intelligence, defying the conventions of their time. Across both world wars, far from being a small part of covert operations, women were running escape lines, managing networks and interrogating prisoners. And, back in Bletchley and Whitehall, women’s vital administrative work in MI offices kept the British war engine running. In this major, panoramic history, Helen Fry looks at the rich and varied work women undertook as civilians and in uniform. From those who worked for Belgian network ‘La Dame Blanche’, knitting coded messages into jumpers, to those who interpreted aerial images and even ran entire sections, Fry shows just how crucial women were in the intelligence mission. Filled with hitherto unknown stories, "Women in Intelligence" places new research on record for the first time and showcases the inspirational contributions of these remarkable women.
Register HERE to receive the Zoom webinar link from Ashland Public Library.
Presented in partnership with Ashland Public Library. Sponsored by the Friends of the Ashland Public Library, with additional funding from the Friends of the Sharon Public Library.
Shattered Stars: The Power of Courage, Compassion, and Kindness with Author Irene Stern Frielich
Wednesday, January 24th | 6:15 PM (In-person)
Local author Irene Stern Frielich is the daughter of a German Holocaust survivor. In 2017 she re-discovered the testimony video her father had made just prior to his death in 1994, and immersed herself in her father's world of survival, loss, and hope. In this engaging multi-media presentation, Irene retraces the Stern-Herzfeld family's footsteps as they escape their comfortable home in Germany on Kristallnacht in 1938 and cross the border to the Netherlands. The family lives there in relative safety until the Nazis invade and turn their world upside down. Using photos, interviews, audio and video recordings, Irene covers the period from 1938 through liberation in 1945.
Irene's memoir, Shattered Stars, Healing Hearts: Unraveling My Father's Holocaust Survival Story was published in October 2023. She speaks internationally about her family's story and has articles about her family published in German and Dutch media. Irene lives in Sharon, MA, and is the owner of EnVision Performance Solutions, an award-winning instructional design consulting firm in Massachusetts. [Register here]