West African Storytelling Drummer in Literacy Park

This week's Summer Reading program, Every Hero Has a Story,

features West African storytelling drummer, Habiba Addo. All children and families are invited to attend this free program at 1:00 p.m., Wednesday, July 15 in Literacy Park. Like all Library programs, it is free to all who want to come.

A native of Ghana, Habiba performs an interactive, multi-cultural performance with authentic West African costume, spiced with singing and drumming. Her stories will introduce the audience to heroes in their own world as well as those far, far away.

She performs stories from the continent of Africa and its diaspora to inspire, entertain and provoke thought. She lives her art through continuous study and practice, combining her knowledge and deep appreciation for these cultures with her natural talent for storytelling and prodigious vocal abilities.

Anyone who has witnessed her performances will testify that she blends her sense of humor with extremely genuine respect and love for these revered traditions. Abiba teaches and performs with infectious joy and adept technical accuracy. She has performed and taught the local community in dance, storytelling and theater through companies such as Miracle Theater, Northwest Afrikan American Ballet and Portland State University.

These programs are paid for by Ready to Read grant money from the Oregon Legislature with additional support from the Sylvia Beach Hotel, Ross and Janis Neigebauer, Jeannette Hofer and Newport’s Umpqua Bank. Look here for more information about Addo’s show or other summer reading presentations.

Margaret Read MacDonald Tells Tales at Newport Public Library

One of my favorite storytellers and children's authors, Margaret Read MacDonald, visits our library this Wednesday, July 27, at 1:00 pm in Literacy Park. Part of the "One World, Many Stories" summer reading program, her show perfectly fits the theme. She travels all over the world to places like Mahasarakham, Kota Kinabalu, and Rio telling stories and collecting new ones which she then tells or turns into a picture book. All children and families are invited to come and listen to her tales.

MacDonald is a folklorist, storyteller, retired children's librarian, and the author of more than 55 books on folklore and storytelling. Most of her books are available from any Lincoln County library. Watch her tell a tandem tale with Thai storyteller Dr. Wajuppa Tossa on YouTube.

MRM, as she’s known in the storytelling world, has been a mentor to storytellers around the world. I’m included in that group. In fact, some of the most popular children's tales I tell have come from her. People attending her programs this week may well hear some of their favorite stories. They can also listen to her tale of A Fat Cat online.

MacDonald’s Lincoln County programs are funded by Ready to Read grants from the Oregon State Library and the Lincoln County Library District.

A Christmas Wish

Jennifer reads A.A. Milne's poem, "King John's Christmas."

He trucked all over this land. Or did he?

When I was a kid, my parents had an album by C.W. McCall. He was a deep-voiced 70s country artist whose songs consist of rapidly-paced, very funny stories, pattered out in a broad country drawl. You may remember his trucker-themed songs, like "Convoy" and the epic "Wolf Creek Pass."

My favorite was "Classified," in which McCall spins a hilarious tale out of the mundane act of buying a used pickup truck. You can listen to it here (ignore the visuals):

When I was about twelve I memorized "Classified" and could recite the whole thing, in what I imagined was an appropriate accent. I still have it cold.

Many years later, I discovered that C.W. McCall was actually a fictitious character, the creation of an advertising executive named William Fries, Jr. The singing trucker was the mascot of Old Home Bread, part of an ad campaign for the Metz Baking Company. Here's one of the commercials:

This ad translated straight to another favorite of mine, "The Old Home Filler-Up and Keep On A-Truckin' Cafe," surely one of the most wonderful song titles ever.

In the ads McCall was played by an actor, but Fries did the voice work, which he then parlayed into a successful career as a recording artist, maintaining the fictional trucker persona. He had several charting albums, and his biggest hit, "Convoy," was somehow made into a 1978 movie directed by Sam Peckinpah.

Whatever you think of his music, Fries was obviously a marketing genius; and I genuinely admire his joyous gift for American vernacular. If you wish to visit this strange 1970s pop culture phenomenon, the Newport Library has just acquired C.W. McCall's Greatest Hits.