12/02/10 Ever wonder what it would have been like to live in Plymouth in the “Roaring 20’s”? Participate in the “Main Street Hide & Seek” promotion with the downtown merchants from December 6th to December 17th and find out! Clues to the downtown’s 1920’s history will lead participants to discover the hidden past of current downtown buildings. For example, where in the 1920’s could you have purchased steak for 30 cents a pound? Hint – today you could find fresh flowers for your table there! Visit the modern day location to discover the 1920’s answer. The first fifteen who find all the answers to the “Main Street Hide & Seek” clues can turn in their forms at the Plymouth Public Library and receive a free paperback copy of The Great Gatsby.
The idea is to promote interest in reading the novel featured for this year’s One Book, One Town celebration sponsored each year by the Friends of the Library. The national movement began with the Library of Congress Center for the Book and encourages communities to join together in awareness of the importance of reading, literacy, and libraries. Each year in Plymouth, the Friends of the Library select the title to promote and organize a discussion centered around that book. This year the group is expanding the program to include several events that they hope will focus the community on reading and talking about ideas inspired F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.
The give-away of free copies of the novel using historical clues from 1920’s Plymouth is just the first of many opportunities to celebrate the importance of literacy and the joy of reading. Look for future announcements about free films and a ragtime concert at the library, or about a chance to learn the Charleston and attend Afternoon Tea at the newly remodeled museum. Encore will be getting into the act with a special performance for the community featuring the one-woman show, Zelda! by Debra Conner. And area high schoolers will have a chance to write about their reading to win scholarships.
This year the Friend’s of the Library’s One Book, One Town planning committee is joining forces with Encore, the Marshall County Historical Society Museum, and the downtown merchants to help make reading a main feature on Main Street. What better way to promote The Great Gatsby than to remind everyone to 23-Skidoo to the Plymouth Public Library to pick up a form and participate in “Main Street Hide & Seek” this shopping season. Reading is the cat’s pajamas!
