Author Talk: To Vietnam in Vain by Edward A. Hagan
Thursday, November 2, 7:00 p.m.
Hubbard Room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown, CT
Edward A. Hagan will discuss the writing of his memoir: To Vietnam in Vain: Memoir of an Irish-American Intelligence Advisor, 1969-1970. Published in 2016, the book is a product partially of research in the National Archives, the U.S. Army Center of Military History, and the West Point Library. Hagan will discuss how he coupled forty years of rumination about his participation in the war with three years of research into the activities of Advisory Team 56 in the Mekong Delta. His research led him to find out about the military service of his Irish-born father and grandfather in two world wars. His memoir could not have been written right after the war because much of the material now in research libraries was unavailable as it was classified. Hagan will focus on the decisions he made as a researcher as well as his personal evolution as a writer. He hopes his discussion will empower others, especially veterans, to tell their stories.
Hagan is Connecticut State University Distinguished Professor of Writing at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury.
Doughboys and Yeomanettes: Tracing Your World War One Family History
Thursday, November 9, 7:00 p.m.
Hubbard Room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown, CT
Was your ancestor in the military during the First World War? Discover how the Great War affected your family through records, photographs and much more. Join Bryna O’Sullivan, a Middletown based professional genealogy researcher and teacher, who will explain how to effectively search military and civil records, newspaper reports, veterans’ questionnaires, and more for ancestors who fought or had connections to World War One, and how online resources can best be used to discover their experiences during the conflict. Information on how to request copies of military service files via the National Archives will also be available. Bring your own laptop or the library will provide one so you can access resources on your own.
This workshop is open to the public and free to attend. Registration is suggested but not required. Please call the Information Department at (860) 347-2520 for additional information.
Searching For Great-Uncle Jerry, Over Here & Over There Songs of World War One performed by Tom Callinan
Thursday, November 16, 7:00 p.m.
Hubbard Room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown, CT
On Thursday, November 16th, at 7:00pm the Russell Library will host Middletown native Tom Callinan – designated Connecticut's First Official State Troubadour in 1991 – to present a program of diverse songs from and about World War I. Drawing on his extensive repertoire, and his 40-year career as a full-time creative and performing artist, Tom's presentation will serve as a retrospective, coinciding with the Centennial of the United States' active involvement in "The Great War."
Using his entertaining and informative style, Mr. Callinan will weave a narrative, combining songs and anecdotes about the war as the backdrop to look through the prism of history, to that which was euphemistically dubbed "The War To End All Wars." However, Tom's overarching goal will be to help unravel a life-long family mystery.
Since boyhood, Tom had learned through family legend and lore that his maternal Great-Uncle Jeremiah J. Coleman had served with the American Expeditionary Forces, and was killed at Chateau Thierry, France in 1918. Private Coleman was interred in St. John's Cemetery, and Tom knew that one of the trees on the Washington Terrace Green had been planted in his memory. But he had always wondered why Jeremiah J. Coleman's name was not included on the World War I obelisk, listing Middletown's lost sons.
With the assistance of the Middlesex County Historical Society and the Russell Library's archives of period newspaper articles, Tom was able to chronicle his process of learning more about Jeremiah's life, and as a result, he composed, "Searching For Great-Uncle Jerry". He hopes it will not only help keep Private Coleman's name and memory alive, but it may inspire others to find out more about their respective family histories.
In addition to Tom's original composition, other songs in the program will include: patriotic songs that saw our troops march off to war, full of exuberance and bravado; songs of farewell; popular songs from the music halls and Tin Pan Alley; those that dealt with the loss of innocence, resulting from the soldiers' time spent overseas; the most popular anti-war song of the period; and contemporary songs, reflecting on aspects of the war. A multi-instrumentalist, Tom will be self-accompanied with an assortment of musical instruments from the string, wind, and percussion families.
