Finnish Genealogy Group Starts Off the New Year

The Finnish Genealogy Group will hold its first meeting of 2012 on Saturday, January 14, at 10 a.m. Whether you are a beginner wondering how to get a start on finding your Finnish ancestors, or a seasoned researcher, you are welcome. Please come with ideas for future meetings and plan to participate! Coffee and freshly baked pulla are always served.

Okee Dokee Brothers at Library Story Time in February

Music and fun for the whole family is coming to Story Time at the Cloquet Public Library at 10 a.m., Wed., Feb. 8, with the Okee Dokee Brothers. The program is free of charge and open to the public. The brothers have a mission to remind children (and adults) of their intrinsic ability to discover, imagine and create through music. Here's what their fans are saying about them:

"They have great lyrics. They're like the Pixar of music. Good for kids but good for adults." - Sally Leitch Shoreview, MN

“They engaged the entire crowd, kids and adults alike. The music is nice to listen to, even as an adult. I bought two CDs and catch myself listening to them even when my son is not around!" - Mom at The Overture Center's Kids in the Rotunda Series (Madison, WI)

"Shel Silverstein meets Woody Guthrie and they make a PB&J sandwich." - John Van Rooy

"The Okee Dokee Brothers - a jam band for the diaper crowd." - Kristina Ortega

"The Okee Dokee Brothers address issues of communication, cognitive, motor, emotional, and social skills in a fun, interactive, uplifting, and inspirational way." - Roberta S. Kagin, Dir. of Music Therapy, Augsburg College

"They're like the Wiggles, only cool." - Owen, Age 5

"Joe and Justin were engaging, professional, enthusiastic, and showed great interest in the site and children. I would highly recommend them to anyone!" – Shelley Steingraeber, Discover Club, St. Paul Public Schools.

This program is made possible by the Minnesota's arts and cultural heritage fund.For more information call the library at 879-1531.

Browser the Cat comes to Cloquet

Browser, the Library Cat at the Pine River Public Library in the Kitchigami Library System, visited the Cloquet Public Library this week (or at least a life-size reproduction of the sleek black cat turned up). He joined both LapSit and Preschool Story Times and was well-received by children and adults alike.

In 2002, when Browser was nine months old, library staff took him in, and he has been living at the library ever since. When the library moved to its current location, the kids who helped move the books also moved Browser!

Browser’s goal is to visit as many libraries in Minnesota as possible. Afterward, he will journey across the USA and eventually around the world. If you would like to track his progress, go to Browser’s Facebook page or blog site (www.facebook.com/browser.cat or http://library-cat.blogspot.com

Historic Schools of Carlton County

One-room schoolhouses of Carlton County are the subject of conversation and a book signing by Nancy C. Hanson on Saturday, November 12, at 10:30 a.m. Photographs of several schools will be displayed. Anyone with long-term roots in the area or with an interest in local history will enjoy this morning event. Coffee will be provided.

Ms. Hanson's book, … and the snows came up to here … Schools of Carlton County-Minnesota, provides descriptions of 120 schools and includes 190 black-and-white photographs and maps. It was recently published by Dovetailed Press LLC.

Documentary: Carl Gawboy

Local filmmaker Lorraine Norrgard will introduce a screening of her documentary film Carl Gawboy Portrait: The Art of the Everyday on Saturday, November 5, at 10:30 a.m. Carl Gawboy is a local artist whose work depicts his dual Native American and Finnish heritage growing up in northern Minnesota. He is a retired professor of American Indian Studies at the College of St. Scholastica. Ms. Norrgard was awarded a regional Emmy Award in 2002 for producing and directing on the PBS-8 series Waasa Inaabidaa (We Look In All Directions).

"The Grocer's Son"

The second Tuesday of the month's International Film Series continues on November 8 at 6:30 p.m. with a recent offering from France, The Grocer's Son (Le fils de l'épicier, 2007).

Antoine is a 30-year unmarried man making a living in Lyon when he is summoned home to his family's village to help with the family grocery business. The film chronicles the tensions with his family and his increasing feelings for a young woman from Lyon who accompanies him, all set against the beauty of the Alps of southeastern France.

In French with subtitles. For mature audiences.

Halloween Fright Film

Halloween night at 6:30 p.m. is the perfect witching time for a screening of the restored version of the cult-horror classic Suspiria on our 55” wide-screen TV. From acclaimed giallo director Dario Argento, this 1977 film presents a nightmarish dreamscape that has influenced a number of American directors. Suzy Bannion is a young American dancing student who finds that the historic building in Freiburg, Germany, housing the dance academy where she is enrolled, is also home to a horrifyingly murderous and supernatural sect. Besides its garish visuals and heart-pounding score, the film is also notable for featuring former MGM-star Joan Bennett (who was then starring in the gothic daytime serial “Dark Shadows”) and also one of Alfred Hitchcock’s stars, Alida Valli. This film is not recommended for audience members under 17 years old.