Terry Library Reopens Today; Open House set for Thursday, January 9

Posted on January 6, 2014 by Scott

Terry Library has a new look for 2014. The Central Arkansas Library System’s (CALS) Adolphine Fletcher Terry Library, 2015 Napa Valley, will reopen on Monday, January 6, after a makeover. New carpet and expanded lighting has been installed, the meeting room was updated, and a significant remodel created a larger audio-visual section and a new young adult area.

An Open House will be held on Thursday, January 9 from 3-6 p.m. Patrons visiting the library beginning on Monday, January 6, can register for a gift certificate to River Market Books & Gifts and a gift card to Wal-Mart, which will be given away at the Open House.

Rearrangement of existing shelves and additional furniture resulted in more comfortable reading areas and tables for working and studying, as well as a lighter and more spacious feeling to the existing building. The new children’s area features colorful new paint, carpet, and tile as well as furniture. A new Young Adult (YA) space provides for the increased number of books and DVDs geared to YA readers. An expanded audio visual area allows for more comfortable browsing of DVDs and books on CD.

Adam Clemons, Terry Library branch manager, said, “We have missed seeing our patrons, and the staff is looking forward to seeing their reactions to the wonderful new space. They loved the building as it was, but they will enjoy their library visits even more with more light and comfortable reading areas.”

In early 2013, CALS completed a satisfaction survey to determine the way library services were accessed and used by library patrons, and why non-users did not take advantage of library services. Modern libraries are community centers that provide a broad range of services beyond lending books. Input from the survey was used to design the remodel of the Terry Library. Items that are used most heavily are more prominently featured and sightlines within the main reading area have been opened up, allowing better access to the services used by patrons.

Funds from a 2012 capital improvement bond refinance were used to cover the $325,000 cost of the remodel and update.

The Terry Library was opened in 1990 to serve the west Little Rock community and was expanded to 19,030 square feet in 2001. The library was named for Adolphine Fletcher Terry, a Little Rock native, who was a library advocate and served as a trustee of the Little Rock Public Library for more than 40 years. She was a proponent of advancing Arkansas’s school system, forming the first school improvement association in the state. She was the daughter of Little Rock Mayor John Gould Fletcher, the wife of Congressman David D. Terry and also the sister of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet John Gould Fletcher.

Little Rock Look Back: John Gould Fletcher, 32nd Mayor of Little Rock

Posted on January 6, 2014 by Scott

Future Little Rock Mayor John Gould Fletcher was born on this date in 1831. The son of Henry Lewis and Mary Lindsey Fletcher, he later served as a Captain in the Capital Guards during the Civil War. One of his fellow soldiers was Peter Hotze.

Following the war, he and Hotze began a general merchandise store in Little Rock. They were so successful that they eventually dropped the retail trade and dealt only in cotton. Peter Hotze had his office in New York while Fletcher supervised company operations in Little Rock. In 1878 Fletcher married Miss Adolphine Krause, sister-in-law of Hotze.

John Gould Fletcher was elected Mayor of Little Rock from 1875 to 1881. He was the first Mayor under Arkansas’ new constitution which returned all executive powers to the office of the Mayor (they had been split under a reconstruction constitution). Following his service as Mayor, he served one term as Pulaski County Sheriff. Mayor Fletcher also later served as president of the German National Bank in Little Rock.

Mayor and Mrs. Fletcher had five children, three of whom lived into adulthood. Their son was future Pulitzer Prize winning poet John Gould Fletcher (neither father nor son used the Sr. or Jr. designation). Their two daughters who lived to adulthood were Adolphine Fletcher Terry (whose husband David served in Congress) and Mary Fletcher Drennan.

In 1889, Mayor Fletcher purchased the Pike House in downtown Little Rock. The structure later became known as the Pike-Fletcher-Terry House. It was from this house that Adolphine Fletcher Terry organized the Women’s Emergency Committee which worked to reopen the Little Rock public schools during the 1958-1959 school year.

In the 1960s, sisters Adolphine Fletcher Terry and Mary Fletcher Drennan deeded the house to the City of Little Rock for use by the Arkansas Arts Center. For several decades it served as home to the Arts Center’s contemporary craft collection. It now is used for special events and exhibitions.

Mayor Fletcher died in 1906 and is buried in Mt. Holly Cemetery along with various members of his family. His grandson William Terry (son of Adolphine Fletcher Terry) and members of his family still reside in Little Rock.

Help Name the Robot at the Museum of Discovery

Posted on January 5, 2014 by Scott

A new robot is excited to have a permanent home at the Museum of Discovery but is sad that it doesn’t yet have a name. The Museum is asking the public’s help to find the perfect name for this great addition to the museum? Submit a suggestion today (contest open through January 14 at noon.) The contest winner will receive a museum prize pack and a co-starring role in a video with the newly-named robot!

1. Keep it clean!

2. Keep it unique. We love famous robots such as R2-D2, WALL-E and Johnny-Five too but want our robot’s name to be an original. That way, we can avoid confusion (and trademark infringement).

3. Submissions must be made between January 3 through January 14 at noon. A committee will choose the best robot name suggestions and the public will vote on those names from January 16 through January 24. The winner will be announced on Saturday, January 25.

4. Submissions can be made in the following ways:

In person at the Museum of Discovery
Tweeting @arkmod with the name suggestion and #nametherobot
Posting the name suggestion on the Museum of Discovery’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MuseumofDiscovery
Emailing the name suggestion to kdelaney@museumofdiscovery.org with the subject line: Name the Robot

5. One submission per person.

The winner will receive four Museum of Discovery passes, an Explore Store gift pack and will appear in an official museum video with the robot.

3rd annual LEGO contest at CALS’ Roosevelt Thompson Library

Posted on January 4, 2014 by Scott

The Central Arkansas Library System is hosting its 3rd Annual LEGO contest today at the Roosevelt Thompson Library. It is open to participants aged 5 to 18.

The fun begins at 9am and continues until 5pm. From 9am to 12 noon, contestants can bring their LEGO creations. These will be judged from 1pm to 3pm. From 3pm to 5pm the public will have the chance to view them. At 5pm the winners will be announced.

For more information on the rules, contact the library at 501-821-3060.

The Roosevelt Thompson Library is located at 38 Rahling Circle.

Ballet Arkansas offers Master Class with Melody Mennite this Saturday

Posted on January 3, 2014 by Scott

MelodyHerrera_photo by Pam Francis Open Intermediate/Advanced Ballet Master Class with
Houston Ballet Principal
MELODY MENNITE

When: THIS SATURDAY
January 4, 2014
10:00am – noon

Where: Shuffles Studios – 1521 Merrill Drive, Little Rock

Class Fee – $25
Observer Fee – $15

Both participant and observer numbers are limited; advance reservations are required.
(Participants need to be at least 12 years of age.)

Email info@balletarkansas.org to reserve your spot.

MELODY MENNITE

A native of Santa Cruz, California, Melody Mennite trained at Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre under Robert Kelley and Diane McLarty and at Pacific Northwest Ballet. She also attended summer intensive programs with Suzanne Farrell. At the age of 13, Ms. Mennite began her training with Houston Ballet’s Ben Stevenson Academy and also attended three consecutive summer intensive programs with the academy. In the 2000-2001 season, she spent one year in Houston Ballet II on full scholarship and stipend. Ms. Mennite also won a scholarship award from Regional Dance America in 2000. She was invited to tour with Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre through Tansonmer, Austria. Prior to joining Houston Ballet, she performed numerous leading roles with Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre: the Sugar Plum Fairy and Snow Queen in The Nutcracker; Kitri in Don Quixote and Odette in Swan Lake. She has performed a number of featured roles with Houston Ballet including: Olga and Tatiana in John Cranko’s Onegin, Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Neopolitan Princess in Stanton Welch’s Swan Lake, the Spring Fairy in Ben Stevenson’s Cinderella, Swanilda and Dawn in Coppelia, Valencienne in The Merry Widow, Cio-Cio San and Kate in Madame Butterfly, and Cinderella in Stanton Welch’s Cinderella. Ms. Mennite has also been featured in contemporary roles including the white pas de deux in Jirí Kylián’s Forgotten Land, and Petite Mort; Stanton Welch’s Velocity, Indigo, Wildlife, and Brigade; Christopher Bruce’s Ghost Dances, Rooster and Hush; Harald Lander’s Etudes; Paul Taylor’s Company B; William Forsythe’s In The Middle, Somewhat Elevated; George Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments and Serenade; and Mark Morris’ Sandpaper Ballet.

Created the role of Marie in Stanton’s Marie, Rosie in The Core, Nikya in La Bayadère, Odette/Odile in Swan Lakeand Spring in The Four Seasons, Divergence, Falling, Carmina Burana, Velocity; The Sylph in August Bournoville’s La Sylphide; Lise in Sir Frederick Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée; Jerome Robbins’ Fancy Free; Principle Roles in Balanchine’s Rubies, Emeralds, and Ballo De Regina; William Forsythe The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude; Principle role in Christopher Wheeldon’s Carousel; Younger Daughter in Christopher Bruce’s Hush,Rooster, Sergeant Early’s Dream; Jiří Kylián’s Falling Angels, Petit Mort; Manon in Sir Kenneth McMillan’s Manon; Blue Bird in Ben Stevenson’s The Sleeping Beauty. Frequently appears as a guest artist in galas and with companies nationally and internationally. Also performs in Seattle with Whim W’Him, where she originated roles in Cylindrical Shadows by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Monster by Olivier Wevers.

Little Rock Look Back: David Fulton, 4th Mayor of Little Rock

Posted on January 2, 2014 by Scott

On this date in 1771 in Ireland, future Little Rock Mayor David Fulton was born. He served as the fourth and final mayor of the Town of Little Rock in 1835. His term was cut short by the transition of Little Rock from town to city status. Once that happened in November 1835, a new election had to be held.

Mayor Fulton was also proprieter of the Tan Yard, a tanning operation in Little Rock. He later served as a judge and was appointed as Surveyor General of Public Lands in Arkansas by President Martin Van Buren in 1838.

Mayor Fulton married Elizabeth Savin in 1794 in Maryland. Among their children was William Savin Fulton who served as Territorial Governor of Arkansas in 1835 and 1836 and was one of Arkansas’ first US Senators upon statehood in 1836. Mayor Fulton was serving as Mayor at the same time his son was Governor.

Mayor Fulton died on August 7, 1843 and is buried at Mt. Holly Cemetery as are his wife and several other members of his family.