Upcoming Events
Looking for something to do?
Looking for something to do?
It is easy these days to hunker down at home and find something on your tiny, handheld screen, or to stream on your giant, high def screen. But getting out into the community and finding individuals with similar interests can be just the spark you need. Find your fit today or suggest something you think you would enjoy.
Upcoming Events:
Democracy Project meeting
What is the Democracy Project? The Democracy Project is a teen-led, non-partisan initiative supported by local libraries, community partners, and Humanities Montana. This program gives teens the resources to meet community needs while learning their role in an evolving democracy. Through direct civic engagement, teens work for six months on projects they feel are vital to their community, ending with a public showcase.
Thanksgiving Day
AAll branches of the Chouteau County Library System will be closed on Thursday, November 28th in observance of Thanksgiving Day.
Closed
All branches of the Chouteau County Library System will be closed on Friday, November 29th.
Veterans Day
All branches of the Chouteau County Library System will be closed on Monday, November 11th in observance of Veterans Day.
Election Day
All branches of the Chouteau County Library System will be closed on Tuesday, November 5th in observance of Election Day.
Book & Treat!
Stop by the Geraldine or Fort Benton library for a book and treat on Halloween!
Story Quilt Project
The Story Quilt Project is coming to town! Created by Montana quilter and storyteller, Jewell Wolk of Cut Bank, MT, her extraordinary story quilts will be featured at the Fort Benton Library on Tuesday, October 22nd. For quilt lovers, historians, parents, and children alike, these quilts offer creativity, inspiration, and love of family and history. The quilts presented will be the Iron Trails West quilt and the Women of War quilt.
Democracy Project meeting
If you are interested in being part of the 2024-2025 Geraldine Branch Library Democracy Project please come to the Geraldine Branch Library on October 17th at noon. We will have lunch and talk about what project you would like to do. Please RSVP to Sami Jo at the Geraldine Branch Library by October 10th.
What is the Democracy Project? The Democracy Project is a teen-led, non-partisan initiative supported by local libraries, community partners, and Humanities Montana. This program gives teens the resources to meet community needs while learning their role in an evolving democracy. Through direct civic engagement, teens work for six months on projects they feel are vital to their community, ending with a public showcase.
Indigenous Peoples’ Day
All branches of the Chouteau County Library System will be closed on Monday, Octobr 14th in observance of Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Adult Book Club
A book club for adults. Read, meet, and share. September’s book club selection is, “The Paper Bracelet” by Rachael English.
The Little Shell Tribes of Chippewa Indians: Métis Buffalo Hunters of the Northern Plains by Chris LaTray, Montana Poet Laureate
The Montana-based Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians became the 574th Indian tribe to be recognized by the United States government in December, 2019, after over 150 years of trying. The tribe’s origins, and its future, are deeply connected to the Métis people. The Métis are one of the three Indigenous peoples recognized by Canada as “original inhabitants” of their nation, while in the United States Métis contributions to its history have been largely erased. It is past time that was changed.
No discussion of the buffalo and the animal’s significance to Indigenous people on the Northern Plains is complete without also talking about the Métis people. But who are the Métis, how are they related to the Little Shell, and what do they have to do with Montana? This program will answer these questions and discuss how the entire Métis economy and culture was built on their unique relationship with the buffalo from the days when the herds were so large that, “the whole country was one robe.”
Me and Martha: Intimate Reflections of Dora DuFran about the Real Life of Calamity Jane by Mary Jane Bradbury
The name Calamity Jane brings to mind an iconic character of the American West. Accounts of Calamity—whose real name was Martha Canary—are legion and she has achieved mythical status in the lore of the frontier. She lived and traveled throughout Wyoming, Montana, and the Dakotas from 1867 to 1903, during some of the West’s wildest days. The voracious Victorian press sensationalized her activities, and as a flamboyant character in popular dime novels, Calamity Jane’s legend grew until the person behind the character all but disappeared. Who better to give us insights about the real story than madam Dora DuFran, aBlack Hills pioneer, entrepreneur and close friend of Calamity’s. Ms. DuFran built a successful red light business during the rambunctious early days of the western frontier in Deadwood, South Dakota, and has a unique perspective about how wild it really was. Ms. DuFran knows better than anyone the life of Martha Canary and Calamity Jane, two quite different women, one legendary, one all but forgotten.
