CLERMONT COUNTY, Ohio — Clermont County Public Library branches are hosting four programs this week, ranging from a hands-on farm equipment visit for children in Bethel to a pair of local history lectures and a holiday-themed round of mini golf for kids in Goshen.
The slate kicks off Saturday at the library’s Bethel Branch, 611 W. Plane St., where children ages 6 to 11 can view and touch farm equipment, including the library’s own “Library2Go” outreach vehicle, starting at 1 p.m. The library said the event, geared toward elementary-age kids but open to all ages, will also include a craft and a scavenger hunt inside the branch.
At 2 p.m. Saturday, the library’s New Richmond Branch, 103 River Valley Blvd., will host local author and historian Gary Knepp for a talk titled “The Incredible Life of General Henry Corbin.” According to the library, Corbin was born in Monroe Township and went on to serve as a military adviser to a succession of U.S. presidents from Ulysses S. Grant to William Howard Taft. President William McKinley called Corbin “the man most responsible for winning the Civil War,” the library said. Knepp plans to sell copies of his books following the presentation.
The Felicity Branch, 209 Prather Road, follows at 3 p.m. Saturday with “Getting There: Cincinnati’s Transportation History,” presented by Cincinnati Museum Center Heritage Programs. The program traces more than two centuries of regional travel, from flatboats, canal boats and steamboats to inclines, streetcars and the automobile, and addresses why an early 20th-century rapid transit system proposed for Cincinnati was never completed and why the region’s main airport sits across the Ohio River in Kentucky, according to the library.
The week wraps up Monday at 6 p.m. at the Goshen Branch, 6678 state Route 132, with “Pumpkin Putt-Putt,” a holiday-themed mini golf course set up inside the library for children, who are asked to sign up in advance.
The four programs are part of the library system’s observance of the America250-Ohio semiquincentennial, marking the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding, according to promotional materials for the events.
Clermont County Public Library traces its roots to 1955, when service began with a single bookmobile and a small office, and has since grown to 10 locations across the county, according to the library. The system’s stated goal is to keep a branch within a 15-minute drive of every county resident. It is governed by a seven-member board of trustees appointed by county commissioners and Clermont County Common Pleas judges, with administrative offices at 5920 Buckwheat Road in Milford.
Registration links and a full calendar of upcoming programs are available at clermontlibrary.org.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Clermont County Public Library.