Every once in a while an event is held at the library that piques the interest of the community or resonates so deeply with those who attend that it takes on a life of its own, well after the conclusion of the event. One example of this is the Legacy Writers group at NOPL Cicero. I invited one of the group members, Tom Clasper, to share how the group got it’s start:
Cicero Legacy Writer’s Group started on February 8, 2016 at Northern Onondaga Public Library (NOPL) at Cicero under the tutelage of Linda Loomis, BA and MA from SUNY Oswego. Originally it was part of the art, photography, and writing enrichment program sponsored by Senator John A. DeFransisco, and the Friends of the Cicero Library under the auspices of the “Encore Creative Aging” program.
The sponsored program and Linda’s oversight ended at a public reception at NOPL Cicero where workshop participants each read one of their stories and received a copy of the chap book on April 16, 2016. Six of the original participants stayed the course: Eileen, Jan, Bea, Diane, Lucy and Sue and decided to keep meeting with NOPL providing sponsorship and a meeting location.
A closed Facebook page for the group was created April 11, 2016 just prior to the reception, where information could be shared with the group. Linda generously shared information with the group how to “be” a writer’s group and provided advice and directions at the first independent meeting on April 18, 2016.
NOPL Cicero is still the current sponsor. The group is open to the public, and the library advertises the group in its newsletters and in local papers. New folks pop in from time-to-time, check out the group, and sometimes stay.
The library has let the group know how happy they were to have them and that they’d love to support the group in other ways. The group asked if guest speakers could be invited and the first guest writer, Donna Steiner, attended the March 23, 2017 meeting, with others who followed.
Thanks for sharing that Tom! If you’re interested in joining the Legacy Writers, the meet on Thursdays from 11 AM to 12:45 PM at NOPL Cicero. Special guest Anne Phinney, author of Finding my Way to Moose River Farm and They Teach Without Words, will visit the Legacy Writers group on April 30, 2020 at 11 a.m. Read more about her on her blog, mooseriverfarm.com.
Finally, be sure to check out the work of the group’s published authors!
Carroll, Ron. The Girl from Smith Road. Kindle Online Publishing, 2019.
Carroll, Ron. Fire on the Horizon. Kindle Online Publishing, 2019.
Stadtmiller, Diane. Memories of Schattenland. Kindle Online Publishing, 2019.
