by Mary Olson
Ventura Friends of the Library are sponsoring 2 events as part of the celebration of the 150th Anniversary of Ventura County.
In the 1950’s, Ventura County had its own version of the Trial of the Century. We are welcoming Deborah Holt Larkin back to town to speak about her memoir: A Lovely Girl: The Tragedy of Olga Duncan and the Trial of One of California’s Most Notorious Killers. Both events are free and open to the public.
Deborah Holt Larkin was ten years old when her father, the court reporter for the Ventura County Star-Free Press, was immersed in the trial of Olga Duncan’s killers taking place at the Ventura County Courthouse (now Ventura City Hall). Larkin’s memoir tells the story of this stranger-than-fiction murder case and the influence of her reporter father’s work in her early life.
On Saturday, November 4, 10 am to noon at the Atrium at City Hall, you can hear all about this true crime saga from Deborah Holt Larkin. She tells us, “In between the carefully researched true crime procedural chapters, the thread of the story winds back to chapters of my coming-of-age memoir about our quirky family life and my dawning realization that sometimes terrible things can happen to good girls. That evil can hide behind a mask of
normalcy.”
Please park behind the City Hall. Books will be available for purchase and book signing will follow the talk.
Then, on Sunday, November 5, Deborah Larkin will be the guest speaker at Ventura Friends of the Library Annual Membership Meeting at 2:00 pm in the Topping Room in E.P. Foster Library, 651 E. Main St. Some of our members will remember her father, Bob Holt, whose deadline reporting and whimsical columns appeared over the course of 34 years in the Ventura Star-Free Press. Books will be available for purchase and signing by the author.
A brief business meeting for Ventura Friends of the Library will follow the talk.
Hill Road Library will also host a 150th Anniversary event.
Living History at the Library on Sunday, October 22, 12 to 1 pm.
History comes alive through the performance of Connie Korenstein’s historical figures of Ventura County! Miriam Knox Dudley, of the Dudley House in Ventura, one of the last pioneer farm houses within the city limits, pays a visit to attendees to tell the story of growing up in a farming family in 1892. This event is sponsored by the Ventura County Library Foundation and is free and open to the public. For additional information please,
contact Timothy Furgal, Regional Librarian, at (805) 486-5460 or [email protected].
And on Monday, October 23, 4:30 to 5:30 pm at Hill Road Library Angelina Leaños, 2021-2022 Ventura County Youth Poet Laureate, will host a workshop for youth ages 10-17 to
develop and craft poems celebrating life in Ventura County. Participants are encouraged to bring their notebooks and favorite pens; supplies will also be available at the event. Poems from this workshop will have the opportunity to be shared during the county’s 150th Anniversary celebrations. (Participation in the celebration events is not required to attend the workshop.)
