BUHS music dept. offers Merry Mulch Christmas tree collection service
BRATTLEBORO - The B.U.H.S. Music Department is once again offering the Merry Mulch Christmas tree collection service to Brattleboro residents. This program, in its 31st year, is endorsed by the Vermont Department of Agriculture as well as the New Hampshire/Vermont Christmas Tree Association. For a $10.00 donation, members of the band and chorus will transport undecorated trees from homes to a community garden in West Brattleboro where they will be chipped into mulch to be used by the gardeners. Since the town does not offer curbside pick-up of trees, the service saves residents the hassle of transporting their own trees. Three Saturday pick-up dates are being offered: January 7, 14, and 21. All pick-ups must be pre-arranged by calling one of the following numbers at least two days prior to your desired date: 802-579-2362, or 408-693-4588. Proceeds will benefit a spring trip to New York City.
DNA TEST RESULTS MEET THE FAMILY TREE
The Windham County Genealogy Interest Group will meet on Saturday, January 7 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Rockingham Library and over zoom. This meeting's focus will be on DNA test results coupled with family trees.
DNA testing companies are heavily promoting their products by offering sales for the holidays, which means that many more matches will be coming to those who have already tested.  Those who are testing for the first time now have many more possibilities than in the past.  Testing companies have also made changes to their websites. In this meeting we will focus on how to get the most out of your test results and talk about how to take advantage of the features offered on each company's website.   
Testing alone is not enough. To be useful for genealogy, a family tree needs to be uploaded or created to connect the results of the person who took the test to the profile card in their family tree.  Then, it is possible to connect matches who are known relatives to their profiles on the tree.  New tools and enhancements to existing tools provide a way to sort through matches to identify common ancestors.  It is possible to make connections with cousins who may not be known in person but who can help provide information about ancestors that others are also researching. 
To register for this program or to share your questions about DNA test results, go to https://forms.gle/D5X6wDAhdt36bbJw9 Zoom links will be emailed to registrants.
Meetings are free and open to all with an interest in family history.  The Windham County (VT) Genealogy Interest Group is an informal organization whose members are dedicated to genealogy education, research and best practices.  Meetings are held every other month, alternating between the libraries in Brattleboro and Bellows Falls, and online using Zoom. For more information, please contact windhamcountygig@gmail.com
FINDING THE GOLDEN FLEECE: Writing Our Archetypal Journeys, an Online Workshop with Elayne Clift presented by Putney Public Library
Join writer and journalist Elayne Clift for an online writing workshop presented by Putney Public Library this January. What do heroic literary figures like King Arthur and Harry Potter, or real-life people like Harriet Tubman and Harriet Beecher Stowe have in common? They all have a great story to tell. But it's more than an exciting narrative: Each of them has been on an archetypal journey - a heroic exploration, full of adventure, fraught with risk, and ultimately rich with reward. As they seek to find meaning in a complex world, these characters or real people are changed forever by experiences that include mentors, villains, jesters, and other archetypes. With that as a framework for memoir writing, we'll explore our own archetypal journeys as we reach for the “Golden Fleece” in our lives while enhancing our writing skills. Come prepared to reflect, write, share, and be awed by the power of narrative!
Elayne Clift, (M.A.) a Vermont Humanities Council Scholar, is an award-winning writer and journalist, a popular writing workshop leader, and an adjunct lecturer. Her work has been widely anthologized and appears in numerous publications internationally. A regular columnist for several New England newspapers and blogs, and a reviewer for the New York Journal of Books, she has written for various publications and is a regular contributor to Artscope Magazine. For more information and a list of her published books, please visit www.elayne-clift.com.
This workshop will be presented online Tuesday, January 10th from 7pm-8:30pm. Please register by emailing emily@putneylibrary.org .
The Putney Public Library is open:
Monday-Friday 10:30am-6pm
Saturdays 10am-3pm
Brattleboro Recreation and Parks Department Birthday Parties
The Brattleboro Recreation & Parks Department would like to announce that we are now taking reservations for Skating Rink Birthday Parties and Gibson Aiken Center Birthday parties! For more information, please read the descriptions below and call the Gibson-Aiken Center main office to book your party today at 802-254-5808.
Skating Rink Party: A party may be booked during any hours that Public Skating is scheduled. Price includes admission for 10 children, 10 skate rentals, birthday cake and a private room to have the party. The cost is $120.00.
Gibson-Aiken Center Party: Birthday Parties at the Recreation Center on Main Street may be booked for Saturdays between the hours of 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. (includes set up and clean up time). Price includes cake, basketballs, kickballs, wiffleball set and bases and the use of the large conference room for cake and snacks. Suggested party size of 10-12) The cost is $120.00.