Bricks for books at Two Harbors Library

• Brick placement

Don, Jason and Tory of Maple Ridge Landscape install memorial bricks in the Two Harbors Public Library patio on Friday. LaReesa Sandretsky

Talk about it

Three years ago, the Two Harbors Public Library front walk received a face lift. Sidewalks were replaced and a brick patio and garden were installed. The project received funding from the local government, but the library also offered the community a unique way to donate money to offset the additional cost of the project.

With a donation of $100, a brick was engraved and installed bearing the words chosen by the donor. Names and memorials are common but the possibilities are limited only by the imagination and the 38-character space limit.

Last Friday Don, Jason and Tory of Maple Ridge Landscape were installing the latest memorial pavers.

With the patio project completed, the library is planning to enhance other parts of the building. New carpeting is next on the wish- list and donations are always appreciated and accepted.

The donations go to the general fund, which pays for everything from new books to the planned carpeting upgrade.

Bricks may be reserved at the Two Harbors Public Library with the $100 donation. Or call them at 834-3148.

Upcoming library program

Cooperatives and the Common Good

Saturday, Nov. 3 at 1:30 p.m., Vermilion Community College professor Pam Brunfelt will present "Cooperatives and The Common Good" at the Two Harbors Public Library. Her program examines the social contract that binds us together as Americans. The idea of the common good is imbedded in the fundamental ideals of the United States. Some think that as a nation we have lost our connection to the common good while others believe that it is not dead. Paul Wellstone said, “We all do better when we all do better.” The notion that we will be better off if we work together for the common good is at the heart of the social values embodied by cooperatives.

Brunfelt's program traces the development of retail, educational and social cooperatives -- in particular in northeastern Minnesota. Special emphasis will be placed on the Finnish cooperative movement including its political roots and its manifestations in the creation of funeral homes, parks, lake property, workers’ halls, stores and boarding houses.

Author of Mining Our History, Brunfelt is a historian who teaches at Vermilion Community College in Ely. She previously worked as the archivist/historian at the Otter Tail Historical Society in Fergus Falls and as the executive director of the Crow Wing County Historical Society in Brainerd. Her research focus has been Minnesota’s Iron Range and political history. Other research emphases are the Great Depression and the impact of the New Deal in Minnesota, and the importance of the Iron Range on the industrialization of the United States.

Brunfelt has written book reviews for Minnesota History magazine and the Finnish American Reporter. She was also the co-lead humanities scholar for Building America: Minnesota’s Iron Range, U.S. Industrialization, and the Creation of a World Power. The seminar was a National Endowment for the Humanities Landmarks of American History project for K-12 teachers from throughout the United States. The result of the Landmarks seminar was a documentary, Iron Range: Minnesota Building America, which won the 2009 regional Emmy for “Best Cultural Documentary.” Brunfelt was one of the scholars who appeared in the film.

The program takes place during the United Nations Year of Cooperatives. http://social.un.org/coopsyear/

When Pam Brunfelt was here in May with another presentation, those who came were very impressed with her as a dynamic speaker and so the Friends of the Library Program Committee was eager to invite her to come again with this timely subject.

This Friends of the Library program is free.

Tags: two harbors, life, library