The Chesley Memorial Library received a grant from the New Hampshire Humanities Council to present "Cows and Communities: How the Lowly Bovine Has Nurtured New Hampshire through Four Centuries."  The program will be held at the Chesley Memorial Library in Northwood on Tuesday, May 25, at 7:00 p.m.  The Blaisdell Memorial Library in Nottingham and the Philbrick-James Library in Deerfield will be co-sponsoring the program.

Cattle were essential to the survival of the earliest New Hampshire settlements and their contributions have been central to the life and culture of the state ever since.  From providing dietary sustenance to basic motive power, bovines have had a deep and enduring bond with their keepers, one that lingers today and is a vital part of the iconography of rural New Hampshire.  Where are New Hampshire's cows today?  What are they doing for us now?  Some answers will surprise you.  The program will be presented by Steve Taylor: independent scholar, farmer, journalist, and longtime public official.  Taylor operates a dairy and maple farm in Meriden Village, New Hampshire, and served a quarter century as NH's Commissioner of Agriculture.  He has been a newspaper reporter and editor.  He was also the first Executive Director of the NH Humanities Council and is a lifelong student the state's rural culture.

The New Hampshire Humanities Council nurtures the joy of learning and inspires community engagement by bringing life-enhancing ideas from the humanities to the people of New Hampshire.  They connect people with ideas.  Learn more about the Council and its work at www.nhhc.org. 

The program is free and open to the public.  Light refreshments will be served.  For more information, contact Donna Bunker at 942-5472.