By Penny Gruetzmacher
Correspondent
The 91st anniversary of Brigham Memorial Library in Sharon was celebrated May 19 with an open house event that featured refreshments, courtesy of the Friends of the Library, and a reading by author, Sandra Colbert.
The library began when Henry Brigham donated his home to the Village of Sharon. It opened Jan. 22, 1916 with Rose Dullam serving as its first librarian.
Following refreshments at the open house, Colbert read from two of her books still in progress – “Damaged Souls” and “Extradition.” She also wrote “The Reason,” which is the second book in the Kate Harrison Detective series of dark crime novels.
Colbert also talked about her background and her first book, “Chicago Bound.” She was raised in Chicago in the arts area, which is where the former stockyards were. She talked about her imagination leading her to write crime novels and said when she got stuck, she went for a walk or a drive and the next part of the book would just come to her.
Colbert also spoke about all the research she does to make her books as accurate as possible. She said she was grateful for Verle Leard of the Harvard Police Department and Chris Adlington of the Blue Island Fire Department for spending many hours sharing what they do. She said she has also traveled in the areas the book is set in, including a trip to what is known as skid row in California.
As a special bonus for the big celebration, Ken Wundrow and Rob Wesenberg donated jars of homemade preserves and each family in attendance received one.
