MONSTER MOVIE OF THE WEEK: "Piranha" (1978)

Director Joe Dante, and producer Roger Corman’s response to Steven Spielberg’s 1975 classic Jaws. An absent-minded detective, and a surly backwoodsman attempt to locate the whereabouts of two missing teenagers. When they accidentally set free a school of genetically altered piranha, they find they might have bitten off more than they could chew.

Join our reference librarian on a journey through horror movie history! Visit our library’s YouTube Channel today for a special introduction and commentary on each film. Then head to moffatlibrary.kanopy.com to stream the movie to your SmartTV, computer, or mobile device!

"THROWBACK THURSDAY" October 21, 2021

This week for "Throwback Thursday", we look at a true story of horror and heroism that unfolded at Washingtonville’s Erie Depot on September 16th, 1914. The headline of Elmira’s Star Gazette on the 21st of September read “ENGINEER DIES WHILE AT POST: Fortunately, Fireman Discovers Dangerous Fact in Time to Prevent Wreck – Years With Erie Railroad”. Visit our Local History Blog here for the full story!

"THROWBACK THURSDAY" October 7, 2021

This month we are looking at the strange, unusual, and legendary every "Throwback Thursday" in October! This week we are highlighting this 1956 copy of Cowboy of the Ramapos by Marjorie Sherman Greene. In this work of historical fiction, main character Geoffrey Blackburn, a scout for George Washington’s army, must find the hideout of Claudius Smith, the leader of a band of Loyalist outlaws known as the “Cowboys”. Although this is a work of fiction, Claudius Smith, and his Cowboys really did exist! Visit our local history blog here to learn more!

You've heard of Oktoberfest, but are you ready for Oktobookfest? Stop by the library and check-out one of our many books on home-brewing, mixology, and the beer industry today! Our books are ready to celebrate, how about you?

"THROWBACK THURSDAY" September 23, 2021

This week’s Throwback Thursday is this 1995 edition of “A Life of Quiet Dignity: Naomi Sewell Richardson” by Alice Jefferson Marshall, Estella Henderson Boyd, Leola Murray Mason, and Karen J. Wilson. Naomi Sewell Richardson (1892 – 1993) was born to Perry W. Sewell, and Florence Snowden Sewell in Lincoln University, Pennsylvania on September 24th, 1892. Naomi’s father, a minister, would move the family to Washingtonville in 1901, when he took became Reverend at the Bethany Presbyterian Church. Naomi would be the first African American to graduate from Washingtonville High School, before attending Howard University in 1910. There, she was one of twenty-two founding members of Delta Sigma Theta, one of the first Black Sororities to be founded in the United States. 

Compiled by members of Mid-Hudson Valley Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., “A Life of Quiet Dignity” includes anecdotes and interviews with, as well as memories of , Naomi Sewell Richardson, who was a member of this chapter from 1979 to her death in 1993.  Today, the sorority that Naomi helped found has 300,000 initiated members, and 1,000 chartered chapters. Naomi’s headstone at Washingtonville Cemetery is noticeable for its red-granite appearance and the Greek letters of the sorority she helped found. The area where her home once stood is being developed into a park in her name, across from the modern -day Washingtonville Middle, and High Schools where a new generation will learn her story. To learn more about our local history collection, visit our Local History Guide here  or call (845) 496-5483 x 326!

"THROWBACK THURSDAY" September 16, 2021

1908 Washingtonville Union School Commencement Pamphlet. Hudson Collection, Moffat Library of Washingtonville

This week’s “Throwback Thursday” is this commencement brochure for the Washingtonville Union School Class of 1908 belonging to Ethel Wright Hudson (1891-1936). Before the construction of the Washingtonville Central School in 1932, school plays and ceremonies were often held at Moffat Library in what is now the building’s Adult Wing. According to one article “The hall had been prettily decorated, including in large letters W.H.S. 08,” and the class motto, “Through Difficulty to Grandeur”. Despite there being only four students in the graduating class and “excessive heat” of June, the library hall was “crowded to the doors”. The graduates were Ella Bull, Howard Conklin, Harold L. Sitzer, and Chadwick Gerow; who delivered the salutatory and oration on “Heroism and Bravery”. Sadly, Chadwick would be killed in action on September 29^th, 1918, the only soldier from Washingtonville to be killed in action during the First World War.

At this time, Ethel Hudson was a Junior, graduating the following year. However she did attend this ceremony and inscribed on the cover “Mr. Smith told me he loved me on the 25 of Nov, 1908. He asked me to tell him first which I did. These are Mr. Smith’s words: “Ethel – Ethel I love you”. Whether this was true love or just a fantasy we can only guess.

To learn more about our Local History collection, visit our resource guide here , or call us at (845) 496-5483 x 326!

"THROWBACK THURSDAY" September 9, 2021

Title Page of "Elements of Written Arithmetic" by Charles Davies LLD, A.S. Barnes & Company, 1873. Moffat Library of Washingtonville

This week’s "Throwback Thursday" is this 1873 copy of Elements of Written Arithmetic textbook kept by Grace L. Wright (Hudson). Originally published in 1863 by Charles Davies (1798-1876), this book was part of a series of six books Davies produced to “present to the mind of the pupil the art, and to some extent the science of arithmetic, by a series of carefully constructed formulas of operation, with simple and concise rules”. Davies himself was a West Point Graduate (Class of 1815) and taught Mathematics, and Natural and Experimental Philosophy at his alma mater from 1816 to 1837, before teaching at Trinity College, Hartford, University of New York and Columbia. He would write and edit textbooks on mathematics until his death on September 17, 1876.

Inside cover of "Elements of Written Arithmetic" by Charles Davies LLD, A.S. Barnes & Company, 1873. Moffat Library of Washingtonville

Grace Alma Wright (Hudson) (1864-1950) carried this textbook when she was probably eight or nine years old. Like students of later generations, Grace personalized her

textbook by covering it and writing her name on the inside cover. The book is covered in scrap linen that would have been used in making shirts and attached to the book by a basic stitch that can be seen on the inside cover. Grace would go on to marry William J. Hudson (1861-1946) and raise a family of six children at the Hudson home on Hudson Road in Blooming Grove, New York.

To learn more about our Local History collection, visit our resource guide here , or call us at (845) 496-5483 x 326!

"THROWBACK THURSDAY" September 2, 2021

This month we are headed "Back to School"  every Throwback Thursday in September! Many of Washingtonville’s students started their first day of a new school year yesterday. Unlike today’s students, children who attended school in Blooming Grove at the turn of the century still used slate tablets like this one to practice writing and arithmetic. This recently donated tablet has a provenance that has been traced to the Washingtonville Academy, School District Number 5, which was located in what is now the western section of the Washingtonville Cemetery. To learn more about our Local History collection, visit our resource guide here, or call us at (845) 496-5483 x 326!
Photograph: Slate writing tablet belonging to a student at Washingtonville Academy, School District Number 5. C. 1900. Moffat Library of Washingtonville

THROWBACK "FURSDAY" August 26, 2021

1920 Ayrshire Breeder's Cup Trophy awarded to EE - Junior Three-Year-Old class cow belonging to the Blooming Grove (NY) Farm of Sears & Howell

Today’s "Throwback Fursday" highlights this Ayrshire Breeder’s cup trophy awarded to the Blooming Grove farm of Sears & Howell in 1920 by the Ayrshire Breeder’s association. Ayrshire cattle received their name from the County of Ayr in Scotland, where they are said to have originated from. Although the breed had been around since before the 19^th century, it became an established breed in 1812. Ayrshires are known to be efficient milk producers, which made them ideal for butter and cheese manufacturing. The Sears & Howell Farm, established in 1791, was known for the production of high-quality milk from their Ayrshires.

The Ayrshire Digest Roll of honor lists cattle from this farm in the Senior Three-Year-Old Class, Junior Three-Year-Old Class, and Senior Two-Year-Old Class for producing milk and fat, as well as produced a calf. The Ayrshire that won this award, the Junior Thre-Year-Old (EE) produced 11,602 pounds of milk, and 484.42 pounds of fat in a 300 day period! The barn, and homestead of the Sears-Howell farm still stands on New York State Route 94 west and is a designated local historic landmark. Learn more about our Local History collection by going here or calling (845) 496-5483 x 326!

THROWBACK "FURSDAY" August 19, 2021

Advertisement and edition of "Sleepy Tom" (1939) by Dwight Akers. Moffat Library of Washingtonville

Today’s "Throwback Fursday" post is dedicated to “Sleepy Tom”, a famous pacing horse who, despite being blind since the age of seven, went on set a world record at a mile race in Chicago, running it at 2 minutes 12 ¼ seconds. The record stood for two years until it was surpassed by another pacing horse Little Brown Jug. Harness racing, or trotting, is a specific form of horse racing where a horse pulls a two-wheeled cart, known as a sulky and driver. Races are performed on a track specifically designed for harness racing and are run at a mile distance.

Tom had an illustrious career, but sadly died in a barn fire in Indiana in 1880. Tom’s legacy was later picked up by local author and historian Dwight Akers, who published Sleepy Tom in 1939, and in 1992, Sleepy Tom was inducted as an “Immortal”into the Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame. Learn more about our Local History collection by going here,or calling (845) 496-5483 x 326!

THE FRIENDS' USED BOOKSTORE TO REOPEN TUESDAY, AUGUST 3

The Friends of the Moffat Library are happy to announce that their Used Book Store will be reopening on Tuesday, August 3rd at the Moffat Library.
They will be open the following hours:

IMAGES OF AMERICA: BLOOMING GROVE AND WASHINGTONVILLE

The Moffat Library Of Washingtonville is thrilled to announce the publication of the new book, “Blooming Grove And Washingtonville,” the latest volume in the Images of America series, written by our own Matthew Thorenz and published by Arcadia Publishing & The History Press. 

Using photographs from Moffat Library’s archives, as well as the collections of village and town historians and local residents, Mr. Thorenz has told the story of our history – the history of the town of Blooming Grove and the village of Washingtonvile - through pictures of its residents, their homes, their businesses and institutions and their daily life. 

Each of the photos is accompanied by extensively researched historical information that provides a clear window into how our community was shaped. A milestone for our shared history.

The Friends of Moffat Library have copies for sale at the Moffat Library, with all profits going to the Friends. You can also purchase copies of this book directly through the publisher or Amazon. The price is $21.99.

For more information, please contact the Moffat Library of Washingtonville
at: (845) 496-5483 ext. 324 or via email at: moffat@rcls.org.

WHAT'S CHANGED

May 3, 2021

• Per CDS/RCLS , quarantining of materials is no longer necessary.  (This allows us to get the items off your accounts and  back into circulation quickly).
• In addition to the outdoor book drop, the inside lobby book drop has been reopened.

June 1, 2021

• Extension of time limits for patron visits from 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• In accordance with NYS guidelines, we are also increasing our visitor capacity to 50%.
• Two (2) additional public computers: one additional public computer will be added in the Adult Department and one computer added to the Teen Room.
• Public computer time limit will increase from 30 minutes to 1 hour.

MASKS ARE STILL REQUIRED.  READ OUR STATEMENT HERE

NICHE ACADEMY Computer Learning Tutorials

Use the tutorials at Niche Academy to:

• Learn to use our Library Catalog and manage your library account.
• Learn Microsoft Word, Excel, Publisher & Powerpoint.
• Learn to download e-books with Overdrive's Libby App.
• Use social media platforms like FaceBook, LinkedIn & Twitter.
• Students - watch our tutorials on research essentials and then find research articles and citations in Academic OneFile, the database with thousands of research articles.
• Get the best out of the Library's Ancestry and Consumer Reports databases.

GET STARTED TODAY!

GUEST WIFI AVAILABLE FROM LIBRARY PARKING LOT AND MAIN ENTRANCE SEATING AREA!

You can now access the library's guest WiFi account from our parking lot located off Route 94! In addition to browsing the internet and sending e-mails you can:

• Print wirelessly to the library's printers
• Access streaming video services like Kanopy
• Attend virtual presentations and meetings
• Checkout and listen to e-books and e-audiobooks through Libby by Overdrive
• And much more!

Contact a staff member at (845) 496-5483 x 324 for login information!

COMPUTER SERVICES NOW AVAILABLE

Four of the library's public access computers are now available on a first come, first serve basis from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm on Monday - Thursday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm on Friday, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm Saturday, and from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm on Sunday.

Users must wear gloves and mask while using public access computers. If the computers are currently unavailable, you are welcome to still use our Guest WiFi from the parking lot, or seating area near the library's front entrance!

Contact a staff member at (845) 496-5483 x 324 for login information!

Complete Reopening Information

THE LIBRARY HAS REOPENED FOR
IN-HOUSE PATRON VISITS (6-1-21)

Please note that:

• No appointment is necessary
• Time limit of 1 hour for collection browsing and computer use.
• Sign-in and sign-out is mandatory
• Patrons must wear a mask to enter the building
• Entry is at the front of the building

The following services are now available:

• 1 hour browsing session
• 1 hour computer and Public Internet terminal use & printing session
• Wifi Printing to Library's Printers 
• Reference & reader's advisory services 
• Checkout & Library Account Services at Circulation Desk
• Self-checkout machine for no touch checkout 
• RCLS Gateway app self-checkout with smartphone 
• Photocopies (self-serve or staff-assisted)
• Notary service 

For complete information on our reopening click here

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE MOFFAT LIBRARY HOME DELIVERY SERVICE

Call the Library at (845)496-5483 x 324

Email: moffat@rcls.org OR

Visit our website at: https://moffatlibrary.org/  & look for Homebound Delivery under SERVICES (https://moffatlibrary.org/home-delivery/)