Book discussion luncheon scheduled

  • 2020-02-25
Many people enjoy a good book, and a Roswell organization has planned an event to celebrate a literary work.

The Roswell Reads Steering Committee has scheduled the Roswell Reads Literary Luncheon – 2020. The committee's book selection for the year is “The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek,” written by Kim Michele Richardson. In her book, Richardson explores two separate, but related, issues—the Packhorse Librarians, and Kentucky people with blue skin.

The intriguing Packhorse Librarians were part of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) effort that was in effect from 1935 to 1943. During that time, the Pack Horse Library Project brought Books to people in rural Kentucky, who otherwise would not have had any access to them. The books were delivered by riders, almost all women, on horseback. They were called a number of different names including “packsaddle librarians,” “book ladies,” and “book women.”

Also in rural Kentucky were a few individuals known as “blue Kentuckians” because of the color of their skin. The distinctive hue is caused by a medical condition known as methemoglobinemia, but even so it was a cause of shame, and people with the condition became isolated. Richardson has woven the stories together, and shown how important the librarians were in reaching out to isolated residents.

The luncheon is scheduled for March 14, from 11:00 am until 2:30 pm, at the Roswell Adult Recreation Center on Grimes Bridge Road. Banner printing can be used to create decorations for such events.


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