Events for: Pollard Library
Past Events: Pollard Library

Thursday
5/15
2025
6:00 pm
Nora Neale
Nora Neale is a beekeeper from Topsfield, Mass., a member of the Essex County Beekeeper's Association, and a familiar face from the bee building at the Topsfield Fair. Geared toward elementary and middle school students, the interactive presentation will include a presentation in a bee suit, candle-making and honey tasting. Supplies will be provided.

Thursday
1/16
2025
6:00 pm
Jeff Belanger
Jeff Belanger is one of the most visible and prolific researchers of folklore and legends today. A natural storyteller, he’s the award-winning, Emmy-nominated host, writer, and producer of the New England Legends series on PBS and Amazon Prime, and is the author of over a dozen books (published in six languages). He also hosts the award-winning New England Legends weekly podcast, which has garnered over 4.5 million downloads since its launch,
and ranks in the top 1 percent of all podcasts as far as popularity, according to Listen Notes.

Thursday
5/16
2024
6:00 pm
Andrew Krivak: “Like the Appearance of Horses”
Andrew Krivak is the author of four novels: The Bear (2020), a fable about the last two people on Earth, and the novels of the Dardan Trilogy: The Sojourn (2011) a National Book Award Finalist and winner of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Fiction; The Signal Flame (2017); and his newest, Like the Appearance of Horses (2023). Krivak will read from Like the Appearance of Horses and discuss how and why he wanted to weave one family’s experience of war into three separate novels. In honor of being in Lowell, Massachusetts for the Moses Parker Greeley Lecture series, he will also discuss where his life-long love of Jack Kerouac’s work has taken him as a novelist.

Thursday
4/4
2024
6:00 pm
John Kozik: “The History of the Ouija board”
John Kozik’s obsession with collecting and researching Ouija began when he inherited his grandmother’s board in the late 1990’s. He was surprised to discover that Ouija was simply one specific brand of Talking Board, and that they date much further back than the Ouija of Parker Brothers fame. Through years of dedication John is now one of the most knowledgeable people on the subject. In 2013 he became a founding member of the Talking Board Historical Society, a group that researches and preserves the history of Talking Boards. Fast forward to 2019 - John opened the doors of The Salem Witch Board Museum to the public. It is the only museum dedicated to the history and lore of the Talking Board, boasting the largest collection of boards, obscure memorabilia, and ephemera under one roof. Whether you believe it’s the tool of the Devil or just an innocent kid’s game, a visit to the museum will allow you to learn more about this fascinating and iconic piece of Americana.

Thursday
11/2
2023
6:00 pm
Tom Toohey: “Saving the Stories”
Tom Toohey is a modern day Irish storyteller who has traveled to Ireland 20 times and collected hundreds of stories. Every week more facts become available on the internet about our ancestors. These facts are like the skeletons of our predecessors. Family stories about these antecedents can add flesh to their bones and give life to their existence. In many families only one or two remember these stories. When they pass away the stories are lost.
This presentation offers a method for collecting and recording family stories for future generations. It has music, animation and humor and is entertaining as well as informative.

Thursday
10/5
2023
6:00 pm
Tom Burke: “Evil must not have the Last Word: The Life of Mary Wygodski”
The life of Mary Wygodski is a first person account of a woman who lost her entire immediate family in the Holocaust. She survived three concentration camps, made her way to Israel where she took part in the War of Independence, and eventually settled in America where she has been a passionate spokesperson about the Truth of the Holocaust. Tom will touch on the heroic but ultimately frustrated efforts of Edith Nourse Rogers to bring orphaned Jewish children to America.

Thursday
9/28
2023
6:00 pm
Catherine Marenghi: “Our Good Name”
Our Good Name is the story of Stefano and his young bride Celestina, both Italian immigrants who leave behind the back-breaking field labor in their beloved Northern Italy to find their place in a strange new country. Inspired by true events, this is a historical novel that surprises with a fresh and honest perspective about the hard realities of immigrant life in the United States and the courage required to make a home of one’s own in the “New World.” Catherine was born and raised in Milford, Massachusetts. She is an active member of the vibrant literary community of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. She divides her time between Mexico and Cape Cod.

Thursday
9/14
2023
6:00 pm
Erika Nichols-Frazer: “Destigmatizing Mental Health”
In her memoir, Feed Me: A Story of Food, Love and Mental Illness, author Erika Nichols-Frazer writes about learning to cope with bipolar disorder, an eating disorder, and alcohol addiction in her family through the healing power of food and community. She will discuss mental health and the stigma surrounding it as well as strategies for coping with mental illness in yourself or loved ones.

Saturday
4/29
2023
12:00 pm
Paul Marion – “Lockdown Letters & Union River”
Paul Marion has been a writer and community activist since the 1970s. He is the author of several collections of poetry as well as the editor of the early writings of Jack Kerouac, Atop an Underwood, and other titles. His recent book, Lockdown Letters & Other Poems, begins with the Covid pandemic and expands to subjects like travel, Space, and sports. His Union River: Poems and Sketches (2017), spans 40 years of work and offers a lyrical Americana address for our dramatic time. Among other accomplishments on the community front, he co-founded the Lowell Folk Festival and Lowell Heritage Partnership, an alliance of people and organizations whose mission is to care for architecture, nature, and culture.

Thursday
4/13
2023
6:00 pm
James H. Barron – “The Greek Connection: The Life of Elias Demetracopoulos and the Untold Story of Watergate”
“The Greek Connection: The Life of Elias Demetracopoulos and the Untold Story of Watergate” is the internationally acclaimed biography of a controversial journalist and freedom fighter who relentlessly battled for democracy, honor and survival against abusive Greek and American governments trying to destroy him. There are Greater Lowell and Massachusetts elements to the saga, which includes the first-ever detailed profile of Greek-American tycoon Tom Pappas.
This compelling narrative sheds new light on historic 20th century events. Doris Kearns Goodwin called it “a magnificent work.” The Washington Post described it as “cinematic.”
Author James H. Barron is a Massachusetts attorney, journalist, university lecturer, and a founding board member of the New England Center for Investigative Reporting. For more information check out thegreekconnectionbook.com.

Saturday
4/8
2023
12:00 pm
Dennis DiZoglio – “The Value of Political Capital”
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a mayor? Well after serving three terms as a mayor and being a local and regional government official for over thirty-five years I think I know. So I wrote this book to pull the curtain back just enough to let you peak in and know as well. and how public engagement can be a full contact sport. It is a fascinating life with funny memories and memorable events that leads to a rewarding life.

Thursday
9/22
2022
7:00 pm
Janet Parnes – “Myths and Miracles of Victorian Medicine”
Medicine in the Victorian Age has a lot to tell us about today’s world: how we handle a pandemic, and how far medicine has come. Prepare to gasp, cringe and chuckle, as you discover the horrifying practices and milestones discoveries that characterize turn of-the-century medicine. Join us as Janet Parnes, will be portraying Miss Myrtle Mills, takes us on this in person exploration of practices that defy today’s medical sense.

Thursday
9/15
2022
6:00 pm
Michael S. Murphy – “Webster’s Regiment: 12th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment”
In 1861, approximately 1000 men from Massachusetts answered the call from their country and marched off to war to keep the Union together. The 12th Massachusetts fought in just about every major battle in the Eastern Theater of Operations against the Army of Northern Virginia. The 12th Massachusetts suffered more than any regiment, but continued to demonstrate their honor and bravery right up to when they were pulled off the front lines in 1864. The 12th was led by two citizen soldiers, Fletcher Webster, son of Daniel Webster and James L. Bates, who led the regiment after Fletcher was killed in his first action.
Saturday
4/9
2022
1:00 pm
Marjorie Turner Hollman “Finding Easy Walks Wherever You Are”

Wednesday
11/3
2021
7:00 pm
Eric Jay Dolin: “A Furious Sky-The 500 year History of America’s Hurricanes”

Wednesday
10/6
2021
7:00 pm
Thomas Anderson: “Bee My Honey!” – Honey Bees, Pollinator Health, and the Great Global Honey Scam.”

Thursday
9/9
2021
7:00 pm
Erin R. Corrales-Diaz: “The Iconic Jersey: Baseball X Fashion”

Thursday
11/14
2019
7:00 pm
Jane Brox “Silence a Social History”

Thursday
10/24
2019
7:00 pm
Jane Sweetland “Boxcar Diplomacy: Two Trains that Crossed an Ocean”

Thursday
5/16
2019
7:00 pm
Michael Tougias “Above & Beyond: JFK and America’s Most Dangerous Spy Mission.”

Thursday
11/29
2018
7:00 pm
Sean McAdam “Boston: America’s Best Sports Town”
Sean McAdam was a sports writer for the Providence Journal and The Boston Herald,a broadcaster co-host on WEEI-FM the Big Show, an analyst on NESN, now author, Sean McAdam has covered the world of sports like no other. His latest book covers the history of the city’s major pro and college sports teams, as well as local traditions such as the Boston Marathon and the Beanpot hockey tournament. McAdam went to Chelmsford High School and is a member of the Chelmsford High School Alumni Association Hall of Fame. If you love sports, you don’t want to miss this chance to hear about your favorite sports team and share your memories with Sean.
Thursday
10/25
2018
7:00 pm
Honorable Michael Ponsor “Justice and the American Character”

Thursday
9/13
2018
7:00 pm
Cheryl Hamilton “Lessons from Lewiston, Maine: A Refugee Story”

Thursday
11/16
2017
7:00 pm
Alex Beam – “American Crucifixion: The Murder of Joseph Smith and the Fate of the Mormon Church”

Thursday
10/26
2017
7:00 pm
Stephen Collins – “Butterfly”
Butterfly is about James McNeil Whistler (1834-1903), the volatile American artist who battled (mostly in Victorian England) for personal expression in the arts; Butterfly presents Whistler at two phases in his life: as a bankrupt artist in his 40’s on commission in Venice and as an established, yet lonely, legend in his 60’s.
Stephen Collins currently performs nine one-man shows and has been met with rave reviews for over a decade. Mr. Collins’ performances deliver not just the poetry and plays, but he also brings the poets and playwrights to life on the stage. The shows convey an understanding of the impact and the reactions of the characters to their respective times, giving the audience not just a performance, but an experience.
Thursday
10/19
2017
7:00 pm
John Gfroerer – “Television: The Art and Ethics of Manipulation”

Thursday
9/21
2017
7:00 pm
Nina Sankovitch – “The Lowells of Massachusetts: An American Family”

Tuesday
9/12
2017
7:00 pm
Jeffrey R. Wilson – “Shakespeare and Trump” on Shakespeare and Contemporary Theory

Saturday
4/8
2017
1:00 pm
Tom Ricardi – “Birds of Prey”

Thursday
11/17
2016
7:00 pm
Eric Jay Dolin – “Brilliant Beacons: A History of the American Lighthouse”
