Town Library's annual meeting mobbed

Mark Breen, famed "Eye on the Sky" Vermont Public Radio weatherman proved to be a popular guest speaker at the Friends of the Springfield Town Library annual meeting last night.


Meteorologist Breen is also planetarium director at Fairbanks Museum in St. Johnsbury.

Breen’s program, “Tour of the Solar System,” explored milestones in space travel, including the “baby step” to the moon, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft, the exploration of Mars, and the unfolding journey to Pluto. Images of the planets taken by spacecraft and the Hubble telescope were projected on a large screen in the darkened publications room of the library. His frequent use of humor in the talk made for a fun tour.

The event was open to the public, with an overflow crowd of nearly 70 people showing up. Library Director Russ Moore said only 40 to 50 had been expected, based on attendance of previous annual meetings. The business meeting had to be stopped for early 10 minutes while wooden chairs were taken away from other library rooms and hoisted over heads to be set up where ever they would fit in.

The event opened at 6:40 p.m. with a short business meeting led by Bunny Putnam. It was a very positive annual report. In their budget for last year, their annual book sale needed to raise them $4,000. They ended up making well over $7,000 from the one day sale. Date of the next sale was announced-- July 27. Once again to be held at the National Guard Armory on Fairground Road.

Mark Breen explaining the new digital planetarium in St. Johnsbury.