Memorial Day is upon us; the unofficial start of summer with camping, grilling burgers and hot dogs, time with family and friends. Memorial Day also is a time to remember those who died in service for our great country and to place a decoration on the grave of those who have fallen. On Monday, May 29 take a moment to say thank you. Heart of America Library will be closed on Monday in remembrance of the fallen.

Memorial Day also marks Graduation Sunday for Rugby. Our Class of 2023 graduates are preparing to walk across the stage at the high school and accept that hard earned, well deserved diploma. Heart of America Library would like to congratulate our graduates and wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors. Be curious Class of 2023, never stop learning!

If you have a young one who is curious about Memorial Day, we have a book in our junior non-fiction section called Memorial Day by Lynda Sorensen. It is a brief history of Memorial Day and why we remember. Also in junior easy fiction we have Oh, the Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss. Always a popular book at graduation time, Dr. Seuss offers advice in rhyme for proceeding in life.

Our young adult fiction readers can consider An Abundance of Katherines by John Green. A brief description, “Having been recently dumped for the nineteenth time by a girl named Katherine, recent high school graduate and former child prodigy Colin sets off on a road trip with his best friend to try and find some new direction in life while also trying to create a mathematical formula to explain his relationships”.

Adult readers looking for a little Memorial Day getaway in fiction with Vince Flynn’s book Memorial Day, part of the Mitch Rapp series. A brief description, “CIA intelligence has pointed to a major terrorist attack on the United States, just as the nation’s capital prepares for a grand Memorial Day tribute to the veterans of World War II. Racing to Afghanistan, Mitch Rapp leads a commando raid on an al Queda stronghold in a remote border village – and defuses plans for a nuclear strike on Washington. The crisis is averted; the special ops work is done. But Rapp knows, in the face of a new kind of enemy, nothing is as it seems – and it’s up to him alone to avert a disaster of unimaginable proportions”.

Heart of America Library and AARP bring you Learn to Fight Fraud with AARP. We’ll have two presentations in the West Room available on June 9, at 11 a.m. or 2 p.m. Scammers are becoming more and more savvy in their efforts to take your money and/or identity. Stay up to date on scams by joining AARP for this FREE event to understand the top ways to spot and avoid them. This event is open to the public.

Pierce County Fair and Heart of America Library are partnering for a summer reading challenge for children grades 1 to 8. Children are asked to read 10 library books during the month of June. Once complete the children will receive a Read and Win ribbon from the library, then they can present that earned ribbon to the Pierce County Fair for a coupon for a cool prize.

The Heart of America Library is gearing up for Summer Reading Camps. Our theme this year is ALL TOGETHER NOW. The plan is to meet on June 27-28-29 and July 26-27-28 from 2 to 3 p.m. We will have more details soon!

We also invite our Story Hour kiddos to join us on Fridays, June 9 and 23 and July 14 for their very own ALL TOGETHER NOW summer reading story hour from 10:15 to 11:15 a.m. We welcome you to join us.

Our next book discussion group will meet Tuesday, June 6 at 10 a.m. at the library. The book we are discussing is The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich. A brief description reads, “Based on the extraordinary life of Louise Erdrich’s grandfather, Patrick Gourneau. The Night Watchman follows Thomas Wazhashk in 1953 as the night watchman at the jewel bearing plant and a Chippewa council member who is trying to understand the consequences of a new “emancipation” bill on its way to the floor of the United States Congress. The bill is a “termination” that threatens the rights of Native Americans to their land and their very identity.” If you are interested in participating in the discussion, or just want to read the book, stop by and pick up a copy of The Night Watchman. The questions are with the book so you know what will be discussed.

Our new graduates might want to take note, ND Job Service outreach staff will be here the 1st Wednesday of each month from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., June 7. Job Service staff will be on site to offer job seeker and employer assistance, Veteran’s services, information on training programs, resume building assistance, limited unemployment insurance assistance, migrant and seasonal farm-worker services.

The library has free Wi-Fi, four computers, a fax machine and a copy machine for public use. The library also has a meeting room available for use, call 701-776-6223 to schedule your small group meeting. Starting June 1, Mandie will be here late on Thursdays from 6 – 9 p.m.

Regular library hours are:

10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday,

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays, and

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.