Two months ago, the Montgomery City Public Library was one of 100 libraries in the country to receive an Association of Rural and Small Libraries grant.

It helped MCPL put together an event that allows Montgomery County residents to talk about issues dealing with their community, which is called Community Conversations.

On Jan. 19, the library had the first of two Community Conversations events at its community room. A total of 26 people – including six board members – attended the 90-minute event that talked about the book, “Hillbilly Elegy” by J.D. Vance.

“I was one of the grant writers who wrote the grant for Community Conversations,” MCPL board member Carole Harness said. “I’m so excited about the response.”

The event began with all of the participants introducing themselves as well as talking about their favorite toy and favorite childhood moment.

Grace River, a retired school teacher, said her favorite childhood moment was having fun with her friends during the summertime.

“As a kid, it seemed like summer went on forever and ever,” River said. “I lived in a small town. A group of us in the neighborhood got together and rode our bikes all over town. We never thought about being kidnapped or anything. We would often end up going to a ballfield and playing sandlot ball. They were good experiences.”

Kathie Hoette, a retired public health nurse in Montgomery County, talked about her time living in Greenhills, Ohio, when she was in grade school. Greenhills is south of Middletown, Ohio, which is Vance’s hometown.

“Greenhills was a model city,” Hoette said. “We had a county park and a lake. We always ice skated.”

Then, the participants gave their reflections on Vance’s book. It was published in 2016 and dealt with poverty in a rural setting. The book reached the New York Times Best Seller list twice and it became a motion picture in 2020.

One of the topics that was discussed was the issues that face teenagers in Montgomery County. One of those issues is figuring out what to do after high school.

MCPL library director Gaylee Harris talked about Vance’s life after high school while growing up in Ohio.

“We know that J.D. went into the military,” Harris said. “Then, he went to college. Then, he went to law school. So he covered several things that are available. When he graduated (from high school), he didn’t know what he wanted to do, so he went into the military. That helped him grow up and find out what he wanted to do.”

MCPL board member Patti Pazdera talked about becoming the only child in her family to go to college. She was going to quit after her freshman year because she ran out of her scholarship money before her brother talked her into staying.

“I can relate a little bit to J.D., but not much, to that small bit of trying to claw and get somewhere,” Pazdera said.

Jim Guffie, another MCPL board member, said young people have to believe that they can be successful in life.

“Most of us are blessed not just with parents, but with a whole community of people to give encouragement that you can do it,” Guffie said. “You may not be the CEO, but you can get there. Get up there and make that goal. If we can collectively become a community of expressing to the young people that if we believe in you, you have to believe in yourselves.”

MCPL’s next Community Conversations event is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on March 16. The event will focus on the book, “The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek” by Kim Michelle Richardson.