Local libraries offer music and more in January

• The Messenger Public Library in North Aurora will host Maximize Your Social Security at 10 a.m. Jan. 21. The program will provide information about the Social Security system and strategies for maximizing benefits. Admission is free but registration is encouraged. For more information or to register, call 630-896-0240. The library is located at 113 Oak St., North Aurora.

• The St. Charles Public Library will host harpist Jaina Krueger and violinist Ashley Fitzwater at 2 p.m.
Jan. 22. Krueger and Fitzwater will perform classical pieces. Admission is free. The library is located at
1 S. 6th Ave., St. Charles. For more information, call 630-584-0076

• The St. Charles library will conduct its third annual seed swap day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 18. Admission is free. For more information, call 630-584-0076.

• The Batavia Public Library will host actress Martina Mathisen as she portrays Flora, a 1920s flapper, in Chicago, True Stories at 2 p.m. Jan. 29. The performance is part of the library’s Sunday on Stage entertainment series. The library is located at 10 S. Batavia Ave. in downtown Batavia. Admission is free but registration is encouraged. For more information or to register, call 630-879-1393, ext. 200.

And over at the fairgrounds:

The Kane County Fairgrounds, 525 S. Randall Road, St. Charles, will host the American Heritage Living History Show Jan. 21-22. The show will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 21 and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 22. Admission is $7 for adults and $20 per family. Children ages 12 and younger are admitted free.

A book recommendation
I was blessed with the opportunity to read several good books in 2016 and one I am frequently recommending to friends is “The Gentleman From Illinois: Stories From Forty Years of Elective Public Service” (Southern Illinois University Press, 2013) by the late Alan J. Dixon, who served as U.S. Senator from Illinois from 1980 to 1992.
Dixon’s book is part autobiography, part memoir and part political history. It’s mostly a fast read full of humorous stories culled from four decades of Illinois politics. It’s also an interesting reminder that once upon a time Illinois had elected officials who frequently worked together to accomplish good things for Illinois residents.
Dixon’s political career started in 1949 in Belleville, Illinois. He went on to serve in both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly, was elected Illinois Treasurer and Secretary of State, and served two terms in the U.S. Senate. His only election loss came in 1992, when he was defeated by Carol Moseley Braun in the Democratic primary election for the U.S. Senate nomination. Dixon died in 2014.

— Thank you for reading. Email comments to kbotterman@gmail.com.