<html><head><style type='text/css'>p { margin: 0; }</style></head><body><div style='font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #000099'><br>From "Jennifer Gaines " <<a href="mailto:jgaines@clamsnet.org" target="_blank">jgaines@clamsnet.org</a>><br>
<p class="MsoNormal">Woods Hole Public Library Slates for Sale in Fund-Raiser</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>After hours
of research into uses of old slates, Woods Hole Public Library Director
Margaret McCormick has developed a fund-raising plan to create and sell cheese
boards made out of the Library’s century-old roof slates which are in the
process of being removed and replaced. The slates vary in color from blue-green
to dusky rose to dark plum, some plain and others speckled. The preparation of
the old slates is labor-intensive, requiring hours of painstaking cleaning and
oiling. Margaret observes “The slates from the south facing roof seem to take
less time to clean; perhaps the environmental conditions there are harsher.
Some on the north side were patched in about 22 years ago, recycled from a
building in Boston,
and take much more than the average time of ½ hour of scrubbing per slate”.
Some have had<span style=""> </span>their edges filed. All are
given a final treatment of<span style=""> </span>two coats of
oil rubbed into their surfaces. Again there is a difference in the surface;
often it is the maroon-toned stone that needs more oil. <br></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>For a finishing touch, plastic nubs
are glued to the bottom surface for non-scratching feet, and identifying words
are written on the bottom “Woods Hole Public<span style="">
</span>Library Roof Slate 1912-2012”. The slates are elegantly presented, tied
with a hemp cord which attaches a piece of soapstone chalk so the potential host
can write the names of cheeses right on the slate surface.(Like all chalks, the
writing can be wiped or washed off. Unlike other chalks, soapstone chalk
doesn’t leave a lot of dust.)The cheese boards are being sold for $30.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>The slates
are being replaced by roofer Tom Chase in a project partly funded by the Community
Preservation Committee. For non-roofers one of the big surprises in the project
is that the slates are graded in size from largest and thickest at the lower
edge to smallest and thinner ones at the ridge-line. The largest are<span style=""> </span>about<span style="">
</span>20 inches long; the shortest are about 15 inches long. They vary in
width from about 8 inches to 13 inches, though most are 10 inches wide. Because
of the color and size variations, potential purchasers are encouraged to visit
the Library to choose their own individual slate. The Library’s open hours
are<span style=""> </span>Monday 12-5:30 PM, 7-9 PM; Tuesday,
Thursday, Friday 3-5:30 PM, Wednesday 10 am-5:30 PM and 7-9 PM and Saturday
noon to 5:30 PM.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>Board
member Laurie Raymond is also helping the cause. She has been making coasters
by cutting the<span style=""> </span>slates into 3 ¾” squares with
a wet saw with a diamond blade. These attractive coasters <span style=""> </span>are finished with felt feet and are for sale for
$ 18, tied in packets of four. <br></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>For more information, call the Library at
508-548-8961 or check out the website at <a href="http://woodsholepubliclibrary.org" target="_blank">woodsholepubliclibrary.org</a>.</p>
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