By Mary Beth Almond
C & G Staff Writer

BIRMINGHAM — The Baldwin Public Library is one of 30 libraries in the nation to receive a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to present a series of programs on the Great Depression and the Federal Writers’ Project of the Works Progress Administration.

When Baldwin Public Library adult services librarian Sarah Ormond first saw the grant, she said she thought it would be a great thing for the library to apply for because the programs are very timely.

“We here in Michigan have been in a recession for a lot longer than most of the country, and it seemed like a nice opportunity to look back at a time that was far worse than these times,” she said.

Although the library officially kicked off the “Soul of a People: Writing America’s Stories” series in September, members of the public can still learn how people coped when banks failed, unemployment soared and homes were lost to foreclosure in the 1930s by attending one of the many upcoming programs offered through December.

The next session in the series, “The New Deal: A Debate,” will be held at 7 p.m. Oct. 20. Adult Services Coordinator Lois Griffin said the program will explore Franklin D. Roosevelt’s still controversial enormous public works program.

“Noted Detroit journalist Jack Lessonberry and Hillsdale College professor Burton Folsom will debate the New Deal,” she said.

Ormond said the “Soul of a People” programs offer an “amazing snapshot” of what life was like back in the 1930s.

“You get to look at first-person remembrances, because not only did the Federal Writers’ Project write a guide for every state — the 48 states there were — but they went around and collected oral histories. One of the most interesting parts of these oral histories is that back in the ‘30s, there were still people alive who had been enslaved. We are going to investigate some of those in one of the last programs we do, Dec. 8,” she said.

Other upcoming programs include: the final session of the four-part “Writing Your Own Story: Literacy In the Future” workshop at 7 p.m. Oct. 27; “Looking Back at Michigan and Birmingham in the 1930s” at 7 p.m. Oct. 2; “Let’s Talk About It” at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 3; “Storyteller Concert,” featuring Corinne Stavish, at 2 p.m. Nov. 8; “Let’s Talk About It” at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 1; and “Oral Histories of the Great Depression” at 7 p.m. Dec. 8.

“I would encourage people to come to the programs because I think it will give them hope. Times are tough, but people got through it before, and we can get through it again,” Ormond said.

“Soul of a People: Writing America’s Story” is a major documentary television program about the Federal Writers’ Project.

“Soul of a People” programs in libraries are sponsored by the American Library Association Public Programs Office, with the support of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The programs at the Baldwin Public Library are co-sponsored by the Race Relations and Diversity Task Force, a sponsored group of The Community House, and the Birmingham Historical Museum and Park.

Those interested in attending any of the programs are asked to reserve a seat by calling the library at (248) 554-4650. For more information, visit www.baldwinlib.org/soul-of-a-people-programs.