Paul Szmal: FLX Morning continues. It is 840 cloudy skies, temperature at 47. Time to visit with our friends from the Geneva Public Library. Susie Flick is here. Susie, good morning. How are you?
Susie Flick: I'm great. How are you today?
Paul Szmal: I am doing great. Doing great. And we want to start out with something that people may not realize about the library in this era of what's being referred to as food insecurity. I prefer to call it folks that don't necessarily know where their next meal is coming from or how they're going to have that next meal, that there is a little free pantry and farm stand at the library.
Susie Flick: Yes, a couple years ago, another library was giving up one of their little free libraries and I turned it into a little pantry in our building. So we have a lot of non-perishable food items. We have personal care items. And we're always taking donations because we rely on donations to be able to provide that to people. Our neighborhood is in a tough spot. There's no fresh food. So we also added with the help of Blueprint Geneva, the farm stand. And the last couple of weeks, we've been really lucky. Lots of peppers, some tomatoes, cabbages. We have put it out and it's gone before we know it.
Paul Szmal: Wow. You know, that doesn't surprise me given the current circumstance though. And how often are you able to restock that pantry?
Susie Flick: Well, as soon as we put it out, it's gone. So we restock it about 20 times a day. We've been very lucky that the Boys and Girls Club of Geneva has given us food on various occasions to be able to keep that going. It's a tough time for a lot of people right now.
Paul Szmal: Yeah. We actually had a couple little girls come in yesterday and they gave us sets all in a little bag to make a complete meal with a recipe and everything. So we have really wonderful people in our community.
Susie Flick: Oh, that's fantastic. Absolutely. What hours is that open? Is that open during regular library hours or does it have special hours?
Paul Szmal: Anytime we're open, it's open.
Susie Flick: Yeah. Anytime we're open. Okay. Okay. There's a couple of programs that we want to talk about here. One of which caught my curiosity. I was looking at the website, which is gplny.org. This one is actually coming up today and there's a few seats left for it. I love the name of this. It's called the Messy Story Hour.
Paul Szmal: Yes. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful children's department at the Geneva Public Library. They have something going on all day, every day. And one of the most fun ones is the Messy Story Hour. She makes all kinds of things from slime to concoctions with chia seeds and the kids come in and they get their hands in it and it's amazing. I love to watch it.
Susie Flick: That's something as an adult that I would love to get into.
Paul Szmal: Yes. It's wonderful. It just sounds like a fun time.
Susie Flick: It really is. It really is. And speaking of fun, there are a couple of new programs that are coming up and one of them is a beginner swing class.
Paul Szmal: Yes. Sewing is coming back big time. A lot of people want to know how to sew, how to mend their clothing, how to make new clothing. We started this program about a month ago. It's every other Monday. We have a wonderful volunteer, Jessica Holman, and she has been teaching all of us how to hand sew. So we've learned, I think, at least 10 different stitches, how they can be used in different scenarios. But it's been a wonderful class and we're taking people all the time to learn how to do new things. So we're very lucky to be able to have Jessica there to teach people how to do that.
Susie Flick: And this is just one in a long line of programs the Geneva Public Library has that teaches what I like to call practical skills.
Paul Szmal: Yes. Go ahead. I think it's great. I always wanted to learn. I didn't have the patience when I was younger, but now it's like, wow, this is fantastic.
Susie Flick: Right. There's another one that I saw on the website, a teen tween cooking class.
Paul Szmal: Yes. So we do have cooking classes on a regular basis. This one, teen tween cooking for the sort of middle school, high school grades. And then we do one for the children. Also, they make a full meal. They learn how to do it, what's in it. They prepare everything. And then at the end, they get to eat it all. It's very exciting for them.
Susie Flick: Yeah. Well, that you know, that is the reward of making your own food is to when you make a make a meal and you're looking forward to it, then you sit down, you get that first bite and you're like, yes.
Paul Szmal: Exactly. Another one of the events that is coming up is something that challenges the brain. And that is a chess night with Marino.
Susie Flick: Yes. We're very lucky to have a volunteer, Marino, who will be there actually this evening, five to seven to teach chess. Or if you just want to come and play, if you already know how to play, he'll he'll teach you from the beginning, show you different techniques. And I think it'll be really great for anybody who's ever wanted to learn or really is just looking for somebody to play with. I know it's hard to come by sometimes if you're new to an area, you don't know where to go. But this is a great jumping off point.
Paul Szmal: Yeah. And sometimes chess can be the whole idea of it can be intimidating. But if you have somebody to explain some basic techniques and what pieces can move and how so you can formulate your own strategies, it kind of unlocks the potential of how entertaining and challenging it can be.
Susie Flick: Absolutely. It's always good to use your brain in any way you can. And I think this is a fun way to unlock different parts of your brain so that you can learn those strategies and look at things a little different. So you have to look forward in chess. So, yeah, I think it'll be really great.
Paul Szmal: Yeah. Yeah, it does. It does. There are some practical skills that you come away with from playing chess and forward thinking is one of those. A couple of more upcoming events that we want to talk about this morning include a kids self-defense class that is coming up on Saturday.
Susie Flick: Correct. We've been very lucky with different volunteers and organizations that have helped us bring wonderful programs to our community. And this is one of the kids learn practical self-defense. They have a it's like about an hour long and the kids love it because they're getting all their energy out. And, you know, they learn how to kick and punch. And it's wonderful. I would love to do it for myself, actually.
Paul Szmal: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Teaches teaches young kids some very important skills. Going with the kids thing, bumping up to the teen category, a teen book tasting event on November the 14th.
Susie Flick: Yes, that's coming up. So we have a lovely intern that's been working with us, and this is her first program, and she's inviting teens to come in and they're going to have some snacks, some mocktails, and you're going to have a taste of different genres of books to see what you may like more than others.
Paul Szmal: Hmm. Sounds interesting. This one, I think, is going to be interesting, too. And I can never remember how to pronounce her last name. Is it Austin or Austin?
Susie Flick: Austin.
Paul Szmal: OK, the famous author we're talking about a Jane Austen birthday party on December the 6th.
Susie Flick: Yes, it's the 250th birthday for Jane Austen. And we've been very lucky to bring a real country dance to the library. If you're not familiar with it, if you look up like Regency country dances, we will have someone there to call the moves. They will teach you how to do the steps, and I think it'll be really fun to sort of travel back in time a little bit and enjoy something new and exciting.
Paul Szmal: And finally, the last event that we want to preview, and I'm sure we'll talk about this again when we get to December, is Mingle with Kringle.
Susie Flick: Yes, last year was wild. We had over 300 people come through the library just to see Santa and have their picture taken. We have crafts, we have community organizations. Geneva Reads usually gives out books. It's a wonderful event that's all free. So everybody from all walks of life can come see Santa and not have to pay a thing.
Paul Szmal: All right, and a majority, if not all of the activities that happen at the Geneva Public Library are no cost. Everything we do is free.
Susie Flick: There you go. Every single thing.
Paul Szmal: There you go. So if you want to learn a skill, have some fun, and do it without having to pay for it, Geneva Public Library is an excellent resource. And again, the website is gplny.org. Susie, thanks for the update. We appreciate it.
Susie Flick: Thank you. It is 8 50 on FLX Morning.
