Children's activities part of busy summer at Rodman Library

Wednesday is Play Day at RPL

Children have a standing play date at Rodman Public Library every Wednesday from June 14 to July 26.

The group for ages birth through 5 will be offered from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. in Rodman’s Main Auditorium.

Board books and toys will be available for the children to play with while coffee and tea will be offered to the adults, who will have the opportunity to socialize.

A librarian will be in attendance at all times, but a parent or caregiver must be present with his or her child.

No registration is necessary.

For more information, call 330-821-2665, ext. 223.

Book fest, crafts offered weekly

During a six-week run of Thursdays from June 15 to July 20, Book Fest will be held at Rodman Public Library from 10:30 to 11 a.m. featuring a different presenter each week.

Book Fest will be followed by crafts from 11 a.m. to noon. Children can stay for both activities, or attend only one. Registration is not required for either.

The scheduled presenters and crafts are:

• June 15 – Wildlife Officer Scott Traver (caterpillar clothespin)

• June 22 – Healthy Heart Yoga (can craft)

• June 29 – Alliance Garden Club (seed bomb planting)

• July 6 – Staff of RPL’s Children Department (headbands)

• July 13 – Huston-Brumbaugh Nature Center (bug jars)

• July 20 – Field Day (hot air balloon mobile)

For more information, call 330-821-2665, ext. 223.

Mount Union professor to discuss Juneteenth holiday

While Juneteenth is the newest federal holiday in the United States, many Americans do not understand what it celebrates.

“For African Americans, Juneteenth is Independence Day, now the United States of America's second Independence Day,” said Michelle Collins-Sibley, professor of English and director of the Africana Studies Program at University of Mount Union.

Collins-Sibley will discuss the national holiday at 7 p.m. June 19 in the Rodman Main Auditorium. Juneteenth is June 19.

Although the Emancipation Proclamation came into effect in 1863, it could not be implemented in areas still under Confederate control. Consequently, enslaved people in the western most Confederate state of Texas were not freed until much later. On June 19, 1865, some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, and announced that the more than 250,000 enslaved people in the state had been freed by executive decree. These newly freed people christened the day "Juneteenth," or "Freedom Day."

Registration is required to attend the event at rodmanlibrary.evanced.info/signup. For more information, call 330-821-2665.

Historic Preservation is topic of June 21 program

Old buildings can create new futures. Alliance resident Dalton Rininger Kline, an instructor in the Kent State College of Architecture and Environmental Design, will explain just how when he presents “North Lincoln: What It Was and What It Could Have Been” at 7 p.m. June 21 in the Rodman Main Auditorium.

Kline, a member of the board of trustees of the Alliance Area Preservation Society, which is sponsoring the event along with the Alliance Historical Society, will discuss historic preservation as he presents the work of his students conducted as part of a project on the adaptive reuse of North Lincoln School, which was later set for demolition.

During his presentation, Kline will review the results of the project with photos of the building (even spaces not open to the public), the history of the school and the area, and the adaptive reuse projects envisioned by his students.

Registration is required to attend the program at rodmanlibrary.evanced.info/signup.

Kids can play Bingo this summer

Rodman Public Library invites children to Bingo this summer.

The free games will be held monthly inside Rodman’s Main Auditorium, and prizes will be awarded to the winners.

The games will be held at 6 p.m. on the following dates:

• June 26

• July 10

• August 14

Separate registration is required for each session at rodmanlibrary.evanced.info/signup. For more information, call 330-821-2665, ext. 223.

Terry Pluto to Visit RPL June 27

Like to talk sports?

Rodman Public Library is bringing in an expert at 6:30 p.m. June 27, when Terry Pluto will visit to share his vast knowledge of Cleveland sports and beyond.

Pluto, a sports columnist for the Cleveland Plain Dealer and Cleveland.com, is an author of more than 30 books, was named Best Sports Columnist in the National Headliner Awards in 2020, and has been Ohio Sportswriter of the Year 11 times.

Pluto broadcasts weekly sports commentaries with Amanda Rabinowitz on WKSU and other Northeast Ohio NPR stations.

During his visit to Rodman, Pluto will discuss Cleveland sports – past, present and future. He will also take questions from the audience. Afterward, he will sign copies of his books, many of which will be available for sale, including his latest “Vintage Browns.”

Registration is required to attend Pluto’s visit at rodmanlibrary.evanced.info/signup. For more information, call 330-821-2665.

This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: Children's activities part of busy summer at Rodman Library